[johndeereelfman]

So I seen an add on Facebook Market Place advertising (2) John Deere 60 Parts lawn tractors for sale and since they are both first year 60's, I decided to pull the trigger and buy them. To my surprise, the seller happened to be fellow member Craig Kline.

The 1966 60 is the only year I didn't have yet to complete the 4 year production set. I picked up the tractors this afternoon and will eventually get around to combining both tractors into one. Here are pictures of my latest investment as I know I can't post a story without posting pictures.

Craig and I decided to make an agreement. From now on, if either one of us has something to sell, we must contact each other first, as it appears that he and I are constantly buying stuff from one another!! 😀

I can't wait to get all four 60 tractors together so I can snap a picture of the completed set. Maybe I can get the 11 piece round fender set out and snap a picture of them as well. Just one more set to complete yet and that is the 5 year 70 lawn tractor set. Only two more to go!!

 

[Chaser]

That's good stuff. I love this site, real good bunch of dudes.

 

[tsb3]

I knew that they were small, but I didn’t know that they would fit side by side in the bed of a pickup!

 

[ckjakline]

Yea we didn't realize it either until we had first one in.

 

[MiniHomesteader]

Ain’t it a small world?!

 

[johndeereelfman]

I finally got the (2) 60's unloaded from the truck yesterday and today I thought I'd tinker with the better of the two. After getting the rusted seat pan off and removing the homemade wiring harness, I sprayed the tractor with Simple Green and washed out the mouse nest that was nestled under the battery tray.

Since the repaint was flaking in most spots, I started wet sanding with 320 grit paper as a way of removing it and getting down to the original paint. This is a first year, 1966 60, so if I can make it look good in its original paint, then it won't be getting restored.

The 320 grit did good removing the repaint however some areas exposed bare metal. I'll deal with that later. Liking the results of the original paint, I continued on with the rest of the fender pan and right side of frame.

Once I have the complete tractor wet sanded with the 320 grit, I'll go over everything again with 1000 grit just to smooth the paint out. Then I'll decide if it's worth polishing and bringing back a shine or if I should just disassemble and repaint. I really don't have time for adding another tractor to my repaint list for this year, so maybe just a quick spray without disassembly will be the ticket for now.

 

[tsb3]

Looking good. Maybe a clear to protect the bare metal spots and to preserve the “patina”, if you like the look.

 

[backwoods]

Nice find troy but if i recall you said you werent buying anymore projects lol , glad you have a complete set now

 

[johndeereelfman]

Nice find troy but if i recall you said you werent buying anymore projects lol

Whaaaat??? Starting to sound like my better half buddy! 😁

 

[Kster526]

I know just how that sounds Troy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[johndeereelfman]

We got sent home early this morning due to a surprise federal investigation at the retirement home we are remodeling so I polished one of the 60 fenders to see how well the finish would come back, and to my surprise, it actually looks pretty good for being a 55 year old paint job.

I think I'm going to continue with wet sanding off the repaint and take my chances that the rest of the tractor will shine up just as nice. Just going to keep it looking original for now the best I can anyway and will eventually restore it sometime down the road.

 

[Kster526]

Came up pretty good. Are you running a wheel on it or doing it all by hand ?

 

[johndeereelfman]

Did it by hand Kyle. I was just experimenting at the time but if I do elect to go all the way, I will then change over to the electric buffer.

 

[Kster526]

Nicely done

 

[MiniHomesteader]

Elf, do you, or anyone else for that matter, have any idea where to get the correct shifter area decal for the early 60 tractors?

 

[johndeereelfman]

I'm pretty sure Hapco sells them individually. I know they sell a complete decal set but I'm pretty sure all of the decals in the set are sold individually as well. It's been quite awhile since I've been on their site, but that's how it used to be. I guess nothing has changed.

 

[MiniHomesteader]

The problem is the early 60’s had a different decal than the later 60’s and 70’s.
My ‘66 60

Here is the decal HAPCO has.

 

[johndeereelfman]

I hear ya. I personally don't buy decals from Hapco simply for that reason. They are supposed to be reproducing authentic decals, however I have found numerous mistakes. They only respond with "it's been copied from an original". I'd suggest taking a picture of the decal along with measurements to a local sign shop or decal fabricator and get one made. I have all of my decals made. If I have time, maybe I can run my decal up to my guy and get a couple made. If so and you still don't have one yet, I'll send you one.

 

[johndeereelfman]

Today I removed one of the front wheels from the 60 and decided to clean up the rim. After spraying the bead with some penetrating oil, I broke the beads with flat screwdrivers, and removed the tire. After seeing what the inside of the rim looked like, I wire wheeled the entire rim and figured I'll just repaint it. I know it won't look right with the original paint of the tractor, but I just couldn't let it go the way it is.

I sprayed the tire with Westley's Bleche-Wite tire cleaner then scrubbed the tire good with a stiff brush. Used a wire brush to remove the over-spray that was on the side walls, rinsed it off real good, and then set it aside so I could start on the rim.

 

[johndeereelfman]

After the rim was completely stripped of the paint, I applied two coats of primer, I left the paint set up a couple of hours, and was then ready for remounting the tire. I went around both beads of the tire with vaseline and got half the tire mounted.

Next step was to fold in the inner tube and mount the other half of the tire.

With the tire and tube mounted and all aired up, the wheel is now ready for some paint. Maybe next weekend.