Here's what I hope are the before pics of what turns into a decent restoration. I've started accumulating some of the parts I'll need to address some wear issues. I have an
IMGUR album here.
My workspace at home is less than insufficient for anything beyond basic wrenching. So for more challenging tasks like clutch work, I'll have to do work where more tools and machines are at the ready.
The SN is in the 80k range. Right around July of 1964 when I last looked it up.
THE GOOD
- Headlights Work
- Hood & Fenders are straight
- Grote light present but not working
- 3pt with spring assist
- Creeper
- Starter generator and voltage regulator are working
- Starts, runs and drives well
- Mower deck not rusted through
- Steering box not too sloppy
THE BAD
- Needs all 4 tires relatively soon
- Needs rear axle seals replaced
- Front axle and spindle issues resulting from a long life parked outdoors. Axle had to be torch heated to free up spindles.
- Front bearings dry as a bone. Amazed they still spin so freely.
- Drag ling arm "fixed" with weld
- Deck spindles are 100% dead & dry. But still spin roughly.
- Front axle appears to need bushed to bring spindles back to factory angle
- Clutch slips a lot going into 3rd gear (HI)
- Mower deck does not cut level from one side to the other.
- Substantial wear on belly carriage (or whatever it's called)
- Sediment bowl & fuel line replaced with some home-brew solution that doesn't supply enough fuel to carb without constant monitoring.
- While the outside of the hood is mostly straight, someone hacked up the inside by cutting the cross-brace and adding some spring tensioned solution to stop rattling. Where the spring tensioner bolted trough the hood sides, the sheet metal has now fatigued and cracked. Hood will require welding/filling and replaced bracing
At the moment, I'm mostly focused on straightening out the front end issues. I'll have to get a better picture of the ghetto-lean the front left tire does later tonight. I'm not sure if I need to replace the whole front axle or what. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take a cutoff wheel to the left spindle in order to free it from the welded cap. I'm expecting to find an egg-shapped hole worn in the cast-iron axle rather than a worn down steel spindle. A shame people seem to have no clue what grease is.