[jpswift1]

Here's a few of the panels for the MF641 dump cart and the 1855 with a fresh coat of Rustoleum, "Sunrise Red". Also, the grille assembly all completed with the decal installed.

Slowly but surely I'm getting all the body work done. Once the paint has another few days to dry, I'll wet sand it, clear coat it, and then do a final wet sanding with 1000 grit and then buff it. Now it seems like I'm going overboard with this, but the way a nice Rustoleum paint job can be done up is really amazing. This guy is a truly an artist with a spray can......this paint job turned out just as good as a professional painter, but at a mere fraction of the cost. Have a look at this video, it's a really great watch!

 

[TheFarm2004]

Now that is a pretty grill! :rocker2:

 

[jpswift1]

Now that is a pretty grill! :rocker2:

Thanks! It wasn't too nice when I got it though. I love the look of the MF tractors, so I went that route rather than badging it as a Snapper.

 

[jpswift1]

I didn't think this I'd have a replacement rear fender/seat pan assembly this soon, but a great seller that I've previously dealt with on ebay happened to have more parts left over from a nice MF 1655 that he was parting out. I got this extremely clean rear fender/seat pan assembly to replace the one I had on mine that was very rusted and wouldn't cut it for my restoration. I won't even have to have this one sandblasted, just a light wet sanding and a fresh coat of paint and I'll be set. It also came with a very nice set of taillights and the hydraulic/PTO side console (which I'll use to replace mine since it's faded and has a broken piece on it).

I also got my wheel weights that I'll be using on the inner side of the wheels all cleaned and painted. More progress, slowly but surely.

 

[ENafziger]

6 days, no updates. Everything ok?

 

[jpswift1]

6 days, no updates. Everything ok?

Yes, just waiting for paint to dry and bouncing between this and other projects. I did get some work on the MF641 cart done and I also got my new rear fender pan all sanded down and prepped for paint. Next will be the hood and then painting the frame rails gloss black. Nothing too interesting, but it's progress.

 

[jpswift1]

Lots of time spent on bodywork today.....straightening, stripping paint, sanding, etc. I got the hood and side panels unbolted and the hood has been stripped and sanded. There are still some spots of surface rust under the paint, so I think I'm going to have it lightly sandblasted. Similar spots (no deep pitting fortunately) are also on the hood side panels. My sandblaster's shop will clean them up nicely I'm sure, so that's where they're headed, along with the John Deere wheel weights that will be showing on the very outside of the wheels. Once all of these parts get a few coats of red paint and then clear they'll be ready to bolt on. Until then, the next thing to tackle will be painting the chassis, differential, 3 point hitch, and other components attached to them.

 

[KennyP]

Good to see progress made.

 

[jpswift1]

The weights and the rest of the body panels are at the sandblast shop as of today, so next week I'll have them back and I'll be getting them ready for paint!

 

[jpswift1]

More progress has been made. I got 3 (roughly 20lbs each) rectangular plate weights from a nice older "grandfather" kind of gentleman that had a 10HP Springfield tractor that he was going to scrap in the back of his truck that we saw parked at a gas station. I found him and his friends in the gas station playing cards and they all came out to BS and help me unbolt the weights after we agreed on a price. He said he has lots of other garden tractors like that the he wants to get rid of, so if anyone is interested I can let them know what he has when I go to visit him. There's more to this story, but I'll keep it short. It was pretty cool how it worked out and I think it was the talk of the night among the group. I'm going to use these tucked up on the inside of the frame rails.

I also got 3 fifty pound suitcase weights for the front of the 1855 off Craigslist for only $90. And I got a call from my sandblaster as well that my hood panels and Deere rear wheel weights are all set and ready, so i'll be prepping and painting those this week. Right now I have 340lbs of rear wheel weights and hardware, 60lbs of plate weights for the frame, and 150lbs of suitcase weights for the front, plus another 10lbs in steel to make the plate bracket and hardware. This will put the 1855 right around 1500lbs total, the weight of the tractor by itself, no implements hooked to it.

 

[KennyP]

Sounds like some serious weight!

