Project 331, Vaderstad restoration and isobus conversion

[Colliedog]

We had one of these drills in the early 2000s I am pretty certain there was a mod that was fitted to strengthen the chassis. It also got a cat 3 shaft as an upgrade too. It was my first drill and to be honest I struggled to get depth consistent on light land, I often think how simple it was and cheap to run though. Id like to think with a lot more experience now I could get on a lot better with one.

Tidy work @Colliedog that really is quite a project you are doing, hope it all goes back together well. Would be interesting to know what it costs to put it back to as new condition as this may become the way forward for many of us who can no longer afford to buy new kit.

Your right! the modification was a stronger headstock. I think mine must have been modified at some point as it has the later type headstock but the serial plates have been pop riveted back on rather than the cold rivets from the factory.
Ive found the depth control to be very accurate on it. One thing that alters the depth a lot is the top link length as this can alter seeding depth from the front and rear coulters. Once I found the correct length I counted the top link turns and wrote it on the headstock. I do this on all my implements as it saves time setting up in the field.
I thought I would share the costs at the end to give people an idea on what’s involved. The only thing I haven’t recorded any time as I tend to do bits as and when.
Ive always thought my previous projects were worth it though!

 

[Colliedog]

A nice gift has just arrived from Vaderstad!!
There is an offer at the moment if you register your serial number on their website they send you a free flask. Thanks Vaderstad!

 

[Renaultman]

A nice gift has just arrived from Vaderstad!!
There is an offer at the moment if you register your serial number on their website they send you a free flask. Thanks Vaderstad!

View attachment 998463

I couldn't get my picture to upload

 

[Colliedog]

I couldn't get my picture to upload

Have you received yours as well?

 

[Renaultman]

Have you received yours as well?

No I gave up in the end

 

[Tim G]

A photo from quite a few years ago now. Drilled several acres with this, new in 1999 and a near neighbour bought one at the same time (his was also on the lorry when ours was delivered). It had a new chassis at one point, and the new one broke again within it warranty period, when that broke we had it welded and plated which seemed to cure it. The rear covering tine bar was sh1t, always breaking and bending, so I made a new one out of a length of box section and new tines. Marker arms seemed to need new shear bolts in every field and tramline clutches every season! When the press wheel frames started to break up we changed it for a trailed one. The difference was like night and day, where as the mounted drill was built down to a weight so it could be lifted, the trailed one was far better/heavier constructed.
One thing I remember the blacksmith who plated our chassis saying was how difficult it was to weld, he discribed the metal as being like files, very hard, did you weld yours okay @Colliedog?

 

[Colliedog]

View attachment 998577
A photo from quite a few years ago now. Drilled several acres with this, new in 1999 and a near neighbour bought one at the same time (his was also on the lorry when ours was delivered). It had a new chassis at one point, and the new one broke again within it warranty period, when that broke we had it welded and plated which seemed to cure it. The rear covering tine bar was sh1t, always breaking and bending, so I made a new one out of a length of box section and new tines. Marker arms seemed to need new shear bolts in every field and tramline clutches every season! When the press wheel frames started to break up we changed it for a trailed one. The difference was like night and day, where as the mounted drill was built down to a weight so it could be lifted, the trailed one was far better/heavier constructed.
One thing I remember the blacksmith who plated our chassis saying was how difficult it was to weld, he discribed the metal as being like files, very hard, did you weld yours okay @Colliedog?

Thanks for sharing the photo! Definitely a pattern emerging as to why they stopped making them. Mine was old when I got it so you expect a few things. I guess it welded as well as can be expected considering some one had had a go before but hopefully the new stress plates will help in the future. The marker arms were broken and repaired so I made some new ones from 5mm thick box and with 10.9 bolts, so I didn’t get to much trouble after that. GPS has made them rather redundant now though.

 

[Tim G]

Thanks for sharing the photo! Definitely a pattern emerging as to why they stopped making them. Mine was old when I got it so you expect a few things. I guess it welded as well as can be expected considering some one had had a go before but hopefully the new stress plates will help in the future. The marker arms were broken and repaired so I made some new ones from 5mm thick box and with 10.9 bolts, so I didn’t get to much trouble after that. GPS has made them rather redundant now though.

