McLean restoration

[Aldon 4,826]

That's looking very nice. Would love to see it in person some day.

[slim67 2,730]

10 hours ago, Achto said:

Worked on another piece of my puzzle. Making the parts for the differential was more of a challenge than I expected. I didn't have any of the original parts and I forgot to ask for pics from my friend in Indiana so I set forward with a concept but no pattern. The tension arm was fairly easy but the arm for releasing tension on the belt took a couple tries to get right. Getting enough motion to release belt tension was not as big of an issue as having enough motion in the opposite direction was.

The L shaped bracket will be attached to the steering with linkage that I have to make yet. The finger on the L bracket hits the tension arm to release belt tension when turning. With the Left side done hopefully the right side will go easier.

 

Also got some new shoes for the old girl.

looks like it just rolled off the production floor.

[RandyLittrell 3,827]

That is amazing!!! You have some real skills and I love what you do with them!!

 

 

 

 

Randy

[WHX?? 46,633]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 7:33 AM, Achto said:

 

I agree, it does seems a shame to cover up all the work that was done on the transmission. I had actually thought about using a piece of Plexiglass but the cover also serves to hold the shifter in gear.

I missed this part Dan but here's thinking out loud again, Is there a way to use the steel cover when riding it but then a plexi for when parked at shows? Are there guards/covers for that unique belting arrangement? Would be a shame to cover that up too! Now that you got it this far things are beginning to click with how it all works.

 

How ya coming on that hood?

[Achto 26,446]

2 hours ago, WHX11 said:

I missed this part Dan but here's thinking out loud again, Is there a way to use the steel cover when riding it but then a plexi for when parked at shows? Are there guards/covers for that unique belting arrangement? Would be a shame to cover that up too! Now that you got it this far things are beginning to click with how it all works.

 

How ya coming on that hood?

 

Yes there are guards for the belt arrangement, I'm making replacements for those too. The belt guards are easily removed with 4 screws, so I could take them off at a show. I've been pondering on making a new tranny cover with a window in it. Haven't made up my mind on that yet.

I hope to bend the hood this weekend. I need to throw a die together first to use in the press, in order to achieve to rounded edges on the hood. I'll show the making of the die when I get it done.  

Edited April 21, 2017 by Achto

[Achto 26,446]

Saturday was quite a productive day for me. First I finished making the right side belt tensioner and release arm. Then on to making the linkage to connect to the steering.

When making the linkage I had to make sure that the rod would not contact or bind on anything through all motions of the front end. In the first pic (looking at the right side) you can see that while turning left the release arm is pushing away from the tension arm.

When turning right the release arm pulls on the tension arm to loosen the belt.

 

With the differential working I decided to move on to some sheet metal work. All of the sheet metal that was on the tractor was rusted & damaged. I had tried to straighten the old sheet metal but could not get it to hold shape to my satisfaction, so I decided to make new pieces instead. Jim @WHX11 hooked me up with some 18ga sheet metal to make the replacement pieces with. I will start by showing the right side belt guard, old above the new.

 

The bullet holes in the original left belt guard were another thing that helped me decide to make new sheet metal

 

Next was the hood. After I cut the metal to size, I folded three of the edges over then put a bend down the center of the hood. In this pic I have one side folded tight.

 

In order to make the rounded bends on the hood I needed to make a quick press brake. A couple pieces of angle iron and some scrap flat metal served as the lower cradle portion. The die is made from a piece of 1" round stock, some 3/8" x 1 1/2" flat stock and a short pipe. I made the cradle shorter than the die to allow for guides to be added to the ends. The brake was made to fit in the 20ton press.

 

Bending the hood with my home made press brake.

 

New hood next to old.

 

Test fit with the grill & tractor.

 

Bent the hood latch out of 16ga sheet metal.

 

I'm wrestling with one thing yet before I paint the body work. The grill for this is some of the ruffest casting I've seen in a while.

 

Now, I could work it over & make it smooth as a baby's bottom. The old body repair guy in me wants to go this route.

 

Or - do I just spray it the way it is & let the casting marks show. The "factory correct" guy in me likes this idea.  

 

I welcome any input on this lil dilemma.

 

 

[WHX?? 46,633]

That's a tough one Dan I almost think that leaving the casting marks would give it that old time tractor thingy but then again might not contrast well with the straight smoothness of the new hood?!?! Take a rattle can of red and just hit a spot of both to see how it would look? If the casting marks were part of the original tractor I would almost be tempted to leave as is for the character thing? Tough decision. I would say leave as is you can always redo if it doesn't work out. Maybe use a filler primer to minimize?!?!? I just used some on the bottom of a pitted old battery tray and it came out fairly decent.

