Project C-81

[Joshn569 273]

Winter is here and its time to go through my c81. Its got a couple issues that need attention, oil leaks, motor mount, clutch sometimes slips, fuel system and tank cleaning, sloppy steering. Some other small things and a good tune up. 

 

This is my daily driver I mow the lawn and do yard work with and I dont want to paint or "restore" it. I am however considering putting a nice patina finish on it and fixing the dents.

 

Figured I would post some before pics and update as i go along. 

[ebinmaine 68,874]

I'll be following.

Let me know if you need anything.

I have a C81 parts machine here.

Not sure what's worth saving on it but I'd be happy to look at it if you have a specific need.

 

[peter lena 8,876]

save that patina with penetrating oil and a cloth , that's the first thing I do on a recent project. the light oil will feed the paint and trap what is there, my recent 312 -8 looks clean and shinny with an oil rub down. looks like your driver training , is well under way, they grow up so fast. sloppy steering, is anything related to it, probably new wheel bearings , and added shims, tye rod ends ,or  heim joints. steering column , sloppy ? good time to add a (  2  bolt  3/4" flange bearing to console cross brace, very solid , grease everything. I usually shim up the sloppy pto handle fit , with nylon washers on inside , near battery , making it very solid and smooth , with lubricant. just seeing where you are on this , makes me tell you of my own similar issues , and fixes , good luck , pete    

[oliver2-44 9,929]

Nice patina, since its a worker, a light wet sand and clear coat might also be a good preservation option.   While everyone recommends using Ethanol free gas, its not always available.  So make sure the clear coat is ethanol resistant, i learned the hard way.  I've tested and found the Duplicolor clearcoat and the xxx high heat clearcoat  are resistant.  I tested several of the rattle can clears from the local hardware store and they were not.   

Edited December 5, 2018 by oliver2-44

[ohiofarmer 3,280]

They don't get much more patina than this one. No red color was on it at all until i sanded it down a bit... This is a gloss finish buffed out . Some might prefer to use satin or semi gloss. The important thing is that it is so easy to wash off dirt from clear coat.. The hood on your C will come out real nice as the dark primer sort of blends in with the red to make a dark cherry color.  You cannot buy that look out of a can!

 

   I would suggest trying out any sort of paint restoration practice on a hidden part of the tractor [inside of hood or inside of guard or under seat] or an unimportant roller like the seat pan shown.  The wuch better seat pan underneath it is an unrestored C-141 that I plan to clear over.

[Joshn569 273]

Thanks for the replies. Im not sure what route I want to go for the patina finish yet. Im will have to spend some time researching on here checking out what some other members have done. I saw a couple of beauties at the big show this year that looked fantastic.

 

So I have the pto clutch apart and investigating why it slips it high grass. The rod it at the end of its adjustment first off. I also noticed some of the holes are slightly wallowed out. I need to also see if i can find a spec on the friction disc but it dosnt look to worn out to me. I did have to de glaze it at one point last summer, but there is some meat there. One other thing im questioning is if the rubber mounted engine cradle has any effect on the amount of pressure from the engagement? When engaged it puts alot of force but it looks like some of it is absorbed through the rubber mounts and I can see the motor move a bit when i engage it. 

[Joshn569 273]

Did a little bit of polishing tonight. Used mothers mag and alum polish. I really like where its going. Going to finish it off with johnsons paste wax. Big thanks to @AMC RULES for sharing some tips and tricks on this process. I think its going to look great when finished. The camera flash kind of washed out the pics but you get the idea

 

 

 

I shimmed the steering shaft to take out the massive amount of play it had. There was so much play the the teeth would jump if i tried to turn to hard. There is some wear on the steering wheel shaft gear but after shimming the fan gear closer to it the contact is 100 times better. I think that should make a big differance!

 

The front spindles also are worn at the tops. I shimmed the tops of them. The holes are wallowed out a bit, but this will have to do for now. Its seems much tighter and its better than before.

 

All the tie rod hiem joints nuts were loose, very loose. Got them all thread locked snugged up, everything greased and it feels nice. The wheels are sloppy on the spindles yet but i dont have any washers that fit yet.

 

The frame got degreased and a good scrubbing. And a little bit of fresh paint on the wheels never hurt

[ebinmaine 68,874]

5 hours ago, Joshn569 said:

All the tie rod hiem joints nuts were loose, very loose. Got them all thread locked snugged up,

What exactly is this procedure?

It's one I hadn't heard of.

 

Looking great overall so far !!!

 

[Joshn569 273]

7 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

What exactly is this procedure?

It's one I hadn't heard of.

