1968 "500 Special"

[sorekiwi 761]

I had intended to put the dashboard housing on tonite so I could improve the fit of the hood. However the steering wheel wouldnt cooperate. Here it is soacking in a PB Blaster/WD 40/ATF mix overnight before it gets put in the press at work tomorrow....

So instead it was back to the belt guard, and the "console", welding up the groove cause by the rear fender panel rubbing on it.

Yesterday:

Now:

I also did some welding around the mounting slots that were all egged out, and made them more "slottish":

The reason I'm trying to get a lot done quickly here, is that I'm scheduled to be away for 24 days of next month, and I'd really like to have some paint curing while I'm away. I doubt the weather is going to cooperate with me though, we'll have to see...

[kpinnc 10,837]

Looks great Mike!

Kevin

[KyBlue 652]

Great job for sure...Kick azz welding skills for sure..

[sorekiwi 761]

The 20 ton press at work solved my steering wheel issue, so was able to refit the hood. I still need to get hold of the nylon bushes for the hinge at the front, but it looks like it will all fit OK.

I spun up some bronze bushes for the rear fenders. The holes here were hogged out about .030". This was upsetting how square the rear fenders were sitting, and was part of the cause of the grooves worn in the console that I fixed last night. I figured the easiest way to fix this was to make some bushes to suit the worn holes:

The fender pan still needs a little tweak before it sits dead right, but its getting there...

[sorekiwi 761]

Too frickin' cold to get much done tonight, it was 22 degrees in my garage so I worked until my feet got uncomfortably cold, then moved inside to fight the dogs for the prime spot in front of the woodstove.

About all I got done was welding in a small strip of steel where the rear fender had been rubbing on the belt guard. There's a "before" picture further up the page. Here's the "after" pic:

It'll need a touch of filler to make it invisible, but I'm ok with that.

Thats it for tonight!

[bell 11]

Mike, it's looking REALLY good! Nice progress!!! :thumbs:

[KyBlue 652]

I'm impressed no doubt..

[sorekiwi 761]

Todays progress...

I used a Tecumseh for the first mock up, as I wanted to get the belt guard to fit as the factory intended. Now it was time to see how it looked with a "real" motor...

Not sure just yet whether I will weld a tab onto the belt guard like the factory Kohler tractors used, or leave the belt guard unmolested, and use one of my Tecumseh to Kohler adaptors

Finished bronze welding and filing up the hood hinge pin:

And fixed an extra hole in the front of the hood:

The Lawn Ranger sitting neglected in the corner kept asking me why the hell I was starting another project, when this one isnt yet done...

[sorekiwi 761]

I've spent the last couple of days doing scary stuff....

The pivot pin through the front axle had a broken tab, which isnt really that unusual. RCPW lists the pin at $12 which is probably less than it would cost to build one, by the time you take into account argon etc.

But this allows the pin and the axle to **** around and flog out the axle holes in the frame. The rear hole is only worn about .006", but the front hole on mine was worn around .050". This is about the best picture I could get of the wear:

Without good support around the front of the pin, I doubt that the tab on the new pin would last very long...

As well, the axle itself was moving backwards and forwards in the frame by about .070". Its almost as if there should be some sort of thrust washer in there to take up some of the clearance, but I've been unable to find one listed in the IPL.

Lots of coffee and cigarettes and head scratching working out how to address these issues....

So I made the hole in the front of the frame big (1")

then spun up a bush with a .060" flange on it:

The bush is sized at .980 to give a little wiggle room for alignment. Here it is installed:

and with a piece of 3/4" bar stock as a temporary pin:

I havent welded it in yet, I'm going to take it to work and TIG it (assuming of course that I can remember how to turn the TIG on!!) If I'm not too ashamed of the welding, I'll post a pic of the finished product...

[kpinnc 10,837]

I did the same thing on my Bronco pivot pin Mike, but used a bronze bushing. You're really making my urge to go out and buy a lathe much more difficult to hold back.

That reminds me- You were talking about the plastic bushings for the hood pivot. Those bronze bushings you made for the seat pan? I also used something like them on the 867 hood:

Don't have the cotter pins installed in the pic, but it works.

[sorekiwi 761]

I did the same thing on my Bronco pivot pin Mike, but used a bronze bushing. You're really making my urge to go out and buy a lathe much more difficult to hold back.

Having the lathe right there is awesome. Mine is just a little one ( ) but we have a big one at work if I need it. It's awesome to be able to walk from the lathe to the tractor and back again. I also use it a lot to polish up shafts and axles and crankshafts etc.

Love those bushes on your hood hinge - are they just held in by the cotter pins?

[sorekiwi 761]

Its a good job I dont weld for a living!

