D-200 Automatic restoration project (re posted)

[Stigian 1,234]

I was looking at the photo of the little Wh decal and thought to myself I've seen one of those somewhere..

I quick look through my photo's later... Yep there it is, in the middle of the 6X6's dash panel.. No idea what happened to the decal though as it's not there now..

[otrelwood 32]

I thought they looked big .a d 200 had 26x12x12 from the factory . the 18 auto ran the size you have ibut they may have been an option on the 200 . then again i could be totally wrong but that is a great looking "D" you have there Andy and if there is anything else I can try to find you let me know

[wheeledhorseman 573]

I normally only manage an update every two weeks or so but with several things suddenly coming together I'll break with tradition.

In the US you have 'Vinylguy', in the UK we have 'Meadowfield'. As Mark dropped my order in personally it would have been churlish not to put at least a few decals in place on the 'D' and let you see them straight away. So today I did just that and..... what used to look like this....

Now looks like this.....

It was noticeable with this tractor that little care was taken to put the factory decals on squarely and there had obviously been another decal on the engine tin, probably added by the dealership. These seem to have been a poorer quality which later held moisture and caused rusting - had a similar example with my C-120.

Based on the Toro reference set there was no decal on the parking brake knob which seems strange given that the other two similar knobs did have. I decided that I'd add one and Mark obliged by adding it to the set.

This knob had deteriorated much more than the others, leaving it with a dull brownish finish that was not removable with solvent. I considered spraying it with satin black paint but that would in time have worn off so tried some 'T-cut' (the stuff you use to remove the oxidized layer of paint that builds up over time on older automobiles). It did a reasonable job which I didn't push too far as I wasn't after a pool ball finish.

You can see the brown stuff that came off, probably oxidized bakelite or whatever the knob was made from.

As mentioned in the last update post, the mule drive from Lonny arrived and it was in much better shape than I imagined from his description.

A bit of play in the pulley bearings but not enough to worry about, a bit rusty on the front face, but otherwise very serviceable. The only bit requiring attention was one of the studs that the Tach-a-matic grips onto.

The weld had obviously given up and the stud detatched from the frame at some point leading to a reasonable repair but with a major flaw. On one side brazing had been used to strengthen a stress fracture in the frame and on the other side a good strong weld made to hold it in place. Problem was (as you can see in the photo I think) it wasn't welded on squarely.

To my mind there's only one way to repair this sort of issue, you have to grind away the old weld, clean up the parts and line them up corrctly before welding them together again.

Using the longer of the spacer tubes from the pulley shaft to extend the stud together with a couple of magnets to hold everything true a good repair was possible and....... it fitted first time.

A couple of hours work and I had the makings of a very usable mule. Way less time than it would have taken me to fab one from scratch so I will remain eternally grateful to Lonny for that - Thanks mate! Tomorrow I'll shot blast it and get the primer on hopefully.

Once the engine oil / dust mix was removed it became clear that the pulleys were just zinc plated with no signs of red paint. I assume this indicates they've been replaced at some point so I'l probably just keep them that way as the oily muck seems to have preserved them pretty well.

Getting back to decals, first thanks Ian for that photo - it's good to know that these tiny WH logos did appear on some tractors though it appears not on all.

I'm debating whether to put the 'do not kick the living daylights out of this starter motor' decal in its original place or not. On mine it ws applied to the end of the motor which isn't exactly a flat surface though it did manage to stay on for all those years. Putting it on the side seems to be a better placement - any thoughts on that one?

Lastly (for now) - the black 'Caution' sticker as in here's how to use this tractor for maximum safety and minimal enjoyment. It's shown on the Toro site listing and Mark made me one but there was no evidence of there ever having been one on my 'D''. Has anyone got a photo of where it was placed when they did fit them?

A big thank you to all who are helping out with this project in many different ways.

Andy

[otrelwood 32]

Now you went and made it pretty i hope my D looks as good as yours when i get around to painting it Hey nylyon took care of my title problem now i am a dysfunctional D guy wooo hooo oh yeah my do not whack with a hammer sticker is on the side just below the tin

[JamesBe1 80]

Fantastic work Andy. I hope when it is entirely complete, you send some of the pics to the PO. They'll turn green with envy at the sight of it.

I wish I could give you some insight as to the decal locations, but mine disintegrated long ago. I'll probably be using your pictures as a reference.

