Restoring my 520H

[Bigtrx34 321]

On 6/10/2019 at 9:40 PM, 76c12091520h said:

 Since I'm using/debugging this beast prior to the major teardown, I decided to fix the squeaking hood that's been driving me nuts. Removed the hood, threw away what was left of the shredded nylon hood hinge bushings, drilled out the  worn hood hinges and the mount plate on the frame and installed bronze 70's-80's GM door hinge bushings. If they can hold a 100lb GM door a 5lb hood won't ever wear them out. Squeak is gone and works nicer than new without any wobble  (they'll be made pretty later)

Will be stealing this modification for use down the road. Good thinking looks clean!

[76c12091520h 3,623]

Santa came a little late, but at least he brought me something nice 

[Pullstart 62,912]

Oooooooooohhhh so shiney!

[Greentored 3,214]

Man, you are going ALL the way with this thing! Looks killer!! I’m doing a mild chassis up resto on my 520 right now, nothing close to your caliber. 

I did steal your hood hinge idea haha and it worked perfect👍

[76c12091520h 3,623]

 Spent a snowy Saturday sucking dust.......filled 10001 rust pits and the spot welds at the back of the hood and finished up all the bodywork on all of the red tins and got everything in high-build primer. Bye-bye hood seam! Next step-sand and paint.

[Greentored 3,214]

Dude, what are you doing in my paint booth?

Or was I in your paint booth? 

 

Looking good!

[c-series don 8,723]

I absolutely love to see this being done 100% correctly. This is how I’ve done my C-121,C-161 and GT-1800. All the extra time and effort really pays off in the end result. I can’t wait to see it finished!!

[76c12091520h 3,623]

 Added a screen to the openings that I cut into the belt guard; spot welded it in place and finished prepping it for paint. Hopefully Saturday we'll see some red !

[Pullstart 62,912]

Are those resistance welded, or just tacked from the back?  They look like factory spot welds! 

[76c12091520h 3,623]

  Resistance spot welded; pity some guys in 30-40 yrs when they are trying to decide if this is factory or not! 

[76c12091520h 3,623]

 Got the rest of the sheetmetal painted today. Used PPG single stage concept for the first 2 coats followed by 2 more coats mixed 50 % with clear. Gives it a nice , deep , durable finish. You can also see where I sealed the inside of the hood and used structural adhesive to bond some of the panels on the inside. No more flex or wobble from this hood. Everything has a nice factory looking finish right now. Will be color sanding and buffing after it's reassembled. Black will get painted on the hood in a couple weeks.

[c-series don 8,723]

Holy cow,wow,damn you do some beautiful work!

[76c12091520h 3,623]

Thanks, Don . It's a blessing and a curse. I've made a decent living doing paint and collision work for 30+ yrs, but I can't keep my hands off anything and I can't do anything halfway. 8 months into this redo and it's nowhere near done. After the hood's finished up I can start on the chassis........

[76c12091520h 3,623]

 Did manage to get the blackout on the hood done Saturday; added a few unique touches. Figured if it's black on the outside, it should be black on the inside......

[Greentored 3,214]

Cant wait to see this finished project! What are your plans for her?

[Pullstart 62,912]

Is that round bar an addition?  Seems it would really help to keep that hood from rocking around 

[76c12091520h 3,623]

2 hours ago, Greentored said:

Cant wait to see this finished project! What are your plans for her?

Gonna use it!

[Greentored 3,214]

Awesome- thats what theyre for, right?

I did a mild custom/top half resto on mine a couple months ago, and promptly put her right to work as well!

[76c12091520h 3,623]

Finally got some time to do some work on my stuff for a change; finished tearing down the hydraulics and everything attached to the center console area. Stripped it down and repaired and reinforced the rear bolt holes where they always break out, applied the correct satin black and added some fresh hardware.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,600]

Wow!

[WheelhorseBob 1,549]

Wow! Very impressive! I'm doing a light redo on my new to me 520. Wish I had the equipment and skill to paint like you!

[76c12091520h 3,623]

Got some more of the center console re-assembled. 

[76c12091520h 3,623]

 Got a couple little things done today.........everything on the frame is loose and just hanging there. I just didn't have any need to tear it down any farther. Everything was disassembled , de-greased , serviced as needed, and loosely re-assembled. All the grease fittings and hardware will be replaced as it goes back together.  Everything for the tractor itself is painted and ready for re-assembly. 

[cleat 6,052]

Looking good.

 

Always nice to be at this stage putting things together again.

 

[76c12091520h 3,623]

 Not really going to work on this alot for a few days so the paint has time to harden, but figured I could add a little bling ; hitch is powdercoated for durability, pin and spacers are chrome plated.