Commando 8 Restoration

[Jake Kuhn 1,547]

She's looking great Jake

[Martin 2,130]

that commando looks awesome. very nice job.......

i like your attention to detail.

[Fun Engineer 859]

Thanks for the nice comments guys. I pickup my plated parts tomorrow. Will post pictures tomorrow night.

[Fun Engineer 859]

Parts Update

I picked up my last batch of zinc plated parts yesterday. I decided to remove as many zinc parts from my tractors and impliments as possible to make the project financially worthwhile. I have parts from two different dozer/snow plows, a Commando 800, two Commando 8's, one or two pieces from my 857 and a few other parts. The smaller parts, those less than 8 inches long were barrel plated. The larger or longer parts were plated while hanging from a rack. I sandblated all the paint and rust from the parts in preparation for plating. I had to go to two different platers to get all this done as one only did barrel plating and the other only rack plating.

[Stigian 1,234]

That's some serious attention to detail Jake, can't wait to see the finished product :thumbs:

[rmaynard 14,932]

Dave,

Do you have the original seat, or are you using an after-market one?

[bowtiebutler956 649]

:scared-eek: Wow, that's what I call doing it right! I'm not worthy!

Matt :flags-texas:

[AMC RULES 36,956]

Awesome attention to detail for sure.

Replating the hardware is a major commitment to the quality of any restoration.

Really nice work going on there. :popcorn:

[Fun Engineer 859]

Thanks all. This has been a labor of love for sure. I've probably spent nearly as much on this tractor as my mother and father paid for it. But I want a tractor that I can hand down to my boys someday that will last another 44 years. I also want a tractor that I can count on if I need it to do a chore.

Bob, I'm planning on using my 857 seat on the Commando. It's nearly perfect and I think its the same as what would have been on the tractor. I have a C seat that I planned to use but decided against it. I looked for an after market that would line up with the existing mounting holes but I haven't been happy with anything I found. I have a friend at work that just finished a black and white 67 Lawn Ranger seat cover for me. If it fits as good as it looks then I'm going to have her make some seats for the Commando style seat pan to sell.

[Fun Engineer 859]

I'm heading north to my garage in 2 hours and 54 minutes. Hopefully I'll have the Commando back together and be able to drive it around the yard. I'll post pictures Tuesday when I return.

Bob, what are you going to do for a seat? Have you found a good supplier.

[Martin 2,130]

looking forward to some more pics when you return.....

[Fun Engineer 859]

It's been a while and other than a little paint touch up I'm done. Here's some pictures of the finished product. I think my parents would be happy with the outcome. The first two are to remind me how far I've come. Thanks for all your encouragement. Hope you enjoy them and we get a chance to meet someday. Dave

[AMC RULES 36,956]

:bow-blue: One impeccable restoration Dave.

Thanks for taking us along for the journey.

[Martin 2,130]

awesome build there, funengineer. i went to your photobucket to see if you had some bigger pics with more detail. from what i can see, lots of real nice detail. i really like what you created........

[Terry M-(Moderator) 2,128]

funengineer, How did you do the lug nuts on the back wheels ? instead of threaded lug bolts like my 606, you have what looks like zinc bolts with lug nuts. ? I'd maybe like to do that because it looks really sharp and very clean! Nice Job!! :handgestures-thumbupright:

[Fun Engineer 859]

Thanks Martin and Craig.

Terry I used fine tread 7/16" grade 8 bolts with lock washers and purchased regular lug nuts from the local auto store. I had to buy a bag of 50 bolts and don't know if I'll use them all. Are you interested in purchasing any? I don't remember what they cost but the lug nuts were around $.90 each. I didn't buy any extra of those as I could buy only what I needed.

Dave

[Terry M-(Moderator) 2,128]

Thanks Martin and Craig.

Terry I used fine tread 7/16" grade 8 bolts with lock washers and purchased regular lug nuts from the local auto store. I had to buy a bag of 50 bolts and don't know if I'll use them all. Are you interested in purchasing any? I don't remember what they cost but the lug nuts were around $.90 each. I didn't buy any extra of those as I could buy only what I needed.

Dave

I maybe would be interested in buying some bolts . First let me see what I can come up with locally . I was planning on installing wheel bearings on the front wheels and mounting all four wheels tomorrow.....and then if all works out posting my rolling frame. I know it dosen't sound like much ,but it's taken a while for me to get this far. I'll PM you tomorrow and let you know what I find for bolts and lugs. Thanks :)

[dclarke 4,011]

Dave, outstanding job you have done! I love the attention to detail on this tractor. :bow-blue:

[Jake Kuhn 1,547]

Wow that really turned out nice. Great job you have done on it Jake

[bowtiebutler956 649]

That is a beautiful !! You did a fantastic job! I too thank you for letting us come along for the ride.

Matt :flags-texas:

[Ken B 3,116]

Nice job restoring your tractor, Mom and Dad are proud I'm sure!

[massey 111]

Congratulations on your tractor, it looks excellent. :handgestures-thumbupright:

[wheelhorse656 20]

Very nice work!!! It looks sharp!

[krazy_horse 59]

Wonderful job,It looks like new!!

[horsesaver98 18]

OH MY GOSH THAT TING IS NIIIIIIIIIICE :bow-blue: :bow-blue: