520 rims

[JAinVA 4,619]

I am working on a pair 0f 520 rims.These are the wide rims and I am noticing that of the 3 pairs I have in the shop all have an off white base coat under the silver.None of the 7.5 rims I have prepped for repaint have this under the silver.It wouldn't matter to me but all of the wide rims have the silver flaking off.These wider rims all were produced after WH went away from off white wheel paint.Do you guys have any thoughts on why they did this?

Edited August 22, 2018 by JAinVA

[roadapples 6,981]

Noticed this also...

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

My 95 does also but the Anniversary doesn't...the plot thickens.

[SylvanLakeWH 24,120]

If it was back in the day - when the Ponds were running the show at WH - it would simply mean they had left over silver paint and used it up... Waste not want not...

 

In the later years...? One thought - they started production with rims and there was a color scheme change on the tractors so they repainted supply of rims on hand?

 

[RandyLittrell 3,827]

Most if the other garden tractors on the market had white wheels, maybe they were getting from a supplier that painted everything they made white, so the Ponds had to paint them silver after they got them.

 

 

 

Randy

[dells68 7,494]

22 minutes ago, RandyLittrell said:

Most if the other garden tractors on the market had white wheels, maybe they were getting from a supplier that painted everything they made white, so the Ponds had to paint them silver after they got them.

 

 

 

Randy

Sounds reasonable to me!  

[clueless 2,898]

Same on both pair of mine.

[JAinVA 4,619]

Thanks for the responses.I had not thought about the supplier angle,since WH would have gotten them prepainted You folks. are great.

Edited August 22, 2018 by JAinVA

[WHX?? 46,734]

Does make sense but just to throw a monkey wrench in...why would WH/Toro go thru the trouble and bit of expense to repaint?  Would make more sense (from a bean counters point)  to use up white and start specing silver from the supplier?

That way us nuts would have original tractors with white wheels that would be more collectible!

Excuse me whilst I run out and repaint some silver 520 rims in antique white!

[CasualObserver 3,406]

I can't imagine this was a supplier thing. By the time the 520s were around it was Toro's bag... and you can bet they weren't ordering or using things that weren't spec'd correctly. They'd simply reject the shipment if it wasn't what they ordered, and they wouldn't use up old stock... that's held for warranty liability and then eventually scrapped or salvaged out to companies like Parts Unlimited who buy up obsolete stock.

 

What I see as more likely is that there were dealers replacing bent, scratched or otherwise damaged rims or selling second sets of tires mounted to rims they already had but needed to repaint.

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

What about just being a primer layer? Paint knowledge was improving, so maybe they saw the wheels as a spot that would need a bit of extra protection?

 

Or it had something to do with their process that required a primer... Maybe?

[WHX?? 46,734]

...another monkey wrench!

[JAinVA 4,619]

I haven't noticed this white undercoat on any of the 300/400 rims I have.Since the 300/400 series sold many times over the 520 series I could see WH/Toro ordering them in a custom color as pointed out most of other tractors were using white wheels.My guess is that with this lower production of 520 that it was cheaper to repaint.Since all 4 sets of 520 rims I have show the white base coat I kind of doubt the replacement rim theory but who knows.Thanks again for the responses.

Edited August 22, 2018 by JAinVA

[RandyLittrell 3,827]

One of those things that make you go hmmmmm!

 

 

 

Randy

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Regarding the Toro-era, around 2000 the 5xi series started being manufactured with grey painted wheels. That was probably a move to save money.