1968 Wheel Horse Lawn Ranger rust repairs

[Stigian 1,234]

Afternoon chaps, I was asked by Kenny (Kenmof2000) if I would have a look at his Lawn Ranger panels to see if they were fixable or not... So a couple of parcels of panels were sent to the Shack from Scotland..

 

Unwrapped..

 

 

 

Let's have a look at the worst panel, the fender pan..   Er.. Very flat at the back, lot's of holes  and lot's of very deep rust pitting!!

Speaking of holes... If you look at the photo's are the 4 outer (they would be above the tyres) holes original or have they been drilled by a previous owner?

 

 

 

 

 

The seat pan only needs a bit of straightening and a few patches to replace the missing metal..   Not to bad at all.

 

 

 

Which leaves the hood... This is the first time I've had a close up look of a Lawn Ranger hood, and I had to say I do like it.. There's something about the raised lines and pressed Wheel Horse on the front that's very pleasing to the eye

 

 

 

If only Wheel Horse had covered all the hood in decals then all the paint would still look like this

 

 

 

On to the rust.... Yep, there's some metal missing!!

 

 

 

The molding/strengthening strip has just about vanished!!   But it will be reappearing again

 

 

 

The base of the front is a right mess where someone at some point has tried to arc weld thicker steel inside!!!

Despite how it looks there is more than enough left to take measurements from and get the correct shape for the repair panel/panels..

 

 

 

From the inside..

 

 

 

So now I knew the amount of work ahead I had to take some drastic measures!!!!

 

Yep, I cleaned the bench

 

[Stigian 1,234]

It's been quite a while since I last did and serious panel fabrication out of thin steel, and as I'm "breaking in" a new MIG welder I thought I'd start on something easy to get back into the swing of things.. The sides of the hood.

 

Off came what little remained of the trim molding thingy...  Nice to see only surface rust hiding under the trim..

 

 

 

A quick clean up to see how up the rust had gone.. Not too far as it happens, once again a decal had saved the day

 

 

 

I've no idea what this length of thin steel is from, or even how it came to be in the shack.. But it is the same thickness as the Ranger hood, which was handy.

 

 

 

The first repair patch was cut to size and clamped gently to the side of the hood so I could make out where to cut.. The masking tape was stuck to the hood first so I could clearly see the pencil marks..

 

 

 

Patch one welded in.. I still need to do a little welding and shaping but it's almost there..

 

 

 

 

Patch two tack welded in place..

 

 

 

 

By the end of the day my nice clean bench looked like this

 

[fabricator2009 48]

Good luck.

[Stigian 1,234]

The long patch on the side of the hood is now fully welded on and ground back...   The final straightening of the edges can wait until all the welding is done and the hood has been through the E-tank... The welds showing on the insides will get a good tidying up as well.

 

 

 

A lot of time has been spent working out how best to remake the lower part of the hood front.. In the end as is my style I just grabbed a bit of flat steel and went for it

 

 

 

The corner patches are over sized at the mo and the shape is almost there.. I won't be able to do the final shaping until I've cut the rotten corners away.... Gulp!

 

 

 

Fresh steel is over rated.. All the base of the hood needed was a quick squirt with primer to make it as good as new

 

 

 

Ok, maybe not. But the primer did give me a surface I could see pencil marks on.. Very handy as I was about to mark this corner out for cutting.

 

 

 

Gulp 1..

 

 

 

The patch is very close to the shape it needs to be.

 

 

 

Gulp 2.. The rest comes off after welding on the first patch.

 

 

 

Both corners on..

 

 

 

Nope the masking tape isn't a bodge, it's a good way of making templates.

 

 

 

Ta-daa     The lip this end of the bottom grill holes needs a little tweak, but I'm reasonably happy with how it's going.

 

Good luck.

 Thanks

[Ken B 3,164]

Nice work!

[Jake Kuhn 1,556]

WOW...think that is one of the worst hoods I've ever seen. You are doing a great job of fixing it, looing great!     

[AMC RULES 37,141]

Can wait to see how you tackle that fender pan.  

[Mr. 856 170]

you have taken on a heck of a project and with what seems to be a great enjoyment. I really enjoy these type of threads and thanks for taking the time to take pictures and share them with us. Your doing great work. please keep the progress updated.

[Desko 610]

All I can say is WOW!!

[meadowfield 2,616]

Good work Ian, your the man! :D

[redrooster 83]

A true craftsman!

[Digger 66 3,488]

In spite of your humility , you have a deft hand with a mallet & welding skill most can only dream of .

Very nice work !

[roscoemi 245]

The four big outer holes are how the fender pan mounts to the tractor. Most fenders are cracked at these points from people lifting the tractor by the fender.

[hm12460 53]

You are doing an excellent job there Stig! Thanks for sharing.

[dodgemike 52]

Very nice metal work! Most would

have thrown that in the scrap.

I have repaired some automotive

parts in similar condition. The

parts were unobtainable. It is a

labor of love. You cant charge the

amount for the time you actually

have in repairs like that. It may

sound a little boastful but it is nice

to have the reputation of the guy

people bring the rusty junk to.

When they ask "how long?" I say

as long as it takes.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

[formariz 11,988]

Great work from a skilled pair of hands ,great resourcefulness, and a great service in saving those parts. Very inspiring.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Your turn now to be working with the thin stuff Ian!

 

I know from recent experience that several hours work often disappears into each little bit of progress towards saving something that would otherwise be consigned for scrap. A real labour of love - great skills there mate.

