Tractor Repair: 1953 ford Jubilee transmission, wildlife food plots, old fords

Question
QUESTION: My transmission shifter will pull right out of the housing. Transmission seems to work fine except for this problem. I located a retainer ring in the Jubilee manual that looks like I am missing but I cannot find anyone or anywhere to but this item. First: Am I going in the right direction, and Second: Where could I buy this item.  
Thanks

ANSWER: Hello,

  Yes, you are going in the right direction. If the ring is missing, there may some wear on the bottom of the lever or in the housing also. The lever pulling out is not uncommon.  Fortunately, I happen to have some connections with some people who can help you with parts.  Village Tractor has tons of old Ford parts, and he's a good guy to deal with. His website is www.nseriesparts.bravehost.com

His email address is villagetractor@tds.net

Let him know what you need, or ask him questions about how to fix it.  He specializes in all the old Fords.  He has tons of used parts, and he recently bought out all the inventory of an old Ford dealership that went out of business.

         Arnie

PS  If you contact him, tell him Arnie says Hi.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: You were right on target with my last question. "outstanding" I'll liked to pick your brain again. I am in the process of buying a 5ft King Kutter 3Pt tiller. I've been reading that my tractor (1953 Jubliee) will obtain or hold the required ground speed to effectively run this piece of equipment. Without having a live PTO, am wasting my money. It will be used for small wildlife food plots and a garden. Thanks in advance. Frank...

Answer
Hello,

   I guess I don't quite understand the question.  Did someone tell you that you're wasting your money because it doesn't have live PTO?  A live PTO is nice to have, but we farmed 120 acres for many years without it until we got the Co-op E3, and we got by OK.  If your lowest gear is slow enough to do a good tilling job, you should have no problem.  If you have to push in the clutch and the PTO stops, that's not the end of the world.  You may have to raise the hitch, back up a little, and lower it again after you start moving forward again. If the tractor has enough power to run the tiller at the desired ground speed will depend on the soil conditions, and the tilling depth.  If the ground is hard and dry, sometimes you have to make more than one pass, tilling at a shallower depth and then going over it again at a deeper depth.  Tilling up sod is hard to do, and takes alot more power.  It helps to break it up with a disk first.  The biggest cause of damage to tillers is people turning a corner with the tiller still in the ground.  Things get all bent out of shape, and it's costly to fix sometimes.  They are only for going in a straight line or a very gradual curve.  To turn a corner, you have to raise it out of the ground.  A Jubilee is a good old tractor, and should be able to do the job just fine.  Good luck with your food plots.  My brother in law and I are planning on making some food plots this year.  My tractor doesn't have a 3 point hitch though, so it's a little harder to find implements to use with it.  I'm looking for a 2 bottom trailer plow right now.

         Arnie