BTW, did you paint the dash lettering?

[coldone 35]

Nice progress. I ilike the decals. The dash looked great. Did you refurb it?

[wheeledhorseman 573]

Thanks for the compliments guys, the dash is a refurb, I'm sure there are many different ways of doing this but here's the way I devised.

I clean all the muck that builds up in the textured surface using undiluted houshold detergent / cleaner and an old clean toothbrush, then rinse it off with water. Stubborn areas may take a second go but there will always be some discoloration left.

Next I use methylated spirit and the toothbrush which usually removes most of the rest of the grime. Care needed here as meths is very flamable but it has the advantage of being a reasonable solvent for any residual grease that doesn't attack the plastic. It can be rinsed off with water but I've found its best to run a bit of clean meths over it first to flush away the dirt first. Because of the flamability issue I do this outdoors in the fresh air.

Next I give it a thin coat of satin black auto paint from a rattle can and let it dry thoroughly before doing the lettering. I guess that when this sort of item is made the lettering is applied by a roller that the item passes under on a conveyor. I don't have the patience to paint the surface using a micro brush and would probably get frustrated if it started going wrong. Jeff did some great lettering on his 18 in red, I prefer silver, the original was I think white. Here's my method...

Spray some auto paint into a plastic cap to form a small pool. I then use a small artists type paintbrush to transfer a thin coat to the edge of an unused pencil eraser and use this as a stamp to print the lettering a bit at a time. The eraser needs reloading for each print but it's important not to put too much on. If an area doesn't take 100% its better to go back later when it's dried than try going over it a second time straight away. One thing I learned from doing the dash for the 'D' was not to use the modern type erasers that are made from a synthetic material that softens with the solvent in the paint. When I did the dash for my 'C' I used an 'old school' white rubber type and that worked well, this time the modern type went sticky and the edges it produced weren't as crisp. The shortest edge of the eraser is best for the tiny print.

Feel free to chip in with other ways of doing it, this way works for me though and it isn't too time consuming.

I hope when it is entirely complete, you send some of the pics to the PO. They'll turn green with envy at the sight of it.

It's difficult to know exactly who the last owner to actually 'work' the tractor was James (and therefore who was responsible for all the 'fixes').

It appeared for sale from a guy who 'bought it for his wife to move stuff about in her stable yard but she wasn't using it' (probably because it didn't go backwards) To be fair it was described as being for 'spares or repairs'. I was outbid on it but the guy who got it hadn't realised just how big these are compared with the other series ( as 'meadowfield' observed the other evening) and we did a deal.

oh yeah my do not whack with a hammer sticker is on the side just below the tin

Thanks for that Lonny, I thought it a bit odd that on mine they put it on the end of the motor but there didn't seem to be a lot of 'quality control' on where and how well the decals were applied at the factory.

Andy

[pmackellow 12]

Looking great Andy, can't wait to see this in the metal at Ardingly !!

[feather20a 3]

Hi Andy

just to say that your D 200 is looking great.

I've got the decals on the 312-8 now and not to be outdone with your Landrover picture, I attach picture of the SRN5/6 Well Deck hovercraft, with a landy and the wheel horse aboard.

Regards

Jeff.

[Anglo Traction 759]

Andy , you are showing signs of joining the 'Picky with Detail Club' ....Good on Yer Mate! and it's paying dividends. The Big 'D' is looking every bit a Looker/Worker. Completion is in sight and I bet your itching to ride that 'Bad Thing'.

Like the Hover Landy Horse pic Jeff.....that would be some sight to have a Transport Chariot like that to turn up with at the Ardingly Show imagine the look on the Gate Controllers face or :scared-eek:

[wheeledhorseman 573]

Thanks for the comments guys - I'll respond at the end of this post.

Was looking forward to a bit of R&R over the bank holiday weekend while the paint on the mule hardened off.

Not to be - as one thing inevitably leads to another.......

I'd been thinking about modifying a deck to fit on the 'D' and it was a few weeks ago now thatTim (Tap53) sent me the manual for a 'D' type mower deck complete with diagrams. Belt tensioning on a 'D' is achieved by an adjuster that moves the deck backwards on its hanger to take up the slack. I was just beginning to think about it having got a mule ready to fit when the paints hardened off and... suddenly there's a thread on RS about what's needed to fit a standard deck on a 'D'. As a result, Tom, (Trouty56) posted some detailed photos for me to work to which together with the diagrams finally made full sense.

Tom included a tape measure in key photos and Lonny (otrelwood) has also offered to measure up any critical dimensions I need as I go along so thanks guys and here we go ........

For authenticity (and as I don't have much imperial stock lying about) I decided to make use of the steel from the hanger assembly from a WH deck I scrapped recently.

Thought it would be a good idea to practice on a test piece first and started the bend using the smaller of the 90 degree dies

and finished it using the larger 90 degree die. The 'Heath Robinson' pressing arrangement worked well so onto the actual piece. (For reference, it takes just over three tons pressure to bend this size flat bar)

One problem with recycling old WH steel in this way is that there tend to be 'oles where 'oles shouldn't be and there was no clean length long enough so..... a bit of the bar that originally passed through the 'ole was welded in place to fill it.

One new tapped 'ole, a slot, and the adjuster from a standrd C-series mule later and we have an almost finished tensioner that's pretty close to the original.

Decided not to make the slot in it that engages the hanger until I've modified a standard one and can check that everything lines up as it should.

And now the responses:

Now you went and made it pretty i hope my D looks as good as yours when i get around to painting it

I'm sure it will Lonny, and as I've said before my camera seems to do a kind job on my resto work.

Looking great Andy, can't wait to see this in the metal at Ardingly !!

You can do more than that Paul, you can participate in pushing it backwards!

(My target is to complete the resto in time which means making it go backwards is on the back burner for the moment.)

I've got the decals on the 312-8 now and not to be outdone with your Landrover picture, I attach picture of the SRN5/6 Well Deck hovercraft, with a landy and the wheel horse aboard.

Tractor looks great with the decals Jeff, 'Sunday Best' rather than its working clothes eh? Hope it gets a cover on it at night!

I can't remember from my visit if that hovercraft still runs or not - if it does then I'll bring my tractors over and share the fuel bill for a return trip to Ardingly if that's ok.

Andy , you are showing signs of joining the 'Picky with Detail Club' ....Good on Yer Mate! and it's paying dividends. The Big 'D' is looking every bit a Looker/Worker. Completion is in sight and I bet your itching to ride that 'Bad Thing'.

Like the Hover Landy Horse pic Jeff.....that would be some sight to have a Transport Chariot like that to turn up with at the Ardingly Show imagine the look on the Gate Controllers face or

Like my first resto, the C-120, the 'D' will become a 'worker' but there is a certain satisfaction in trying to get the detail right but still leaving some scope for 'personalising'.

The really impressive arrival at Ardingly would be if Jeff could get one of those cross channel craft up and running - we'd be able to set up the 'WH Roundup' display inside it before the show, arrive in it and park it up, then just open the doors to the public each day.

And yes, I'm looking forward to driving the 'D' - took it round a field a few weeks back but the weather's been so bad that the fields just cut up at the moment with all the rain we've had during the great drought!

Sorry if I've missed anyone - it's been a long day.

Andy

[pmackellow 12]

Push it backwards ?? Nah, we'll put a wheelhorse on it with a tow rope, should be one or two about at the show... :)

[feather20a 3]

Andy

well l like the suggestion I should get one of the cross channel hovercraft up and running as transport to the show.

If you could give me a hand refitting the 4 Rolls Royce Proteus gas turbines ( I'm just getting my head round a single cylinder Kohler!) and then we could hover the 165 ton craft down the slip on a cushion of air. Plenty of room for all, they used to carry 60 cars, 300 people.

Got my second 312-8 up and running on a relatives small holding near Chichester. It's gratifying that the tractors are being used. Though on both 312-8's ( Magnum12 engines) the fuel inlet needle has a habit of getting stuck up it's hole when not in use for a while. Anybody have any suggestions?

Whittling the herd down a bit so my tatty but running C125 is going to have to go, if you know anyone before I flea bay it in a few weeks.

Keep up the good work. Hope to make the show but horseless unfortunately.

Jeff

[meadowfield 2,545]

Looking good - what a difference a few decals make :)

[wheeledhorseman 573]

I guess it's time for a little update, little being the operative word as I haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time on the project over the past couple of weeks.

