Kevin's Liquifire

[nick80lf]

Well......more progress was made. I believe the TR800 is finished. As normal, it was not without drama (my 23 year old Chinese vise didn't survive).

In past years when I have rebuilt 102s I would take them appart at home do as much as I could at home and then take them to work to torque the spider. The main reason for this was that I didn't own a torque wrench capable of going to 250 ft lbs per the specs for the 102 spiders (in recent years the torque wrench situation has changed). The company that I work for has been around for almost 150 years and there are big beautiful very old vises on just about every work bench (Parker, Columbian, and ect) which are more than capable of handling the task, unlike my Chinese made tractor store special. My intent was to take the spider on the TR800 to 250 ft lbs, but I know I didn't get there before I heard the crack, which at first I thought was the TR800. It felt like I was close to 250 so I left it at that.

So from there when I went to install the cover I was struggling quite a bit to press down the cover, keep the ramps in place, and install the cover bolts so I decided enough was enough and made a tool to compress the cover.

This is nothing more than a chunk of 3/4-16 bolt that I drilled then cut a piece of 1/2 threaded rod and plug welded the two together. It worked pretty well and is something I can toss in the drawer with the clutch puller.

And here is the finished clutch

[jep_800]

Looks awesome Nick!

On the previous page, you had the fuel tank and door installed on top of the tunnel... wondering what you used to clean/ polish that material to make it look so good. I think it's been mentioned by Deere guys before, I am just the fool who doesn't write that stuff down the first time.

Thanks.

Jason

[nick80lf]

Thanks for the compliment Jason. As far as what I used to clean the tank. I honestly don't exactly remember. Pretty sure I pressure washed it, probably wiped it down with simple green, and maybe something like alcohol (not positive on that one). Once it was clean and dry, I used kiwi heel and edge black on it. I have had pretty good luck with the shoe polish. I use it on just about anything rubber or plastic that needs a refresh. The tool box lid received new decals. I have also touched up the rivet heads that hold the hinge to the lid.

[nick80lf]

Still moving along very slowly with this thing. I tend to let myself get hung up on details. Replating the secondary clutch sheaves turned out to be a challenge. These were the largest parts I have plated and I was trying to find the perfect container for plating solution, didn't want something too oversized that I would need a bunch of plating solution. My first go around didn't work out well and I needed to strip them down and try a different approach. Second time was better.

After the secondary was back together we installed both clutches. Since this was my first go with a TR800 I tossed on a NOS Deere 1-3/8 belt tightened the track, started the motor and gently got things rolling just to make some observations. My intention is to run the Ultimax 1135-M3 belt but I wanted to see how things looked with a genuine Deere belt first. We then installed the 1135-M3 and again gently rolled things over.

After that the push was to get the front bumper fixed up. I'm pretty sure Kevin moved the sled with a loader tractor and log chain under the front end of the sled. There were some pretty significant chain marks in the aluminum bumper, so I slung some bondo on it sanded and primed. Before I was finished the orders came down from the commander to clean the shop out for my oldest daughter's graduation party.

That was about 2 months ago and just today I had a chance to touchup a few imperfections apply a second coat of primer to the bumper. I'm hoping to get the bumper painted and installed in the next week or so and then we will be moving onto getting the hood stripped and prepped for paint.

[JDGuy]

Looking great!!!

[nick80lf]

Guy, it's great to hear from you. Hope you have been well.

[nick80lf]

Deleted duplicate post

[nick80lf]

Just finished installing the bumper, as usual not without a little bit of drama. The first issue, guess I can't count. A few weeks ago I thought I had rounded up and re-plated all of the bumper bolts. When I went to install the bumper I quickly discovered I was missing two of the short bolts. After a little panic attack I found them tossed in a can with other old bolts from this sled. Once they were plated I installed the bumper and end caps. The second bit of drama involved the reflective strip. About ten years ago I purchased some 3M reflective strip from eBay and have always used that. As luck would have it I only have about 2ft of the 3M strip left. No worries I'll just use what came in the decal kit. I had always heard this stuff stretches. Turns out that is no joke. The genuine 3M is much easier to work with in my opinion. I ended up ruining the first strip and just about ruined the second strip my aging eyes didn't help with this. I think it turned out good enough. If anyone is wondering, anytimesigns on eBay is where I have purchased the 1/2" 3M strip in the past $12 will get you 25ft (including shipping), I highly recommend it.

Also this weekend I stripped the hood and started adding some filler in places. I thought this would be an interesting photo to share. Earlier I mentioned my brother recognized this sled because of the hand painted area where the hood decal was damaged. They did a decent job, wasn't to obvious from 10 ft away.

[nick80lf]

Went shopping for paint supplies this weekend. I knew this was going to be an issue and sure enough it was. The local Auto parts supplier where I typically go for paint went out of business. Unfortunately this means that I will be using a line of paint I haven't used before and the shopping experience was less than ideal. Once this hood is done I do not think I will be using this place for paint supplies again. The experience left me flustered enough that I forgot to stop at the hardware store for a can of flat black (that I use as guide coat).

Anyway, I did manage to get the first coat of primer on the hood. I didn't mix quite enough and was running low when I got to the side we are looking at, which is why you can see the body filler shadow. Turns out there were some fine cracks in the hood where decal was missing. I ground those out and used some bondo glass in an effort to stabilize the crack.

Hopefully I will have a little time during the week to block this down and spray the second coat of primer.

[snowmoer]

I have not used this company yet, but here is a link to JD paint colors.

https://vintagesledpaint.com/

I plan on using them after I get the addition on my garage this fall. Then I will have a place to restore my 4 sleds.

[nick80lf]

Thanks for the info, I ended up with PPG Omni single stage (MAE to be specific). In the past I have used PPG shop line JAU with good results. We will cross our fingers. It's sort of a long story but my big concern at the moment is if I actually got MAE. The can says it is but they mixed it and applied the label however my receipt says different. I'm really hoping they didn't mistakenly sell me a base clear with a single stage label. I just had much more confidence with the old place.

[SS440-80]

Fantastic work

[nick80lf]

Thanks

[nick80lf]

Well....the last month has been full of disappointment. I'm definitely not a professional painter and I regret trying a different type of paint. My first attempt at painting this hood turned out terribly. I think I could have gotten a better finish using a popcorn ceiling gun.

I should have just scuffed it down with 600 and re-sprayed but instead I decided to try to wet sand and buff. After spending about 2 weeks messing around I had this.

I was surprised how much it improved but you could see pin hole low spots. I tried to sand more but eventually burnt through to the primer. That spiraled into trying to touch up and blend remember I'm not a pro so this didn't turn so well and was definitely visible. So after all of this messing around I scuffed with 600 and repainted. This time I cranked up the air pressure and used more than the recommend amount of reducer and it came out better.

I still wasn't real happy with this second go and debated for about 2 weeks what to do with this thing. A co-worker that does body work as a side gig suggested I scuff, seal and use Urathane, he's not a big fan of enamel paints and unfortunately that's what I bought for this one. I felt like he was right but the more I thought, it seemed to make sense to make one more attempt at wet sanding and buffing. My thought was if I fail again I would go the seal and re-spray in Urathane route.

After putting in a few hours of sanding and buffing this is what I have.

I think I can live with this. I intended to let it set for a few days to see if it clouds up and if not we will move into decals and putting components back on the hood.

[snowmoer]

I think it came out great! Nice work.