Kubota Orange

Wildfire

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L5740 HSTC3 and a Kubota ZG222Z, 2013 BX25D,Custom Toyota fork lift.
OK I know this is not a tractor but it's now the little brother of my Kubota and I thought some of you might be interested in seing it. After all it is orange. Here's the story. If you want to delete it I understand because it is a tractor site :D

This ends a very long rebuild for me with this old forklift. I purchased it around this time last year and started in to rebuild it shortly after. I wanted it to be a fun project and to a point it was only for all the hard long hours it took to get it to this point.

Basically everything had to be done. I had to remove all the paint, rust and crap others had done with it over the years before I could even begin to start the rebuild. the first thing I had to do was build a new engine hood for the beast. Toyota wanted over $3000. just for the hood so I fabricated the one you see on it now out of 1/8th plate. This one will be awhile before it rusts out.

Basically I went right through the complete machine. New rings, bearings, lapped the valves and installed new valve stem oils seals. I rebuilt the mast. all new bearings in it as well and had to rebuild some of the hydraulic cylinders because they were leaking. Some of them had to even be re-chromed due to the pitting on them.

After all that was done I sand blasted, primed and painted it. I fabricated the custom stuff such as the headlamp guards. Custom built the rear light bar and all the lights you see in it are strobes. I built sun visor as well and added some more aluminum plate to the sides to pimp it out a bit. The top have a plexy glass top in it now. I added all new gauges and even fabricated new sections of the dash because it was in pretty bad shape. It even has air horns now along with chrome duel exhaust stacks. I had to design some custom adapters to get them to work on the lift but they sound nice so it was worth it.

I removed the old Toyota charging system and it's external voltage regulator and installed a GM alternator with a built in regulator. Of course that's harder than it sounds because I had to make up new brackets to get it to fit. I also added a cool hook up to the engine cover that I can just plug my booster cables into so I don't have to pull up the lid to do it.

Anyway there's much more to this story but I'm sure you'll see by the pictures there was a lot of work involved. One thing I did learn out of this. Never try and rebuild a forklift unless you have a forklift to help. These buggers a very heavy. I'm happy with the outcome. It's runs like new and will come in handy around the shop. Here's some photo's.








New charging system installed:



Some of the old wiring I removed:

 
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Wildfire

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L5740 HSTC3 and a Kubota ZG222Z, 2013 BX25D,Custom Toyota fork lift.
Considering I'll be using the lift around the yard either boosting vehicles or even towing them I realized I needed a storage box to put the cables and tow sling in so that's what I made yesterday. I had a bit of checkered plate left so I used that on the project. I also had to decide who I was going to mount the box and not wanting to drill or weld the counter weight I decided to machine a few parts for the lift holes and use two small pieces of threaded rod to hold them in place and then I could just simply bolt the box on the back and not alter anything.

Here's how it ended up.











 

Mr. K

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 14, 2009
522
138
43
www.orangetractortalks.com
WOW! I'm amazed at your abilities! Strangely I've never wanted a forklift before until now. :D Hell, I know there's no use for it around here, but I still want one! You certainly have an eye for detail. Again, very impressed!
 

dusty-t

New member
Feb 17, 2009
974
2
0
Mountforest Ontario
Wow that is amazing. I love it. Great work, you are one fussy man and it shows in your work. As far as I'm concerned you can learn a lot from looking at other peoples work. And I like looking at your work.:D
 

Wildfire

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L5740 HSTC3 and a Kubota ZG222Z, 2013 BX25D,Custom Toyota fork lift.
Thanks Dusty and Mr.K. Glad you enjoyed it. My intention was to only get the forklift up and running well but my customers would keep saying "Your going to do something special to that so I was under pressure to do it I guess.

Just wanted to post something orange and it had to be my old lift. My Kubota don't get much use in the summer months becuase I only use it for snow clearing.

The forklift made it first real lift since the rebuild and it was a 3300 lbs tool for the shop. With this tool I'll be doing a little modifaction to the Kubota. Stay tuned ;) :D


 

Wildfire

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L5740 HSTC3 and a Kubota ZG222Z, 2013 BX25D,Custom Toyota fork lift.
I love you man.

Thank you sir!:D Well It made the headlines in the land down under. They seem to have a thing for lifts:D





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Newsletter #413 (View other news stories)

Restored forklift a labour of love for repairer

Bay Roberts, Canada
Wednesday, 3 Jun 2009

Before restoration work began on the 1985 Toyota forklift.

A former General Motors dealership technician with a penchant for restoring vintage items has almost single-handedly restored a 1985 Toyota forklift.

Paul Short ,who started automotive repair business Specialty Repairs in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Canada with his wife Kathy 14 years ago, tells Forkliftaction.com News the couple “didn’t think they’d end up doing some of the things they are doing today”.

Besides repairing cars, Short and his wife were asked by their customers to do machining and welding work. Before long, they had accumulated all types of specialty tools.

“Our regular day consists of vehicle repairs, welding and machining but after a little while, I decided to start restoring some unique items I would find around the local area,” Short says.

The items included old vintage gasoline pumps, Coca-Cola vending machines and coolers, vintage Honda motorcycles and children’s pedal cars.

“We built a special 1,000 sqft (93 sqm) building just to display all the stuff and all our customers enjoy viewing it all when they drop by for a visit,” Short says.

The couple soon discovered that they needed help moving disabled vehicles and other heavy items that were brought in for welding.

“Living in Newfoundland and being on an island, we don’t get a lot of choices when it comes to buying used machinery but eventually I found a Toyota forklift.