Finished off and painted the mule

Fitted it and as it had finally stopped raining took the tractor for a drive round outside.

Finished and fitted the deck adjuster - it's probably not an exact replica but it looks ok and will do the job.

Thanks to Lonny and Bob for the photos and dimensions I've worked from which have also been used to fab the deck hanger bracket. I'd already placed the 'Tach-a-matic' decals where they were originally but noted with interest that when a deck adjuster was fitted they appear to have been placed higher between the two mounting bolts. Puzzle is - how did they know at the factory whether a particular tractor would end up with a deck or not? Hmmm.

It would have been nice to have turned up the proper looking spacer sleeves but as I don't have a lathe yet I had to improvise.

Some washers as spacers held in place with a little bead weld and instead of a steel turned sleeve we have nylon plumbing nuts on the basis that nylon against steel is better than steel on steel. I think it will look ok once it's painted red.

The gas cap arrived thanks to James who forwarded it on to me. I think it is safe to say that Kelch supplied the OEM factory part and the design has changed little over the years apart from an improved plastic float.

The original was 13 and 1/2" long, made no doubt to WH spec, but the nearest stadard item is 12" long. Looks good though and I now have a 'reserve' after the gage reaches empty. (sorry about photo quality - camera auto-focus in closeup mode chose the foreground)

Looks good on the tank too.

The 'E' looks distorted but it's just a trick played by the shape of the clear gage cover in the photo.

With various vintage vehicles and tractors stored together in a barn we (my son and I) have a golden rule - the batteries are left disconnected. The jeeps have factory isolators so I thought I'd add something to make disconnection easy on the 'D' and found this isolator which fits directly to thee battery post and takes the original earth lead as well.

Another bit of 'bling' thats 100% functional. Undo the thumbwheel a quarter turn and the battery's disconnected.

While I was back in painting mode thought it was about time I did the PTO brake bracket which is a little unusual on my example of a D-200. The brake normally mounts onto one of the PTO clutch lever arms but this is a different arrangement.

The bracket is certainly an OEM part and bolts onto one of the lugs on the aluminium engine plate.

The bracket was still in place whe I got the tractor but sadly the brake itself had been lost along with other of the smaller parts of the PTO which had been taken off. (The PTO came in kit form in a hessian sack)

So that's about it for now. Must get on and get the rest of the decals on and paint the instrument dash etc etc. Yep, there's still much to do.

I'll sign off for now with a couple more photos of the beast on it's first outing after the rain stopped.

Andy

[Stigian 1,234]

Cool update Andy, I bet it was nice driving the "D" instead of fixing/painting it.

[meadowfield 2,545]

Beeeeeaauuuutttiifffuull ! :)

[JamesBe1 80]

Fantastic work Andy. I like your attention to detail.

I am curious about the ignition coil. Is that standard for a D-200? It's very different from what I am used to seeing there.

j

[otrelwood 32]

I thought that was an electric fuel pump

[JamesBe1 80]

I thought that was an electric fuel pump

Haha. You're right. My bad. Serves me right for going on only a few hours of sleep.

[wheeledhorseman 573]

Cool update Andy, I bet it was nice driving the "D" instead of fixing/painting it.

It certainly was Ian, just pointless driving around but great seat time none the less and a chance to check for leaks etc. An earlier sortie before the great rains set in had to be cut short when I suddenly remembered that I hadn't greased up the front axle after reassembly. Doh!

Beeeeeaauuuutttiifffuull !

I'll get the rest of those excellent decals on soon Mark.

I thought that was an electric fuel pump

It certainly is Lonny, and one of the better mods by a PO. Having said that, they didn't check beyond the fact that the original fuel pump had stopped working so I inherited an oil pan with way too much very thin oil in it where gas had been drawn into the crankcase via the faulty diaphragm.

My initial thoughts were to put an OEM pump back until I discovered the cost but at the end of the day I like the way that with an electric pump you turn the ign key, you can hear the pump tick a few times and know the carb is full before starting it up and getting it then to fire up 'on the button'.

I thought that was an electric fuel pump

Haha. You're right. My bad. Serves me right for going on only a few hours of sleep.

Know the feeling all too well James. You guys come online when it's way past my bedtime.

