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BigRedGrizzly

1970 GT14 Resto

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BigRedGrizzly

Hi all.... I have recently gotten into the Wheel Horse scene. It started when I was talking with a friend in York, PA about his 417-8. It sparked an interest in me so I began learning. I passed down the JD D100 I had to my sister and purchased a 1986 308-8. Love this thing. I have been mowing my lawn and it does a wonderful job. 

 

     I recently came across this GT14 for sale on Craigslist and decided I wanted to give a full restoration a go. I have been doing 3 wheelers for a couple years so I figured I could handle this.  This past

week I have managed to complete the disassembly, degrease, and power wash stage.  I've hit the most common snags that seems most of us do. The major ones are pulling the steering wheel and the hubs. My next steps are sand blasting and paint. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited by BigRedGrizzly
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953 nut

:WRS:    The GT-14 is a great worker. @Aldon has a couple of great threads on the GT-14s he has done, check them out.

1-7441.pdf

This menual will come in handy.

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SylvanLakeWH

:text-welcomeconfetti:

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Achto

:WRS: Looks like your on the right path. Early IH red is a real close match to :wh: red. Terry the vinylguy makes great reproduction decals.

Edited by achto
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roadapples

Good start and     :WRS:

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ztnoo

Looks like you are off to a good start, and by the way, Welcome to RS!

Like Aldon said there's lots of learned advice shored up here and available with a few strokes of the keyboard, so don't be shy about asking for help, advice or direction, if need be.

We also love pics, lot of them, so snap away as you proceed along your resto path.

Regards,

Steve

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ztnoo

Daryl also has lots of pics of his GT 14 tear down over at Wheel Horse Junkies https://www.facebook.com/groups/263966625951/ , if anyone frequents or has access on Facebook.

Also he posted an interesting video he created on mods to a HF sandblasting cabinet: https://youtu.be/XM5MGwtX7bg

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BigRedGrizzly
On June 18, 2016 at 10:37 PM, Aldon said:

Some unsolicited pointers....

 

1) The o-rings for for the Hydro Cam controller are very hard to come by. NLA. So if at all possible try to avoid removing the cam assembly and disrupting or damaging the o-rings or you will have a perpetual leaking hydro.

 

2) The holes in the two parallel side plates tend to get worn or enlarged and it impacts the smoothness of operation. I used bronze bushings but if I had it to do over,,,and I may very well do so soon, I would have steel bushing welded in place.

 

3) The exact spring that connects from the parking lever (at least that's what I call it) to the hydro engage lever is also no longer available, NLA, so take care to try not to damage. It can be repaced with something of similar spring tension and length but the holes in the two connection points then may need enlarged.

 

4) The Hydro directional and speed controller lever can be finicky. I found that in 3 of the 4 I have dismantled that the shaft key was missing. Hard to impossible for it to fall out so I assume prior owners neglected to install it when doing repairs. If you want any resistive tension that piece needs to be properly installed.

 

5) The hydraulic fittings aware unique and there is a thread another fellow did explaining the work around and the sources he ordered parts from. So make good use of the search function. It's a life saver as there is tons of experience documented by the other forum members. 

 

6) plan on replacing your ball joints. I thought I could get away with the originals and I can tell you that 50 year old ball joints WILL fail. Just a matter of time. The guys on this forum helped me with the work around so it's in a recent thread. Problem being the 7/16-20 - 1/2-20 ball joint. I have still not found one. As I said the work around is documented.

 

7) rear tires - if you stick with stock rims, hopefully your tires are in good shape. Otherwise replacements options are slim. I went with Carlisles. Turns out they are a pretty good match even though the stated size is larger. So over years tire sizes have seemingly inflated:-) Warning....Carlisles are pricy. Ag's if you want them can be found at I want to say Stop and Go or something like that. They are tall and thinner than I prefer. Otherwise rat hub swap and different rims are in order.

 

8) take a look as 953 indicated at not just my thread but several GT14 related threads. You will see 953, Oldredrider, Shynon, Ztnoo, pftederi and several others who are experienced and extremely helpful. I learned a lot by staying up on all restoration threads. Much of discussion crosses over.

 

9) unless you want to be tearing down your freshly assembled tractor in near future, change seals and bearings while you have it apart. 

 

I tried to post a lot of pics and details in hoped that the threads may be helpful but if you hit a snag, I will try to assist best I can. Strange that although I tore one down and assembled it, I still feel like those guys I referenced in item 8 are going to be of more help than I can be. They have been at this stolid longer than I have by large margin.

 

 

Thanks, Aldo. I've been paying close attention to your thread. I will keep all of your tips in mind and I'm sure I'll be coming to you all for assistance from time to time. 

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BigRedGrizzly

Thanks for the warm welcome all.. I got my sand blast cabinet about 80% complete. I took the advice and did some mods as suggested by a few folks on YouTube. First tip was to grind the screw heads that fasten the hopper together and insert them from the inside out. 

B7C9E84C-21EA-4CAF-A319-D3825EB7F873.jpg

36387CBD-1D92-4AAE-A8C0-8F69F0223441.jpg

7E682C08-0586-4332-A06C-E4BC8C7C4379.jpg

The next tip was to use some polyurethane caulking in the seams of the hopper. 

8062925D-B4F9-48E2-ACE9-85CF2D983676.jpg

I then painted the caulked seams. These two mods prevent excessive blasting material from building up in hopper.  It makes the blaster more efficient. I did a bunch of other mods as suggested by Mike at The Tacoma Company who makes upgrade kits for this blaster. 

EBD0E3B9-8C31-4632-9CE0-8D1FB550599D.jpg

This is a link to part 2 of an 8 part series. Long video but the entire series is very helpful. 

 

http://www.tacomacompany.com

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Pullstart

Big Red three wheelers!  I remember running my 110 to the ground trying to keep up with my cousins' 250s and big red on the trails out back!  Welcome to RedSquare and it's good to see the red colors run through your garage!  Good luck with your resto, though it looks like you might not need the wishes and you're on the right track.

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BigRedGrizzly
1 hour ago, pullstart said:

Big Red three wheelers!  I remember running my 110 to the ground trying to keep up with my cousins' 250s and big red on the trails out back!  Welcome to RedSquare and it's good to see the red colors run through your garage!  Good luck with your resto, though it looks like you might not need the wishes and you're on the right track.

I know... They are great right..There is something nostalgic about 3 wheelers. It brings me back to my youth when this world was a much simpler time and place. I got my restoration bug doing 3 wheelers. Here are pics of the Big Red and 250SX I restored. 

8D2F0B6D-2925-46A7-A866-7EE459D76713.jpg

 

684320CC-0C17-4CA1-BF77-964A42E440F2.jpg

Hi guys.... I bought this beadbuster to remove tires on my 3 wheelers. They work great tractor tired as well. 

https://beadbuster.com

 

 

Edited by BigRedGrizzly
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953 nut
4 hours ago, BigRedGrizzly said:

I bought this beadbuster

That is slick,  :thanks:

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Pullstart

Nice work on the 3 wheelers.   They were sure a blast in my youth, now I have a 10.5:1 660R raptor that I just got running again.  I am looking forward to some wind in my helmet and some sand under my tires! 

 

1 hour ago, 953 nut said:
5 hours ago, BigRedGrizzly said:

I bought this beadbuster

That is slick,  :thanks:

 

:text-yeahthat:

 

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BigRedGrizzly

Hi guys.... This thread has not come to an abrupt end. I have been concentrating my efforts on the 308 as the high/low shift fork has become a problem. I plan to have that completed by July 8th which will get me back sandblasting the GT14. :greetings-clappingyellow:

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Aldon

When you do a full tear down, it takes so long I think we all get side tracked with other projects. Life itself will just throw in obstacles to add flavor and context to the resto project. I am watching your other thread in the 310-8 too:-)

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BigRedGrizzly

Hi guys.... My friend and I got the sand blaster fully functional yesterday over a few beers. :handgestures-thumbupright:

It's operating well. So far I have managed to do the foot rests and the gas tank holding plate. That thing was ugly!

260C8E60-99B1-41AD-8DAE-9613BF65A3AA.jpg

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31E487EC-638D-4E43-96ED-416D861E62F6.jpg

[U076FBA12-2B8E-4FC4-92CC-A04781275F9B.jpg

 

076FBA12-2B8E-4FC4-92CC-A04781275F9B.jpg

26CB57C1-71A1-4242-BF95-702D9A116B90.jpg

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Aldon

For me it is very rewarding saving these old tractors from rust and time. Sandblasting is fun....for a while. It's such a dramatic improvement. By the end of my GT14 project I was seriously considering farming it out. Took a load of larger items to one of the local vendors considered to be most reasonable by locals. Not a egregious price but high enough that I'll be doing anything I can fit in the cabinet and occasional big piece in the yard...my soil is very sandy anyway. Those brackets for the fuel tanks are one of the most corroded and gnarly pieces on the whole tractor. It looks like it cleaned up nicely though.

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Fun Engineer

How does the beadbuster work on the 6" and 8" wheels.

