Carson's C-121

Getting close to caught up on pics.  These are the last ones from last Thursday.  

The lower tower had a few small cracks beginning like all of them do so some 1/4" thick plates were made and welded in.  The cracks were also welded from the top into the 1/4" plates then smoothed back up.  There will be no cracking with those in there...    

The top sides of the tower that show when done also got a nicer sanded finish on them.  There is some discoloration in the tower but everything will look great when painted.  

 

Last Friday morning parts were separated by what color they would be.  I wanted to get the PTO housing done that day too but it needed some work first.  It was cleaned up and blasted to get a better look at things. The pin on the end had a lot of rust pits, the outer bearing was bad, the inner seal was shot, and the clutch disc was wore out.  The main inner bearing and main housing was still good.  Not a problem, I have everything here to fix up what it needs.  Before being painted the housing was resurfaced, outer bearing and parts removed and it was ready.  

It was another perfect painting day outside last Friday, 75 degrees and 27% humidity.  Plus another round of painting with no mess in the shop to clean up.  

 

There are 2 posts today.  This one is good news, next one is bad news.  This one has pics from last Friday when things were painted.  Everything looks great.   

Don't ask how I paint things like the tower is done.  The black was painted then the red right after with no taping because the black is not dry.  All I can say is ancient Geno secret...      



 

This is post #2 for today that has the bad news.  These pics are from today.  I figured this morning since I was all caught up I would get the rims ready since the blaster is still down.  The part for it was supposed to be here today but it didn't show up either.  Now they say tomorrow, we'll see...  

I was concerned about the little bit of rust on the front wheels because peoples eyes are usually drawn to nice looking wheels.  Sort of like the car in primer that has nice wheels and everyone thinks it looks awesome.  

The problem with these are actually something I did not expect and don't run into much.  You can see what I mean in the pics.  The worst one to get off is in the 3rd - 6th pics.  It was stuck so bad even my Bend Pak Ranger Racing tire changer had a hard time breaking it down.  It finally got it but ripped the steel in the bead along with it it was so stuck, something I thought was impossible.  That was a first for me.    

The last 2 pics of the other rim are I have no idea what.  I do wish I had broken them down before spending all the time removing the bearings and cleaning up the insides but oh well.  

Putting tubes in them is really not a good idea either.  There's so much damage it will get worse over time and has already become a possible structural integrity issue.  Now would be the time to play it safe and deal with it instead of having more trouble later...

 

Finally some pics of it getting ready to go together.  These are from this past Monday + Tuesday this week.  

The 5/16" bolts holding a lot of things on the tractor where they can be seen will all be flange head locking stainless steel.  They are super nice.  All of the springs will be actual Wheel Horse NOS I have on hand. 

The first new decals that Terry made for me showed up and they look really nice.  Another brand new thing made that goes on Carson's tractor first before anyone else in the world...  

The part came in for the blaster today so next week I can get back to work on the next phase of this one.

 

These pics are from Tuesday and Wed last week.  Here's where the fun begins.  

Like I mentioned in the last post, the 5/16" bolts holding a lot of things on the tractor where they can be seen will all be the flange head locking 304 stainless steel.  You can tell which ones they are in the pics.  Where they can't be seen like the tower that will be under covers are the original style.  The stainless locking ones aren't that cheap compared to the originals so there's no use putting them where they will be hidden.  All of the cotter pins are also 304 stainless.

The original PTO housing and inner bearing was good, only the outer bearing, clips, pin, and inner seal were replaced.  The worn out clutch plate and disc were also replaced with the wider newer style, and the PTO housing was refinished as seen about 5 posts ago.  I didn't get a pic of the new clutch but I'll do that tomorrow.   I use an upgraded bearing for the PTO outer with a metal shield instead of the rubber.  All of the parts replaced are NOS Wheel Horse parts minus the outer bearing. 

You will notice a lot of other parts like the new original clips for the fuel line and wiring where they belong, a NOS shift boot, new original lift handle knob and cap, NOS springs, among other things.  The new rear brake band is on and it also got a new Wheel Horse NOS main drive belt.



 

This will get me caught up on pics.  I was gonna call you today Carson but the last one just left and 4:30AM comes early...  It's been crazy around here and I haven't had time to even work in the shop other than some blasting on Monday in the pics below.  Assy pics are from last Wed when I had to stop due to waiting on a part for the blaster last week so I could get more parts blasted + ready.  

The front plates are on and a 100 amp Made in USA starter relay.  I did get the pic of the new PTO clutch setup I forgot earlier on Monday (3rd pic), it's below as well. 

I have some questions about the last pic I wanted to talk to you about, they are Grandpa parts.  I wanted your advise about how many rust pits are acceptable and where before I get deeper into this.