[AT] [External] Re: Something to do

[Tyler Juranek]

Hi,
I would like to throw my $0.02 in here also.
Every now and again my father will buy different tractors at sales and
bring them home, some to keep and some to resell. Most of the ones
that had all new tires, paint, etc, were mechanically rough. One of
the exceptions is when we found my 770 Oliver.
It was one of those deals where, I hadn't seen it up close, but my
father knew the guy to be a pretty straight guy in terms of honesty.
He said the tractor was all done, end to end, new pistons, sleves,
rings, pins, rod bearings, injectors, pump, you get the idea. At that
point I was still struggling with my oliver 88, and so my wallet
didn't feel very fat. A "father/son loan" was certainly in order. So
the agreement was that if it got here, and it made it through my
tractor ride, I'd continue to pay on it. If I had a ton of stuff to
fix afterword, then it'd be sold.
Before it was loaded on a semi to come here, the guy I bought it from
took it to an antique tractor pull for me. That's certainly a good way
to see if it'll hold up. Sure enough, it held up great. It got here,
and I was surprised to find that everything was about perfect,
including the lights, gages, etc. The only thing that didn't work was
the fuel gage. That was not a really big deal to me as there was a
manual one on the tank.
So, I took it on a preliminary ride before my ride for eyesight
research in 2019. The only thing I had to do to it was put a new oil
sending unit in, because when I was about 29 miles in, it slobbered a
ton of oil out, and when I came back from eating lunch to finish the
ride, it was a quart short. It was a simple $10 part, and I have had
it on at least 5 rides since. When it got here in July of 2019, it had
6 hours on the tach for the overhaul. Now, it just turned 70
yesterday.
When I was looking for tractors last summer, several 770s were
available. One was up by Sioux City, Iowa for $3500. Checkerboard
grill, gas, halfway decent paint job, but a ridiculously loud rearend.
For $500 more, I bought the one I have now that's diesel, and it is
way better quality. So, my point here is that just because something
looks halfway nice, start it up and listen to it run. Feel the tires.
Feel the PTO shields and shafts. (not when engaged, lol). Feel how the
steering is. How does the clutch feel when let out? You get the idea.
The key word here, feel. Then again, I have never had eyesight, so
maybe "just looking" is ok for the sighted world. For me, it's all
about the mechanicals. Worry about the paint job later.

Re the paint job: When dad had his Farmall 966 with a narrow front
repainted after the overhaul, it cost $2300. That not only was for the
paint, but he also got aftermarket steps, handles on the fenders, grab
handles, etc. It is very nice now.
I also thought I would mention that much can be done to current paint
jobs with certain types of wax and rubbing compounds. During the
pandemic when my clinic was closed, I spent a ton of time detailing my
770 to buff up the paint on it. I used a ton of wax and things on it.
One day the neighbor came on over here (one who we see often), and
exclaimed, "Tyler, that's a nice tractor! Is it new?"
He was the guy who was here when it came off the truck. Basically, a
little wax went a long way, and that thing looks better now than it
did the day it showed up here.
Just my $0.02 worth. I know that there a ton of you on here of whom
know way more about these things than me, and I am open to hearing
more regarding painting.
Take Care, and thanks for reading,
Tyler Juranek
IA

On 9/20/20, szabelski at wildblue.net <szabelski at wildblue.net> wrote:
> When I was doing the rebuild on the Cub last winter, I carried all the parts
> down into the basement were it was warm enough to paint. Some were a little
> on the heavy side, but nothing I couldn’t handle with a little effort. I
> painted with a brush, not a spray gun. The paint came out near perfect, just
> a matter of using a quality brush and getting the paint to the right
> thickness (thinness) so that it flowed and leveled itself. There is one
> place where I did get a run due to getting distracted by a phone call.
> Unless you know it’s there, you can’t see it. I’m letting it go since
> Farmalls came with drips and runs due to the heavy spraying that was done at
> the factory. So I guess I can say that my paint job is more original looking
> than a professional job.
>
> Next summer the H will be getting the same work, will just cost more and
> take a little longer, especially since it’s older and has more rust to take
> care of. The only difference is that I’ll be doing all the work in the
> garage and won’t be carrying all those bigger parts down into the basement.
> Way too big and heavy!
>
> Carl
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: John Hall <jtchall at nc.rr.com>
> To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
> Sent: Sun, 20 Sep 2020 08:22:51 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: [AT] [External] Re: Something to do
>
> Same reason why so many cars are over-restored. As long as someone is
> not butchering a rare machine (car, truck,tractor) then I say go for it
> and pour all the time an money you want in it. I'll admire it like it
> was some sort of artwork. As for me and my wallet, I still won't pour
> more money (if I can help it) into a machine than what I can sell it for
> (not counting labor).
>
> John Hall
>
> On 9/19/2020 11:17 PM, Gunnells, Brad R wrote:
>>
>> It just puzzles me why someone's Farmall H has to have a paint job
>> that rivals their Corvette......
>>
>> Brad
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>
>
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