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Chamberlain industries service bulletins , for the period around 1963… There are 150 of these bulletins in this manual,they would be of great interest to anyone restoring etc the chamberlain tractors.

The 40K was the first Chamberlain tractor to be available in any quantity. It used Power kerosene as its fuel, you started it on petrol. The model 40KA came out in 1950 between 1952 and 1955 saw quite a few new models many were made by this time with diesel engines. 1955 brought in the famous Champion series the first being the champ 6g then the well known 9G. Most famous of these was Tail end Charley in the Redex trials. The first of the Countryman was also available after 1956 and by 1960 the Canelander and the Crusader were working on farms. There were quite a few other models produced up until John Deere took over… but that was the end of the Australian Chamberlain; those that came after 1975 were JD in disguise. Some information about the 40K tractor

Chamberlain 40K….ENGINE: Two-cylinder horizontally-opposed side valve four-stroke. Fuel: Kerosene (petrol start). Bore- 6-1/8 in. Stroke: 6-1/4 in. Gross dynometer horsepower 48.5 at 1,200 R.P.M. Bearings: Main-—heavy duty ball. Big-end—-replaceable steel backed white metal precision type, 3-3/4 in. diameter x 3 in. long. Crankshaft: Fully counter-weighted, drilled for full-force feed lubrication to big-end bearings. Connecting Rods: High tensile alloy steel, drop forgings., drilled for full pressure lubrication to gudgeon pins. Cylinders: Special nickel alloy cast-iron, fitted with hardened valve seat inserts: valve guides are special cast-iron. Lubrication: By submerged type gear pump of large capacity, delivering oil through drilled passages to crankshaft. . A spring loaded by-pass valve is provided set to 45 lb. per square inch. An easily removable strainer is provided For the suction line of the pump. A heavy duty tractor type oil filter with replaceable cartridges is provided.

Electrical: Twelve volt starting- and lighting system. Ignition: High tension magneto with delayed-impuJse coupling. Cooling: Thermo syphon system using large diameter header pipes of ample height for efficient circulation. Radiator of heavy duty tubular type with cast iron top and bottom tanks. Ample cooling capacity is provided and is controlled by radiator shutters, operated from the driving seat. A water heat indicator is provided on the instrument panel. Fuel Tank Capacity: 23 Imperial gallons. Petrol Tank Capacity: 3.5 Imperial gallons. CLUTCH: Over-centre type, driving plate is carried by involute splines in fly-wheel ring gear. A ball-bearing clutch release collar is provided. Clutch operation is by conveniently placed hand lever, which also permits operation from behind tractor platform to facilitate coupling up of Implements…. Extract from the 40k handbook.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING THE NEW TRACTOR. The new owner should make himself thoroughly conversant with all controls. Study the diagram and the tractor itself until you are thoroughly conversant with the action of each of them. Lubricate entire tractor, using the Lubrication Chart of this book as a guide. Check oil in air cleaner. Check level of engine oil. Remove dipstick, wipe clean and replace, then remove again to obtain correct level. This must be done with the tractor reasonably level and the engine stopped. If oil is below the LOW mark it is dangerous to start the engine, and oil of the proper grade must be added to raise the level to HIGH. Check level of oil in gear box by removing large plug in rear cover (in front of rear platform). Oil should be within half an inch of lower edge of hole. Replace plug. Be sure that both fuel taps are off. Add sufficient fuel to both tanks. The kerosine tank is the one nearer the front of the tractor, the petrol tank is the one nearer the driver. Check tyre pressures. Remove radiator cap and fill radiator with water. To remove cap, screw to left several turns until a check is felt, lift cap and move sideways a little to clear one end of clamp bar. The whole cap may then be lifted off. Use only clean water in radiator—rain water is best Never use dirty or muddy water, the sediment will settle out and may ultimately block the tubes and cause overheating. TO START ENGINE Place one or both gear levers in neutral position and pull hand brake on. Disengage clutch by pulling lever right back. Close radiator shutter. ‘Open drain cock on carburettor bowl and let a few drops of fuel run on to your hand. Ascertain by the smell of this that the engine has been stopped on petrol and not kerosine. If kerosine s in the carburettor, starting may be difficult and the carburettor must be completely drained. Place manifold heat control in No. 1 (Hot) position. Turn on petrol tap about two turns. Both fuel taps must never be turned on together as this would allow kerosine to flow into the petrol tank :- vice versa, whichever is at the higher level. Lift governor control lever about 1 !/2 ” up from bottom of quadrant. Pull choke control out, press ignition switch down and the controls are set ready to start the engine. If the starter button is pulled out the engine should start at once. If engine does not start at once, push choke control halfway in and try again. Do not continue to crank engine with choke right out. If engine fails to start after several tries, consult list of possible causes Push choke button in as soon as engine fires or the engine may become over choked and be hard to restart. If this happens, press choke knob right in and pull out starter again. In cold weather it may be necessary to leave choke control out slightly from the full open position for a minute or two. Press the choke button right in as soon as the engine will run smoothly that way. Check oil pressure and generator charge readings. As soon as the thermometer needle moves past 100°. the tractor may be put into use, but should not be changed over to kerosine operation until 160° is reached. To change to kerosine, screw the petrol tap to the right as far as it will go and open the kerosine tap about two turns. The radiator shutter control should now be slightly opened. When the tractor is working, this shutter control is used to keep the water temperature between 160° and 180° for most economical operation. The correct adjustment of manifold heat control and carburettor must also be found for best economy. See Fuel System. The engine should never be run at slow idle on kerosine, and should not be switched off with kerosine in the carburettor unless it is to be started again almost immediately. Before stopping the engine it is good practice to change over to petrol (shutting off kerosine tap before turning on petrol) and running engine with governor lever half way up for at least three minutes before switching off. This clears kerosine out of pipe line and carburettor bowl and will help to ensure easy starting. It is good practice to see that both taps are turned off before leaving tractor.

DRIVING THE TRACTOR With engine running and warmed up, pull clutch operating lever back to its fullest extent. Move forward and rear gear levers into correct positions to engage the required gear making sure that levers are moved the distance until the selectors are felt to click into place. If gears will not move into place, return to neutral, push clutch lever forward slightly so that gears slowly revolve. If gears grate, pull clutch lever further back and try again. When gears are engaged move governor control lever to halfway position, disengage hand brake and move clutch lever forward smoothly until the tractor picks up speed, then press the lever firmly forward until the clutch is felt to snap into full engagement…extract from the 40k workshop manual.

[continued: It will be posted on September 27, 2021 at 9:33am]

A Sincere Note From Us:

This blog post was written by our late founder, Don. If you would like to read more, click here.
We will add more old posts written by Don in the future as a dedication for him.