Been working on an old 355 Oliver mower all summer. Got all the parts stripped down, de-rusted, repaired/replaced/repainted. Had fun repairing the counterballanced flywheel, as a large slice of the pulley sheve had been snapped off long ago. Cast-iron, so I couldn't weld it. Worked up a piece of flat steel stock, cut it to shape, bent it to match the shallow cone-shape of the pulley, brazed it into place (do you know how long you gotta HEAT a 20-pound flywheel to get brazing to flow??!!), then used JB-Weld to build up the inner face. Machined this down on the lathe, prime/paint, and it actually looks good! Got most everything else done, de-rusted, and painted. Put it all back together over the last few weekends, got the cutting bar back together and mounted it yesterday. Painted it all Oliver green, but I wanted some contrast somewhere. Thought I'd paint the stone guards yellow.....no, then it'd look like a Deere...maybe red, Oliver's had them red wheels...well, that'd look kinda gruesome on the teeth of a mower. Ugh. Went with gloss white, like the later Oliver tractors. Looks nice, but it probably won't stand up to any usage. Better take some pics now. Thanks to the gentlemen on this board who've helped me with advice and information. This hasn't turned out too bad, considering the thing was laying in a swamp for 20+ years until I pulled it out last spring. All I need now is a nice OLIVER sticker for the belt guard. Who makes'em? Oh yeah, I guess I'll need an Oliver 55 to put this thing on. Works good on my Ford 8N, but the grey/red clashes with the Oliver green. Think that argument will work with my wife?
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