Sheet metal parts

As some of you know, I've been restoring a 1950 8N and a lot of you guys have been a great help for me and I appreciate all of your inputs. My latest gripe is assembling the original hood to
some new parts, i.e., lower side panels and a new grill. Let me preface this remark by saying "after market parts" really suck. Side panels come looking great so I spend the time and money
getting them all refinished so they look as original as possible, but when I go to assemble them, they all don't line up or fit. The preassembled nuts where you put in the bolts, don't line up
and are welded in crooked. Now I'm to the point of clamping the parts together and drilling holes and bolting them together with self tapping screws and trying that. Just aggravating to say
the least. I guess I shouldn't expect anything coming from China to be straight, after all their eyes aren't straight either!
When I look outside tonight I see our first snow in Fargo, not a bunch but covers the grass, looks nice, makes me think about God's creation, maybe my 8N isn't such a big deal afterall. I just
watched an ad on TV for the Shriner's Hospital where the kids are talking about their disabilities, no arms or half an arm, no legs, kids in wheel chairs, all with a big smile on their face
asking for donations to help them live their lives. And I'm complaining about some tractor parts that won't fit right. I'm blessed!

test assemble FIRST - then paint.

I'm with you about the parts coming from overseas. Quality sucks! Then again, I've found some of my original parts have been bent and warped just enough that alignment of the new parts don't fit. All in all, it takes a lot of patients with trial and error to make thing work right.

And I've felt the same way after seeing those kids with disabilities being so courageous. We all have a lot to be thankful for and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, it's a good time to reflect on just how much we relly have to be thankful for, and not sweat the small stuff.

Good luck with your restoration! It will all be worth your efforts when completed.

I'll start this post by stating that I have not used aftermarket sheetmetal, and I mean no offense in what I say. I either re-work what I have, or I get original tin in better shape and re-work that.

I have taken apart the tin on countless tractors. It ALWAYS comes apart a lot easier than it goes back together.

While the aftermarket parts may be made poorly, fit up of tin is affected by 50, 60 or 70 years of the tractor being bumped around. The parts that the tin bolts to is probably out of position. In fact most parts that those parts connect to are most likely out of position themselves.

On a restoration, the tin will be on and off the tractor multiple times while working on the fit up. Sometimes 10 times or more. Fit up of sheetmetal is one of the first things to do, not next to last.

Take a breath, work on the fit up until as near perfect as you want it, then re-paint. Good Luck.

Thanks for your note. I think I have put the hood with the side panels on and off 6 times now and I think one of the issues I had was the position of the radiator in relation to the hood. It
all fits together so tight that there is little room for error. I also think one of the problems was that I was trying to put the hood, side panels and the grill on all at the same time. Now
I have removed the grill and it all goes together easier but the grill is the remaining problem. I also think that using the old hood, even though I did some Bondo on the top and sides, I
think the original hood was bent somewhat over the years and making the new parts fit on a sprung hood might have been the problem.

This is my first restoration so I have a lot to learn. One of the reasons I did it was my father-in-law who passed some time ago, liked this style of a tractor but did prefer the Jubile
version. I kind of did the restoration because my wife liked it and it brought back some memories for her. I'll get it done for her.

I have scratched some of the paint but do have some left over so will do touch up as needed. Thanks for your insite.