1981 Wheel Horse C85

[classiccat 548]

Got a chance to move a little metal today.

 

But before that, get one last  look at the speed racer paint job

 

 

 

 

The garage was 30 degrees today but the Jasco stripper still worked OK after 30min of "incubating" under plastic:

 

For dent removal, I grabbed my riveting hammer, bucking bar and some various air hammer bits.  The long bit worked great for punching-out those narrow channels.  The crowned body bit was good for the raised areas and general smoothing.  (I've never done body work so feel free to correct me on the tooling names, methods, etc.).

 

The riveting hammer is nice as it allowed me to vary the rate and gently work the areas.  With the bucking bar on the other side, I'm able to hear when the metal is flattened-out.

 

The big dent in the lower right corner took the most persuasion. 

 

Doesn't look like a match-box toy anymore... Black-Hood once things warm-up a bit.

 

^^^ I'll fill those holes w/ JBweld + backers (my welding skills are not up-to-par for that one)

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]

Love the Blackhoods!

 

[classiccat 548]

The machine came with the badly damaged plastic rear fender / seat pan.

 

You may recall that I scooped-up a metal one off of fleabay for next to nothing b/c of the damage to the left rear portion (bonus: came with a safety switch which I was missing).

 

Starting point; the rear light was pushed-in and the side crumpled.

 

After some smacks with a dead blow and smoothing with the riveting hammer:

 

 

 

 

primed to minimize flash rust and highlight what areas I still need to work-over some more:

 

[Pullstart 62,850]

Great body work!  That proves that most pieces are worth saving, or at least trying!

[classiccat 548]

I got this beautiful receiver from Lowell a few days ago.

 

 

it was so nice, that it inspired me to rip the tractor apart for the 2nd time in the span of a year. 

 

 

I know you guys like pictures of paint drying SOOOO...

 

3 coats of Rustoleum Tractor Implement in IH Red.

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,472]

7 hours ago, classiccat said:

I know you guys like pictures of paint drying SOOOO

Hahahahahahahaha!!!

 

Hey that tractor looks awesome.... And quickly done!!

[classiccat 548]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

Hahahahahahahaha!!!

 

Hey that tractor looks awesome.... And quickly done!!

 

I had to work quickly...the bottle of propane I was using to heat the garage was running out!  

[classiccat 548]

More red flying in a near-freezing garage... and a surprise...

 

I now have a leaking axle seal.   Zero slop in the axle so the only thing I can think of is that the paint thinner (mineral spirits) i used to prewash everything attacked the old rubber seal.  

 

 

My hubs come off like butter so i'm going to try to pluck the old seals (I'll do both sides) without splitting the case.  

 

I believe I have the 5091 Transmission (PN 103916)... therefore I believe the axle seal PN would be 100443.  Now to do some shopping hopefully from our vendors.

Edited March 1, 2019 by classiccat

[Pullstart 62,850]

@classiccat this post has SKF axle seal part numbers from Napa...

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,472]

7 hours ago, classiccat said:

so i'm going to try to pluck the old seals (I'll do both sides) without splitting the case. 

Nice and easy to get 'em out from the outside.

I use a fairly sharp 1/4" wide flat screwdriver that's long enough to get past the axle and tap it with a hammer, lightly.

Just put a crease in the seal and it'll compact and crush and you can work it out from there. (Patience is your friend)

Take care not to gouge the axle.

 

Installation is easy as well.

Lightly sand the axle surface to smooth out and remove rust and burrs, particular attention paid to the woodruff key groove.

Put a piece of scotch or electric tape over the groove to prevent cutting the seal.

Lightly oil axle.

Install seal.

 

Done!!!

 

 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

10 hours ago, classiccat said:

 

My hubs come off like butter so i'm going to try to pluck the old seals (I'll do both sides) without splitting the case.  

Another thing you can try (besides what Eric said above) is to drill a couple small (1/16-3/32") holes into the metal of the old seal then thread in a couple #6 or bigger sheet metal screws then a slide hammer or upolstery clip tool can help with removal.

[classiccat 548]

Thanks for the tips guys!  Seals are on order; i'll be replacing all-4. 

 

The garage was a balmy 45 degrees today so I tried to get as much painting in as possible... with another cold streak just over the horizon.  

 

More tractor incubation in our the basement "crafts room"

 

Finally figured out what the InStride 1350 "does".

 

And another personal milestone in the Red Square gauntlet... manual removal of 38 year old dry-rotted tires.  I only slammed my shin with the tire iron once. 

^^^ I had to cut the sidewall on the really crusty one.

Heaven in a plastic jug:

 

[ebinmaine 67,472]

8 hours ago, classiccat said:

Finally figured out what the InStride 1350 "does"

Hahahahahahha

Well done.

 

Trina and I will both do outdoor exercises readily... neither one of us likes being stuck in the house (or under any other roof) unless it's while doing projects or puttering.

 

Good decision to replace all 4 seals.

Also double check the bonding and thickness of the brake shoe while it's off.

 

Trina bought us an HF manual tire changer last year.

One of the best tool investments one could make.

 

[classiccat 548]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

Hahahahahahha

Well done.

 

Trina and I will both do outdoor exercises readily... neither one of us likes being stuck in the house (or under any other roof) unless it's while doing projects or puttering.

 

Good decision to replace all 4 seals.

Also double check the bonding and thickness of the brake shoe while it's off.

 

Trina bought us an HF manual tire changer last year.

One of the best tool investments one could make.

 

 

I'm 50% there on getting a tire changer.  Torn between the mini & manual one;  the manual changer is bigger but it looks like you get a lot more leverage. 

 

Maybe if my wife saw how close I was to taking a tire-iron to the teeth, she'd buy me one .

 

The InStride paint rack was a freebee...I honestly hauled it home for the box tubing.  (maybe it will make a cameo when I fab the forward-weight rack)

 

The brake shoe is in great shape.  I recall it being the single thing (besides paint and gasoline) that the P.O. actually changed.

Edited March 3, 2019 by classiccat

[ebinmaine 67,472]

23 minutes ago, classiccat said:

I'm 50% there on getting a tire changer.  Torn between the mini & manual one;  the manual changer is bigger but it looks like you get a lot more leverage. 

Given the choice between the two for working on tractor I would get the larger one.

You can use it for the entire process of changing the rear tires.

I find that the most difficult part of changing the front tires is breaking the bead and you can use the larger machine for doing that even on the smaller rims.

The only real issue with one of those is to make sure that you mount it in an area of your shop where it can be screwed down permanently and strongly and not moved again.

I would not at all advise mounting it on a pallet like some people have done online.

 

 

[classiccat 548]

I'm in the process of cleaning-up these old rims.  3 of 4 look really good.   

 

One will needs some work filling in the pits in the bead region before prime/paint:  

 

 

 

The rears have these lines right at the joint.  Are these lines on all stock C-series rears?  I was about to start filling with JB Weld.

 

Thanks for stoppin' by!

 

EDIT: I see the same perforations in some 520-H wheels on the bay (8:00 position):

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by classiccat

[bds1984 1,429]

On 3/3/2019 at 7:43 AM, ebinmaine said:

Given the choice between the two for working on tractor I would get the larger one.

You can use it for the entire process of changing the rear tires.

I find that the most difficult part of changing the front tires is breaking the bead and you can use the larger machine for doing that even on the smaller rims.

The only real issue with one of those is to make sure that you mount it in an area of your shop where it can be screwed down permanently and strongly and not moved again.

I would not at all advise mounting it on a pallet like some people have done online.

 

 

I have the smaller unit mounted to a piece of two-inch tubing that can go into the receiver of my C165 or any vehicle that is used to tow a trailer,

[wildman 205]

On 2/28/2019 at 8:32 PM, classiccat said:

I now have a leaking axle seal.   Zero slop in the axle so the only thing I can think of is that the paint thinner (mineral spirits) i used to prewash everything attacked the old rubber seal.  

 

Ole girl wants to mark her spot

[classiccat 548]

On 3/3/2019 at 7:43 AM, ebinmaine said:

Given the choice between the two for working on tractor I would get the larger one.

You can use it for the entire process of changing the rear tires.

I find that the most difficult part of changing the front tires is breaking the bead and you can use the larger machine for doing that even on the smaller rims.

The only real issue with one of those is to make sure that you mount it in an area of your shop where it can be screwed down permanently and strongly and not moved again.

I would not at all advise mounting it on a pallet like some people have done online.

 

 

I've got a spot in the garage already picked-out (under a rolling toolbox)!

 

6 hours ago, bds1984 said:

I have the smaller unit mounted to a piece of two-inch tubing that can go into the receiver of my C165 or any vehicle that is used to tow a trailer,

I saw the isavetractor dude do the same thing!   My tractor currently doesn't have wheels which leaves my truck...and knowing my luck I'd slip and tattoo my tailgate. 

 

4 hours ago, wildman said:

Ole girl wants to mark her spot

    Some horses have no couth!

[classiccat 548]

JBWeld (and alot of sanding) did a pretty good job smoothing-out the pitted bead area... (other 3 rims were in excellent shape)

 

Primed/Painted to stem future corrosion...I'll use bead sealant for some insurance.  (and get a peek at the Wheel Color )

 

^^^ Rustoleum Navajo white snagged from the local Ace HW.  

 

After application, it's brighter (in white LED lighting) than the original wheel color (from inside the rear rims) but it does darken-up as it dries.

 

I really like the warm contrast with the Rustoleum IH Red Tractor/Implement:

 

^^^ That'll work!

 

[ebinmaine 67,472]

6 hours ago, classiccat said:

Rustoleum Navajo white

That's what Trina and I have been using on all of ours.

We've had a few rims open as well and found it to be a dead on match for some Wheelhorse paint.

Perhaps due to age. Perhaps due to other variables... There seems to be different "off-whites" used over the Wheelhorse span just as there are different red tones.

 

[classiccat 548]

Prepped for surgery.  

Horse proctologist (me) got tired of digging around in there...

[Jim H 3]

Did you get the seals replaced? I've got to replace the ones in my C-85 also and wondering how easy they were to replace. 

 

[ebinmaine 67,472]

3 minutes ago, Jim H said:

Did you get the seals replaced? I've got to replace the ones in my C-85 also and wondering how easy they were to replace. 

 

They really aren't too bad to do Jim.

Use the right tools and have patience.

No worries!

[classiccat 548]

4 minutes ago, Jim H said:

Did you get the seals replaced? I've got to replace the ones in my C-85 also and wondering how easy they were to replace. 

 

 

Hi Jim, I'm splitting the transmission to replace the 4 seals.  I'll likely crack it open tomorrow to verify everything before making an order to  wheelhorsepartsandmore.