cab refurbish thread
 

I started to work on the cab today. I am going to restore or refurbish this and thought some would like to see the steps I take, so I will periodically be updating this.

I found it to be in worse shape then I had thought it was. Nothing That makes it not worth fixing, just more work then I was planing. It has some pretty bad rust issues. I got everything but the inside of the roof wire wheeled down to bare metal. The white paint on it is just not wanting to come off. I sprayed it with some oven cleaner and will let it set till tomorrow. That should help it come off easier. I think I will just give a full coat of por-15 then prime and paint on top of that. The por-15 should keep any of the rust from coming back.

I also drew up a print for my buddy that owns a sheet metal shop, so he can cut and bend the piece that I am missing that mounts everything to rear fender. This cab is not for a cub cadet. It is about 3 inches wider then the fenders. I had to get creative with the mounting piece, but it should look good when it's done.

Found some stress cracks in places. Both sides just below the windshield. Also found 2 cuts that po must have done for some reason. the cuts are on the lower part of the rear section. I can't even think of why they would have done that.

This is what I started with.

And this is where I am at now. The only thing I have done at this point is to disassemble and use wire wheel to remove the rust and paint..

Looking forward to watching your progress :ThumbsUp:

Same here! :ThumbsUp:

Add me to the list!

#3!

if anyone knows were to find replacement parts for these please let me know. I will be needing to do something with the wiper. I will either need a motor or hand crank. I might possibly need the wiper arm and mounting post to.
Anyone with some pictures of there wiper setup please post them so I can start figuring what I will need to do.

It's coming along Joe!

Joe, If you can't find the original parts for the wiper, you might want to check into an old Jeep CJ wiper motor and wiper set up. There not very big motors and the wiper it's self is pretty small. If that's something your interested in let me know my uncle will probably have what you need NOS.

JR, thanks I will look at some on line pictures of those and see If it looks like something will work.

Well I did not get near as much done this afternoon as I was hoping. The deck belt tension spring let loose on the 1806 while the wife was mowing. So I had to take one off the parts deck and do the deal. Then since it was off I sharpened the blades. It is all good again now. I hope.

So here are a couple picture for those of you wondering what the oven cleaner was going to do to help with the paint removal. This is the result of just a good coat of oven cleaner , 24 hours, some garden hose water, and about 5 minutes of scraping with a putty knife.:biggrin2:. it does not need to sit that long, 20-30 minutes is usually good, but it just worked out that it sat overnight.

I sprayed what was left again and might get to it tomorrow or Sunday. I have a busy weekend coming. My buddy called and said he has the rear mounting plate done, so I will try to get over there tomorrow to pick it up. If I do I will post some pics of it.

Perhaps you might want to try these guys - I know they always used to ship into the USA with no problems.

http://www.cabdepot.com/index.php

They are not more than an hour from my place. I am sure they could still round up parts that would fit old cabs and might be able to adapt them to your cab??

:TwoCents:

Looking good! The stuff i use to get old 50 year old paint off is aircraft remover. You can get it at Autozone for 7$. It is bad stuff to get on you it takes it right off with a razor blade.

Joe I'm loving this thread! I so want a cab!

Duke, you need a cab for the 1650. :biggrin2:

And the 125 and the 1200!

Oh yeah, can't forget those! :biggrin2:

Been a busy weekend, didn't get much done on the cab. Haven't been able to get over to the metal shop to pick the bottom piece up either. Did get the rest of the white paint off the roof ,and did some scuffing with some 80 grit. I hope the POR-15 will stick to the scuffed steel. I have never tried using it on clean steel before.


I used to use aircraft paint remover, and that stuff is great. I use the oven cleaner now because my 2 1/2 year old daughter likes to help and the oven cleaner is not near as bad for if she gets into it.

Well I got some work done on the cab tonight. I got the welder out and fixed up the cracks. It has been a while since I welded sheet metal. I burned a couple holes in it, but got them fixed up. They will look great with a couple coats of paint on them :biggrin2:. Still haven't made it over to get the bottom mount yet.

I also finished scuffing everything down with 80 grit. I was going to try to put the POR-15 on tomorrow night, but I think I might go make the guy an offer on that Speedex s23 That I mentioned in another thread.

I was checking some led marker lights out on ebay last night. I may have to put a couple on it. Does anyone remember the cross reference numbers for the tail lights on the 82 series ? I can't remember, but I thought that someone had figured out that they were the same as the side marker lights on a 70 something vega or citation or maybe it was a chevette.

Thanks for the update and pics. :beerchug:

You can get new 82 series taillights from some of the site sponsors, as well as from Charlie Proctor at CC Specialties, they go for about $10 each, including the lens, fender gaskets, new ss screws, light socket, and I think even the bulbs (194's, I think). I bought a set for my 149 and am very happy with them.

You might find a side marker in a junk yard that would work, but they won't be as pretty as the new ones. Now that you mentioned it, they do look like GM side marker lights, the way they mount and the manner in which the bulb socket fits the lens.

Got some done tonight. The rain was starting so I had to call it quits earlier than I was wanting to.

I am going to put a coat of POR-15 on everything then do a standard sealer/primer, Valspar paint job on top of that. For anybody not familiar with the POR product, it requires some very specific steps to followed to get the desired result.

You supposedly can just paint it on over the rust and have it work but I have never had that luck. So my first step is to wire wheel, sand blast, sand ,strip, whatever I need to do to get back to bare metal. I don't worry about the rust anymore then what any of the above will do. Then there is a POR brand cleaner (marine clean) that is specified to use to get the steel clean of grease and such. It is expensive ,I use purple power.

