Starting instructions 

The operating is the easy -and fun- part of this hobby. The starting on the other hand can be a bear to deal with. I stand on the drivers side and pull from around 9 o’clock towards me. I don’t wrap my thumbs around, just my fingers. I’ve almost broken my wrists from standing facing the radiator and having the engine backfire. On a ten, potential backfires won’t be horrible, but still good enough to put the bite on someone. A mag that’s timed decent should have no issues. At least that’s been my expierence. Pull enough for a couple impulses to turn, you’ll hear the clicks. Starting difficulty is also a direct correlation to how many bystanders there are. If you’re alone, it’ll be easier. With a crowd, good luck lol. The clutch packs will probably be worn down, but I’ve had tractors “acclimate” once they’re in motion and get warmed up, they sometimes turn easier. If nothing is stuck, you’re already ahead of the game. I like your starting setup. That really beats standing there cranking and throwing your back out

I think now that I've run it for a bit and hopefully have the rings seated and restored compression, it will be an easy starter. I think as much as anything, I have to learn it's quirks and develop a starting strategy. Do you have any thoughts on fuel additives? I tend to use Seafoam or Stabil in my intermittent use tractors.

Ive never used them before, but I can’t think of a good reason why you can’t. I typically pull the plugs and either put them in a cleaner, or wire brush, lightly file and then regap. But additive would clean a little further without removing anything. Go for it and tell us your results!

Sounds good. I do feel really fortunate that everything seems to be free and moving, luckily it was stored in a shed, out of the weather for the most part. I cranked it by hand for a bit but quickly realized that I couldn't maintain speed for any length of time. I'm a fabricator by trade and grew up building farm equipment so some sort of mechanized starter was my first thought. It's not fancy and it took a while to build but I figure at roughly 800 rpm for about 5 minutes, it was about 4000 rotations I didn't have to do.

Once you get your ten running good they are easy to start. Don’t spin the hand crank just pull over from about 9 o’clock to 12 O’clock one time with full choke then open choke pull few more times should start with 2 or 3 pulls. Sometimes 1 pull

Thanks Skinner, it's been really helpful to have you and the rest of the group to lean on as I learn the ropes of a Caterpillar. I hope that someday I can contribute as much help as I've received. Between your last description and the excerpt you posted from the manual, I'm under the impression that getting fuel to the cylinders is the priority, and after that the engine should start pretty readily. I noticed that in both your description and the manual, it doesn't say anything about using the priming cups on the intake manifold, am I wasting my time with these?

I never use the priming cups on a 10. We use them on 30’s  and bigger. You may want to use them now until you get it starting easy and then you won’t have to use them. Just full choke for one or two pulls. Worst thing you can do is flood it, then they just won’t start. They all start differently, you just need to find out what this one likes. Skinner 

A big thank you to everyone for their help. I had chance to work on my Ten again yesterday and was able to start it two or three times with the hand crank. Now it's just a matter of figuring out what it likes so I can start it with the least amount of motions possible. I was also able to drive it out of the garage and do some slight (but not so gentle) turns in the driveway so no we know that the steering is functional. I've got a seat on order from Zane at Haun and should have it before the tractor show. The only thing left to do before I take it to the show (besides reassemble the sheet metal) is to service/change all the fluids and rebuild/replace the packing/seal on the governor shaft that comes back to the mag. The throttle shaft below it is wrapped in old denim with hose clamps around it, so it's safe to say it leaks as well. I skimmed through the book this morning quickly (both operator and repairman sections), but didn't see anything that talked about that, I'll look again. Does anybody have experience with these repairs? I guess there's one more thing to do besides the oil leaks, I need to fix the side panel latches on the left side of the hood (carb side). One of the latches is missing completely and one is missing lower rod. I have one to replace the missing latch and can probably fix the other one if I can get it apart. I'm uncertain as to how to rivet them onto the side panel so they look original, I'm guessing that I can find some rivets at McMaster Carr and wing it from there.

Good to hear it’s running and driving and starting good. The throttle shaft should have a leather boot on it with clamps. Zane can make you one. No oil there it’s sealed to keep dust out. The denim looking material you see could be the original old leather.     Skinner