520H mild resto thread, here we go

[Greentored 3,217]

Its been said 'what good is a post without pics, especially from a noob', right?

Started disassembling things to clean and perform the maintenance on my newly acquired 91 520H (first Wheel Horse by the way and I love it!) and as always, one thing lead to another and it has turned into a full blown 'chassis up' restoration/custom. This will not be a show piece, so not going for perfection here- its gonna be used, a lot, it WILL get dirty, and probably scratched and chipped up here and there. You purists will probably not like me haha, some MILD custom work is in the plans, mainly some very subtle patina and earlier decals. Its hard to make a late model, pointed nose variety look like an older model but Im gonna try, so here we go!

Any advice along the way, please speak up! I own a classic car shop and weve built plenty of 100k+ cars, but that doesnt mean I cant make mistakes, as I already have.

 

Pic 1 was the day I rolled it off the trailer. The next, well, theres this custom header shop nearby, and they have boxes of stainless 'oops' pieces......

Edited December 20, 2019 by Greentored
more text

[Greentored 3,217]

IH red 2150/PPG 71310 over red oxide primer, the local paint shop can put it in an aerosol can. First mistake. a day later and 2 hours under heat it was still 'thumb printy'. Starting over, taking it to bare, and ordering a can this time, and will use an actual paint gun WITH HARDENER.

Very happy with the shade though.

[SylvanLakeWH 26,151]

 

I will be tagging along!!!

[Ed Kennell 39,192]

                                                         Me also.

[ebinmaine 68,878]

And me...

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

13 hours ago, Greentored said:

Its been said 'what good is a post without pics, especially from a noob', right?

May I suggest that for a small price you become a supporter to post "unlimited" pics of your progress...https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/store/product/2-1-year-redsquare-support/.

[Greentored 3,217]

On 12/20/2019 at 8:39 PM, WVHillbilly520H said:

May I suggest that for a small price you become a supporter to post "unlimited" pics of your progress...https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/store/product/2-1-year-redsquare-support/.

Done and glad to do it

[Greentored 3,217]

  Glad to have some folks aboard on this quick resto!

More progress: lower hood sheetmetal was swiss cheese. Cut it out and replaced with a fat 1/8" piece and even plug welded it to the inner bracing like factory. Nothing fancy, will give the edges a wipe of seam sealer before paint. Hood pin holes were worn out and brackets bent, they got straightened, drilled and GM door hinge bushings installed.

Blasted and rattle canned the seat brackets and misc pieces low gloss, scuffed and POR15'd rusty spots on foot rests and inside of hood. This stuff is wicked tough and absolutely puts an end to rust. Ill scuff and shoot over it with IH red.

Picked up a real clean Brinly 10" plow locally over the weekend for a good deal, and snagged a used rock shaft kit from a fellow social media Junkies member.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Greentored

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

Nice to have an actual spray booth for painting.

[tom2p 2,394]

2 hours ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

Nice to have an actual spray booth for painting.

yeah ... just slightly better than my setup ...

 

outside next to driveway ; parts attached to wire hanging from a ladder 

 

 

[ebinmaine 68,878]

Just now, tom2p said:

yeah ... just slightly better than my setup ...

 

outside next to driveway ; parts attached to wire hanging from a ladder 

 

 

Trina uses a clothesline

[JCM 9,634]

@tom2p   &   @ebinmaine    and I thought I was the only one that painted that way, does that make me an amateur even though I have painted bicycles that way since I was 10 years old ?

[SylvanLakeWH 26,151]

3 hours ago, tom2p said:

yeah ... just slightly better than my setup ...

 

outside next to driveway ; parts attached to wire hanging from a ladder 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Trina uses a clothesline

 

Uhm...Clothesline, wire, fence, tree, my gloved hand(s), the ramp on my trailer, the trailer (black only), milk crates and saw horses... are all part of my outside back of garage painting “booth” design...preferred wind direction and relative humidity varies...

 

 

 

[tom2p 2,394]

if I've learned one thing from this forum and attending the big show - Wheel Horse owners are a 'can do' bunch 

 

can do just about anything - and just about any way 

 

this 520 mild resto by Greentored another great example 

 

good stuff Greentored !