After the last post I realised I'd forgotten to include something so here it is:

I got chatting to a guy on the phone who had a D-200 up for sale on a well known site. It was complete with deck, 3- point, turning brakes and rotavator. Starting bid was £1600, too much for me and it would seem everybody else as it was listed twice but didn't sell. (I have to admit to being very tempted though)

Anyway, he'd also been contacted by a guy who'd worked for a WH dealership back in the 70s and who told him that there had only ever been 20 of the D-200s shipped to the UK. Given the price that they were new I guess they really were quite hard to shift off the forecourt and no further batches were imported.

Obviously it's hard to verify this story but I'm guessing the info is probably correct. I think it was pretty much the same story with the the other D series models and also the GT-14 where I think it was around about 50.

Andy

[coldone 35]

Andy that thing is gorgeous!! I am so jealous that you got to drive it around and have some fun with it. Great story about the 20 D200, if its true you have a real GEM.

Britt

[JamesBe1 80]

I wouldn't doubt that very few D's were shipped to the UK. Wouldn't it be great to have two of them in the stable eh?

Why don't you make the guy an offer? You already 'nothing', so don't be afraid to take a shot. The worst you can get is 'nothing' which you already have.

Hey, if you get the other one, consider painting the grille black!

[wheeledhorseman 573]

Andy that thing is gorgeous!! I am so jealous that you got to drive it around and have some fun with it. Great story about the 20 D200, if its true you have a real GEM.

Britt

I pleased with the way it's turning out Britt, though there are plenty of things I probably could and should have done better. The weather's been great over the past week and I 've taken it for a drive a couple more times though I still have to be careful where I go as it can't reverse out of corners yet! I think I've mentioned before that I decided to crack on and finish the cosmetic stuff first and save tearing down one side of the tractor again to get at the pump till after the Ardingly Show in July.

I wouldn't doubt that very few D's were shipped to the UK. Wouldn't it be great to have two of them in the stable eh?

Why don't you make the guy an offer? You already 'nothing', so don't be afraid to take a shot. The worst you can get is 'nothing' which you already have.

Hey, if you get the other one, consider painting the grille black!

.

Yes, very tempting indeed James but I must resist the temptation (much as it hurts to) as I have to watch the bank balance these days since retiring from paid employment. I do like that 'black grille' concept you've created with yours and I'd go for it if I ever get another 'D'.

Anyway, on to a little update:

As I said, the weather's been hot and sunny all this week but it's been snowing outside - the crack willow trees that surround the barn have been shedding their seed covering the grass and accumulating in corners just like snow. Today it seemed to have come to an end so managed to get outside with prepping and painting in mind.

The 'D' was about to lose it's last two factory decals - having noted the difficulty Jeff had getting the steering wheel off his, I decided some time ago to work round it by dealing with the instrument dash panel in situ. The remains of two rivets pretruding through the decal are from where a PO had fitted rubber strap type catches as I assume the original hood catches had broken. I used a MIG on the holes made in the hood for these but decided it was too risky at this point on the panel so opted for filler as it will be covered by a decal anyway.

Removing the instruments raised a question in my mind that perhaps somebody will be able to answer concerning the hour meter. Is it OEM or aftermarket?

Either way there is a little mystery. The gage had obviously been removed at some point as there was no bracket holding it in place. On the back is what I would take to be a manufacturing date indicating 1974.

In a way the mystery deepens given that was way before the tractor was built. NOS perhaps?

Given the overal condition of the tractor when I got it I've always thought it must have done more hours than's on the clock.

The day's work also uncovered another little mystery that perhaps somebody can answer.

Under the decal on this side were three holes that had been there since new. On the other side were just two holes.

It occured to me that the two holes on each side look as though they may have been for a D-series solid 'badge' - was that the case with any of the models? I couldn't think of a reason for the third hole on one side though.

In case any eagle-eyed followers are wondering why the instrument dash light is still in place and masked off for painting - its because the large nut that secures it had rusted well and wouldn't turn on the plastic body without a high risk of braking it.

If you're also wondering how the plastic dash was removed with the light still in place - well that was easy, the plastic panel had split in half over the years in the sun.

I'l be interested in any answers to the puzzles. Hopefully the dash will go red tomorrow and I'll get some more of the decals on elsewhere.

Andy

[Prime Time 2]

we had a little trouble taking my dad's steering wheel off until we purchased a bearing puller , took the one that fit just under the wheel tightened it then used the puller and it poped right off