Freshening up a TO-20

I am in the process of freshening up my Ferguson TO-20. I have had it now for about 3 years and it has served me well so far brush hogging, pulling my wood cart, and pushing snow. I have had to make some minor repairs to it since I have had it like cleaning the carb, rewiring, and a new alternator and this site has been a big help so far.

Last month I decided to tackle some leaks around the pto, axle, steering box, and water pump and now have sorta got carried away (in a good way). A new water pump has been installed, I have new seals waiting to be installed hopefully over this weekend and I started painting last week. Once I'm done painting I'm going to give it a tune up and full fluid change along with a new fuel line and another rewire.

I cannot seem to attach any pictures but will try and figure that out and get some up here soon.
 
Here are some pics of my painting progress:

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First thing people notice is the grill, kinda like
when one smiles,I would apply some bondo and
straighten the bent vents.All the rest looks good.
 
Looks like a nice paint job. You might be surprised how much
"body" work you can do with some blocks of wood and a big rubber
mallet. I have taken grills that were bent back in and made them
straight again in not that much time. Of course they were far from
perfect but a lot better than they were when I got them and looked
okay from a distance.
Zach
 
I got some nice weather here in western PA over the weekend and got the rest of the tractor painted. This was was my winter project but at this rate I'll have it done in time to plow snow.

I was in too much of a hurry to get any after pics but I'll get some up as soon as it get some parts reassembled.
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I prepped the tractor by hitting it with a wire brush to loosen any rust and grime, then hit it with a pressure washer and degreaser. After it dried I brushed on rust converter/primer. I have been using Tisco Industrial Enamel paint in Ferguson grey. I got a gallon free when I purchased the tractor.
 
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Things are starting to go back together. I'm waiting for the oil seals for the steering box to come in. Once I get them I'll be able to get the dash back together.

I cleaned up the carb last night and rebuilt it with a new parts kit. I didn't realize there was a screen in the fuel inlet. The old one had a big hole in it and was packed with what looked like lead solder or something. When I cleaned my fuel tank there was a twig about 6 inches long in the tank and some long skinny pieces of lead solder too. I'm not sure how it made it past the bowl screen and fuel line but I'm glad I found it.
 
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I still need to clean up the wiring some and take the wheels off to install the brakes. I will probably take the tires off the rims and blast and paint the wheels while I'm at it.

I was hoping to fire it up last night but need to get new battery cables.
 

It's pretty quick to do a good masking job on the rear tires and end up with a good paint job of the rims. For the amount of work it is getting the rear rubber off and back on I'd suggest just masking.
OTOH, the front ones aren't too bad to remove and replace, and it gives you a chance to paint the rims on the inside with POR-15 or similar, where they often get pretty rusty.
 
Removing the rear tires isn't something I am looking forward to but one is leaking calcium out of the valve stem pretty bad and it might be starting to rust through.

I have been looking around on the forum here and it seems like I would be better off filling the tires with something less corrosive like windshield washing fluid or used antifreeze.

If I was to leave the tires on the rim and paint them I heard playing cards work good. Just shove cards in the rim all around the tire.
 
I pretty much finished up over the weekend. I still haven't tackled the wheels and tires yet. Here is a before and after pic.
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I installed the headlights after I took these pictures. Thanks again for all your help. I don't really have anyone close to go to when I run into trouble and this forum and the people on it have been a great resource.
 

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