 

 

[Greentored 3,217]

Folks, I am VERY fortunate and thank the lucky stars every day, to have a spray booth, leftover primers and paints, sandpaper, welders, etc... for projects like this, it is one of the few perks of owning a hotrod shop, which is not nearly as fun as the name implies.

However, if I had a dollar for all the paint work Ive done outdoors, hanging off trees, fences, the woman's plant hangers, digging out mosquitos (which always land dead center on the last coat) and grass clippings, and finding a nice overspray halo on the sidewalk when done, I wouldnt have to work.

Hell, have seen a lot of backyard paint jobs turn out as nice or better than a professional booth job, and I see a lot of DANG nice paint jobs in these forums! 

[Greentored 3,217]

More progress pics! The light patina job may not be well received across the board, its certainly not for everyone. This was an experiment that worked pretty well on a couple old custom lanterns, never done it on a vehicle before. The 2150 in single stage urethane came out lighter than the rattle can equipment enamel, but Im not going through this again.

This whole thing can get out of hand, cant it? Gotta keep telling myself "ok, enough, its a damn tractor and will be used like one"

Not sure on the red nose yet. Those black noses look pretty good, but may hurt the idea of making it look older. Hell I dunno. What do you think?

Edited December 25, 2019 by Greentored

[ebinmaine 68,878]

Weellllll.......

It's YOUR tractor... 

But....

Couple things....

 

14 minutes ago, Greentored said:

"ok, enough, its a damn tractor and will be used like one"

 

I understand that logic and I don't disagree but there is nothing wrong with making it really nice.... Then putting it to work.

We have 2 that we've completely restored and then put to immediate use.

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, Greentored said:

Not sure on the red nose yet

Gotta be a black nose....

 

When I see a red one it makes me think it's a less expensive model....

 

 

Again.... It's yours to do whatever with...

 

[Stormin 9,981]

  I think it should have a black nose, cos that's what it is. But that's from a fella who painted his C-121 plough tractor black.

[JCM 9,634]

When the 300,400 and  500 series were introduced they went through a 4 step painting process and the 4th step was adding what they called the Black Mask. I believe the early 308-8 were the only one's not to have the black mask added and I don't think anyone would tell you what color to paint YOUR tractor, if your happy with it that's all that really matters.  Good Luck

[Ed Kennell 39,192]

I'm thinkin black mask,  but just the height of the headlights.

[Greentored 3,217]

Thanks fellas.Think once its all done Ill set the hood in place and do the ol 'stand back and stare at it from 20 angles' then decide on the nose. Kinda diggin the 'mask the headlight height' idea, Ed. Looking at the way this addiction is heading, Ill just buy another older horse if I want a true 'all red' tractor haha.

  POR15'd the inside of hood, rear fender/deck, foot boards and battery box/tray area. Waiting on a set of new tires and oil filter relocation kit to arrive.

[Greentored 3,217]

Pulled the heads to do a decarbon and found the dreaded 'rear intake seat' issue. I feared this as there was zero lash on that valve when I went for an adjustment. Have already fabbed up adapters to use the tooling from the Sunnen head machine and do this on the tractor, and will start a discussion thread in the 'engine' room.

[Greentored 3,217]

Who do you folks recommend for drive/deck belts? Seems I remember reading somewhere that the NAPA/auto parts store belts do not ride in the pulleys quite correctly? 

[Ed Kennell 39,192]

I use the green TSC belts.  My local store is close and they are returnable if I need a different size.    Make sure the belts you buy are designed to use an idler on the back side.

[Greentored 3,217]

Thanks Ed!

 

  New valve seat installed, quick valve job/decarbon across the board, and of course touched up the sharp edges in the ports a bit just for the hell of it. Now that thats out of the way and shes running good Im moving forward.  Much to be done yet, but the main sheet metal is back on for good. Went with a lower back style seat, and eliminated the seat adjusters as they were falling apart. Can still use the slots in lower framework if need be. Stole the GM door hinge bushing idea from a fellow member here then made my own pin and heat treated it- it worked great!

Should there be some kind of hood prop/stop to keep hood from opening far enough to lay on the attach a matic up front? Seems there oughtta be.