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Patrick Reese

'68 Commando 6 project

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Patrick Reese

New to the forum.. I'm helping my son with a project. We bought a Commando 6 locally for $100 and decided to tear it down and redo it. Here are some photo's of the progress.

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Here's the hood in primer (Rustoleum!) after wetsanding it out.

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Here it is with paint on it.. the lights in the booth make the paint look darker than it really is.

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Patrick Reese

Here is my son starting to bolt it all back together. He opted for Stainless Steel nuts and bolts where ever they will work out.

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We decided to line the battery box with rubberized undercoating to extend it's life as you can see in the pictures.

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Patrick Reese

Here it is with the fenders installed. We have to restore/refinish the steering wheel still. The process of rebuilding cracks in it was started using PC-7.

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AMC RULES

Awesome looking results from your  :wh:tag team.   :handgestures-thumbsup: 

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Patrick Reese

Here it is with most of the sheetmetal and levers installed.

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We'll post more pictures as restoration progresses.. next big job after the steering wheel and the seat is going to be the Tecumseh HH60. Going to rebuild and repaint it. Can't wait.

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Jake Kuhn

Looks very good!!!

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Patrick Reese

Awesome looking results from your  :wh:tag team.   :handgestures-thumbsup: 

Thanks!. One of the things we are proud of is that this whole paint job (rims and all) is done using good ole spray bombs! We used Appliance Enamel on the rims.. it flows out really well and once cured is as tough as nails. For the sheetmetal we used Duplicolor High Heat engine enamel with ceramic. It sprayed out and flowed well. It looks awesome. The big thing we find with spray can paint is to give it extra extra time to cure. We don't expect it to be hard for at least a month.

Looks very good!!!

Thanks, it's a lot of fun for both my son and I..  ( I just bought a 12 Automatic '73 ) so now we really have something in common.

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posifour11

Just plain cool! That's the way to get after it.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! These are great folks!

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fabricator2009

nice work.

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Patrick Reese

Not a whole lot of progress this weekend. We did get the seat pan repainted and repaired the covering. The original Seat Cover was loose and out of it's edge molding. It was in overall good shape. So after redoing the paint and reinstalling the cover we mounted it to the fender assembly with new SS bolts and washers. We also cleaned up and installed the hood latch mechanism and some new SS acorn nuts.

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One of the Forum members answered our parts request for lights and a new steering wheel since the original didn't hold up to repair with two part epoxy. As soon as the steering wheel and lighting gets here we'll move onto that. Decals will be ordered this week and installed upon arrival. THEN on to the Tecumseh 6hp engine.. don't think I'm too happy about that. I'm hearing so much negative press about the Tecumseh.. Almost tempted to convert it over to a Kohler 8, but it would be a darn shame to waste an original Commando 6

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AMC RULES

If you're going to opt for a Kohler...might as well put a K-341 in that hole.   :handgestures-thumbsup: 

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Patrick Reese

If you're going to opt for a Kohler...might as well put a K-341 in that hole.   :handgestures-thumbsup: 

 

Not familiar with it? What exactly is it? Would it mount up like the Tecumseh without the need to convert to a generator/starter etc.?

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Jake Kuhn

 

If you're going to opt for a Kohler...might as well put a K-341 in that hole.   :handgestures-thumbsup: 

 

Not familiar with it? What exactly is it? Would it mount up like the Tecumseh without the need to convert to a generator/starter etc.?

 

a k341 is a 16hp kohler. Biggest single cylinder kohler k series that was made. :)

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AMC RULES

No, pretty sure you're gonna want an electric starter for a thumper.    :) 

It's a single cylinder, 16 HP Kohler...I imagine it would fill that hole up nicely too.  

 

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Foozerush

It will be like putting a 454 instead of a 350...... Or a 351 instead of a 302... Or dropping in a Hemi over a 318..... More Power!! LOL!!

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Patrick Reese

Craig, that's a bit much for what we want to do.. I think I'll stay on the path of restoring the Tecumseh for now. I had them on Mini Bikes when I was a kid and can't remember any real problems, but then they were pretty new then. This project isn't going to be a mower, but rather a show-er anyway so hopefully I can get it rebuilt and running well enough that it'll start and run decent. Plan on new rod, piston, rings and gasket set. New ignition parts and carburetor rebuild or replacement. It was running a few months ago with previous owner. He let it sit for a while and it wouldn't start for him. We didn't even try to get it started but just tore down the whole machine with plans to redo everything knowing we had a good base to work from.