 

Andy

[diggerjames 64]

Wow Ian what a great job your doing looks like your mastering the new mig good luck with it mate keep us posted cheers James

[rmaynard 15,719]

I've got to give you a lot of credit Ian, those parts would be in the bottom of the recycling bin by now if they were mine.

[Ken B 3,164]

I've got to give you a lot of credit Ian, those parts would be in the bottom of the recycling bin by now if they were mine.

I do agree with Bob. Us guys in the U.S. might be a little spoiled because replacement fender pans and hoods are everywhere. It amazes me how the guys from across the Big Pond are so resourceful. Having to be resourceful will help hone your skills as well. Very inspiring indeed.. I love your work shop as well, nothing high tech, just an HONEST work shop.

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Well Stig looks like you can Mig!     Good Job Mate!

 

~Duke

[Stigian 1,234]

Nice work!

 

Thanks Ken

 

 

 

WOW...think that is one of the worst hoods I've ever seen. You are doing a great job of fixing it, looing great! 

 

Thanks Jake, yeah the hood is quite rotten...

 

 

 

Can wait to see how you tackle that fender pan.  

 

I'm waiting to see how I'm going to tackle it myself

 

 

 

you have taken on a heck of a project and with what seems to be a great enjoyment. I really enjoy these type of threads and thanks for taking the time to take pictures and share them with us. Your doing great work. please keep the progress updated.

 

 Thank you Mr 856, and yes I am enjoying doing the repairs.. It's nice to see steel where it once was missing.

 

 

All I can say is WOW!!

 

Thanks Desko, though WOW might of not been the words I used when I first saw the state of the panels

 

 

 

Good work Ian, your the man!

 

Thanks Mark

 

 

 

A true craftsman!

 

Thanks you Sir.

 

 

 

In spite of your humility , you have a deft hand with a mallet & welding skill most can only dream of .

Very nice work !

 

Thanks Joe... I had to look up what humility meant

[Stigian 1,234]

The four big outer holes are how the fender pan mounts to the tractor. Most fenders are cracked at these points from people lifting the tractor by the fender.

 

Thanks for that, I wasn't sure if they were original as the holes are quite rough looking from underneath.

 

 

 

Very nice metal work! Most would

have thrown that in the scrap.

I have repaired some automotive

parts in similar condition. The

parts were unobtainable. It is a

labor of love. You cant charge the

amount for the time you actually

have in repairs like that. It may

sound a little boastful but it is nice

to have the reputation of the guy

people bring the rusty junk to.

When they ask "how long?" I say

as long as it takes.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks Mike. As you say some parts you just can't find so repairs are the only option.. I did try and keep tabs on how long it's taking to do the repairs, but found it was impossible.. So much time spent thinking and working out how to do the repairs before actually cutting any metal.

 

 

 

Great work from a skilled pair of hands ,great resourcefulness, and a great service in saving those parts. Very inspiring.

 

Thanks dude, very kind words there..

 

 

 

Your turn now to be working with the thin stuff Ian!

 

I know from recent experience that several hours work often disappears into each little bit of progress towards saving something that would otherwise be consigned for scrap. A real labour of love - great skills there mate.

 

Andy

 

Hi Andy, your right so much time does vanish into each little bit.. It's quite amazing and shocking how time fly's.. Of course part of that is making coffee while waiting for welds to cool

 

 

 

Wow Ian what a great job your doing looks like your mastering the new mig good luck with it mate keep us posted cheers James

 

Thanks James. I'm slowly getting the hang of the new mig, it would be nice if the steel was a bit thicker, it's very easy to blow holes through..

 

 

 

I've got to give you a lot of credit Ian, those parts would be in the bottom of the recycling bin by now if they were mine.

 

Thanks Bob, no other option but to repair them..

 

 

 

I do agree with Bob. Us guys in the U.S. might be a little spoiled because replacement fender pans and hoods are everywhere. It amazes me how the guys from across the Big Pond are so resourceful. Having to be resourceful will help hone your skills as well. Very inspiring indeed.. I love your work shop as well, nothing high tech, just an HONEST work shop.

 

Your right Ken, you are a little spoiled with your spare situation over there. Then again maybe it's a good thing or I would just fill my shack up with panels and parts but have no room to work or store my herd

 

 

 

Well Stig looks like you can Mig!     Good Job Mate!

 

~Duke

 

Thanks mate, the mig welding is getting there slowly..

[Stigian 1,234]

Not much of a progress report..

 

Quite a bit of time was spent working out ways of not to make the trim/strengthening strip...

 

 

 

I think the problem is parts of the hood not only curve around but also down, which make it impossible for me to make the trim strip out of one bit of steel.. Maybe make an inner and outer part and tack them together on the hood!!     More thinking is needed me thinks.

 

 

 

Once I had cut away the grot this was what was left of the hood mounting bracket..

 

 

 

A quick blast through the cabinet later..

 

 

 

I'm much more at home welding thicker steel which shows here.. The Mig handled it with ease.

 

 

 

The rebuilt mounting bracket..

 

 

 

 

The outer ends need to be curved to match the hoods curves..

 

Can you see spot anything strange here?    Yep that's right, somehow the left side of the hood ended up slightly taller then the right!!  I don't know how I hadn't seen this... Couldn't see the wood for the trees sort of thing..

 

 

 

Lot's of looking followed by hammering, followed by even more looking and hammer etc followed but I think the shape is about right now.. What do you guys think?

 

 

 

Out of interest I thought I'd see how the rust came with with a little wire brush cup on grinder action...

 

I quite like the look, if it were mine I'd just oil it once in a while to stop the rust getting any worse

 

[diggerjames 64]

Looking good Ian been watching your three point linkage on you tube I'm going to copy your idea if you don't mind ! Cheers James