 

Good luck with the cabinet. I love mine. Much better than blasting outside were the sand gets everywhere. And I mean everywhere ;)

 

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BigRedGrizzly
1 hour ago, Aldon said:

For me it is very rewarding saving these old tractors from rust and time. Sandblasting is fun....for a while. It's such a dramatic improvement. By the end of my GT14 project I was seriously considering farming it out. Took a load of larger items to one of the local vendors considered to be most reasonable by locals. Not a egregious price but high enough that I'll be doing anything I can fit in the cabinet and occasional big piece in the yard...my soil is very sandy anyway. Those brackets for the fuel tanks are one of the most corroded and gnarly pieces on the whole tractor. It looks like it cleaned up nicely though.

Yeah... Not sure what I'm going to do about the frame yet. It definitely doesn't fit in the cabinet. I have a local friend who does a lot of sand blasting. I may give him a shout and see what he can do. Otherwise it's wire wheel time. 

  I wish I had a bigger compressor. I get about a solid 3-4 minutes of good blasting, and then I need to wait for it to get back up to pressure. It works... Just takes a while. 

  When it comes to priming... Are

you all using auto body primer or self etching primer or even may be a combination of both? I'm not set up hvlp painting yet so I'll be rattle canning this one. 

 

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Aldon

I used etching primer but it reacted poorly with my finish paint. So choose what your going to go with for finish paint and make sure the primer and paint are compatible.

 

Harbor freight HVLP gets high marks and is within most budgets should you want to go that route.

 

I ended up using Rustoleum Toro Red Impliment paint. I've only seen this color carried by Lowes. It does well with standard rust colored primer. I imagine the popular favorite of Regal red would as well.

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Tuneup

Hi BRG,

For the bigger pieces and areas that aren't very rusty, I'd say don't waste time with a blaster and stay away from wire wheels unless you must. HF has 4" polycarbide abrasive wheels that attach to your high speed grinder. I did the whole C-125 with them. You'll cover a large area in a few minutes. Think 20 minutes for the hood... It even removes all the surface rust. The whole tractor took 2 wheels. They do not clog or cut the metal. Even the HF grinder is cheap. Throw-away tools but this has lasted me a couple of years of WH and Ford stripping. They're $5 each.

 

I grew-up a New Jerseyite - spent my first 36 years in Morris and Warren Counties and my family still resides in Somerset on one of the few remaining farms. I miss those lawns...

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BigRedGrizzly
12 minutes ago, Tuneup said:

Hi BRG,

For the bigger pieces and areas that aren't very rusty, I'd say don't waste time with a blaster and stay away from wire wheels unless you must. HF has 4" polycarbide abrasive wheels that attach to your high speed grinder. I did the whole C-125 with them. You'll cover a large area in a few minutes. Think 20 minutes for the hood... It even removes all the surface rust. The whole tractor took 2 wheels. They do not clog or cut the metal. Even the HF grinder is cheap. Throw-away tools but this has lasted me a couple of years of WH and Ford stripping. They're $5 each.

 

I grew-up a New Jerseyite - spent my first 36 years in Morris and Warren Counties and my family still resides in Somerset on one of the few remaining farms. I miss those lawns...

 

Tuneup,

     Thanks for the tip. I will be making my (seems like) weekly trip to HF probably Friday. I have a grinder that I brought to work and has now been claimed by co-workers. I don't have the heart to take it back. I'll pick up a new one and some wheels. 

    As far as NJ goes, I'm done with it. Can't stand the politics, lack of room, traffic, and waiting in long lines for EVERYTHING. I went to return a regulator at Home Depot and the line was out the door. I contemplated not returning it and just buying a new one so I wouldn't have to wait in the line. I hate having my time wasted. 

    I'm a country boy stuck in a city/suburb. Union County. Most people around me have landscapers mow their lawns. As soon as my kids are out of high school we are moving to Nebraska or PA. My kids are 7 and 5 so I have a ways to go yet. To me it's like serving a sentence. Doing a stretch if you catch my drift. 

Thanks again.....

 

 

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Tuneup

I hear ya! I had enough in 98 when my property taxes out near Hackettstown were $5K. That was for no services at all other than a good school for the little ones. We even had to use the state police! Moved to Georgia and was speechless when taxes were $1200 and still are about that today. Add to that the feedom-based culture, home schooling and whatnot and this is da' place! Boys are all over 20 and licensed to carry or as my sister from Philly says, 'evil'. Sigh - she'll never 'get it'. Get out, brother! You won't regret it. As for tractor content in this post, I left my wonderful Simplicity, one of the last non-MTD models, with that grooming 44" deck to the new owner. Didn't see that I'd need it down here and he was thrilled to get it. I'll always regret that choice.

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