C-161 Restoration

[markjs 2]

What paint did you use on the motor Matt?

[KATO 115]

:eek: WOW better than new !!!

[mattd860 161]

What paint did you use on the motor Matt?

I'm using quarts of Rustoleum Regal Red on the entire tractor & motor. I mix the paint with a 50:50 ratio of acetone/paint and also add 1oz of Valspar Enamel Hardener to 20oz of paint/acetone mix.

For the motor I used the Preval Sprayer but for everything else I am using a HVLP top fed gun. I sprayed many of the other body parts today so more pictures soon. I really really hope to finish this project within the next 3-4 weeks - as long as that hydro pump works!!

More info on the paint I'm using.

[Cole 25]

cant wait to see what it will look like! looking very good so far, i wonder what made his wife start it with no oil, luckily you came along to save her. :handgestures-thumbupright:

[mattd860 161]

Here's my makeshift paint booth. Don't tell my neighbor this is what im doing with his pop up canopy

[bowtiebutler956 649]

Wow, that looks like a pretty nice, and functional setup. Somehow, I think it will be hard to hide the red overspray on the blue canvas, but my lips are sealed!

Matt :flags-texas:

[mattd860 161]

Did some more painting yesterday but was too hasty on the hood and seat pan so I made a couple runs in the paint. But the other parts came out very well for this amateur. I really really like the hvlp top fed paint gun I'm using - I've never been able to paint this glossy before.

Like a mirror!

[CRE1992 135]

Looks good Matt keep it up.

[bowtiebutler956 649]

Very nice work!

Matt :flags-texas:

[Ken B 3,116]

Keep the updates rolling Matt, she is looking good. I just picked up a very clean original owner C-161 yesterday at a bargain price. My 10 yr. old son Cole hasn't seen it yet. If he likes it when he sees it and if he agrees to put in some honest work helping me do a full restore on it over the winter it will be his.

[Jake Kuhn 1,547]

Looking fantastic Matt!!! :bow-blue:

[COMMANDO6 20]

Wow, I've only just found this thread. Great work so far, Can't wait to see the tractor put back together.

[mattd860 161]

Sanded down the runs on the hood and fender pan and repainted. It took three times and over a week of sanding then respraying but I FINALLY laid down the paint on the hood without any runs! What a pain!

These pictures were taken immediately after painting so there appears to be some orange peal on the fender pan. Once the paint settles and the acetone evaporates there will be little to no orange peal. I should re-take pictures of these once the paint drys but I'm a little exited to finally lay down a smooth coat on these surfaces. I've had no problem with runs or orange peal on the small stuff but the hood and fender pan have taken over a week to master.

[bowtiebutler956 649]

Looking Good!! Keep up the good work.

Matt :flags-texas:

[massey 111]

Congrats on the fine work so far Matt, I'm in the middle of a C-160 myself. :handgestures-thumbupright:

[312Hydro 473]

That's a real nice paint job . I'd be proud to get results like that! :handgestures-thumbupright:

[Jake Kuhn 1,547]

Very nice!!!

[mattd860 161]

Almost finished. Reassembly starts tonight.

[mattd860 161]

Finished the tractor and it's working great but ran into a major problem. The exhaust heats up so much that the paint on the hood is bubbling. I brought it to a local antique engine show today and got opinions ranging from a lean mixture to it's completely normal design flaw. The engine is running smooth and timing is spot on so there is not much to do except build a heat shield or make a muffler stack. But for now I'm just going to enjoy the tractor until I build up enough willpower to repaint the hood.

All of us at the show today.

[Lux Man 1]

Beautiful tractor and a very nice good from beginning to end. I sympathize with you regarding resisting to go too fast in a project and pay the price later. About the bubbling paint-since I rather doubt the original cowling blistered like that I can only conclude they used a high temp paint or that their process made it more resistant to heat. What is the temp rating on the paint that you used? Is there a high temp rated paint in the red that you need? I looked around and didn't see any that jumped out at me. Rustoleum does have one to 2000 degrees but the red is most likely not right. It doesn't look like there is a whole lot of room for a heat shield. It looks like you have about 3/4" to work with. It may be enough if the space between the heat shield and the cowling were 1/2" . But trial and error here is painful. If it were me I'd put in the heat shield, sand off just the blistered area, give it quick paint job, try it and if it works do a complete paint job.

[CRE1992 135]

I told Matt already, but I have seen the silver reflective heat tape, or the silver reflective insulation sheet being used to deflect heat from the body. For example my yamaha 4x4 atv has the heat tape where the exhaust header gets close to the parts of the body.

[c161rat 185]

Finished the tractor and it's working great but ran into a major problem. The exhaust heats up so much that the paint on the hood is bubbling. I brought it to a local antique engine show today and got opinions ranging from a lean mixture to it's completely normal design flaw. The engine is running smooth and timing is spot on so there is not much to do except build a heat shield or make a muffler stack. But for now I'm just going to enjoy the tractor until I build up enough willpower to repaint the hood.

All of us at the show today.

On my 161 there were 2 holes to mount the muffler support to on the engine cradle. Try using the hole closer to the center of the cradle. This will move the muffler over a little bit more and should help with your heat problem.

[jay in nc 209]

matt, i dont know if it is a c-161 thing or not but my tuned perfectly c-161 burnt the paint soon after it was finished. your before picture shows the same burn. notice we have the same seat also. my decals are on the wrong sides. but it still looks better than when i bought it off e-bay outof ohio. it was metalic blue with goldish wheels! yours still looks great & you can mask & paint the grill only Jay

[mattd860 161]

matt, i dont know if it is a c-161 thing or not but my tuned perfectly c-161 burnt the paint soon after it was finished. your before picture shows the same burn. notice we have the same seat also. my decals are on the wrong sides. but it still looks better than when i bought it off e-bay outof ohio. it was metalic blue with goldish wheels! yours still looks great & you can mask & paint the grill only Jay

Thanks Jay. All I have to do is mask off the grill so I won't have to paint the whole hood again.

I was thinking about the paint issue and I remembered that I did use a TON of high build primer to build up the pitted sheet metal on the grill. When the original paint burnt off probably 20 years ago, this left exposed steel which was deeply rusted and pitted when I got it. Since I have using bondo, I sprayed about 10 coats of high build primer out of a rattle can. Since the red paint on the grill is not burning at all - just bubbling - it would seem that it's all the primer that is actually boiling underneath the topcoat, causing the topcoat to bubble??? Perhaps I didn't give the high build primer long enough to dry before topcoating it? I'm going to grind it all off and then either use a bondo with hardener or spray regular primer with some hardener it it.

I really think it's the primer base that is causing the issue because the paint on the INSIDE of the hood near the muffler is not bubbling or burning at all. I only used one coat of regular pimer on the back sides of the hood, not 10 coats of high build primer.

[Forest Road 594]

Put a stack on there and eliminate any future problems. Otherwise it looks great!