Restoring an old 1200 - First Time questions

[zippy1]

great to have you as a member.
Glad to hear your kid is diggin the older iron as a father and son project. All's not lost just yet. There was a lot of information givin, but don't get overwhelmed, WE are here to help.
From the looks of the pictures you provided, this tractor seems, paint wise to be in pretty decent condition. Maybe before you get carried away, just fix what needs it, and use it awhile, to "shake it down", and work out any bugs, and go from there...

[IH1200]

Good Morning everyone!

Thanks so much for your help, support, info and knowledge. we truly appreciate it

after work last night I got home and he had dismantled a decent amount of the tractor and he was wanting to get the rear axle off. He wanted to start cleaning everything and seeing what needed what.

we have found alot of, well a decent amount of places where there are no bolts at all. he has been labeling each section and what goes where and taking pics etc. he also seems to know a good amount of what each part is

he was taking a pin out to get the drive shaft loose and he figured out how to do this and we got it off without to much issue.

to say he is excited would be a huge understatement. I've told him to make sure he bags and labels each section and makes note of what appears to be missing or broken.

we have come across 3 parts so far that have cracks, or holes worn thru and i will post those and get your take on whether its ok to keep and maybe use larger washers, or if they should be replaced.

one issue with this tractor from the getgo was the clutch wouldn't engage so it couldn't drive. so we are looking into that, apparently the former owner put a new one in recently but we will get to that as we rebuild.

it does start right up and when he got it he cleaned everything he could.

anyway this was last night. he started power washing and cleaning.

the plate with the shifter, with the 9 bolts is an area that leaks and he identified another part as well but i forget and will list when he texts me later today

one question he had was what is the proper color's for this tractor and year, and is it possible to get those colors still? in cans at this point because we have no real painting equipment. He plans on sanding carefully, primering 3 times and 3 coats of paint, but i told him we should ask, so if you have any recommendation on painting that would be great

thanks again!

[J-Mech]

I'm sorry, I don't have the time at the moment to read all the way through this thread.... so I skimmed it. You keep saying that you don't have any "real" painting equipment. Do you have an air compressor? If so, all you need is a desiccant dryer and a spray gun. And a resperator mask. Don't forget that. Even if you're only using rattle cans, you need a resperator. You can buy all 3 items at TSC for not much money. If you don't have an air compressor and don't plan to get one, you can always go with a Waggoner airless electric sprsyer. Here's the deal.... by the time you buy enough rattle cans to paint it, you will have spent enough to buy a paint gun and associated tools.

Yes, paint is still available. You can purchase it from any Case IH or Cub Cadet dealer. You can order it online, or you can get quality paint mixed for you from an automotive paint supplier. I suggest Nason or PPG paint. Unless he takes it down to bare metal, one coat of a primer is good enough. 2 coats in the bare areas max. No need to waste paint. Although possible, I don't see him sanding off that original primer without sandblasting. While on that note, you can get a water blaster attachment for a pressure washer for like $65. Works pretty decent depending on how many PSI pressure washer you have.

[IH1200]

Hey

thanks for the info, we do have an air compressor! Didn't know that, we will check that out and use it.

I think he is a little over zealous at times to make it "right", thanks for the info on the painting tips and primering.

also on the colors, he is hell bent on making it correct, decals as well. its good to knwo we can get the correct colors.

thanks again!

[ironman]

Painting these things can be TEDIOUS,TIME CONSUMING, and depending on how "politically correct" you want to be with the paint......EXPENSIVE. I can certainly understand your son's excitement but you would hate to see it wain because of the job taking forever or is lacking funding. It sounds like you will be looking at quite a few new parts which will take some cash and time to accumulate. Maybe you could explain to your son that it might be a good idea to do it in two phases. Phase one already underway, get everything cleaned up, broken stuff fixed or replaced, reassemble, run it, make adjustments, work all the kinks out, get it where you're happy. (nothing worse than a spiffy painted tractor that you can't get right)

Then do Phase 2, the painting. Taking it apart the second time will be a piece of cake because it is all new and clean, and you already know how. It could even be a winter project and done at a more leisurely pace.

My and that ker-plunk sound is just me falling off soap box.

[IH1200]

no, I think its a good idea!

I jsut texted him your suggestion and he said "yes, that is what we should do"

so now this is a 2 phase project. He understood what a disappointment it would be to make it look nice and have it not work, and there ARE broken pieces, missing pieces, and it did not run when we had it before this. it started fine and actually it went for a couple days but then the clutch would not fully engage and he couldn't shift. which is kind of what started this.

he decided that instead of just fixing the clutch he wanted to tear it all apart to learn it so he could "fix it" himself

i had always said to him "learn all you can, if you can fix it you can do it so you knwo it and it will save alot of money"

i guess he took that to heart lol

thanks!

[vr4Legacy]

Welcome.

I love reading the enthusiasm you and your son share for this project. I'm hopeful my sons (now 5 and 2) will want to be as involved when they get that age.

I also have a 1200 and love the lines on it. As mentioned Jeff in PA can get you solid motor mounts, and if you need a new driveshaft or other parts, he can manufacture a lot of different things for these cubs.

One thread that gave me a lot of insight was this one by member TwoTon

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...837#post311837

lots of good info, things he did and a great tutorial to build a clutch jig with wood (if you don't have a welder or much metal fabricating skills like me).

Enjoy the project and keep us updated. Even if it's a simple "here's what we did today" with a few pics and no questions. We like to see progress

[IH1200]

Hi

thank you for the link and info. I will be checking it out as well.

These 2 parts are "broken", the one the hole has been worn to the point who had it before us used much larger washers etc, and the other has a crack in it. My son knows where they go but not the name of them, he is checking thr manuals. these would be the first 2 parts we have found that have issues. Would you replace them with new? and if so are parts like these easy to come by? or if not, better to just replace and use something that allows them to be ok?

thanks so much.

[ironman]

Originally Posted by IH1200

Hi

thank you for the link and info. I will be checking it out as well.

These 2 parts are "broken", the one the hole has been worn to the point who had it before us used much larger washers etc, and the other has a crack in it. My son knows where they go but not the name of them, he is checking thr manuals. these would be the first 2 parts we have found that have issues. Would you replace them with new? and if so are parts like these easy to come by? or if not, better to just replace and use something that allows them to be ok?

thanks so much.

Those parts are enclosures around the muffler at the front of the engine. Probaly not easy to find and probably not cheap. Unless you want to have your son's 4 year college tuition tied up in this tractor you are going to have to use some ingenuity.

The wallerd out holes can be repaired by brazing or soldering (or even JB Weld) some washers in place at the holes. The other piece is aluminum and you could bridge the crack with some thin sheet stock and pop rivet or use tiny nuts and bolts to secure it. Some JB Weld on that as you are doing that wouldn't hurt either.

[IH1200]

ha! yes we do need to keep the slim savings in place!

thanks for the suggestions, i will show him this evening what you said. he was very concerned about them and the condition and how they were "fixed"

thanks!