I got so fed up with the marker arms I drilled the holes out and put bigger bolts in! Always seemed to break when drilling the headlands and you wouldn't notice until you had been round the field and found the arm laying in the middle of the bout.

 

[Colliedog]

The wheels have gone back together. You can see the new ring rolled rods welded to the edges of the old rims. All the bushes seals and bearings had a 3 week soak in degreaser before being lightly oiled and lithium grease sprayed into the bearings before assembly.

 

[JohnBoy]

Great work, I love a proper right down to the nuts and bolts rebuild.


have one of those mugs for years, will keep tae hot for hours on end.

 

[Gerbert]

Why would you reuse the bearings? A special size maybe?
Very nice project!

 

[Colliedog]

Why would you reuse the bearings? A special size maybe?
Very nice project!

Thank you! There was nothing wrong with the originals and they are also high quality so money I didn’t need to spend. The disc bearings were very worn and replaced but I have never changed a wheel bearing on it.

 

[Colliedog]

I thought I would show a picture of the disc and coulter going back together as it shows a couple of things. Firstly it’s a direct comparison of the two reds used, the coulter is finished in the new brighter red. Secondly it shows how the coulter position is adjusted by a sliding spring rather than the two bolt arrangement on the trailed drills.
Seeing as these mounted versions have some negative points highlighted in this thread I thought I would share some of the advantages I have found with my ownership of the drill. The first one being it’s ability to cope with wet and sticky conditions. By sliding the coulter to it’s lowest position on the disc will give the most accurate seed placement however if conditions get wet and sticky you can slide the coulter up the disc creating less resistance on the disc enabling them to turn more easily allowing soil to flow though without stalling. Although you can do this on a trailed drills it is made very quick and easy with the slider system. Secondly if you hit a wet hole you can lift the drill on the hydraulics a bit until you have passed it making it a very capable machine for sticky conditions. The other advantages are no punctures with the Otico tyres and I like the lightness of the whole system matched up to a small tractor on wide tyres.
The other advantage is our farm is on some quite steep rolling hills so trailed drills tend to hang down on the slopes but a mounted drill can be tightened on the stabilising bars and hold a straighter line. I also like the simplicity of it, although that’s a bit controversial now with the Isobus conversion but at least if it is me fitting it hopefully I will have a good understanding of it!

 

[Colliedog]

This stage has taken a bit of time. Firstly I went down with the dreaded covid so couldn’t get in the workshop for 10 days. Once I got back to it I managed to get this far before realising I had two cir-clips that hold the bearings on left! So had to strip it down again to find out where they were missing. Its been a struggle but the main chassis is rebuilt with new discs bearings and coulters.

 

[Zebbedee]

New paint and it’s all looking superb

 

[Colliedog]

So the headstock is starting to go back together and this is a good opportunity to show the new stress plates I am adding to hopefully reduce the twisting stress in the main centre box section of the chassis. I was already having some laser cutting and folding done so I had these plates added to the order View attachment Chassis Bracket (1).pdf they were drilled and pre-fitted to the drill before powder coating making them easy to add in during the rebuild.

 

[Colliedog]

Unfortunately progress has been a bit slow since my last post, Christmas, Covid and other work pressures seem to have got in the way, however the chassis is all built up and ready to have the hopper fitted back on. The next wait is the hopper is still at the powder coaters who are suffering like everyone one at the moment with staff shortages.
No one has started spring drilling in this area yet and I know I’m not going to get the isobus on for this season but I’m still hoping at the moment I may get the hopper in time to test the rebuilt drill with the original land wheel

 

[farmideas]

Nothing like getting a new machine. Great job done and thanks for allowing me to put it in Practical Farm Ideas

 

[MrNoo]

Great job, I did my 3m box drill last year, only mechanically, I didnt get it shot blasted/painted, very similar drills, very underrated indeed and now they're not that trendy relatively cheap!! Can fair cover some ground with mine in a day.

 

[nick...]

Great job and really enjoyed the thread.cost must have been huge though
nick…