“It was a rough-terrain machine and that’s just what I needed.

“[However] it had spent the last 20-plus years working at a local fish plant and was very rusty. It looked terrible and needed a lot of work,” Short explains.

Short says he just wanted to make the 1985 model “look better” but when he bought it for CAD2,000 (USD1,885), his regular customers who saw it would say “I bet you’re going to do something really cool to that machine”.

“Well, for me, that meant I had better not disappoint them and restore it as good as I can,” Short adds.

The project took on a personal meaning for Short when Kathy located the forklift’s serial number on its frame and discovered that the forklift was one month and two days older than his youngest son Daniel.

Kathy’s role in the project was “the most important one”, Short says. Before restoration work could begin, Kathy did “all the searching for parts, manuals and even researched the forklift itself”.

“We had trouble finding the serial number on the lift and after many hours of research she located the area on the lift in which to find it. Without the serial number, we would have come to a dead end before we even started,” Short says.

Short started restoring the Toyota by removing all the parts to be rebuilt or replaced. He used high-pressure water to remove the old coat of paint and a self-built, big sand-blaster to cut through the rust. He ordered new mast bearings and new cylinder kits. Some of the hydraulic cylinders were sent for re-chroming.

As the original Toyota engine hood was too expensive to replace, Short fabricated a new engine hood and rebuilt the motor by replacing all the gaskets, oil pan, bearings, rings and valve stem seals. With the transmission, he replaced the filter and fluid. He rebuilt all the brake lines and replaced all the hand brake cables and the ratchet.

Short then installed new tyres, and primed and painted the forklift. Due to the machine’s weight, all the work was carried outside his shop. Before winter arrived, he used his new Kubota tractor to push the not-yet-running forklift into his shop.

While it was indoors, Short fabricated a sun visor, a rear light bar and a custom storage box for the forklift out of checkered plated aluminium. “I even placed checkered plate around the frame and it was really starting to take on a new look.” Short says.

He then replaced the steering wheel with a custom wheel and redid all the wiring on the forklift. After that, he added special lights with guards that he had fabricated and air horns, and installed new dash gauges with LED lighting.

To complete the forklift, Short removed its worn-out charging system with its outdated external voltage regulator, and installed a new GM alternator with a built-in voltage regulator. He also custom built new mounting brackets.


The 1985 Toyota forklift is completely restored with some customised features like checkered plate aluminium storage box and sun visor.
“After that was done, I had the motor up and running and it was sounding sweet, especially since I removed the old exhaust system and custom mounted two chrome exhaust stacks in the rear of the lift,” Short says.

Short says he accomplished all this with an investment of CAD4,500 (USD4,150) in parts and materials and during his spare time over four months. The forklift is now used on a daily basis.

Short adds that he learnt from his experience that “if you’re going to restore a forklift, it would be much better to have another forklift help with the lifting”.

“By the time I purchased our new Kubota, the heavy parts of the restoration was completed,” he says.

But the hard work has paid off. “I am very pleased with the outcome. I have a machine that complements our business and is practical to own. The old forklift actually looks like a new one. Customers love seeing it and some even took photos of it,” Short says.

To view photos of the restoration work, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15602393@N05/
Discuss Forkliftaction.com News stories in the Discussion Forums!




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tiger9297

New member

Equipment
B7100HST-D w/ Bush Hog FEL
Jun 28, 2009
82
0
0
Tupelo, MS
That it without a doubt some of the finest fab work I have ever seen. I wish I had 1/2 your talent. Very impressive.
 

Wildfire

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L5740 HSTC3 and a Kubota ZG222Z, 2013 BX25D,Custom Toyota fork lift.
That it without a doubt some of the finest fab work I have ever seen. I wish I had 1/2 your talent. Very impressive.
Than you very much. Happy you enjoyed seeing it. It's kind of funny having the old lift on our lot and seeing people stoping and taking pictures of it. Gotta love orange :D;)
 

Wildfire

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L5740 HSTC3 and a Kubota ZG222Z, 2013 BX25D,Custom Toyota fork lift.
Dang man, that looks sharp! Very nice work indeed!
Thank you sir. It sure comes in handy. Just had to lift the bucket off a flat bed that's off a 320 Cat excavator. The forklift didn't even twitch. Really happy with the old gal :D Appreciate your comments.


 

bubbaboss

New member

Equipment
1989 Kubota B8200 4x4, Kubota 72" Snow Blower
Jul 26, 2009
62
0
0
Canada
WOW .... Thats Really Cool....

Crazy Canucks Have too Much Time to Think on Cold Winter Nights. LOL

Its Awesome Work.

Bubba
 

Wildfire

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L5740 HSTC3 and a Kubota ZG222Z, 2013 BX25D,Custom Toyota fork lift.
WOW .... Thats Really Cool....

Crazy Canucks Have too Much Time to Think on Cold Winter Nights. LOL

Its Awesome Work.

Bubba
You could be right. More time because we don't sleep much :D Seems all my orange stuff got together the other day for a meeting. Glad you like the lift. Thanks Bubba!




 

B6000Ellenberger

New member

Equipment
B6000e, B48-a belly deck, front mount snow blower, 5' landscape rake
Jul 30, 2009
3
0
0
Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania
I know i'm a bit late in commenting, but WOW!!!! Thats some impressive attention to detail there. I work in a paper mill in central Pennsylvania and come into contact with these tow motors every day, and I would be the talk of the mill on a machine like that. Well executed!