Ok, I think this topic should be in the Resto Journals folder, so I'm moving here:

This is our first sighting of the A - this thing had all the dirt, grease and rust painted over so I'm going to clean that all up and have a good base to begin with. If you have any good ideas on how I should be operating, fire away, as I'm doing all this from reading manuals and info from the club I just joined (this is my 1st try at this tractor thing):
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Shot from the front:


Shot of exhaust manifold - you can see the carb needs major cleaning:


Shot from Rear:


This is how things are looking now after removing hood, gas tank, radiator, steering and misc:


Ok, now I'm getting dangerous with a wire wheel, belt sander and a sandblaster on several parts:


This is after these parts have been totally cleaned and primed (notice my JD lawn mower ):


I'll keep posting when I get further - and if I haven't said yet, this is my 1st try at this stuff and I want a parade/play tractor that I can horse with with my wife and 2 daughters -- a.k.a. hobby/part time passion.

nifty little puller I made from a piece of stainless steel - works good, except it's he** on drill bits


a little more turning the bolts and it starts to come off!


it's off!!


Block is cracked - so out it comes (I wondered why I got such a good deal on this


And the head comes off


The block back from welding up cracks, gets cleaned up, and now ready for somes primer


The head is also back from getting cleaned and valves lapped (ugly red primer)


I'll keep you all posted with my next steps - this goes slow sometimes - but sure is FUN!

Been awhile since I've updated - this stuff takes time!! So while my 'A' looks ok from the beginning - paint does indeed cover alot of sins. As I progressed through the teardown I found out she had cracked block, broken clutch, broken brakes and of course numerous broken bolts to be re-tapped etc. Here are some later pics (I hope to be done by mid-July)

Brakes have a grease fitting where someone shot alot of grease;


cleaned up


Main case primered


Painted






I'll post more when I get more time, let me know if you want to see anything specific and I'll try to get you that pic

And some more pics after painting and decal installation:
Right side before decals


Right Side after decals


Rear view after decals


Carb, I'm leaving unpainted - and Exhaust manifold (Por15 Velvet Black)

Nice work, looks good.

Looking good

Here's another finished shot and a video clip:



Video clip

Looks like you must join that vid site in order to watch it.

I don't know how else to make it work. In fact, I can't even get it to work from here - does anyone know how to post videos? (guess I can't figure it out )

Just post the vid at YouTube, then post the link
http://www.youtube.com/

Thanks - I finally got the ActiveX Controls figured out:
My 1937 Unstyled A complete and running good:
Finally done!

Outstanding job!! You will have to let us know how that POR-15 holds up on that manifold after you run it awhile. Also, what kind of clearcoat did you use on the carburetor? What size rear wheels/tires are those? Looks great, I like the look with the smaller rims and fat tires, sets it off from other A's...

Dave

Thanks for the compliments Dave,
so this has sure been a fun and enlightening resto project!!! Well, so far the JD only about 10 hours on her and the POR15 hasn't changed a bit - but that'll surely change after 100+ hours. If it does begin to break down, a simple recoat is what I'm planning on doing. As far as your second question, you may not believe but there is no clearcoat. I read somewhere where somebody just sprayed oil on theirs so i thought I'll spray on LPS3 (I've liked that stuff for years). It's like WD40. Pretty simple and only takes a new spray down maybe each year or so to keep things from rusting. It's not green like some like but I like the gray-black iron color better. The tires/wheels are 14x28 - I know, I know not 36 inchers - but that's the way she was when I bought her and i kind of like it too.

Great finish, looks good.

Thanks Brad, like I said - it was alot of work - but if you treat it like a hobby (which most of us do) it's fun and very rewarding !!

Nice job and nice pictures. Thank you for taking the time....

I have to ask, why are the rear tires backwards on the final pictures?

Wow that thing looks great! very nice work

Yah, I know the tires are on backwards in this pic. Funny thing is, when I was reinstalling them after I finished painting wheels and new tubes put in from Les Scwab, they were in the back of my pickup and since they are so darn heavy, I tried to eyeball the right one for the right side of tractor so I only had to do it once. And when I thought I had it correct (which I didn't) I just blindly bolted them up and off to another project. So after pics were taken and posted, I've recieved alot of heat (not really) and hense corrected the problem. I've gotta say, you have a good set of eyes!

I just figured you did alot of pulling in reverse.

Brandon

Bump.

Any updates on how well the POR-15 held up on the manifold?

Dave

Wow - good memory! I wondered when somebody would ask. Well..... I think I'll dump POR15. Didn't hold up well at all. The heat turned it brown and kind of corroded looking way too fast. I've since gone to ceramic coating. Got the manifold and exhast pipe coated for around $30 and still looks great after many hours of operation. If you decide to ceramic coat (not powder coat) and have the choice of either Chomex coating or Satin coating, I'd go with the Satin - it withstands heat to 2000 degrees while Chromex is only 1300. Chromex is still very good and your machine may never see 2000 degrees, but I just like having extra "protection". Only costs a couple dollars more for smaller items and I thought why not.

Working on the '39 BO now and did the same with manifold and exhast pipe.

I would definitely like more info on the ceramic coating. I was interested in doing that myself. I do not like the look of a rusty manifold. Do you have a company you reccomend? Did you do black or JD green?

Pix of the ceramic coated manifold?

Look forward to pix of the BO too!

Thanks.
Dave

Dave,
there are many places that specialize in ceramic coating. Alot of them exist in the performance automotive industry for items like manifolds, headers, etc. The place I went to in Wa state even coats the inside of the product saying this leads to a cooler temperature of the manifold and longer life. I chose Satin Black for my manifold and pipes.


Performance Coatings


I would shop from place to place for both price AND quality as I am told that the process for ceramic coating varies.

Good Luck!