 

Jake and Craig.. my 12 Automatic "thumps" nicely. I can only imagine what the big 16hp one lunger sounds like! It must really move some air out the exhaust pipe.

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Patrick Reese

Just another peak at the progress. It's slow, but still moving forward. One of the Redsquare members (Dave Luzier) hooked us up with a nice steering wheel we wetsanded and painted with Krylon Fusion to give it a nice new look. He also had complete lighting including new front lens, like new rear lens, wiring harness, fuse, etc and he even supplied us with pop rivets for the headlight bucket and wiring to sheet metal clips! A complete package. Thanks Dave!!

As soon as the decal set comes in and gets installed it's on to the motor.. and none too soon. My son is trying to talk me into pushing him around the property so he can "drive" it.. ummm I think he's a little too old for that? (If I push him do you think he'd push me around?)

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953 nut

:text-coolphotos:   Love to see father and son projects, keeps the hobby going. :text-goodpost: 

 

:WRS: 

 

 

:USA: 

Edited by 953 nut

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Wishin4a416

Looks great!!! And He looks like Hes ready for a motor.

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Patrick Reese

Father and Son projects are hard to find these days.. what with Cell phones, Computer Games etc. etc.. I try to keep him and me active..

We are both ready for the motor! Just got my blast cabinet cleaned out and up and running so as soon as the decals arrive and the body of the tractor is done we'll blast the tin for the motor and paint it then on to the rebuild. Been a while since I built a small motor, should be fun for me and hopefully a learning experience for him.

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Ken B

You guys are doing a very nice job on the Commando 6. Your son will always have the memory of restoring that tractor with you. I can tell you have some experience layin down Rustoleum, looks nice and smooth If everything is just right in the world of a Tecky engine they are a really nice runner. One of the most common things I've come across with them is they like to over rev due to worn governor gears. If you can revive the Tecumseh it would be cool to keep the tractor original. Besides, the decal of the Indian Chief on the blower housing of a Tecky is just plain cool looking! I see you live in Pa. Any chance of you and your son making the BIG SHOW next yr?

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Patrick Reese

You guys are doing a very nice job on the Commando 6. Your son will always have the memory of restoring that tractor with you. I can tell you have some experience layin down Rustoleum, looks nice and smooth If everything is just right in the world of a Tecky engine they are a really nice runner. One of the most common things I've come across with them is they like to over rev due to worn governor gears. If you can revive the Tecumseh it would be cool to keep the tractor original. Besides, the decal of the Indian Chief on the blower housing of a Tecky is just plain cool looking! I see you live in Pa. Any chance of you and your son making the BIG SHOW next yr?

Thanks for the kudos. I've always believed in making memories with the kids. When they are old farts like us (me) and the going gets tough sometimes that's the best thing we have to fall back on. I remember Tecumseh's well from my mini bike days as a kid in the early 70's.. we use to mess with the governor's back then to get them to go FASTER........ One of the things I stay on my son about is keeping things original. He'd love to put a bigger engine in or paint it a different color. (He's bugging me to paint the Tecumseh black 'cause he think's there's too much red) but since I'm the self appointed "king of the spray bomb".. hahahahaha.. I have control of the color being sprayed. I'm a collector of many things and I personally hate when I see some 50 year old something or other that's been altered or butchered. Thanks for the tip on the governor gears, I'll be sure to give that a thorough going over.

 

As to the big show, my son already has BIG plans for it.. He really wants to ride his Commando in the parade. I bought a '73 12 Automatic and he wants me to bring that along so I have something to ride.. especially since I'm not allowed to ride his Commando!?!@?? What?? :) Hopefully we'll see some of you there!

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welderman85

great work the tractor looks great

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Patrick Reese

Oh BTW Ken B.. the primer is Rustoleum which is a nice sandable filling primer, but for the top coat we opted for a Duplicolor High Heat engine paint.. the caveat is that it's gummy and slow drying however this seems to allow it to self level to a large degree. As long as you can have lots of patience to let it cure and totally gas out to get hard it's not a bad way to go. I'm staying pretty much away from the paint for at least a month. I think this is true of most spray can paint.. extended curing/drying times.

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Patrick Reese

Today the dash panel got media blasted, primed and painted a satin black. We ordered one of the reproduction dash panel overlays and wanted a nice clean surface to apply the overlay to. Gave it a test fit to, just to see how it would look black. Not bad.. Also ordered a new throttle and choke cable set up..

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We will continue to post pictures through out the course of this project until done. Personally I love to look at the progression of restorations.. I hope those of you watching enjoy.

 

Thanks to those who have posted their likes.

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