3212V Sovereign fell apart.....(Updated)

[ZippoVarga 40]

Don't worry...I was just inspecting a couple leaks. One from the mid frame area and one from the gear box. What I found was a loose fitting on the hydro lift and a bad seal on the left rear axle. Now..when I got to the hydro lift problem area.....this is what I found....

After cleaning out the oil saturated grass I just HAD to weigh it...strange? Well, those of you that know me know I am strange so...there was 25# of oil saturated grass in the cavety beneath the dash and shifter quadrant. So..I cleaned it out.

Then I thought......I have this pile of parts....why put it back together with out going through everything. So...the restoration starts...August 15th was the onset day. The dates are on the pics so you can see my progress....on to the pics!!

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Wow....look at that reflection!!!! I'm sold on this soy based paint.

I stripped all the parts to bare metal, primed with automotive black oxide, sprayed A/C safety orange with an 8 to one mix of bright red to get the proper tint then an 8 to 1 to 1 ratio of paint, reducer and hardener. The results...as you can see, are a hard, very glossy, soy bean based enamel. The white is Internaitonal Harvester soy base with the same reduction and hardener ratio. This white is as close to an exact match as I could dream of finding for this Sovereign with out having to alter the tint.

All that's left is the seat, seat pan, gas tank straps and all the front end components along with the steering drag arm and then all the orange will be finished. I still have some lincage pieces to clean up and the gear box and vari drive unit to do. I know I'm not as fast as FastPaul, but this has been a fun adventure thus far. I'm excited to see the end results!!

[B-16_IC 944]

Looking great, keep us posted!^ 25 lbs. of oil soaked grass huh? You will have more wheelspin under load now!

[DMedal 0]

you've been busy! looks really good. What brand of paint is this soy stuff you are using? -Don

[skot71 0]

Wow, if I stop by, I'll make sure to bring my sunglasses to fight off the reflection! GREAT job on the paint.

[ZippoVarga 40]

"majic" implement paint from Rural King. I mixed the reducer as per the 8-1-1 then added the required hardener and just a tad over the 8-1 ratio. Thanks for the comments so far. I've only been able to work on it a couple hours at a time but it's been fun so far.

[Tacey 0]

Beautiful work, Zip. Just beautiful. Tacey

[Roy 0]

Looks great. ^ Carry on.

[johnmonkey 4]

real nice looking resto. jh

[JP 0]

Hey! GREAT Job!! When can we start dropping off our tractors?:D

[gwiseman 1,124]

Only wish I could get that motivated when I tear something apart. GREAT JOB!

[ZippoVarga 40]

Thanks again to all for the nice comments. I was out in the shop this evening for a little while tearing the front grill assembly apart to prep it for paint and after spending about 20 minutes with the wire brush on the grill it self I was convinced that the paint IN the little rectangle holes was not going to come out easily. Has any one but me counted the holes? Well..there's 725 holes. My eldest daughter and I counted them. Deducted the 18 holes missing for the large hole that the front pto shaft comes through, added one for the one large hole, then the mounting holes and headlight bolt holes. I'm still scraping paint out of those holes. The paint stripper, for what ever reason, didnt emulsify this paint. So....I had some silver smithing tools lying around and adapted one that fits easily in the holes and sorta quickly cleans the piant build up off. So...I figure by this time next year I should be about finished with it...lol. I've had some requests for more pictures so I'm off to resize some more and post them, so stay tuned.

[DMedal 0]

quote:

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Originally posted by ZippoVarga Has any one but me counted the holes? Well..there's 725 holes. .... So...I figure by this time next year I should be about finished with it...lol.

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Probably a good thing you don't do this for a living, eh?

[ZippoVarga 40]

LOL....true enough....IF I did I would never make any money at it. I'm too picky. Well....As I said I would do.....here's a few in process pics along the road to a restored 3212V. First are how she was before I tore into her.

The last pic is my Eldest Daughter relaxing on the Sovereign after I added lights and a dual wheel kit. Here's a couple in process of the engine re-paint. I chose a Laquer for the blower tin and engine. The pulleys and starter relay mounting plate were stripped of all dirt and coated with high temp Rustoleum silver.

Turned out ok. Had a slight opps when I clear coated it. Didnt wait for the base coat to cure long enough so it did a little shrinking. But.....once it dried.....looked fine. Here's a few more random pics...

More to come.......stay tuned...lol

[ToddM 0]

Looks Great, keep up the good work!

[ZippoVarga 40]

Seat pan got some attention this weekend....It had a couple tears in the metal at the bracket so those got weldd up, ground down then filled. The filler is still drying but the rest of the pan turned out great and it's in primer...

I had a friend weld it up for me with one of those little 110 flux core wire welders....Didnt have to be pretty since I was going to grind it down any how. Tomorrow I'll clean up the little bit of body filler and prime the last little spot. I'm hoping by Wednesday I can shoot some more paint. Till then!!

[RayS 71]

Sean, your restoration looks great!

[ZippoVarga 40]

Thanks Ray....my buddy Chris says I'm going overboard with the details. The way I see it.....I started this venture to put the old Sovereign as close to it's show room condition as possible. So....it doesn't matter how long it takes. I must admit though..I was tempted to try and chase down FastPaul but the old body just isnt cooperating. Theres too much detail work involved for me to it get it done in a flash, mainly because this was a very well used machine and because I have been a well used machine...lol. Besides.....it keeps me busy when I'm feeling up to it. Thanks again Ray........it's been a fun adventure so far. It'll be at the Portland swap meet in October for those local guys who show up to that. More pics coming hopefully by Wednesday!!

[DMedal 0]

The more I see that flat silver (is that right) on the pulleys and hardware the more I like it. You said it was high temp silver - what brand and type? -Don

[ZippoVarga 40]

Hey Don, It's Rustoleum high temp for grills and it's available in the flat silver and flat black. I love the stuff. Makes old metal look new and it STAYS PUT. I'll snap a pic of the cans this afternoon and send it to ya.