I did not have much of anything to do tonight so I went out to the cub storage area and tried to find something to play with to keep myself occupied. I turned my attention to the steering assembly and dash parts of the '76 this evening. I'll tell you what, every fastener, linkage piece, etc fought me on this dash assembly, it seemed like the hardest work I have done on this project so far and I was only out there a couple few hours.

I removed the steering wheel with a toot of PB blast, and a pickle fork. That steering wheel was all cracked up and is not going back on the tractor so I was not worried about beating it up. Came off pretty easily all things considered. I also took the bottom end of the steering column apart so I can bend the plate back into shape and repack it with fresh grease before it goes back together. I took it apart first hoping to avoid damaging anything popping the wheel off. Seemed to work out for me.
http://i.imgur.com/3SNZG.jpg



The lever/ rod for the hydro lift was all bent out of shape for some reason which proved to be hard to get apart. I will need to replace that or find some alternative lever setup for the lift. I think it has something to do with this nice little PO "mod" in my dash tower.

http://i.imgur.com/QdnJD.jpg

Not only is there a gaping hole in it, they still did not have enough room so they bent the hole out with some pliers or something, and mangled the fiberglass part of the dash. :bash2:

http://i.imgur.com/x9MEh.jpg

Somewhere in a milk crate around here I have some fiberglass cloth, resin and hardener. I should be able to repair the fiberglass part to look decent. I've done some carbon fiber and fiberglass work in the past. Still deciding what to do on the dash tower. I'm torn between buying a decent used one, or just fabricating a panel out of stainless or aluminum and making a cover plate for it to cover the extra hole. I had to bust out the big hammer and flatten the cutout they made the best I could since it was all bent up. Somehow I think this giant hole and the bent lift lever are related.

Other than that I have not had a lot of time to do much with the '76, it's getting to a point where I will have to start gathering parts, figure out what to do about an engine and start piecing it back together. The '78 has been a real trooper though, cut the grass with it again this week without any issues. I think it sees the '76 in a million pieces and knows it could face the same fate haha.

Thanks for the pics! You've been busy with your 1450's! :ThumbsUp:

thanks Allen,

hoping the pics start looking prettier here soon. :biggrin2:

CC1450-I'd just like to let you know how much this Cub owner appreciates you taking the time to keep a "photo journal" of your restoration. I plan on starting a resto on a '72 149 this winter and next will be my '79 1650. This record of your restoration will be priceless to me. Between that and the advice of all the other guys on here I have no doubt that I will end up with some beautiful restored tractors,,,:Thanks:

Good luck on your project.

It looks like you have bigger problems with the steering column. The tube isn"t supposed to come out of the housing like it did.

AJ

I fail to see how that is a problem AJ, it slid right out by hand and goes right back the same. I'll have to check it out again though, not doubting you but it seemed to just be a loose press fit deal.

My 129's steering column was the same way was a loose press fit. One side of the tube is smaller then the other. I simply pressed in the bigger side to the gear box side, and the smaller side worked better for installing a wheel bearing. Column is super tight now like it should be.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff that is a good idea, hopefully I can do the same. :beerchug: Worst case scenario I can always put it together and weld it where the tube meets the gear box.

hey guys! Boy am I glad to be able to check in to OCC forums after the weekend I had. It all started Saturday. The plan was to visit with my mother and step dad who came by. After they left I was going to have a late lunch and work on my '76 a little bit. I had picked up some body filler and primer on Friday and planned on working into the evening out in the garage. Funny how plans can change.

As I was finishing up my lunch I checked the weather on my computer and found a severe weather alert had been issued. Literally less than 10 minutes later it was coming in fast. The skies went from a beautiful summer's day to nearly pitch black just as fast as you could read this sentence. I grew up on this property and this old house has stood the test of time through many a storm. It was when I saw the top of one of my trees snap off and hit the garage that I figured I had better head for the basement.

I lost power and was huddled up tornado drill style against the north wall. I figured with the wind blowing in from the north it was a good of a place as any. I have never heard more terrifying sounds in my life as I did then. It was all happening so fast you could not tell what was going on, other than the knowledge that damage was happening. When I emerged and the storm had cleared, I did a walk around of the property. I lost trees that have been here for over 30 years. One was a blue spruce that had to been 20-30 feet in diameter at the lowest branches. The house took it like a champ, with just some soffit and fascia blown away. It was when I looked away from my property and landscape that I realized just how lucky I was.

this is a normal high tension power tower. These lines have so much juice surging through them you can hear them humming when you get near them.
http://i.imgur.com/DDWwR.jpg

This is the next one south of the above:
http://i.imgur.com/No1yk.jpg
A few more of those came down as well.

This is my neighbors barn (what is left of it anyways) less than a half mile across the field from me:
http://i.imgur.com/8rnnp.jpg
Note the giant cart overturned as well.

Couple shots of the trees down on my property:
http://i.imgur.com/xxiwq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qs2bL.jpg

The thing about being a small town Indiana guy is you can't keep us down for long. The local utility company had my power restored in just over 24 hours although there are still several areas without power as I write this. I called and reported my internet was out this morning. Got a call back about 2 hours later asking me to try it. Was up and running. They towed a generator out to the access point and plugged it in so we could have internet until power is restored there. :beerchug: