2055 White resto modding “White Lightning”

darkside0914 wrote:

if it's got 15s i'd find a set of truck snow tires for it, no need for big fancy tires, just something like these should work fine if you have the room for them under your fenders, they're just under 28in tall  https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-New-Haida-Puma-HD818-LT-215-75R15-Load-D-8-Ply-MT-M-T-Mud-Tires/333799620069?fits=Aspect+Ratio%3A75%7CSection+Width%3A215%7CRim+Diameter%3A15&hash=item4db801fde5:g:28wAAOSwcMlf8tww

Great idea! I will look into this further, I think that will solve my problems.

Also I got some work done on the front fenders today. I am using 3/8-16 grade 8 bolts (overkill lol)
The fenders are about 18” long and are made from 16 ga cold rolled. The paint was a rattle bomb that went bad (did not degrease properly) and they will be redone along with the hood and I think I will be much happier with the HVLP.


This is the paint I will be using come spring time. I haven’t used a spray gun before (was given an older craftsman siphon feed) but I will practice on some implements first.

Well...bad news... The blower sucked itself into the ditch and something bent.... I don’t know what it was but it started shaking so I killed it. It’s stuck in the ditch and I am going to be an hour or two before I pull it out. Always something.

Unstuck now, no damage noted other than the pto shaft came apart. Put it back on and no other issues noticed. Whew.


Edit: Going back to the painting, anybody know what the best blast media would be for sheet metal? Seems everything I have found won’t etch or it will cause warpage. All that I found that looks good so far is some 25 grit walnut shells from hazard fright. I don’t see why their media would be any worse than any other though, so if it’s cheaper it will probably work just fine.

This drift is about 5’ tall and the chute couldn’t clear the stream over it.

Holy Moly!  Glad we don't get that deep of stuff out here.  We have had many inches of snow this year.  Typically around 2-3 inches.  We've had about a foot or so in total.  Just not at once and it is typically gone in a couple days.

MightyRaze wrote:

Holy Moly!  Glad we don't get that deep of stuff out here.  We have had many inches of snow this year.  Typically around 2-3 inches.  We've had about a foot or so in total.  Just not at once and it is typically gone in a couple days.

Schools were closed twice in a row this week. It’s bad. I live on a mountain and the snow drifts like Japanese cars

Here’s seconding that it calms down a little up here.

Today was... well... how do I put this? A u joint sheared its bolt and flung itself 15 feet and totaled a piece of the blower mount. Should be useable if I get a hammer though. Fortunately it seems that I didn’t damage anything on the tractor and I was very glad that that missile didn’t shatter my head like a vase. The thing was Flyin.’ I’ll go and get some pictures tomorrow. Always something. But it ended up ok so all’s good.



Edit 2/6/21: Turns out I have a dent on the nose so we’ll be getting bondo. New roll pin and the blower works again.
Edit 2/7/21: broke PTO cable, will repair this weekend.

Blower cable was fine looks like. Tightened down the steering play some (has a screw to adjust gear tension) Anyway, all is good and I straightened the bent mount.

So for today I thought I would outline what has already been done and what still needs doing.

Done:
-New front tires
-Runs, drives, etc.
-New hood and fenders made
-New breather
Will do:
- HVLP Paint hood, fenders (3-4hrs)
-New front trailer spindles/4 on 4 conversion (6hrs)
-New PTO pulley (2 hrs)
-make rear drawbar (6 hrs)
-PTO seal on engine, dipstick gasket, may clean carbon (2-3 hrs)
-New custom clearance muffler to fit under front fenders (4 hrs)
-Headlight wiring harness (3rd attempt ugh) (2 hours)

Might do:
-Powder coat (?) rims
-rear tires, budget permitting

This sounds like a lot but most of these are 1-2 day jobs, and some are cosmetic. Couple questions too:
Can OHV head gaskets be reused? Vannys are priced at $20 per gasket and 40 sounds too steep for me.
Anyone here tried making a muffler? Pictures would be helpful for me if it isn’t too much trouble. Thanks guys for watching this!

Yes they can be reused. Not the best option, but yeah you can reuse them as long as they aren't damaged. A lot of people would disagree and ridicule me for saying that. I haven't had the best results with reusing them. Sometimes you'll have a little oil burn (usually not visible though). It's always best to put some new ones on but yeah you can reuse them.

Thanks for the advice! I think I will be probably either be getting new ones then or I will leave them alone. I haven’t noticed any problems so much as I wanted to lap the valves and clean the carbon just for the sake of doing it and the peace of mind. I’m kinda bored these days...

Yeah definitely don't re-use those graphite head gaskets. Once they get compressed and removed they won't seal right again. Those are prone to leaking between the cylinder and push rod chamber as it is, so it's just not worth the risk of re-using them.

Thanks @AllisKidD21! I see you have good taste in comedy. “To calculate pi, get yourself a pie plate.”
“There’s a bit of complicated math involved with this project; 2piR=cut the grass.”

Busy day today. New breather is in (40 washingtons, ouch) and I cleaned the carb. She has a double barreled Nikki. I somehow managed to strip the main jet on the starboard side, broke the first stage of the intake manifold that feeds the carburetor, and did the solenoid mod on a working solenoid. It was perfectly fine, it just was a pain to get off because there was no plug and you couldn’t remove the carb without removing the solenoid, and I said phooey and cut the wire about a 1/4 inch from the solenoid. Might solder the wires back together and install a connector. If I put it back on would be worth it? The solenoids are priced at 130 each so I feel like I am breaking something by leaving it off. If I don’t I don’t have to cut it, the tip just slides out and there is a loose spring you just take off with it and done. Also, would a JB weld fix be ok on the manifold? Thanks to all who respond.

Here you go with the pictures.




I used a rubbery sealing glue, which isn’t that strong but it is held in place so I just need a seal. I got it to run (needs tuning though) and halfway across the property the motor ran away so it will be there until tomorrow. Not thrilled about leaving it out but I am sure it will be fine. All it is is the governor shaft that controls the butterfly came off the butterfly shaft and it went wide open, so I killed it. Not quite sure what is going on there with it coming loose, it was staying put just fine until I took it out, all it is is a bent rod and a rubber bushing inside the shaft, might see if I can get the worlds smallest cotter pin or something to help with that.

Well no more run aways. Got everything hooked up again and it’s all staying put. Blew out again today (2 1/2 ft drifts again) and that carb clean really did wonders... She’s got a little spring in her step now. That and kudos to @darkside0914 for helping with the anti surging spring, I haven’t had any backfires today. That’s all I got for now.

Ugh.. hate dead batteries. Charged her up again today. Anybody know of a good 2/10/60 charger? Or whatever they call them? I have been borrowing one from my grandfather but he said he would like it back by this spring so I plan to honor that.

Well my main gearbox on the blower just broke its mounts. $$$$$...

Ouch...  

I swear, with all the things that I’ve broken I’m getting pretty darned near $500 invested into this sucker. Hopefully I can just bolt or weld it back on. Love this tractor a lot and she’s been loyal but the PTO, engine and blower have tested my patience a couple times. It’s all good, the more you fix the closer to new she gets I guess.

Update time for today! Hope this is isn’t turning into a multi post.... if there is any concern I can combine posts so just let me know. Anyway, I checked the gearbox mount and it looks like I got lucky. A bolt sheared one side, and the gearbox bent the mount on the other side. There are only two bolts supporting the gearbox, and with the one gone the other mount bent, but it looks like a hammer can solve that problem. Cost: $0.40 for a bolt and lock nut, so not bad at all. It’s pretty quiet out here now, highs in the 30s and 40s this week, so plenty of time to get it fixed. On another note, I decided to scrap the idea of using needle bearings in the wheels, so I plan to switch to 4 on 4 hubs. Is there any good place to find trailer hubs/spindles used or on the cheap? Best I could find was 80 for 2 hubs, spindles, and all the related hardware but I thought I’d shop around before committing.

Posts are fine. Multi post rule is for posts within a few minutes of each.

are you running the stock front spindles and what size are they, i know you can get 4on4 hubs through bmiKarts or gopowersports, just have to get bearings that fit your spindles

They are stock 1" axles. That was the original problem, because the rim is 1 1/4 and ball bearings don't fit in there. I checked BMI and I found a couple but it looks like the cost is similar. I think I'll run the trailer hubs, I know a guy with an old trailer sitting in the woods so maybe he'll sell the spindles to me used. Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it!

So I found the trailer. Problem is it's been sitting for at least 10 years... 12 foot tree in front of it. So I don't know, do you guys think the hubs and spindles will be in good shape? There are press on stamped hubcaps on it and it's relatively sheltered but I thought I'd ask. I doubt it would cost me much to buy the axle, but it would probably need grease seals, lugs, studs and caps which would be 50 altogether so if the spindles are rusty it would get expensive quick. What do you guys think?

Well went for a snort today and enjoyed the near 50 degree weather. Also my not even 1 year old tire is starting to dry rot... ugh. Nothing real bad though it’s just cosmetic. Holds air fine.