New member with a 1980(?) L185 to refurb

Tallbald

New member
Nov 24, 2015
105
0
0
KY
Thanks for letting me join. In Southern KY, I'm the proud owner of a 1980(?) L185 2WD that I believe was set up by a dealer back then just to be an estate mower. I bought it in 04 from a doctor I worked with for $750, including a rickety Woods belly mower. Maybe was a dealer option because looking around I see many in that configuration.
When we had to move into town in 08, I loaned my beautiful little Bota to my father in law who is on a fixed income, living with my MIL on 8 rough acres next county over. He kept fluids and filters changed regularly, but sometimes my Bota (as we call it) got kept outside or in a dirty barn. He claims he's selling out come spring and at 57, I now want my tractor back to refurb and make into a flashing light beauty.
Here are photos from yesterday, where my tractor has sat for a while in my FIL's open barn. It's covered in dust and mowing residue because unlike me when I had my little farm, he doesn't hose her down and use a leaf blower to dry her.
I'll be posting many questions next spring about my refurb process, but I do know that among other things I will need to knock out the hood dents and repaint (doctor's dad ran into a tree), try to unbend the front bumper, remove dash and fenders to sand and paint, and install flashing yellow lights, rear implement lights, and.....blue "ground effect" lighting. remember this will be a parade tractor that will most likely just be driven around the suburbs with me proudly on board.
One leak concerns me. Around the gear and transfer case shifts, when she warms up oil weeps out at the seal going into the housing. I hope it's not a big expensive deal, because I am living on fixed income. I will have to do all my own work or have my son in law and son help me physically with the fixes. Also, on the steering linkage side, she has way too much side play where her axle pivots left to right. I'm hoping it's just worn bushings.
Anyway, thank you for looking. This winter I will write up a "to do" refurb list, using the archives here to prioritize everything.
Oh. Can a member here tell me exactly what model I have from my photos? She's 2WD and has the original factory tires. Thanks again. Don.




 
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coachgeo

Well-known member

Equipment
L225 w/woods Few Mowers & Back Blade, D722 in Motorcycle (Triumph Tiger), LMTV
Nov 16, 2012
2,459
37
48
Southern OH
Am certainly no expert...... but she looks just like a regular L185 me. Unless it is 4wd; and you say it is not, then L185 is the model number. You don't need to know the year for ordering parts. You will need other numbers off the tractor though from side of tranny I think. Tractor Serial number.

There are ton of great threads in here on L185's. You might want to search and cruz thru them to get a good feel for what lies ahead in your restore.

Oh........ and pull the Ford Tractor Sticker. You'll get hassled less here if you do :p
 
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Alexisferos

Member

Equipment
L-1501 DT
Oct 24, 2013
245
4
18
Greece
Welcome to the forum.
That bota is in real good shape, you have a nice L185 there and to calm you down i will tell you that maybe the oil leak from a plugged transmission vent.
I see the vent under your seat at the 3rd photo, is a (brown) upside like u shape,
that pipe is the vent and sometimes it fills with crap and the seals start to leak because the pressure inside the transmission.
Just remove it and clean it, it unbolts very easy.

Now if the vent is in good shape maybe the seals have worn out, again its an easy fix that im attend to do in my l1501dt (Same as the l185) and i will post the procedure in here.

Every other info that you need feel free to ask or use the Search button.
 

Tallbald

New member
Nov 24, 2015
105
0
0
KY
Thank you all for the welcome. I don't expect to be active here really (I have nothing to offer) until spring when I bring her home to roost and be beautified, but as suggested I will read read read here and gather the needed information to work on her correctly. I do plan on changing hoses and belts as a matter of principle on a 35 year old tractor. I wonder abut other rubber fittings (which could become very elaborate I suppose) but will read here about thoughts.
Restoring her has been a goal I've had for three years now. Back in high school, 1976, Daddy bought a new B6000 from Parish Implements in Louisville, KY along with a front end loader and factory rototiller. Nobody in Breckinridge County had ever heard of "Kubota" equipment back then. Daddy died in 78, and our little Baby Bota got sold to pay bills. I've always missed her since, and when this L185 dropped into my lap it was almost as if it was sent to me as a replacement for Daddy's bota. She's not getting away from me, and will be my neighborhood odd toy. Not as fancy as another neighbor's vintage muscle cars, but just as nice to me. We already have a 1956 New Holland manure spreader as a seasonal decoration in our front yard...
Thank you all again. I look forward to learning here, and sharing my experiences with my tractor.
Don.
 

CaveCreekRay

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3800 HST, KingKutter box scraper, KingKutter 66" rake, County Pride Subsoiler
Jul 11, 2014
2,631
105
48
Cave Creek, AZ
TB,

I bought a tractor that was less than a year old with hood damage similar to yours. I decided to take it down to the local auto body shop to have them look at it. One of their gifted sheetmetal guys worked on it for four days and had it back to original shape and then I primed and painted it. Ran me about $400 to do the whole thing. A new hood was over $750 without decals.

If you have skills you most certainly can try to pull and hammer out the dents yourself. I had neither the experience nor the time back then so I outsourced it to a pro. If you are going to restore your machine, having that cosmetic but always visible part repaired correctly will be money well spent. If you goof up your hood trying to hammer it out, trying to locate a salvageable used hood may be a huge challenge -and expense.

In the meantime, start saving up to have it done professionally. You might even be able to get the shop to shoot your fenders and any other orange bits you need done for a great price. You can focus on prepping and shooting the tranny color yourself.

Before... And remember, this poor machine was less than a year old. (No wonder I got it for a GREAT price.)



After the sheet metal "God" was done...



After paint... (and new light assemblies)

 

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Tallbald

New member
Nov 24, 2015
105
0
0
KY
That's a beautiful tractor. Stunningly handsome. I am on a very fixed income though, and will have to do the best I can to bring it back OK looking. Used to be that vocational schools would do the work as learning projects. But those days seem to be long gone. Don
 

CaveCreekRay

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3800 HST, KingKutter box scraper, KingKutter 66" rake, County Pride Subsoiler
Jul 11, 2014
2,631
105
48
Cave Creek, AZ
Don,

You may still be able to find someone in your area to help you out with the majority of the straightening for a case or two of beer. There are loads of "car people" who have experience pulling, cutting, and re-welding in body material for their cars under restoration. Your project would take an afternoon in somebody's garage or driveway.

The best solution is to straighten the metal out as close as you can before applying any filler. The alternative solution is to hammer the metal down enough to get it below the original surface height so you can build it up with filler. Getting to that thin nose section may be easier with a block of wood cut to stretch out the collapsed section from the inside. A torch is a handy thing to heat up the metal to get it to bend easier. This older sheet metal is thicker and harder to work than the newer car bodies. Take your time and you'll get it done.

The paint will be about $50 for a quart so plan on two quarts if you plan on doing the fenders too. Kubota uses a one-step paint over white or light grey primer. Buying your paint elsewhere will either get you more expensive paint, often requiring a clear coat, or an inferior paint that will fade quickly. Orange is one of the toughest colors to make last in the sun. The Kubota paint is very good at that so I recommend using theirs, despite the higher cost. I painted mine with rattle cans because my compressor was buried. The dealer service manager could not tell it had been repaired. The rattle cans go for about $10 a can and your hood will take four, at least.

Ray
 
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Tallbald

New member
Nov 24, 2015
105
0
0
KY
CaveCreekRay you've given me ideas and encouragement. I'm also a retired Tool and Die maker, so I do have some metalworking background. And as an experienced wood worker I may be able to create some cauls and shaping tools that would work with heated sheet steel at the hood. I worry that vibration would over time knock out any filler on the hood. I just don't know...
Good information to have about paint quality. Of course my first thought was Tractor Supply Corp Kubota orange. But I've never shot paint with my compressor and beginner Campbell Hausfield paint gun (internal mix I think). My son in law has car painting expertise, but lives 150 miles away and is a busy race horse farm manager. I had of course considered the rattle can route. It may be better to use rattle cans for the orange parts, and on the frame where I didn't have to be as picky as I would with smooth surfaces, go ahead and shoot TSC paint with my gun.
I'll be seeking information and sharing my progress as I go when I get to start in the spring. I have no inside area any more where I could do work in the winter. It will be a "work on it and cover it with a good tarp" endeavor, then when done I will move my wood equipment over to make room for completed storage.
Thanks again. Don
 

Tallbald

New member
Nov 24, 2015
105
0
0
KY
I keep forgetting to add. The local Ford dealer used to be the Kubota dealer here too I think. Hence the "Ford" sticker, which will be removed in restoration. Don
 

MagKarl

New member

Equipment
L245DT
Aug 2, 2010
663
0
0
Olympia, WA
That tractor is in excellent condition for it's age. I would NOT paint it. Clean it up, repair what's needed, and enjoy. Original paint and decals show it's pampered history, a repaint always leaves me questioning what's been covered up.
 

Tallbald

New member
Nov 24, 2015
105
0
0
KY
MagKarl I first want to say I respect your thoughts. To offer an analogy, if I have in my hand a Smith and Wesson model 10, 6 inch pencil barreled .38 Special showing honest holster wear and the patina that comes with age and careful use, the last thing that I would want to do is take it to a smith and ask that it be buffed and re-blued. I'd have it checked to make sure cylinder play was in-spec, wear on the pawl was minimal, and that the forcing cone was solid.There's history and many stories in that revolver, and to "make it new looking" dishonors those stories.
But switch to my tractor. Its bumps and bruises are not mine. Its hood injury was because someone was not watching what they were doing. Its scratches and bent bumper were because someone treated it as a replaceable tool that held no value beyond its ability to make grass shorter. She wasn't riding in a holster carefully watched and depended upon, but was looked upon as a mere piece of hardware. Mechanically maintained but nothing else. I view her differently. She holds for me memories of a different time in my life that was good and bad both. I invested my enthusiasm in her and she's a memory trigger to me. Her manufacturing history also speaks to me of days when my father was alive and proud too of his Kubota B6000DT. I want to restore her as a sign of respect. I've seen elderly women in long term care glow when a nurse tech took the time to "do their hair" and apply a bit of lipstick that reminded the patient of years past when they made sure they looked "just right" before stepping out into public. It didn't change how the day unfolded but showed that someone cared enough to take time to pretty up an old and wrinkled face. Sure I will go through everything I can and assure my tractor is in good mechanical condition. I know of parts needing repair or replacement already.
I just want to do up my tractor's hair and apply a bit of lipstick. But I myself will be the proud one.Don
 
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