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Beaver riding tractor

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I cant seem to find a form for beaver tractors so I figured I'd post here since I just picked one up today with a dirt plow and disk. Is there a way you can date them? The serial number on the brass tag says 4470-3825 but I cant seem to find a lot on them. I know mine has the Wisconsin AKN engine and also the black ball joystick on it.

Thanks!
 

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#4 ·
Yours was made in 1953 according to the chart on the Behave tractor websight. You can also look up the engine serial number online to find out what year the engine was built. Are you planning on restoring it? I recently picked up a 1951 Beaver which is basically the same thing. I'm in the process of restoring mine, so if you have any questions, I may be able to help. HAPCO has the stencil or decal available for the belt guard, and they also sell reproduction reverse discs if yours is worn. Just give Brandon a shout and let him know what you need. Congrats on the purchase of the Beaver tractor! They make great restoration projects and are very simple to work on.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
That's a nice tractor you had

Yours was made in 1953 according to the chart on the Behave tractor websight. You can also look up the engine serial number online to find out what year the engine was built. Are you planning on restoring it? I recently picked up a 1951 Beaver which is basically the same thing. I'm in the process of restoring mine, so if you have any questions, I may be able to help. HAPCO has the stencil or decal available for the belt guard, and they also sell reproduction reverse discs if yours is worn. Just give Brandon a shout and let him know what you need. Congrats on the purchase of the Beaver tractor! They make great restoration projects and are very simple to work on.
I dated the engine at 1951 from the Wisconsin site so the engine might have sat around for a while before they used it. I also might have paid a little to much for the tractor at $250 but it's one of those things me and my old man have sought for, yet were never able to find it till now. A few Mennonite buddies of mine are always out looking for odd tractors to sell from their sandblasting business so I normally get first looks. I've ended up buying a large handful of odd things from them over the years. My dad and I are going to get the tractor running sometime this month first, then we'll take it apart for sandblasting at the guys I bought the tractor from next year. This tractor was originally used for just use in a garden with the plow...someone willed the one tire with concrete (don't ask me how). Could you send me a photo of what those reverse discs look like?
 
#6 ·
#7 ·
Cool tractor! Hope it starts easily for you!
 
#8 ·
BigF30. Here is a pic of the reverse disc. It engages directly into a pulley groove to make the tractor go into reverse when you push down on the pedal with your heel. I think 250.00 is a great price considering what you have there. They are very well made, and a great piece of garden tractor history. Search Baird Beaver tractor on youtube and you will see some videos people have posted. This will give you an idea of the top speed. The Wisconsin on my Beaver is dated 1950 and my tractor was built in '51, so engines could have an earlier date than the build date of the tractor. For one thing, these Wisconsin engines are not cheap to rebuild. One thing that you must do is remove the pan from the bottom of the engine. Clean the oil pump and oil pump pick up screen. Check for wear and slop between the connecting rod and crankshaft journal. If the engine tosses the rod, it will most likely put a large hole in the block. I know of two AKN's that this happened to.
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
BigF30. Here is a pic of the reverse disc. It engages directly into a pulley groove to make the tractor go into reverse when you push down on the pedal with your heel. I think 250.00 is a great price considering what you have there. They are very well made, and a great piece of garden tractor history. Search Baird Beaver tractor on youtube and you will see some videos people have posted. This will give you an idea of the top speed. The Wisconsin on my Beaver is dated 1950 and my tractor was built in '51, so engines could have an earlier date than the build date of the tractor. For one thing, these Wisconsin engines are not cheap to rebuild. One thing that you must do is remove the pan from the bottom of the engine. Clean the oil pump and oil pump pick up screen. Check for wear and slop between the connecting rod and crankshaft journal. If the engine tosses the rod, it will most likely put a large hole in the block. I know of two AKN's that this happened to.
Thanks! Around here parts for these engines are rather easy to find thanks to most of the local farmers still using them. I rebuilt a Wisconsin THD a few years ago (oil pump blew a cap on the oil pump). New rings, a piston, rebuilt the oil pump, exc. It ran me around $150 plus the $75 I gave for the motor and box it was parted in. :wallbanging: I'll pull the motor on the beaver and clean it up a bit to see how she looks. Are there any other weak points I should look for on the tractor?
 
#10 ·
I forgot the pic of the disc, here it is. Pop off your rear hubs and check the pawls, since these can wear badly. There may be locks installed inside the hubs that lock the rear end. Without them, you basically have an open differential that creates less stress on the rear axle. There is a chain in the transaxle, and you can adjust the tension by loosening the bolts on the pinion shaft assembly under the belt guard. To adjust the drive belt tension, just slide the engine forward. My pinion shaft and bushings were badly worn, so I bought new bushings and made up a new shaft assembly. The front spindles may be worn on your tractor, so just disassemble the front end and check things out. Here is my new pinion shaft assembly.
 

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#13 ·
Here is the only one that I know of, but the hub is keyed. You would have to install bronze bushings to use it. These split rims are fairly hard to find.
www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-PLANET-JUNIOR-Walk-Behind-Garden-Tractor-TIRE-WHEEL-RIM-Waterbury-/172478800393?hash=item282889a209:g:7cIAAOSwcvdXOjSl
 
#15 ·
Hi all,

Just picked up a 1955 Beaver. It was my dads, and last time I saw it was 45 years ago. I looked on CG and knew right away this was the one we had when I was a child. 100.00 bucks and now to get to work. Front wheel seized, rear tires shredded. Really just want to get her rolling again to be able to work on her. Love to put temp rims and tires on it for now. Anyone know the rear bolt pattern size?

Thanks and will post pics once I learn how.

Bud
 
#16 ·
:wave: Welcome to the forum! Help with uploading pics can be found in the link in my signature.
 
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#18 ·
Bud,is that the one that was for sale out there on Craigslist with the plow? I've seen them with either bronze bushings or or roller bearings in the front rims. Both the bushings and bearings are a common size. As jableman said, the rear 5 bolt pattern is the same as any common garden tractor rim. Looking forward to seeing your tractor.
 
#20 ·
Bud,is that the one that was for sale out there on Craigslist with the plow? I've seen them with either bronze bushings or or roller bearings in the front rims. Both the bushings and bearings are a common size. As jableman said, the rear 5 bolt pattern is the same as any common garden tractor rim. Looking forward to seeing your tractor.
Hi,

I have the plow, and front wheel weights. I did free up front wheels, the have long needle bearings in cages. The rears rock, but dont turn. Going to drag off my truck in the am. Unfortunately i'm moving and dont have time to play with it yet. I was going to put trailer rims and tires on it just to get it to roll. I still cant believe I found the tractor. I have lots of memories on this thing.

Bud
 
#21 ·
It's great that you found the tractor that you have so many memories of, Bud. These tractors don't freewheel like a car or truck in neutral due to the way the transaxle is designed. When you get a chance, remove the belt cover and try to turn the pulley with the drive belt on it to see if the rear will spin. It's possible that the tractor has water and ice in the transaxle. Pull the drain plug on the transaxle and see what comes out. The main thing is that you don't want to force anything in the drivetrain to get it to turn, or you may break something. I'm working on a Baird Beaver right now and I have it completely disassembled, including the transaxle. It's a very simple machine to work on, and there isn't really that much too it. If the engine turns over, don't try to get it running without removing the pan from the bottom of the engine to clean the oil pump. If you have any questions when you get to working on it, post them here. The needle roller bearings in the front wheels are available, so just get the part number off of the old bearings and replace them. Here are the part numbers for the drive belts, and here's what the inside of the transaxle looks like.
 

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