Another one done!!!!!

[Matt G.]

Originally Posted by weaverama

It could be a profitable side job though.......

Not unless you cut a lot of corners, which is not something to do when someone is paying you to do a restoration. Remember this?

085_finish (Medium).jpg

I went through it mechanically and cosmetically, replacing or fixing everything that was broken or worn to make it operate as new as it would look, as any restoration should. Despite the fact that I hunted around for parts, got some really good deals, and didn't have to have any machine work done on the engine, I sold it for $50 more than I had in it, and I had 350+ hours in the restoration, not counting the time I spent searching for the best deals on new parts. That's 14 cents an hour.... Had I needed to do much more to it, it would have cost quite a bit more, not been worth any more, and I'd likely have lost money when I sold it. The only person that 'profits' is the buyer, who gets hundreds of hours of work for free, essentially.

[weaverama]

I do remember that Matt and that was a beautiful restoration job. What you are implying is that to do the job top notch, the hours of labor alone that someone would have to charge a customer would probably exceed the value of most any garden tractor out there, unless there is some other intrinsic value a customer has in the tractor.

And, I don't want to hijack this thread but.....

Let's assume though that a tractor is mechanically sound and all I need is a decent, non-rattle can, paint job to protect my cub for another 40 years. How many hours might one estimate to disassemble to a reasonable level, degrease, prepare, prime, paint and reassemble to something less than show quality? I understand that some will say it's not worth starting if you don't go all the way but someone has to have an in-between resto job.

[ramman16248]

I don't tear it down to the point of every nut and bolt. I do an "engine in frame" paint job. It will say this. So far every cub I have done was pretty decent shape. I take all the sheetmetal off. This includes side panels, hood, fenders, and seperate the seat from the pan. Here is my "shortcut" . Instead of sanding the metal with a sander, I use a wire wheel on an angle grinder. I take it to bare metal. I then fix any dents or dings with autobody glaze or putty. This way, you get ALL pits and prior inmperfections out including major scratches. I then prime it with a self etching primer. Time wise, If you work on it all day, You can have this done in one LONG day. I then use a filler primer/s sealer and wet sand it after it dries. Then it is ready for 1st coat of paint. I wetsand that when dry and give it coat number 2. That usually looks good at that stage, and then I go one step further and put a third coat on that uaually looks like glas when it is done. I then re-assemble. The red 782 I did was the worst cosmetically. I had to rebuild the right side hoodline as a building fell on it and smashed it. It turned out great. In an 82 series tractor or like the 2072, I usually have 40-50 hours invested in one.
Materials wise, I have about $250 invested in paint, decals, and cleaner. This includes primer, but not the sandpaper. This is as long as I don't need to put a new seat on. Those are usually $90. So $250 isn't bad to redo them as long as time is free. If you even figure $7 an hour to do that, it doubles the price. Most people don't have interest in spending $500 to make the machines look good. I just so happen to be one that does. LOL!!!
I did take my CC original down to bare frame. I had alot of time and money invested in it. I even had the engine rebuilt. It probably wasn't worth the time and money, but the experience I got from it helped make these ones look as good as they do.

My problem is this..... The guy that has this 2072, just wanted it to be nicer looking when he mows. He doesn't expect it to look like it does. I get "to fussy" and want it perfect. Perfect costs time and money that you can't charge for since he didn't expect that. Mine aren't perfect yet, but each one gets closer. I had over $1500 in restoring my original. But this included a rebuild on engine and 4 new tires. Most people would not have spent this even though it was an old cub.
Now, any cub I see no matter how nice, needs to be painted.

[ramman16248]

I guess, mine are those degrease and paint type jobs, just really fussy and good results. Depending on the model, you should be able to paint it like I do for around $250-$300 including decals as long as you don't need alot of parts or a seat. That is as long as your labor is free.