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Cub Cadet

Wheel Horse RJ-58 Restoration

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I've finally got around to creating a thread for the restoration of my RJ I have been working on.

 

Many thanks to Chris for sourcing the engine, we're working on getting it going, also thanks to Ian for helping me out with the measurements of the front axle and lastly thanks to Chris (showman) for letting me take measurements from his RJ at Newby hall!

 

Heres some photos of the RJ before I started

 

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First i started to strip the tractor down, there were many modifications which needed to be rectified. There were some splined hubs which had been made to fit, they were first to go and they revealed the state of the axles, very rusty and holes drilled in them.

 

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Next I cut off the front axle which has been welded on.

 

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Next we welded the chassis back how its meant to be and welded up the extra holes.

 

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the hood stand required some straightening, some ingenuity was needed.

 

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7 minutes ago, Triumph66 said:

Ewan, if it's anything like your Cub Cadet resto, this will be another WH salavaged from the scrap heap. 

 

Look forward to reading more more about the project in due course.

 

Thanks, it's taking some work but I love a challenge! It certainly will be saved from the scrap heap. 

 

7 minutes ago, Chris said:

Diggers make good presses & do also help to push tyres off rims

 

Glad to see your getting on with it B)

 

It worked very well! :)

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14 hours ago, Stormin said:

 

  You certainly do, Ewan. It'll be finished by the time you go back to uni. :D

 

Thats the plan Norm, another 12 weeks to work on it yet :)

:D

14 hours ago, the showman said:

I think i might have been tempted to make a new chassis looking at all those holes and bits cut out

 

It wasn't too bad, its all fixed and primed now and looks good as new, plus its original :D

 

13 hours ago, Stormin said:

 

He/dad would have to buy steel , Chris. And you now what those Yorkshiremen are like. :hide:   nearly as bad as us from over the border :D

 

Haha, you say that but we've got plenty of new steel here :hide:, I could've made one but i'd like to keep as much original as possible. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next job on the resto was to tackle the gearbox which didn't work

 

 

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There was holes drilled in the axle ends.

 

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Mangled input shaft

 

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To make the axles on the diff useable we flipped them around, first we welded the holes, turned them down and cut new keyways.

 

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one of the bushes was worn so we machined a new one and fit it.

 

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To turn the input shaft down we had to use a bit of ingenuity, we clamped it in a taper lock and turned it down so I can use a taper lock pulley on it. The jig worked a treat.

 

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Next everything was cleaned of rust.

 

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New gaskets were made.

 

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We welded up surplus holes.  The gearbox is now back together, primed and works as good as new :woohoo:

 

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Haven't been on the forum for a while, but I'll be following this with interest. If it turns out half as good as your cub then the results will be amazing.

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Another little update on whats been going on with the resto

 

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Chassis nice and rust free

 

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Pits were filled and sanded down and then given a quick coat of red oxide primer to keep the rust away for a few weeks until I got back to it.

 

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Next were the wheels, the front ones are missing :( and i'm struggling to source some.

 

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The rear rims are pretty much ready for the bin, the metal is extremely thin all the way around the edge, 30% has rusted all the way through.

 

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On the plus side I have managed to source a cub cadet steering wheel with just one small crack in it, its now been repaired. It just needs painting now and we need to figure a way of mounting it to the steering shaft, the original used a roll pin but we won't be able to drill a hole for one now.

 

 

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46 minutes ago, Stormin said:

 Are the rear wheels the same as the later C series, Ewan, or narrow ones? If they're the same I have two you can have. You could always narrow them like I did with he Black Horse.

 

They're the narrow 6x12 ones. Thanks for the offer, at the moment out of desperation I think we will have a go at welding them and see what happens. 

 

11 minutes ago, the showman said:

Nice job on the chassis, looks good. :thumbs:

 

Thanks Chris :)

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Most impressed with your approach and developing a wealth of skills playing with old metal Ewan !. The subject is about as challenging as they can get. 

I'm sure you'll overcome the problems. I'll also be following with interest.         

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Its been a long time since I did an update! The restoration is moving along nicely, heres a few pictures from what seems to be months ago now.

 

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Heres one of the wheels cleaned up, notice all of the welding. We have replaced a lot of metal which had completely rusted away.

 

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The chassis was primed, its currently in the stages of being painted red.

 

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The brake drum for the trans was missing so when I was at Newby hall I took some measurements from Chris' RJ. We had a cast pulley hanging around which was a near identical casting to the original and the bore and keyway were the same. With lots of turning I ended up with as perfect a match as I would ever get :D

 

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Before and after :woohoo:

 

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In situ

 

More updates to follow shortly :)

 

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Since the chassis and gearbox are now operational i thought i would take a look at the bonnet which was in a very bodged state, fibreglass had been used to reinforce the metal and i thought it must've been in a bad condition underneath all the filler, I managed to file the filler off which revealed just what a state the bonnet was in and then the fibreglass which was on the underside just peeled off as it was stuck to paint and rust.

 

Before photos

 

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After some filing 

 

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The only way to fix it was to cut the whole section out and weld in fresh metal, it took some bending to make a piece that would fit but its worked well and its now very strong.

 

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It's been a long time since i've updated this thread, lots has been happening on the restoration, here are some photos.

 

Next on the list was to try and get the tractor back on four wheels, the transmission had been fixed so next i needed to make a front axle as it was all missing.

 

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All the bits for the steering were remade to original specifications thanks to measurements from Ian taken from Neils RJ

 

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Wheels on and everything worked perfect :D

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