[19richie66 16,857]

I'd smooth it. That's just me. Either way it would look great.

[Achto 26,446]

This may seem like a silly victory but, I've been looking for strait head screws for some of the assembly. After searching several stores I was only able to find what must be the new industry standard which is a dual head machine screw ( strait / Phillips) Normally I would choose any type of screw head other than a strait head but I'm trying to stay period correct on this build. Today I stopped at a local hardware store and found a couple of screws that I wanted so then I started digging to the bottom of the bins. After a half an hour of digging threw bins to find the older stock I was finally able to come up with the hardware that I wanted.

 

They will get a nice coat of red along with the sheet metal tomorrow.

[WHX?? 46,633]

Ah the things a guy must do to stay period correct!

[953 nut 51,393]

On 4/23/2017 at 10:08 PM, Achto said:

just spray it the way it is & let the casting marks show.

  When restoring a unique piece of history like this I feel that you need to celebrate the imperfections that it must have had when new.

 

19 hours ago, Achto said:

Today I stopped at a local hardware store

You are fortunate to have a local old school hardware store, not too m,any around any more.

[Achto 26,446]

On 4/30/2017 at 5:03 PM, 953 nut said:

  When restoring a unique piece of history like this I feel that you need to celebrate the imperfections that it must have had when new.

 

Well the purest and the perfectionist in me had a go at each other and finally came up with a compromise on what to do with the cast grill. I decided to to lay down 3 coats of primer and then wet sand with 400grit before painting. This smoothed it out some but still left plenty of character behind to show that it is cast iron.

 

 

I'm happy with the finish.

[WHX?? 46,633]

What primer did you use? Three coats I would have worried about the base being too soft

[Achto 26,446]

41 minutes ago, WHX11 said:

What primer did you use? Three coats I would have worried about the base being too soft

 

I used one coat of self etching primer then 3 coats of urethane primer. Nason 421-19 grey primer with 483-87 activator. Urethane primer doesn't shrink over time like lacquer or enamel primers do. If you need to fill imperfections urethane is the only way to go. It's pricey though.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Achto

[953 nut 51,393]

7 hours ago, Achto said:

one coat of self etching primer then 3 coats of urethane primer. Nason 421-19 grey primer with 483-87 activator. Urethane primer doesn't shrink over time like lacquer or enamel primers do. If you need to fill imperfections urethane is the only way to go. It's pricey though

Good info; I like the look too.  

[Achto 26,446]

I finally got to have a lil fun today. I dumped 2 1/2qts of 85w-140 into the transmission and went for a cruise. I don't know how much oil the factory would've recommended so I filled it till every thing would get a chance to dip into the oil.

 

It is not real fast but it is faster than any vehical without brakes should be. A view from the drivers seat while on my cruise.

[953 nut 51,393]

8 hours ago, Achto said:

faster than any vehical without brakes should be.

[Achto 26,446]

[PSully 61]

Congrats on the victory cruise! I like what you did with the grill casting too, that was perfect!

[Achto 26,446]

First I would like to thank all who have been following and commenting on this post. I hope I kept it interesting for you.

Four months worth of weekends in the garage have finally produced a finished tractor. I've often wondered during this project if I was restoring or building from scratch. I did manage to retain some key original parts so I guess it would still be considered a restore. In my research I have only found 6 of these tractors, including mine. I'm sure that there are more out there, I just haven't located them. Some pics of my fully restored McLean 4 wheel tractor.

 

 

Earlier in this post some one requested a video of it running & driving. Well..... I'm no film artist but I gave it a shot.

 

Thank you again for following along.

 

Edited May 15, 2017 by Achto

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

Nice pictures and nice videos.  You have some awesome skills that most of us wished we had, plus you have some dedication and commitment that most of should have.  Great job, just an amazing restoration.

[rjg854 10,705]

[AMC RULES 36,940]

Looks & sounds perfect to me.

Really is very nicely done.

[19richie66 16,857]

Nice job Dan

[WHX?? 46,633]

Real nice Dan,  wished I could stay at my projects like you and get them done in a timely manner! Can't wait to eyeball that at the first show or sooner if I can get over that way. Any more thoughts on a show cover for the transmission?