Recap of my 1-year '48 SA restoration

[Dale Finch]

Over the past year I know I have bored you with questions and photos of my SA (Bubba), but here are just a few photos to cover the looooong, but challenging (and fun!) process.

From the beginning...


to (for now!) the end...


and a bit in between...
http://s1155.photobucket.com/albums/p558/bdfinch/Bubba%2048%20SA/BUBBA%20Recap/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ20

I still have to take the mower back off to fix it up and paint it. Just needed to get the grass cut! Oh, and that scraggly looking F250 in the background is my "new" truck for hauling my children around!! In the near future it will be in the same shop that I used for my restoration, so it can be painted!


Now to search for my NEXT project....................................... !!!!!!!

[Dale Shaw]

Now to search for my NEXT project....................................... !!!!!!!

Here you go

[Dale Finch]

NO! That one looks like it ran into a wall...has a flat face!!! And it is the wrong color! Actually, I need to get Bertha (my '55 Cub with the loose rod end bearing) done as soon as I get back. That should keep me busy for a short while!

Now for some much needed sleep...don't you guys ever get any sleep?! Ta Ta!

[Dale Shaw]

NO! That one looks like it ran into a wall...has a flat face!!! And it is the wrong color!

But it sure can pull. Winner of the 2012 Hogwaller cub pull

Now for some much needed sleep...don't you guys ever get any sleep?! Ta Ta!

LOL, I sleep in shifts, 5 hrs sleep, 6 hrs up, 2 hr nap, 5 hrs up, 1 hr nap, 5 hrs up. Give or take.

[CubitisNH]

Nice work Dale!
Mike

[randallc]

Great job Dale. You worked hard on it and it looks tops.

[dgrapes59]

Great Job Dale!

I enjoyed watching the transformation, thanks for sharing,

[Tezell]

Looks really good Dale.

[Dale Shaw]

LOL, Y'all meant her SA.

It is one pretty tractor Dale. Congrats.

[Mr E]

Now that you are a pro on this tractor, howz about this one for your next project.

[Boss Hog]

Dale, what did you learn in the process?

You best have the right answer

[Dale Finch]

I learned it's a heck of a lot easier to work on a Cub than a SA, even though they are VERY similar!! After wrestling SA finals and front axles, etc, the Cub is nothing!! Also, if I plan to do another total restoration (of something like Mr E's SA), I better inherit LOTS of $$$$!!

There was a thread about what some people pay for a restored tractor...well, I can honestly say that it probably is still not what it cost!!

That having been said, after I get back from my dive trip, I will get the engine going again on my restored '55 Cub, then MIGHT start looking around again!! Gotta keep busy or I might get into more than financial trouble!

[Stanton]

Hot digity!! You did a bang-up job!!

Where did you do the work? It looks like one of those rent-a-service-stall places. And give us a description of the paint booth picture. What's with the billowing steam/vapor in the background?

It looks first class, top notch! Congrats!!

[Dale Finch]

Where did you do the work? It looks like one of those rent-a-service-stall places. And give us a description of the paint booth picture. What's with the billowing steam/vapor in the background?

About two years ago, I had some minor paint work done on my car. When I desperately needed to swap out the platform on my Cub a few months later, I asked the owner of the body shop if I could do it at his shop. Wellllllll...that dragged out into a complete restoration of my '55 Cub! Every time I decided to do additional work, I asked him if it was OK. All he would say was, "I don't care. Whatever you take off, you have to put back on"! That went on for about 8 months, when I rolled out the redone cub! His shop is a mechanical, paint and body shop. The "steam/vapor" is probably the spray from painting, from the distance and angle of the photo.

About two months after I had finished, I was bored and wandered into his shop again, and asked what he would say if I tried another restoration. He said "I don't care". So I proceeded to acquire two SA's to make one, moved back into the shop (this time with much more equipment, since he didn't seem to mind) and have been there til now. My workbench, cabinet and some tools are still there, since I plan to take the '55 back to work on the engine. Also, at that time I will assemble and install the fasthitch on her, so I can play with my fasthitch implements. It has already been sandblasted and painted. He (William, the owner) has been SO generous; with his space, equipment and advice, plus hands on help!! I cannot thank him enough. I have been SO lucky! I cannot imagine tackling half the work I did without his generosity.

So much fun to be had, so little time!!!

[twotone]

Dale, you make that Trans gasket-seal job sound so easy, and I'm not mentally ready to do mine yet, but I hate that oil spot on the floor. It sounds like a big job to me.


Tom