Mitts and Merrill

[GalaxyFlyer]

Hey guys,

long time listener, first time caller.

a larger Mitts and Merrill chipper with a Ford v8 motor fell into my lap and I am trying to get it back into running shape to chip all the brush around my house!
The chipper has no identifiable numbers on it, and the internet seems to be scarce of parts. a few problems I have is that the PTO clutch is frozen, i.e. the engagement lever is essentially for show. It does nothing to engage or disengage the PTO. I took apart the clutch basket and clutch disk and cleaned everything the best I could but still no difference.

the drive pulley on the motor side, the middle tensioning device (?) has split in two, instead of being a single part. I imagine this is not an off the shelf part. Can I just throw it back in there as two parts? there really isn't anywhere for it to go with the retaining bolts

the governor (i believe) seems fairly janky, it needs a new belt for sure but it seems really loose, and the only way for me to increase the rpm is by pulling out the knob on the control panel. the Tach is also inop but whatever.

and finally, the belts. this has a 6 belt pulley, took off the guard and there were 5. should it have 6?

thanks guys, the motor runs pretty well all things being equal, and the knives are sharp, its just everything in between!

 

[GalaxyFlyer]

So, update. ordered a replacement drive belt, and went with a 6 lug v belt, as opposed to 6 individual 5v/1400 belts (that was the part number on the belts that came off, and with nothing to say otherwise I figured that was correct.) Now me and my brother are fighting these two pulleys to get the damn thing on! I like the style of the pulleys, some of the machines at work have them but these seem awfully tight. Inside each pulley there is a round conical "wedge" that tensions the pulley, one on each shaft. The problem is that when we mount one (loosley) the other one is off more than we can pry.

We have a few thoughts, maybe using a porta power to stretch the belt over the wedge, or get 6 individual belts and try and roll them on.

There seems to be something that I am missing. if anyone wants to shed some light on what I am doing wrong it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[GalaxyFlyer]

Figured I might start a little log on this forum post that way if any other people run into these issues they can find this post.

Alright, so this is getting fun. Figured out that the motor can be moved back and forth with adjusting bolts (only two, one on each side facing each other, just on opposite sides of the motor rack) did that, was able to get the belt mounted! Just needed to loosen the second set of motor mounts that mount to the frame of the trailer and crank those bolts a few turns to get enough slack to mount the sheave. The inner sheave on the motor side had broke into two pieces so I welded it back together (clamped with a spacer in the slot, this is important because if not spaced it won't fit around the shaft, and not clamped the weld will warp the part and it will be too wide). Checked for belt alignment with a 6 foot level, because with these adjustment bolts on the frame you could get it out of square leading to premature belt wearing.

So naturally, the first thing I did was fire it up and throw whatever I could find in there! ate a bunch of small stuff pretty well, but a larger 3 inch chunk did not want to feed. it would chip the end but run out of "pull". i stood to the side of the chipper and pushed it through with a 2x4 until it caught and sent it through. very fun machine. Stopped the machine, opened the chute and the blades are fairly high off of the anvil. the two locking bolts that hold the anvil in there were tighter than two ticks f***ing and I snapped a variety of tooling before getting them out. I assume the anvil is made of HSS? Or some other hardened steel? mine looks pretty whooped on all edges of the bar, so a replacement may be necessary.

Now, on to the motor. I believe it is a ford 330V8, the tag on the side of the valve cover is present but is almost illegible. someone painted right over it (facepalm) but the numbers 330 were slightly legible. Anyone know what these chippers came with?
Found a replacement clutch for it on ebay, as the old one was frozen solid, to the point where starting the chipper involves the starter rotating the drum as well. which makes the chipper sound like a turbine starting up. Cool, but not right. it looks like it cross references to a ford F100 ending in model year 64. it looks to be a 12 inch clutch. Can be had on ebay for around $200.

The governor from what I can tell does not work, so Ill be looking for a replacement oe of those unless told otherwise.