 

Looking great overall so far !!!

 

Threadlocker, or loctite, is basically kind of like "glue" (for lack of a better term) for nuts and bolts. You can get different strenghts, blue is like a medium, and red is high strength. Red usaully needs heat to release. Its good to use on a machine or parts that have a lot of vibration to keep the nuts and bolts nice and snug.

 

 

[ebinmaine 68,874]

10 minutes ago, Joshn569 said:

Threadlocker, or loctite, is basically kind of like "glue" (for lack of a better term) for nuts and bolts. You can get different strenghts, blue is like a medium, and red is high strength. Red usaully needs heat to release. Its good to use on a machine or parts that have a lot of vibration to keep the nuts and bolts nice and snug.

 

 

I've used it in the distant past.

I wondered if you were using it to somehow repair the ball/socket joint of the tie rod. 

[Sarge 3,464]

Some use it to prevent the nuts from getting loose on the ball stud portion of the joint where it attaches to the spindle's steering arm. By design, those are fine threaded and if the proper locking nut is used it should not be an issue. However, time/age/wear becomes an issue and they love to get loosened over time, which will wallow out the steering arm hole or just plain fall off. The harder you work the tractor, the more this sort of thing comes to a head - Loctite is a great solution. 

 

Sarge

[Joshn569 273]

 

Got the front grille dents out best I could. The hood is looking sweet. Super happy with the way it turned out. Lots of elbow grease and time but the results are so worth it. 

 

Still got a pile of parts that need the same lovin but I gots all winter to make em shine

[AMC RULES 37,141]

There you go...

I rest my case.   

[Joshn569 273]

8 minutes ago, AMC RULES said:

There you go...

I rest my case.   

Amazing how much depth I was able to bring back to it. 

[AMC RULES 37,141]

You did a great job with "the process".   

[WHNJ701 4,165]

that really came out nice, I used the same "procedure" with the paste wax on my 701 and was happy with the results, next spring I will go over it again.

[Joshn569 273]

Started to tinker with the engine. Needs the valves adjusted, exhaust is tight and intake is loose. She was ticking pretty loud towards the end of the summer and fall.  Adjusted the points gap, dont think I need to replace them.

Going to buy a seal and gasket set for it to hopefully stop the oil leaks. Get the valve clearance in spec and she will be ready to do work. I do want to rebuild the fuel pump too.

 

Should I paint the motor or leave it alone?? Looks like it was painted shortly before I aquired the tractor, its a different shade of red. I was maybe thinking of scruffing it up with wd40 and a scotchbrite and try to make it a bit darker, Or maybe fresh paint, or leave it be? What would you do?

[ebinmaine 68,874]

Given the fact that the rest of the tractor will be left in its original patina I would leave the engine as is even though it isn't original matching paint to the rest of it.

That said, I would try to shine that muffler up and paint it with some silver high heat paint.

[Joshn569 273]

2 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Given the fact that the rest of the tractor will be left in its original patina I would leave the engine as is even though it isn't original matching paint to the rest of it.

That said, I would try to shine that muffler up and paint it with some silver high heat paint.

Ya know what, silver would look good on the muffler.  Thanks for the suggestion. 

[bottjernat1 2,190]

1 hour ago, Joshn569 said:

Started to tinker with the engine. Needs the valves adjusted, exhaust is tight and intake is loose. She was ticking pretty loud towards the end of the summer and fall.  Adjusted the points gap, dont think I need to replace them.

Going to buy a seal and gasket set for it to hopefully stop the oil leaks. Get the valve clearance in spec and she will be ready to do work. I do want to rebuild the fuel pump too.

 

Should I paint the motor or leave it alone?? Looks like it was painted shortly before I aquired the tractor, its a different shade of red. I was maybe thinking of scruffing it up with wd40 and a scotchbrite and try to make it a bit darker, Or maybe fresh paint, or leave it be? What would you do?

id repaint it except the head. and i would use some oven cleaner when stripping it. that is what i do when painting these old engines. just some cheap ol oven cleaner.

[Joshn569 273]

A bit more progress

Got the valves adjusted to spec. The k181s has solid lifters that are non adjustable so i had to grind the exhaust valve stem until it was in spec and i had to lap the inlet valve seat until it was in spec. Intake was at .009 and exhaust was at .014. The manual calls for 0.17-0.19 EX and .006 - .008 IN. 

 

she also has an oversized 10 over piston and the cylinder walls look fantastic. 

 

Got the rear fenders done too

[hm12460 53]

Well done! The C-81 is a very nice machine and it looks like you have an excellent example here.