Murray to IH 1568

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

In this thread I would like to share the current garden tractor i'm working on.

What started life as a 18hp Murray with a 42" deck will end up as a approximately 1/3rd scale IH 1568. Why? I hear you think.. good question! Because I like a challenge I suppose 😁

 

Here are a few pictures of the base vehicle and the state it was in. Really not too bad except the mower. More pictures to follow as the project continues.

 

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by sjoemie himself
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[Sparky-(Admin) 21,315]

So a small version of this? Ambitious project, keep us posted on progress.

[Achto 27,565]

Fun project!! Keep us up to date.

 

A little fact on the 1468 and 1568, They had cylinder cut out way back then. The tractor would drop down to 4 cylinders when power was not required. Some people believe that 1568 was bigger than the 1468, truth was that they were the same size & horse power. Difference was that the 1568 was a tillage only tractor, it did not come with  a PTO. Same difference applies to their 6 cylinder counter part's the 1466 and 1566.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Achto

[ebinmaine 67,421]

This could be interesting. I'm in!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,834]

@WHX?? and @Achto have a buddy Al who built this IH from a Cub Low Boy, I think.

[WHX?? 48,814]

Yep this started life as a Cub. I don't remember the exact model.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Thanks guys! I will certainly keep you updated.

@Sparky that is exactly what i'm going for. 

 

@Achto I did know about the cilinder shut off deal but not about the difference between the 14- and 1568 

 

@Pullstart and @WHX?? those are some really good looking examples, thanks for sharing!

I got inspired by the 'the little tractor co'. I can highly recommend taking a look around his website. He has built many half scale tractors from different brands. All very good looking.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Since the entire tractor needs to be changed it would be only logical to start with the wheels and tires... right? Right! 

Stripping the old paint (powdercoat?) off was a nightmare but hey, got her done in the end and put on some primer. More to come shortly..

 

I should point out that i've been working on this project for some time. These photos are from the archives so to speak.

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,421]

Those wheels smoothed out very nicely. 

Any surface prep or fill needed?

 

[Handy Don 12,212]

49 minutes ago, sjoemie himself said:

Stripping the old paint (powdercoat?) off was a nightmare but hey..

How did you remove the powercoat?

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

@ebinmaine no filler, just degrease thoroughly. As primer I use zinc spray which leaves a matt base for the paint to adhere to. Also it providers pretty good corrosion protection.

 

@Handy Don it was a combination of paint stripper (which did basically nothing) angle grinder, die grinder, lots of sanding and elbowgrease.

 

That being said, i've since found that the Norton blaze rapid strip discs work extremely well for removing powdercoat. 

Most of the well known abrasives manufacturers now have their own variant. Also available for die grinders.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

After base coat time for some color. I went for the silver grey on the rim and red for the centers. Might even make wheel weights in the future but i'll cross that bridge when I get there.

 

 

[Handy Don 12,212]

That is one eye-catching set of wheels. Beautiful work.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Thank you! Pretty pleased with it myself since it is 'just' a rattlecan paintjob.

[Handy Don 12,212]

Yes, a rattle can, but the vision, prep, and execution are all yours.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

 

On 12/19/2021 at 8:59 PM, Handy Don said:

Yes, a rattle can, but the vision, prep, and execution are all yours.

Very kind words that are much appreciated! Thank you.

 

Time for mockup.. i've used cardboard to make fenders and a hood. First was a little long so some trimming was necessary. Also frontwheels are in, aswell as the rear tires. After much debating I decided on Carlisle Tru power in 26x12.00-12 and man are they beefy. I like it 😁

Last picture is of the mower deck. Yes the belts are shredded and yes that one pulley is held together with sheetmetal and woodscrews. Needs some attention.. 🤔

 

[Handy Don 12,212]

3 minutes ago, sjoemie himself said:

 

Very kind words that are much appreciated! Thank you.

 

Time for mockup.. i've used cardboard to make fenders and a hood. First was a little long so some trimming was necessary. Also frontwheels are in, aswell as the rear tires. After much debating I decided on Carlisle Tru power in 26x12.00-12 and man are they beefy. I like it 😁

Last picture is of the mower deck. Yes the belts are shredded and yes that one pulley is held together with sheetmetal and woodscrews. Needs some attention.. 🤔

 

From what I read in the news yesterday, you may have extra time to work on this over the coming weeks.

Best of luck with your country's lockdown and pandemic response--these are very challenging times.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

It seems that way indeed. Not a real problem for me though since I like spending time in my shed better than going out anyway.

 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Mounted tires looking pretty tasty..

 

 

[WHX?? 48,814]

Gonna be interesting to see what you do with that rear sheet metal to open it up. 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Until now I have'nt considered doing anything about that to be honest.

Much of the strength in the rearend of the frame comes from that part. It is sheet metal but pretty thick gauge like 3 or 4mm (a bit over 1/8 of an inch) because that's where you would attach a sleeve hitch.

Since i'm planning to build either a three point hitch or a custom sleeve hitch I might have to reconsider the rear of the frame.

 

Any suggestions?

 

1 hour ago, WHX?? said:

Gonna be interesting to see what you do with that rear sheet metal to open it up. 

 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Framerails and frontweight-frame-crossmember-thingy in the making.

Framerails were made out of a piece of u-rail which was bent up out of coldrolled steel.

The frontweight bracket was made of a piece rectangular boxsteel with various pieces added. 

 

Last picture inspired me to make it a narrow front tractor. For the people that might not know, this means the tractor will have the front wheels directly next to each other instead of a normal wide axle.

 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Added some more details to the framerails which also doubles as extra support.

Next I drew some frontweights and had them cut out from 3 different thicknesses of plate steel to resemble the real life weights as much a possible. Last but not least I fabricated the front weight rack or rail or whatever it's called 😅

 

Edit: having some trouble posting the last picture

Edited December 27, 2021 by sjoemie himself

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Fenders installed. Made from bent up coldrolled steel again. Added the hand holes like in the 1/1 scale tractor. For now i've bolted them to the frame. Might make a dedicated bracket for them later on depending on how everything looks with the seat installed.

Also.. more frontweights 😁

Edited December 30, 2021 by sjoemie himself
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