856 by Holcomb's Auto Body

[BenHolcomb 332]

Most people enjoy the back story so here goes. My grandfather purchased a new 855 back in the day. His next door neighbor was so impressed by the little horse "possibly jealous" that he went out the following year and followed suit picking up this 856. When the neighbor passed my father purchased it and it saw mostly mowing duty as the 855 was worked much harder plowing snow grading etc. Growing up I have fond memories tag teaming yards for pocket money with my father on the one myself on the other. They were always struck me as simple reliable machines which required very little maintenance. That being said the machines found themselves eventually relegated to collecting cobwebs...

 

Fast forward twenty years I got married, purchased a house and had my first born. Time I find is more precious these days and push mowing my hilly 1.7 acre yard ate far too much of that time up. My dad bless his heart felt sorry for me and gifted me the 856 which lived a much easier life of the two, and had a better chance of reviving with little effort. 

 

A few hours and some typical tune up stuff filters, fuel line, head gasket, spark plug, rebuilt the OE carb, fresh fluids, had her putting around once again! It served me well this past summer... but it deserves better! Like the million dollar man we can rebuild him... 

[BenHolcomb 332]

Not one to leave well enough alone I began a gradual two part restoration. Sort the mechanical aspects then tackle the bodywork. The latter part was tricky to decide having viewed all these nice patina builds no doubt this tractor would have been a perfect candidate. In the end I decided that since I have an entire Body shop at my disposal which specializes in vintage restorations why not make it as beautiful as it is functional. 

 

The first aesthetic item to address was the wheels. I shod them in AG tires and tri rib fronts due to my steep terrain. 

[BenHolcomb 332]

Fast forward a few months I'm in the finally getting the paint laid on and beginning stages of reassembly. The engine is off at a local machine shop as it needed a piston rings and bored evident upon dissassembly. 

[Mikey the Monkey 700]

cant wait to see it all done. looks like it will be a real show stopper

[Achto 28,757]

[953 nut 57,839]

     So few of us have a life long history with our  that we love. Your backstory is great and it is so good to see the 856 getting so much love.                      I would think the 855 may be feeling a bit lonely now, you better go over to your Dad's and bring it home too.     

 

 

[Pullstart 64,467]

If I haven’t already @BenHolcomb, !

 

That 856 sure is purty!  I bet if @PeacemakerJack hasn’t yet seen this thread, he’ll be all over the back story and how life as you know  came to be!

[dclarke 4,058]

Great story on this old horse, can't wait to see it finished. Keep the pics coming. 

[The Tuul Crib 7,338]

Nice job so far !   Im in!

 

[WHX?? 50,691]

Not sure if I woulda messed with the originality tho. Must be the Minnesota in me talking...thanks  @Shynon

An 855 is now officially on my bucket list .. have to have a little brother for a 1055..... 

[ZXT 2,401]

2 hours ago, 953 nut said:

 I would think the 855 may be feeling a bit lonely now, you better go over to your Dad's and bring it home too.     

 

 

Sounds like that tractor would've been the better candidate for a resto. The paint on the 856 looked excellent - I wouldn't have been able to bring myself to erase that part of its' history. 

 

Looks like you'll have a nice looking tractor when you're done!

[oliver2-44 10,351]

Love the back story and can’t wait to see some red parts 

Many of us are amateur painters wanting to learn more.
Please share as much detail on the body work as you can 

[Mr Magoo 226]

Looks like it will be a real beauty when you get it done. I have an 856 that I need to put tires on soon and was wondering what is the difference with the tri-ribs vs lets say turf tires? Pretty obvious what the difference would be with the ag tires. 

[BenHolcomb 332]

Thank you all for the nice words. I'll enjoy showing the progress and would be happy to include detail about bodywork. The decision to repaint was mostly because I'd like it to last another 50 years and I have access to the equipment. There was quite a bit of rust not seen in the photos which has now been stopped in its tracks. Another factor was the care (time) required to maintain a patina'd look through wax, oils, etc did not jive well with me. I want to hose it off and call it good...lazy I guess. 

 

 

[BenHolcomb 332]

1 hour ago, Mr Magoo said:

Looks like it will be a real beauty when you get it done. I have an 856 that I need to put tires on soon and was wondering what is the difference with the tri-ribs vs lets say turf tires? Pretty obvious what the difference would be with the ag tires. 

I noticed a bit lighter steering with the tri ribs as well as a bit rougher ride over roots and small bumps. I think they look cool like a little big tractor so I'm ok with the trade off. 

[BenHolcomb 332]

Body work lesson #1 don't paint over dents. Good illustration of why this tractor needed some love. Story goes the tractor was parked at the top of a 20 ft hill and either popped out of gear or was never left in one. It proceeded to careen into the side of my parents house bending nearly all of the grill slats. 

 

Name of the game if you are attempting a repair like this is to minimize filler. Take the time to hammer out as much as possible using a flat hammer on one side and a heavy dolly on the back to support the metal as it's reshaped. Avoid hammering the dent itself and instead focus on the outside edge of the dent and work your way in. Start with light to medium blows until you see how the metal responds. 

 

There are two types of filler shown in the picture. The yellow is thicker and coarser for building up larger areas it will need gone over with the pink later which is much finer. Once sanded these will need primered. 

[BenHolcomb 332]

Various bits waiting to be primed. A sand blaster would have made this job much easier as cast "pot" metal is very difficult to get into the recesses. I do shy away from using abrasive media blasters on large flat tins like the hood or seat pan as it can do more damage than good.

 

I used a 4'' poly carbide disc on a hand held electric grinder to do 90% of the paint and rust removal. PPE is a must as the dust is highly carcinagiac. Eye, ear, and lung protection always unless you like tinninitus and trips to the eye Dr. 

 

We will use a metal etching primer that does not require sanding and can be painted right on top of for these pieces. 

[BenHolcomb 332]

Incase anyone likes this color here's the paint code we chose. This paint is a single stage meaning it does not require clearcoating. It is the budget line that PPG produces. We have found it very adequate and cost effective for jobs like this. If I'm lucky a quart will do the entire tractor and deck. Also shown is a reducer and activator "hardner". The hardner is needed to speed set up time and the reducer thins the paint to the correct consistancy for the gun. There are formulas to follow that will get you in the ballpark mixing wise. 

 

Lesson #2 most important is the surface preparation. Whatever your painting it must be cleaned and degreased. A simple wash with soapy water and a degreaser like simple green or Awesome sold at the "dollar store" works nicely. Compressed air will remove water from any hidden recesses. If you dont have that available towl it off and let the rest evaporate, stick it in a heat duct, oven etc. Lastly a wax and grease remover will get any hand oils off the surface. If your feeling extra fancy a few passes with a tack cloth will wisk away fibers from the cloth you just used. Make sure the area you are painting in is as dust free as possible. We typically wet down the concrete floor to minimize dust and debris kicking up. 

[Racinbob 11,718]

Always a Ford man and loving red I've had a couple of personal trucks and a company truck with the E4 paint code over the years. I've always thought it would be great on a  but I have zero experience with a spray gun so I've always stuck to regal red. I'm looking forward to seeing one done with it. 

[ebinmaine 70,668]

Great to see that ole horse being treated so well.

Nice work Ben!!

 

 

[BenHolcomb 332]

Not too shabby. 

[WHX?? 50,691]

Now I am no painter by any stretch Ben but thats why I pay Dan to be my bro! 

 He and I are accustomed to complete dismantling, blasting and spraying parts individually then using self etching primer with Van Sickle IH red with their reducers/hardeners. It's close enough to  RED for hand grenades and Dan has produced some way more better finnishes for the women we go out with!

Fact of the matter he got the runs on a recent spray, we blamed on the previous green color on some fenders, and he started back from scratch.

Are you saying you sprayed over the factory paint? After degreasing of course.

 

What say you Dan @Achto ... thoughts on doing Cindy's  candy apple 702 like this? 

[ZXT 2,401]

1 hour ago, BenHolcomb said:

Not too shabby. 

 

 

That does look extremely good! Did you pull the hubs off and replace the axle seals prior to painting? I'm sure they'll leak on the new paint if they haven't been replaced recently. 

[BenHolcomb 332]

1 hour ago, ZXT said:

That does look extremely good! Did you pull the hubs off and replace the axle seals prior to painting? I'm sure they'll leak on the new paint if they haven't been replaced recently. 

I did replace all the leaking axle seals as well as the brake rotor seal prior to painting. The transmission pully wasn't leaking and I rounded off its set screw trying to get it off..so I that stayed in place. 

[ZXT 2,401]

1 minute ago, BenHolcomb said:

I did replace all the leaking axle seals as well as the brake rotor seal prior to painting. 

Very good! It should serve you well. 

 

I'm not a body man by any means but I know the hoods of these WH's can flex quite a bit when opened.. What's the chance of the bondo separating from the hood and causing issues? I'm not sure how well the stuff bonds.. Heck, it might act as a structural reinforncer for all I know!