But at least I'm not worried about how much penetration I got, or my bush falling off! And with a little help from a grinder and it all looks pretty:

Just to make some excuses ( ), I TIG weld 3 or 4 times a year, and it always seems that I'm just getting the hang of it again by the time I finish the job. I also work amongst people who weld 5 or 6 hours a day, so my efforts disgust me enough to not even bother...

I was happy that the bush didnt shrink too badly with the welding, and a quick lick with a reamer and a 3/4" brake hone resulted in a nice slip fit on the piece of bar stock I'll make the pin from.

While I was making a mess, I attacked this wear groove where the brake/clutch pedal was riding.

A litle welding (MIG this time), grinding and filing later:

This tractor has had a serious lack of lubrication at some stage of its life... :thumbs:

[bell 11]

Mike, that looks REALLY nice! :thumbs:

[wh500special 2,055]

Geez Mike, at what point does this become a "restoration" rather than "just a tidy up"?

Again, the work you guys do really makes me jealous that I am such a lazy, untalented slob...

Steve

[sorekiwi 761]

Geez Mike, at what point does this become a "restoration" rather than "just a tidy up"?

Story of my life, I guess I got carried away again...

Honestly, it was supposed to be just a tidy up, drop in a Kohler and call it done. Yeah, right!

Thanks Steve

[sorekiwi 761]

Today was a mad panic to get things done, I leave tomorrow for a 2 week work trip and I really wanted to have some paint curing while I was away.

I had intended to fix the ugly motor mounting holes (they'd been slotted for a different motor at some stage), but in the end I decided to leave them as they are. I'd also intended to get the frame sandblasted, but again that didnt happen. I ended up giving it a good overnight soak in the electrolysis tank, and then a really good srub with a "surface conditioning disc" in a grinder. Two nice thick coats of primer, and 2 of Valspar IH Red (with Hardener). Looks OK now, but I'll have to look at it tomorrow morning in daylight.

Since I had the electrolysis tank (aka bucket) going, I threw some more bits in it:

I put a bottle of Lye in it this time, hadnt done that before, but it does help remove the paint as well as the rust. But it means you cant handle the bits without gloves which is a PITA.

Heres the hoodstand about to be turned over and the other end dunked, the diffenerence between the treated and untreated rust is quite visible here:

[JimD 3,345]

wow mike, i wish i had the ambition to "tidy up" as well as you do but as they, "it's all in the details." very nice work, can't wait to see the finished pics!

[d180man 5]

Hi nice job keep it up! and for the photo! :whistle:

[SALTYWRIGHT 859]

HI...DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE WAS ABOAT BUILDING CO. IN THE INFIELD OF THE SPEEDWAY ? IT WAS THE PURDY BOAT CO. (MY GREAT UNCLE) HE WAS BUILDING BOATS FOR THE OWNER OF THE SPEEDWAY. AFTER 9 YEARS THEY MOVED TO FLA. AND THEN TO PORT WASHINGTON, NY.

YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB ON THIS TRACTOR. RUSS :thumbs:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Fantastic Job Mike! HorseFixer approved! Yep and I can see a lathe in my shops future also! :drool:

[Suburban 550 28]

Lookin' good, Mike. Real nice work. Looks like it's turning into a full restoration.

[BTK07 0]

Mike,

I am so in aw at the work you have done. YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!! No, I'm just kidding. Nice job so far and when you get done with yours, I'll bring mine down and you can start over. LMAO

I just found out I have a Work Horse 700 too. (Thanks to one of the great and helpful members here for looking the info up for me.) Mines in sad shape and like yours needs an engine and a "Touch up". But my shop isn't that big and I have to do most of my repairs outside. So, I guess it won't be on the TO DO list untill it gets warmer out. When I can I'll take some photo's and post them.

Bill from N.W. IN

I went back and was looking at the picks again and noticed the hood decal on your is different then the one that is on mine. The decal on mine say's Wheel Horse. Which is the reason I had no idea what model tractor mine was.

[sorekiwi 761]

I went back and was looking at the picks again and noticed the hood decal on your is different then the one that is on mine. The decal on mine say's Wheel Horse. Which is the reason I had no idea what model tractor mine was.

Actually that hood is from a Workhorse (they're the same). Jon (Bell) got the tractor without the hood, and got that one off ebay.

I havent had a chance to do too much more lately, I've been flat out at work when I'm home, and been on a lot of business trips. Just enough time to throw a few bits in the electrolysis tank, and the odd bit of paint removal. Looks like I'll be moving in the next month as well, so I wont make much progress for a while.

I'm dreading boxing up all the crap in my garage and moving it... :omg:

[BTK07 0]

Mike,

I was just sitting here wondering if you would know where I can get the berrings, I guess you would call them, for the front wheels? I've tried the local TSC and they told me they don't carry them. I would like to get 5 or 6 sets to keep on hand, depending on the cost.

Bill

[BTK07 0]

I hate moving. :omg: