Resurrection of the 85
 

Boy, don't know what I was thinking, maybe I wasn't. But we dragged the 85 out of the barn today, and I guess I'm going to try and make it a mower again.
Guess it would be nice for mowing under the tree branches, being it's nice and low.:biggrin2:
Stared out today, getting the deck off, and now soaking the steering column, to remove it to get the body off. Then, see where we are from there.
Pictures, or it never happened...
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It is a little cutie! Does not look too bad.:beer2:

I agree Beth, not bad at all! Hey Zip, are those genuine Cub supplied vise-grips on the height lever?:bigthink:

I’ll be waiting to see the magic happen! They are cool little mowers. Perfect size for my yard, but I’m on a hill. Had a MTD White similar to that and it was downright scary, needed a lot of work. I just use the 1812 now. Lol

Glad to see someone here showing those washtubs the respect they deserve. FYI, they will do wheelies! I used to love driving the washtubs out to the front of the dealership on Saturdays when I was a kid. Only thing more fun was jerking the hydro on a 782 into neutral when I brought it into the building--nice skid marks!

No, not these.:biggrin2: I already had the rubber handle off, and needed to drop the deck to get it off, so the vise-grips were called on...
The things been sitting in the corner since I dragged it home, and got to thinking.:bigthink: Should I, could I, why would I?:biggrin2: So, here it is.
The bigger question. Will it?:beerchug:

Those are cool. I have a green “57” out back I might work on some day. It was given to me and was in a creek flood. I only had to pull it out of poison ivy, ticks, and mosquitos.

Yeah, they are kinda oddballish. Guess that's what I like about it.:bigthink:

Neat old bird, looking forward to seeing this.

Just a little on what went down today. Got the steering wheel off. Tried the shaft and wheel together, but the shaft wasn't budging. So the "tub" came off to reveal a, let's say mess.:biggrin2:
Pulled the cover off the engine to reveal another mess. Seems there will be more of them before I'm done. Some good news, it will turn over, spins pretty good, but, no spark.:bash2:
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What is that? Mulch? or Pulled pork BBQ? :biggrin2:

Looks good Zippa. Amazes me that even though it’s a weird little bath tub, the underneath reveals a somewhat full c channel frame. Very cool I like it. And the electric 95 seems just as cool to me.

Side note probably just have to file the points under the flywheel and sparks will fly!

You've been in NC before!

It was a nest, but never saw a mouse nest made like that. It come from a ways south of me, who knows what they got for critters down there...:biggrin2:

That's what I was thinking Mike.:ThumbsUp: Got the nut soaking as we speak.:biggrin2: (on the flywheel)
I have a service manual for it, and it includes the electric model. After seeing the wiring, and little diode's and "thingys", I think I'd be passing on one of those.

Todd,

I am glad to see you doing this one!!:beerchug: I have a secret soft spot for these little things... I had a 60 when I was a kid... it was yellow and had the two pedals for forward and reverse... dad changed the drive sprocket for me so it would run faster.... We called it the "mow cart"!:beerchug::beerchug: Believe it or not the little farts mow grass really well!:beerchug::beerchug: They turn really tight and the frames under that fiberglass are pretty stout... A true testament to how IH built stuff.. even when it was meant to be a cheap mower it was still better than what you could buy at the hardware store! I really miss my little 60... Dad knows the guy that bought it from us back in the early 80's... he never gets rid of anything.. I have always wanted to ask if he still had it and wanted to sell it... but I was scared somebody would laugh at me!!:biggrin2::biggrin2:

We used it regular to pull a little wagon to the woodpile and back to the house in the winter time.. even got into a fight once with my sister over who got to drive it back to the house!! She wound up taking a cheap shot at me, knocking me down, she took off and left me on the ground.. little did she know mom was watching from the house!! One of the few times she got a whipping and I didn't!!:biggrin2:

Keep up the great work.. I wanna see this one done up nice for sure!!:beerchug::beerchug:

Looking good Todd. That is the first one I ever saw with tub removed and it looks like they are pretty well built. I would like to own one of those someday. Keep the pics coming.

I have some NOS 85 decals but they were stored very poorly for alot of years so they have a few wrinkles but I think they would be usable if you took your time, I will send you some pics later and if you want them you can have them just pay for the shipping.

Looking good Oh Master of the bath tubs, now is it a full restore with new faucets and a drain or just a refresh?

Keep up the good work, Todd! :beerchug:

Go check it out Jay, at least you'd know if it is still around. Never know.
I don't care if someone laughs. There a cool little mower, and a small part of the bigger picture of IH.:beerchug:

Yeah Todd, pretty stout little machine. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures along the line.:biggrin2:

Thanks Tim, but at this point, don't think I'm going to do anything with the body. There aren't any cracks, and the decals are pretty good, unless I go messing with them.

At this point Lew, the plan is to get it mechanically sound, running and working, but like all things I touch, plans can change.:bigthink:

Thanks Allen, will do.:beerchug:

Todays update. That oil puker is out. Ain't even going to mess with it. Plans are to remove the "newer" one out of a model 76 tractor I picked up a couple year ago. The PO said it was only a few years old at the time. And I know it ran good.:beerchug:
We shall see...
Still need to pressure wash it. If it ever warms up.:bigthink:

Making progress Todd!!:beerchug: She sure is dirty! As long as I had my little 60 I never knew what she looked like under that bathtub!

I worked at a lawn equipment dealer in the mid 80's back before the era of throw away and replace. We musta overhauled and rebuilt a blue zillion of those 8hp L head Briggs! Seemed like they were on every Snapper ever built and EVERYBODY had one! :beerchug: We stocked every part for one.. Parts were cheap and plentiful.. Kinda neat to see one again! They were decent little engines for what they were!:beerchug::beerchug:

Well, it was a balmy 50 degrees today,:biggrin2: and figured, good day to pressure wash the 85, and get wet, from the knees down. Soaked right through my "boot blankets.:ScrewLoose:
Didn't help, that the wind was out of the east...
That son of a gun was a pig. Took a couple hours to get the majority of the grease and oil off.:bash2:
At least, I can now see what I'm dealing with...:beerchug: Good thing, all that crap, did good at preserving the paint. Well, kinda.:bigthink:

Resurrection of the 85
 

Good work Zippy. Beautiful chocolate lab. Had one years ago and was a great bird dog and all around man best friend.

Good job, Todd! :beerchug:

Lookin' Good Zip. Your lab says "I wish it was warmer, I love water!"

Thanks. Yeah, that dogs got to keep an eye on whatever I do. One day I was welding, and he was outside. I took a break to check out what was next, here he was sitting right beside me.
Now the door gets shut, and he stays outside while welding...

Give it a lift kit and some knobby tires.

Very nice work! Think I'd add a few weights up front with the carry-all on the back.

It's not mine just a pic I found a while ago. I have two here and would like to build one just like it but painted red.

Looks like your having fun there Master, was the motor blown?

Be careful there Todd... we don't need you getting wet and cold and catching pneumonia on us!!:bash2:

Those stands on the back sure are nice! Makes service alot easier! I used to praise Snapper for those back in the days of the lawnmower shop!:beerchug:

I don't think my 60 had those? I know it had bumpers and a small tow hitch... Wonder if those were added or do u think they are factory?:bigthink:

Either way looking good! Keep us posted! Looks like your helper stayed dry!!:biggrin2::biggrin2: He might be smarter than us all!:beerchug:

Oh yeah, it was a ball Lew.:biggrin2:
No, don't think it's blowed, but it seeps BAD, and just don't sound good. I've got a couple others. One good one in a tractor, and one for parts.
But, really don't know if I want to take that 76 apart, it's a good little tractor. Wonder what I could use as a repower...:bigthink:
Your thought.
I thought they were for a bagger. But not certain. Master of Lew would likely know...

I like it, but I want this thing to mow...

Well, now what to do?
I don't have to worry about not wanting to remove the engine in the 76. The crankshaft is 1", and this 85, is a 1" and cut down to 7/8" where the pulley attaches.
So, going to have to think this one through a while...:bigthink:

Cannot stop now! Maybe Master of Lew has a bunch of NOS Briggs parts to rebuild that little engine.

:biggrin2:You know stopping isn't in my vocabulary Beth.
Was thinking shoehorning a twin in.:bigeyes: No, just kidding. Or:bigthink:

Sweeeeet! Stretch it and make a "super bathtub" out of it and give it a hydro transmission too...with hydraulic lift! :beer2:

I had forgotten about the step down cranks.. But I remember that now.. seems like they were hard to find way back then.. We used to take a standard straight crank and have a local machine shop cut them down and re key when we needed a stepped crank.. it was alot of work but it worked.. :beerchug:

oooh,
bag it with 20's, or hydraulic's to make it bounce :biggrin2::biggrin2: