953 from Gully to glistening

[953 nut 56,164]

After numerous delays I am beginning the restoration of the early production 953 I purchased from @Ed Kennell nearl two and a half years ago. We don't know a lot about it's early history but I will let Ed tell you how he came by it in his own words.

I saw the 953 on a Maryland CL ad in Dec. 2014. 

The location was farther than I would travel for a non runner...about a five hour round trip.

But, I was going to Charlestown W Va. on Jan 3, 2015 for our annual family Christmas party.

The 953 was within 50 mile of my route, so I made arrangements to pick up the tractor on my way to the party Saturday morning.

About two hours into the trip, I got a call that the party was cancelled due to heavy sleet in the mountains in western Pa. where most of my family lives.          It was raining where I was but the temp was 33F, so we decided to continue on to pick up the tractor.  When we got there, I saw the 953 sitting in an overgrown  ditch and by now  the rain was turning to sleet.

I was really concerned how I would get it to my trailer.  Turns out the owner was a contractor and had an excavator. If I did the rigging, he agreed to pick it out of the ditch and put it on the trailer.   No problem... it was on the trailer in a few minutes and we were on our way East trying to stay ahead of the cold and freezing ice  approaching  from the West.   

I really regret not having  pictures of it being plucked out of that ditch and dangling from the excavator over my trailer.

I think I posted a pic on Red Square and that's where you and I crossed paths.  You probably have more details of the delivery involving Van and Jay than I have.  So, Now you know the rest of the story.

 

Best Regards,

Ed

Here is Ed's "Whats in your Mirror" post from the day the pulled it out of the gully.

 

Nuther one jumped on the trailer this morning.     Any guesses?

 

 

Man, that's not much of a clue.

 

Maybe this'll help.

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2015 by ekennell

A couple of months later Ed and I struck a deal on the 953 and I was to pick it up at the 2015 "Big Show". Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and this was a case in point! I severely injured my back and at the time of the show I was on the operating table having spinal fusion surgery.

I put out a request for "Hauling Help" on RedSquare and Van @Wheel-N-It responded saying he would get it back to North Carolina and store it till I was able to come get it. James @Jrblanke loaded it in his truck and took it to Van's from the show. A few months went by and I was finally able to retrieve it from Van.         Many thanks to James and Van for going out of their way to help a fellow Wheel Horse fanatic.

Once it was home I cleaned up the carburetor and replaced the ignition coil and the old horse ran, no smoke, no knocks! Just for grins I turned on the lights and both head lights and the tail light worked.

Over the past couple of years life has gotten in the way of making any further progress. Now I have cleared the decks and will begin the restoration.

This will be a total restoration including the engine and transaxle being rebuilt. 

[WHX?? 49,486]

Oh my... I am really gonna watch this one! Get that camera tuned up!

BTW good title to your thread Richard!

Edited September 11, 2017 by WHX12

[TravelinJavelin 620]

awesome can't wait to see the out come of this!

[Aldon 4,827]

Nice backstory for a tractor resurrection.

 

I look forward to following this one.

[JC 1965 1,530]

Great story behind that little tractor Richard. I can't wait to see the restoration. I can see why you like the 953 tractors. Keep us up to date with the restoration. Thanks for the photos.      

[953 nut 56,164]

Prior to beginning the disassembly I introduced the 953 in the foreground to the other 953s in the herd. The street rod 953 on the left accompanied me to this year's Big Show, to the right is the original worker that I brought to last year's show and far right is another early production 953 with snow cab frame that I bought from @A-Z Tractor at this year's show. The two early production 953s were probably on the assembly line at the same time, serial numbers are 62-780 and 62-829.

One of the biggest challanges will be some rust through on both sides of the seat. Apparently the seat cushion was in place and wet leaves or debris accumulated there causing the rust.

The rest of the sheet metal is in good shape and once I have inspected it closely I'll come up with a game plan. Haven't used my mig welder in a while, but shouldn't be too hard get accustom to it again. 

This morning I began to take it apart, nose, grill, hood and engine are off. Once I remove the front axle and transaxle I will fabricate a rotisserie which will allow me to work on it at a comfortable height and body position.

[19richie66 17,531]

Definitely have to watch this. Richard, when you build the rotisserie, keep in mind the air brake slack adjuster assy for the rotation mechanism. Works great. You can overhaul a transmission on it or bolt the back end of a frame to it and spin it where you want it and it wont move on you. Kinda has it's own brake lock.

Edited September 14, 2017 by 19richie66

[953 nut 56,164]

6 minutes ago, 19richie66 said:

air brake slack adjuster assy

   The only thing on the rotisserie will be the frame, dash tower and rear sheet metal, not enough weight to worry about.

[19richie66 17,531]

You got me wanting a 953 or a 1054 now. Also is the frame,front axle and steering pretty much the same as a gt14. They look similar.

[953 nut 56,164]

5 minutes ago, 19richie66 said:

front axle and steering pretty much the same as a gt14.

Frame is a little shorter than the GT-14, but the front end is all identical.

[Texas Todd 1,025]

Looking forward to watching this resto!

[953 nut 56,164]

Got back out to the shop today and fabricated the rotisserie and mounted the 953 frame. One support is an old home built engine stand and the other is just an angle iron lagged to the wall with a pipe welded to it, nothing fancy, but functional.

I used a hydraulic lift table to bring it up to the proper height.

This will save a lot of bending and crawling on the floor.

Easy access for removing the stuff from below

I used a contour gauge duplicator to get the shape and contour of the fender area to be replaced, then I made a template out of MDF so I can check the pieces as they are bent. Some laborious cleaning is next, 

[19richie66 17,531]

That'll work just fine. I have my transmission on the rotisserie at the moment. Makes it nice being able to sit on a stool and work on it.  

[JPWH 6,147]

Looks like you're making good progress. I like the contour gauge duplicator. I will be looking for one.

[ebinmaine 68,873]

patiently watching... great thread !! 

[953 nut 56,164]

Past couple of weeks work has been primarily removing components to get down to the frame and body. I managed to get back out to the shop today and began the rust repair process. I made up a bending device that would replicate the curvature of the metal to be replaced. The base is two pieces of 2" angel iron welded together to form a "V". The upper portion is a piece of 1/2" black iron pipe with bracing to allow the hydraulic press to form the metal to the desired shape. The bracing I did is probably over-kill, but it worked well. 

Used the template to check the pieces as they were being shaped.

Then the fun began; removing the rusted material and fitting the new material allowing a margin for filling with the MIG welder.

These clamps provide a 1/16" gap and firmly grip both pieces to allow the MIG to fill the gap and result in a smooth surface on both sides once the grinding is done. They are from Eastwood. http://www.eastwood.com/intergrip-panel-clamps-set-of-4.html

Plan to fit up the other side and weld both Thursday. (Got stuff to do tomarow)

Edited October 10, 2017 by 953 nut
fat finger spelling

[Aldon 4,827]

I need to get some of those clamps. Thanks

[ohiofarmer 3,280]

Time to get out the popcorn..............   Thanks for showing us some tricks of the trade

[JPWH 6,147]

Nice job on the bending jig. I like it. I also use clamps like that. They sure make welding up easier.

[19richie66 17,531]

43 minutes ago, Aldon said:

I need to get some of those clamps. Thanks

Don't skimp and get the harbor freight ones. I got them to try and they didn't work. I just use very strong magnets and stick a feeler guage or thin piece of metal between them before I attach the magnet. That gives me a good gap to work with. Tack it, move the magnet and keep going.

[ACman 7,624]

Harbor Freight clamps didn't work well for my sons project either.  buy the ones from Eastwood .

Edited October 10, 2017 by ACman

[953 nut 56,164]

1 hour ago, 19richie66 said:

I just use very strong magnets and stick a feeler guage or thin piece of metal between them before I attach the magnet.

That is my plan for the rust through areas in the tool box area where I can't clamp.    

[ebinmaine 68,873]

2 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

.....Thanks for showing us some tricks of the trade....

Cool stuff !!

[oliver2-44 9,929]

Great "Basket Case Save", my kind of project 

[R. L. Addison 299]

This old dog is learning some new tricks. I try to follow all this type posts for this reason. I have great admiration for highly conscientious work of the type I have seen on so many projects, restorations, customizations & alterations.