 

[jpswift1]

Very good news on the progress of the body panels. I picked up my hood and wheel weights from my sandblaster's shop. They're all blasted and primed and look really nice. The hood has some pitting in spots and some dings/dents. I filled them all in with Bondo and now it looks pretty good. Next will be paint. I'll get some pictures up later today.

 

[jpswift1]

And some pictures of the hood after the dents, pits, and other imperfections were filled and sanded. One more thin coat of glazing/spot putty and then it'll be time to prime the top of the hood and hope the imperfections don't show through too bad.

 

[jpswift1]

I got the body filler all nice and level on the hood and it's getting primed. The fender pan has been all sanded down and will be primed as well. Next will be applying the Sunrise Red Rustoleum to the last of the body panels. I also got my John Deere wheel weights sandblasted and primed and I applied some nice red paint to them, and I got the mounting hardware for the wheel weights.

I had some issues with the front wheels having some deep pitting even after the sandblasting. They don't look too bad a few feet away but up close, the silver paint shows the imperfections pretty clearly. I was on the road and looking at the Craigslist ads in the areas I was around and for a mere $20 I picked up a very nice pair of 3 lug, 8"x7" wheels with some like new 18x9.50-8 (US made) Carlisle turf tires with some pretty deep and aggressive tread for being a turf tire. I took the tires off, which I'm sure I'll use for another project down the road, and I'm having the wheels sandblasted and primed so they'll look really nice wearing those new Vredstein V61's.

 

[jpswift1]

I got my hood back from the sandblast shop all done up in industrial primer and it's almost completely flawless! I can't believe how well it turned out. I just sprayed the underside of the hood with the red Rustoleum and I'll do the top tomorrow. It's a little more difficult spraying larger areas like that, but I have a feeling this is going to look REALLY, REALLY nice when I'm done. Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been juggling lots of stuff lately and it makes the time go by so fast. Pics to come tomorrow.

 

[jpswift1]

I got the hood painted today and it went pretty well up until I put the third coat of paint on. Rustoleum is great paint, but this has happened to me in the past, where i put two coats on, wait a while, then put the third coat on and it cracks and the paint wrinkles. I'm not very pleased at all with this nonsense, but I will wait a few days, wet sand it down, re-coat it and then clear coat it.

Also, I made a big purchase yesterday which is the addition of a rear MF 4250 tiller and 54" mowing deck for this great machine! I'll add some details about this in a future post.

 

[jpswift1]

Alright everyone, here's the big update. I got a running and driving MF1655 with a MF4250 tiller and a 54" belly mower deck (with new belts). I'm going to merge the two tractors into one really great one and sell the other machine when I'm done, but I need some advice from all you MF/Snapper guys out there. Here's what I've got.

This MF1655 runs well, but really seems to bog down a good bit when under load (no smoke or knocks or any bad noises). I ran the tiller (in some hard, extremely dry clay ground) and it really bogged it down. It also bogs down (not as bad) when I drove it at higher speeds in high range. Since the PTO runs directly off the engine I think this eliminates the Sunstrand hydro unit being the culprit.

My 1855 Snapper has the Eaton unit in it which seems to operate well, but needs the fluid changed, as does the 1655 I believe. The engine in the 1855 is obviously the 18HP Onan and it doesn't seem to have any issues with bogging down at all and it runs great.

So with this in mind, would you guys say just stick with the Snapper 1855 and put the PTO from the 1655 on it (since it doesn't have one) and use it with the tiller and mower, or use the 1655 and put the 18HP Onan in it and use it? Whatever tractor I finish building, I will use the panels that I painted and tires on it. Thanks in advance for the points on which direction to go at this crossroad.

 

[KennyP]

Myself, I would use the Eaton! Much stronger unit! Plus, with the Peerless, you have limited slip helping traction.

 

[jpswift1]

Myself, I would use the Eaton! Much stronger unit! Plus, with the Peerless, you have limited slip helping traction.

Thank you, Kenny. I've heard some say they like the Sunstrand on the Massey and others said they like the Eaton on the Snapper. Do both the Massey and Snapper use the same Peerless rear end, but with a different hydrostatic drive unit?

 

[ducky]

The 1655 May not Have the governor setup right. Check it against the service manual.

Here.