76' B-100 Restoration

[martinarcher 59]

Hey guys!  

I'm new to the board and thought I would share my project.  Growing up my dad bought a 1976 B-100 that I learned to mow on when I was 6 years old. It was the first motorized anything I ever drove.  Over the years I spend a serious amount of time on that tractor and learned everything from how to operate a clutch to back up a trailer.  Fast forward 25 years....dad stopped mowing with the B-100 because the engine had lost compression and power.  It got put in the corner of the barn for 5 years and he bought a used 92' Horse.  Two weeks ago, a good friend bought a zero turn and had a 96' Horse that was spotless.  He asked my dad if he wanted to buy it and he pulled the trigger.  Having no room in the barn for the B-100 he asked me if I wanted it.  Heck yeah!  I swung by that week with the trailer and brought it home.  I thought I would start with an engine rebuild and mow with it but as I started to tear into it things got out of hand.  I decided to do a full show quality rebuild and am currently finishing up the paint work.  I used PPG epoxy primer and Urethane top coat.  I am currently doing body work on the sheet metal to fix a couple dings that were probably from me or my brother growing up.  Last night I pulled the K241 apart and am dropping the block and crank at the machine shop tommorow morning.  Turns out the top piston ring was cracked and had a loose piece floating.  I expected to find a piston with "STD" on the top but after cleaning up the top it has a single "1" stamped in the top.  Not sure if this is a standard bore or a 0.010 over?  I guess I'll find out after it gets to the machine shop.

Here's some pics of the progress!!




Back form the media blaster....time to smooth out the metal.





Epoxy primer on,,,



Laying down some glossy red!!



Fresh coat of Sherwin William Linen White paint on the wheels..




Mower deck coming back together...


 

[rmaynard 15,727]

Very nice. I think that dash panel's going to be the finishing touch.

[Jake Kuhn 1,556]

Welcome to the site, and that is a very nice b100 you are working on, it looks like it will turn out very nice!

[Racinbob 11,298]

Looking great. Glad you found the forum and please keep updating us.........with pictures.

[martinarcher 59]

Thanks guys!  It's been a fun one with a few hard to find items.  I finally have the headlight reflector housing and now the dash panel!  I'm a big picture taker so I'll be sure to keep the thread updated.  

[martinarcher 59]

I took some time and masked off the existing engine decals and found out today that they come with the starter decal I need from Redo Your Horse.  lol  Oh well!

[martinarcher 59]

Here's a score I found at the yard sale of our local Wheel Horse dealer after the owner retired.  I had a dripping output shaft and axle seal and a key way issue on the right axle that my dad had repaired and would probably be fine but after seeing a "used" 8 speed on the shelf in the parts room and finding out he wanted $80 for it I took it home!  It still has paint on the brake drum and inside the bolt holes that mate to the frame and a fresh shifter boot!  I got it painted with urethane and mated up last night.



 

[KC9KAS 4,741]

 and thanks for the photos.
Your B-100 is really looking nice...Great job.

[MikesRJ 552]

Looking good! Bob's dash will bring it all together too.

[Lane Ranger 11,023]

Martinarcher:  That is the prettiest Wheel Horse Hauler I have every seen on this site -hauling that 8 seped!   You  really got a nice deal on that for your great looking B-100 redo !
 

[martinarcher 59]

Thanks man!  It's an awesome trailer.  I can't believe how much I've used it since I bought it early this spring!

[martinarcher 59]

Looking good! Bob's dash will bring it all together too.

It sure will!   I'm pumped!

[Ken B 3,164]

Looking real nice, love those Firestone ag tires.

[stevasaurus 22,910]

Excellent pictures...since I have a B-100...I have looked at your pictures 6 times already...and I have a feeling I am going to check them out some more. 

[martinarcher 59]

Well all the bodywork paid off.   The paint turned out fantastic on the fender and hood.  It took a long time to get all the dings and dents out of the hood but it paid off!  I'm pumped! 

[Brian01 481]

Lookin good...did you spray the paint with air gun or rattle cans? What color red is it?

[martinarcher 59]

It's sprayed with a gun.  Base of epoxy primer, coat of high build primer, lots of sanding, a seal coat of epoxy, then color, then clear. Color is.... 


 

Edited June 28, 2015 by martinarcher

[Brian01 481]

I done my electro 12 also in Int' Harvester Red, but I used rattle can....I should have used primer, it peels real easy....i ll prolly end up redoing it eventually, but for now, looks 10x better than what it did.

[Brian01 481]

[martinarcher 59]

Well still waiting on the machine shop to get done with the engine.  I pestered them again today and they finally gave me a bore so I can order parts.  10 over on the piston and 10 under on the rod.  The bad news is they told me they bored and honed the block already!?  I assumed they would wait until they had my piston to bore the block to match it.  I'm a bit concerned that the piston to bore fit won't be what it should be but they assure me the Kohler pistons are "spot on".  I ordered a Stens kit with a 10 over piston.  AT the end of the day I'll check it all myself and if it's too far out from me getting lucky I might order a 20 over piston and find myself another machine shop.

Any thoughts?  Thanks guys!

[bmsgaffer 2,046]

Let me know how your measurements turn out. My machine shop did the same thing, so next time I am going to specifically tell them to machine to the piston.

[rexman72 210]

great work

[whtoy 4]

Real sweet dude,congrats!

[martinarcher 59]

Well you know this thread needed an update when it was three pages deep!  Sorry for the delay, I've been chipping away at it. 

I got the motor back from the machine shop and luckily everything turned out fine.  I have my 6 thousands just like Kohler specs.  I worked with the local lawn and garden shop owner and put together the engine.  He taught me a few things about the Kohlers I didn't know.  We fired it up and ran it on Sat and it runs like a top.  I need to get it painted this week.  I ordered high temp engine paint from Eastwood but it's a smidge too bright of a red for me compared to the PPG I sprayed.  I've been reading a lot about engine painting and most seem to just spray an etch primer or epoxy primer and a top coat or urethane or enamel.  I think I'm going to spray the same epoxy/urethane I did the rest of the tractor with.  Any thoughts or suggestions?  

Here's some pics of the progress.  I also got the hood/fender wet sanded and polished.  I super happy with how well they turned out.  Looking forward to getting the engine painted so I can make some real progress on reassembly.  

Back home...


New valves....

Head after coming back from the machine shop....


Head after I got done lapping it on my granite slab....


Engine steam cleaned and ready for reassembly


new governor gear in...


Compression release on the cam "realigned"


Getting close....


Break in time!!


Paint all buffed out!!



Bob's dash is in!  Looks awesome!


Brand new 42" RD deck I bought off another member ready to go on...

[Horse46 519]

Wowsers! Awesome job you've done there.