RJ-58 Restoration

[Johndeereelfman 309]

A fellow collector Friend of mine knew I was searching for Wheel Horse rear rims and tires, and came through for me big time! Nice original 6-12 Turf-Savers with minimal dry-rot and a good set of rims that don't have a lot of rust. The rims have been sanded, primed, and now have a couple coats of finish applied. I spent 3 1/2 hours cleaning up the tires, but I think it was well worth the effort as they turned out nice. I pondered the thought of white lettering the tires for a couple of days, and finally pulled the trigger and just did it. I think they'll look nice once mounted to the tractor. They'll look even better once they're all shined up. The only thing I noticed wrong so far is, the tires are mounted backwards on the rims, so now I'll have to dismount them and change them around!! 

 

 

Here I have to apologize, as I didn't take a before picture so you'll just have to take my word for it when I say the original seat cushion was bad. It had numerous stains on it and was very dirty. So much so, that I thought it was ruined. However due to it not being all torn up or having major splits in it, I had to try and clean it up. I scrubbed it with Comet powder cleaner for about a half hour, then hung it on the wash line the following day to see if it will bleach any, and sure enough it did! What a major difference. I couldn't believe my eyes when I came home from work and saw it. I have since scrubbed it a second time with Comet cleaner and bleached it on the line again, but I think it's bleached as far as it will go. I then rubbed it down real good with Armorall so that the vinyl will stay soft and won't dry out, so all I need to do now is buy some new string and string it through the hole and this is ready to be mounted.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2016 by Johndeereelfman

[Johndeereelfman 309]

So now on to the motor. Never had it or heard it running, so curious to see how the inside looks. drained the oil, removed the head and pan, and this is what I found. Hardly any carbon build up at all, and everything internally is clean and tight as it should be. Even the valves look good. No markings on the piston, so I have to assume this is the original piston and the motor was never rebuilt before. I'm thinking I may just put everything back together with new gaskets, and take my chances. 

 

 

So what would you guys do? Rebuild it or let it alone? Maybe just hone the cylinder wall and lap the valves? Looking for some advice here. 

[Johndeereelfman 309]

Found the hood, so figured it would be next in line. I don't have before pictures of it, but when I got the tractor it had a huge dent in it due to the seller catching a digging bar on a shelf while lowering the tractor down to ground level for me to view. Anyway, I knocked out as much of the dent that I could with a hammer and block, but in order to see just how good or bad things really are, I needed to prime the hood in order to see all of the little dents and divots yet. As you can see, I may have to breakout the Bondo (whether I want to or not) and do a little filling, sanding, and shaping in order to have a nice smooth finish. 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2016 by Johndeereelfman

[Johndeereelfman 309]

Next came the frame. First thing to notice is the hood support is a little bent. Not sure how to straighten it yet, but I'll come up with something. As of right now, the steering shaft doesn't line up with the shaft support tube on the frame. There is also some added weld to the top edges of the frame, so I'll grind all of them away before applying a finish coat. It took a long time to strip the old paint off of this frame, especially since I'm using a grinder with a wire wheel, but each time I removed paint and got things down to bare metal, I'd apply a coat of primer to keep the rust to a minimum. It's finally completely stripped, primed, and ready for additional primer to fill in some small rust pits. 

 

 

I also worked at getting the toolbox completely stripped and primed, however this had a lot of small rust pits as well, mostly where the fenders mount up, but some on the front and back sides as well. So, this will get a couple of primer coats, then sanded smooth, and re-primered before getting any finish coats applied. 

 

 

 

Since I'm new here on the site, and don't know a whole lot of you guys yet, I thought I'd ask to see how the group feels about some minor customization? Nothing huge, just painting some minor parts different colors other than the red it was supposed to be? I don't want to offend anyone here, so that is why I'm asking. For instance, the brake drum should be painted red, but I elected to paint it black. The brake rod should be red as well, but I elected to paint it silver. The steering shaft and center hub will be red as it's supposed to be, but after cleaning up the spokes of the steering wheel, I was thinking about shining up the metal and keeping them their natural metal just as an added twist. Again, not major or drastic changes, but rather some that will set the tractor off a bit and maybe make it look a little more personal.  When I do my restorations, I like to change things up a bit. In most cases, I try not to use more than three color variations to any brand, however with this being a Wheel Horse, my color selections are Red, White, Black, and Silver.  All of which will combine rather nicely together when all is said and done. 

 

 

[JimmyJam 542]

Welcome to RedSquare! Awesome restore! Your son will be proud and get the WH bug (as you seem to have!) !!!!!!

[rjg854 11,356]

It's your tractor and your creativity will make it yours. Don't worry about offending anyone, it's all about personal preference. I happen to like the idea of breaking up all that red, myself.

[ACman 7,618]

Little off subject , buts the connection with AC ? I seen the GT then the cool barrel cart . Don't see the green and orange mix that often . Don't get me wrong ,I'd love to have a JD 5020/6030 they're beast . Your RJ is turning out great buy the way  !

Edited August 7, 2016 by ACman

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

1 hour ago, Johndeereelfman said:

 

Since I'm new here on the site, and don't know a whole lot of you guys yet, I thought I'd ask to see how the group feels about some minor customization? Nothing huge, just painting some minor parts different colors other than the red it was supposed to be? I don't want to offend anyone here, so that is why I'm asking. For instance, the brake drum should be painted red, but I elected to paint it black. The brake rod should be red as well, but I elected to paint it silver. The steering shaft and center hub will be red as it's supposed to be, but after cleaning up the spokes of the steering wheel, I was thinking about shining up the metal and keeping them their natural metal just as an added twist. Again, not major or drastic changes, but rather some that will set the tractor off a bit and maybe make it look a little more personal.  When I do my restorations, I like to change things up a bit. In most cases, I try not to use more than three color variations to any brand, however with this being a Wheel Horse, my color selections are Red, White, Black, and Silver.  All of which will combine rather nicely together when all is said and done. 

 

 

 

Won't offend me! I really like seeing some customization done. 

[953 nut 55,166]

The theme for this year's Wheel Horse Collectors Club show was Customs. I think you will find that we accept customization just fine; after all you did bring it back from the  Green grave.   

[Johndeereelfman 309]

8 hours ago, ACman said:

Little off subject , buts the connection with AC ? I seen the GT then the cool barrel cart . Don't see the green and orange mix that often . Don't get me wrong ,I'd love to have a JD 5020/6030 they're beast . Your RJ is turning out great buy the way  !

 

The Allis B-112 that you saw was bought from an old neighbor of mine but since I could never keep it running, I decided to sell it. As for the AC connection, I have always liked the looks of any Allis Chalmers tractors. Yes, I'm 100% a John Deere guy, however I still like the looks of other tractor brands. As for the barrel train car, I'm on the committee of a local tractor show and we decided to build our own train. Since there were other John Deere collector committee members, I decided to do an Allis Chalmers to keep peace with the other members. It was made to resemble a model 7080. 

 

[AMC RULES 37,130]

The barrel cart is really unique...

very nicely done.   

A great idea for our big  show. 

[ACman 7,618]

 , I like the wagon steer front axle . Also on your k91 if not mistaken , that nut on your rope pull looks like it's for a Schnake recoil . I did a thread on k90/91 recoils. Type (k91 recoil ?) in the search box . Lots of good info from fellow members.

 

You said you picked up a recoil for $15 ! Any pics ? If that nut is for a Schnake recoil and it's any good , save it .

[Johndeereelfman 309]

This is what I bought, not sure if it's correct or not, however it will bolt up. It does have the rubber handle, I just put it back in the box so that I could paint the recoil. 

 

 

I'll take a picture of the backside today and post it later this afternoon for you to check out. Thanks for the help! 

 

 

[AMC RULES 37,130]

That'll work...  

just needs the matching cup. 

[Johndeereelfman 309]

I have other parts as well that I'll also post, just to make sure I have everything that I need. You guys are the experts, so if I'm missing something, you'll have to let me know as I trust your knowledge. 

 

Thanks for all of the help guys, I really appreciate it. It's nice to know that there are guys out there willing to help keep me on the straight and narrow, as I'm venturing into new territory here. 

[Johndeereelfman 309]

So here is what I have. As you know, the recoil was bought separately, the aluminum rope flywheel was attached to the motor, but the aluminum cup and black screen were laying on the seat when I bought the tractor. Do I have what I need? 

 

 

 

 

Another question guys. Are these lift handle grips still available, or will I need to clean this one up and reuse it? I can only assume it's original as hard as it was to get off.  Looks almost identical to the old metal handled wheelbarrow grips from back in the day. 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2016 by Johndeereelfman

[Johndeereelfman 309]

So what do you guys think? Keep it the way I have it painted, or just put a new one on that isn't painted? 

 

 

 

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,497]

Your doing a great job on it. Lookin good.

 

Glenn

[Johndeereelfman 309]

Not a lot to post tonight, as I'm swamped at work and I'm not getting home at my usual time. The only thing to show for tonight is the seat pan being first coated with white. 

 

 

 

The only other thing I did tonight was wire brush the top of the motor and clean the little bit of carbon off the top of the piston and valves. I also have the head soaking in some industrial strength aluminum cleaner, however it will have to be removed in about 15 minutes, as this stuff will eventually eat the aluminum if you're not careful. Good stuff, but very potent. I didn't take any pictures of the motor work as there wasn't enough progress to really be worth while showing.  Sorry Guys! 

 

[Johndeereelfman 309]

Yet again, not a lot to post but this time due to a thunderstorm that rolled through, however I was able to get a first coat of finish on the frame as well as the toolbox. Hopefully this weekend will be more prosperous although they are calling for high heat and humidity through Sunday afternoon. Heat index is to reach 104*. 

 

 

 

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I'm wanting to flip both of these pieces over so that I can paint the other sides, and I'm also hoping to get the motor all stripped and primed, so that I can start first coating with finish on Sunday afternoon. If it turns out that I can't get any painting done, I'll start working on getting the transmission put back together. My son is getting very excited now and can't wait until it's finished. Especially since I told him there are just a couple more pieces to get stripped and painted. 

 

 

 

 

[russellmc301 600]

wow just wow this is going to be an awesome looking rj

what type of paint is that is looks amazing

[Johndeereelfman 309]

14 hours ago, russellmc301 said:

what type of paint is that is looks amazing

 

See post #18 on page 1 of this post for details. Thanks for the compliments! 

[Johndeereelfman 309]

I told you earlier that I was going to soak the aluminum head in some industrial strength aluminum cleaner the other day, and after pulling it out after about twenty minutes, this is how well it cleaned up. Now I just need to start polishing it up.

Before:

After:

 

 

I finally found the can that had the throttle lever, carb, carb elbow, and some miscellaneous nuts and bolts in it. So I disassembled the carb and started soaking it as well as the elbow in this same cleaner. I was actually kind of surprised to find the carb bowl and ithe underside of the carb to be rather clean. This carb most obviously has never seen ethenol gas.  However, as clean as the carb may have appeared, the cleaner started working immediately. 

 

The elbow picture above that still has paint on it is when I pulled it out of the cleaner. All I had to do was go over it lightly with a brass bristled brush and the results are the next picture.

 

A question for the group. Is this elbow for an oil bath breather? If so, is there anyone out there that may have one for sale? This tractor didn't have a breather when I bought it, and since I'm not familiar with these Wheel Horses, I bought a standard air cleaner assembly for it, but realize now that it won't work. If a can't get an oil bath assembly, does anyone have an elbow that will work for my air cleaner? I'd like to keep this RJ as original as possible, so if an oil bath assembly is what I need, then I'd like to go with that option first. 

 

As for the throttle lever and all of the miscellaneous nuts and bolts, I currently have them soaking in a mixture of 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water content. This is the first time I'm trying this method, but I've heard it gives good results, so I guess time will tell. I'm going to leave these soak for a day or two, as it's not the fastest way to remove rust. 

 

 

Another question for the group. What color is the throttle knob supposed to be? I see all kinds of color options out there, and since I'm not sure if the one I have is correct or not, I want the knowledge of the group. Mine appears to be an orange color, or a really faded red, triangular shaped knob? 

Edited August 13, 2016 by Johndeereelfman

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,497]

I don't have an answer for your question, just wanted to say what a good clean up your doing.

 

Glenn

[oliver2-44 9,726]

Very nice restoration   That K91 sure looked clean inside. Was the bottom of the oil pan that clean??  

See Glenn Pettis Restoraton parts in the fender section for the lift arm black grip and knobs for the throttle and choke levers