Then POR has a (metal prep) nothing more than a Phosphoric acid wash. Metal etch from Home Depot has worked just as good for me in the past, and is allot cheaper.

Well tonight I got those to steps done. Then I had to move the pieces inside do to rain. The parts have to be completely dry to paint anyway. It is chance of rain for next couple of days here, so maybe Sunday I will get to sling some paint.

I took a couple pictures of the pieces after the acid wash. I hope you can see the "streaks" and that the bare steel is turned gray. This is what the acid does. I read some were what exactly it is , but can't remember now, it is some kind of coating from the reaction of the acid wash.

Anyway , I will be picking up the bottom mount tomorrow for sure and will get some pictures of that up sometime. I have to apologize, I feel like I am rambling and going on about nonsense, but I am just trying to be thorough in explaining the steps from start to finish.

I'm enjoying your thread, Joe! :ThumbsUp:

I didn't have much time to spend on it tonight, but I did get the bottom mount picked up. I bolted it on to see how it is going to sit. I still need to cut the square out of the middle so the seat base fits. I have not decided whether to cut it completely out or to cut it so I can bend it down and bolt it to the 2 battery box bolts on the lower part of the fender like the factory ones do.

In the rear view picture the sides look the they are splayed out, but there not, they do go straight up. I have to mount it a little farther back on the fender then the factory one so I can get the room to allow the seat to be all the way back. The front down supports will still line up with the 2 bolts on the front of the floor boards.

I will be changing the fenders out for a straight set on final assembly, I figured I might as well leave the bent ones on for test fitting/drilling.

Oh, and I remembered what the acid wash leaves on the steel, It is a zinc coating.

I would pick up those battery box bolts if you can...that'll add some more rigidity.

Nice work! Thanks for the pics. :ThumbsUp:

I got some of the POR part of the painting done today. I still need to do the inside of the rear section and roof. I took a couple pictures to show you how nice the POR lays even when brushed on. Those are the rain clouds reflecting off the finish. It is a shame that it has to be sanded to get anything else to stick to it. These pieces will need to dry for a day or two before I can lay them on the painted surface with out leaving marks. Maybe Tuesday if the weather is good I can finish them up.

The POR goes along ways, I will use less then a pint to paint all these pieces. You really don't want to buy more of this than you need. It is a real pain to keep, and you wind up wasting more than it is worth.

I pour out from the can into a beer cup (plastic solo cups) some paint then paint from that. I pour the rest of the can into a small, clean, good wide mouth juice bottle with a screw on plastic lid. This stuff will weld the lid of the metal can to the can if you try to store in the can. Trust me you will not get the lid off, and you will waste whatever is left in there trying to get it out.

Enjoying the daily update pics, Joe! :beerchug:

cab wiper
 

For a new electric wiper motor and arm/blade, check out 4WD.com. that is 4wd hardware in Columbia, Ohio. They have units that should work nicely on your cab.

I will check them out for a wiper unit, Thanks.

I got some more done tonight. I need to be studying for my A+ test right now but ,well, you know.

I did some cutting and bending so the bottom mount fits and the seat can be put down. Everything clears. It wasn't to bad except for my saw not wanting to cut straight. I will clean it up and round the corners with the grinder, maybe tomorrow.

Awesome job Joe!

I agree! :biggrin2:

Well, it has been a couple days since I posted any updates. To say this project has gotten a little bigger then I intended would not be fair without pictures.:biggrin2:

I still need to remove the wheel weights so I can paint them too. I am thinking I may remove the brakes while I have the wheels off. They haven't been hooked up in years and I think it would be better if they just weren't there. I seem to always have ice and dirt building up on them. And besides who uses brakes on a hydro anyways ?

The POR is on everything that was going to get it. The front ,roof and rear section of the cab have been dry for a couple days now. They still need scuffed and primed. I have been scuffing and using self etching primer on everything, just to make sure the paint will stick real good.

I have been looking at lights for the rear fenders. I am going to go with these, that I found on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_W0QQ...KQ3aMEWAXQ3aIT
They are led and should fit pretty well. I am a big fan of led lighting and like to retro fit them whenever possible.

Looking good! Thanks for the update! :beerchug:

We did a "test shoot" using the wheel weights and plow A-frame tonight. I didn't get any pictures. I think the paint is a little to light colored. It is not as bright as JD yellow but definitely brighter then Cub Yellow. My store could not get Cub Yellow in gallon size so I am using Equipment yellow. It is laying on more like New Holland Yellow. I hope it will darken/fade some once it sets in the sun for a bit. Oh well. The frame wont match the rest, at least there wont be much of that showing.

IH White seems to be just the opposite. It seems to be a little darker then I was expecting.

Brakes on a hydro = parking brake and emergency brake. You just never know...

Brakes,a no brainer.
I used NAPA Commercial Coatings school bus yellow on my 1211,and it came out to be a very good match.Cheap too.

I got some paint on today. I decided on transport yellow, it is not a perfect match but close enough. We had a small fish eye problem at first but we got that figured out.:bash2: Dirty tack rag. The guy in the pictures is my buddy, he is trying to teach me how to paint. It is not going well. These pieces will not be perfect by any means. He did fix them up pretty good after I made a mess out of them.:biggrin2:

Hopefully, we will do the white tomorrow. If so I will be trying to put it together the end of this week.

Man that is going to look sweet! Nice work!!

Just curious, those weights look like weights I have on a Montgomery Wards made by Gilson. Who made yours?

Wow it's looking great!

LARRY W,
the best I have been able to identify them is that they were for a Gilson. There are no makers mark on them. I got them about 25 years ago with a very old, Green Bolens.

Nice job, Joe! :beerchug: