John S. Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Martin, this is one nice restoration. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 Today was a gloomy wet day so I decided to paint the trunk brackets. They were just sitting in the shop on top of the Vidmar box already in primer so why not. Now that they're done I have some more room on top of the Vidmar and another completed part to put on the car. I will install them later on in the week. A little more progress. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 There were times that I only could work on small parts on some of my projects. It's amazing how many smaller parts can need attention and can keep you plenty busy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Martin, I need my "Mercury Fix"! Any updates? Thanks. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 Sorry for the delay in the Merc progress. I really haven't done much. The weather here has been horrid. It's been colder and wetter than normal to the point I can't get anything done. Just yesterday we got hit with 7" of snow which tops our total snow fall at 13" in a month and a half period. That's the most snow I have ever seen in our area. I did manage to get the trunk hinges on and started removing the old drip edge seam sealer. I still have to scrape off the old sealer that is on the underside of the roof drip edge. Looking into getting a temp structure so I can be out of the weather and do all the nasty body work. I wish I had more progress to report. The weather is suppose to get better so I hoping to get more done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 I estimate we got 7" or more yesterday, too, and we're 1200 miles away from you! That's one big system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Hey Martin, I thought you might like the video here. The first two are '61 Ford Starliner's vs your Mercury but like the self proclaimed videographer says, quite rare to see. I claim no part or interest in the making of this video. Just sharing what is up here in Southern Ontario Canada. Hope you enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 Thanks for posting the video dei. The narrator is right I don't see any 60 or 61 Sky or Star liners around. There may be one in a blue moon that shows up on CL, but usually shot. I did manage to find a brand new porta garage that I hope to be setting up this weekend so I can get the car in there and start sanding the roof. The weather is suppose to be wet, windy and cool the next few days. The local news said after this storm leaves that the weather will get nice and warm up. Just look at the high temp for Wednesday, it's going to be hot. I guess there is global warming. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 If you've got powder coating to do Wednesday will cure it for you! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Six thousand degrees sounds just about right for a "Meteor"!😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Martin, any updates on the Merc? Looking forward to each post. Enjoy the great work you are doing on the Mercury. Thamks, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 (edited) Nothing yet John. My business has been going crazy. I have so many orders coming in it's hard to stay on top of them all. I make custom metal plaques and awards mainly for the military folks retiring or moving to a new base. It seems like the deadlines come up faster than I can work. I've also been working on the roof of the house getting it all cleaned and coated for the hot summer and rainy season. I haven't done it in a while and it needs to be done. Also I was told by my old retired neighbor that he is going to move back to Ohio to be closer to family since he is 78 now. I've been helping him work on his Dodge truck to get it ready to pull his son's car trailer back to Ohio to drop off. Been changing shocks, radiators, hoses, belts, thermostats and other minor items. He going to sell all his equipment too along with the 1960's dune buggy with the Corvair engine in it. He decided to give me the tractor he bought back in 2003 so I have also been working on getting it cleaned up and going thru it to. The sun has faded the paint, It needs tires, and other minor items. So things have been pretty busy. I'm hoping to get back on the car in a week or so. I hate not having time to get to it, but I have to soon. Edited April 14, 2019 by Laughing Coyote (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Martin, busy is good. You're a good man, with all that you are involved with, no wonder the Merc. is on hold. Got my Studebaker back on the road. Now that the nice weather is here, It's great driving it around town. Good luck with everything. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 Thanks John. Great to hear that you have your Studebaker back on the road and enjoying it. I will get there, just have a little pause at the time, but I will get past it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 17 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: Thanks John. Great to hear that you have your Studebaker back on the road and enjoying it. I will get there, just have a little pause at the time, but I will get past it. I'm doing the same. I thought it would be a week or so, looks like it will be most of Spring. Ah well, it'll happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 Still waiting to get back on the Merc, but work has still been crazy and I'm still working on the house. I have also been working on the tractor my neighbor gave me in the evening hours. Been working on that to get it repaired, repainted and functioning properly. Not long after he bought it new he decided to pull out a small tree with it. Being a 25 hp 4 wheel drive import tractor he thought it would do well, but the front drive line didn't fair to well. It broke something and the 4wd wouldn't work anymore. It still drove and did what we needed it to do so he just left it. Now that he gave it to me I have been repairing it. I wanted to see what broke, so after dropping the entire front axle I now know what happened. All the spider gears are gone. Pieces everywhere. So I have been disassembling, cleaning and waiting for the new parts to show up so I can get it back together and get to finish the painting. I all ready painted the hood with a single stage poly the paint shop had as an oops mix. Still have the main body to do. Got a good deal on it. I have one new tire mounted and 3 more to go. I still have to pull the rear rims to clean and paint them before the new tires go on. There's plenty to do right now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 😳 Ouch! Those spiders sure got hammered....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 Just do like a lot of the back woods guys do and weld it all together! OK, just kidding, but I’ve seen stuff like that fixed that very way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted May 26, 2019 Author Share Posted May 26, 2019 Its funny you say that chistech. I had one bevel gear that drives one of the wheels that had some of the tips broken off. I got out the TIG welder and used some hasteolly rod and welded it up. Did some delicate grinding on it and repaired. Saved me another $50. Besides the Chinese steel wasn't that hard so it worked well. It's finally got it all painted, repaired and new shoes. Just have to get some info stickers made and it's ready for work. The front loader is next for a clean up and paint. It's been windy every day around here so it's been hard to work the car let alone to do anything else outside. The weather has been strange this year. Haven't got to 100 yet and last year it was well over 100. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 Nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 I think we got your 100 degree heat Wonderful job on the tractor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 Thanks guys. Jeff, I saw that it was getting hot out your way and I bet with the humidity it's real toasty. We've been in the mid 80's, but windy. I just wish I was able to take that kind of time on the Mercury and get some progress made on it instead of a tractor, but I guess I can't complain about a free tractor. Just needed a bit of TLC and repair. I'm sure I will be getting some other items as my neighbor down sizes his shop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Martin, miss the post on the '61 Merc. Any updates coming soon? Hope all is well. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 I know John. I miss getting to work on it too. I tell myself every time I walk past it, "It's not going to get done unless you do something to it." I've been doing a lot of little repairs around the house on the weekend so I don't get much time to devote to the Merc. My wife and I are looking to move in the near future to an area with more land and a bigger shop so I can have more room to do my business and work on the car too. We found one place that has a nice house with an in door pool and spa on 12 acres, green house, shed, and the big kicker is there is a 5000 sq ft free span metal building. Plenty of room for everything. So things have been really busy with the business and house stuff. Hoping to do something really soon. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Careful! You'll turn into a farmer and there will still be no time for the car. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 I should probably be posting this in a Farm and Garden Forum instead of here, but I finally got the tractor all finished. Had to prep and paint the loader and re install. I also purchased a blade off a guy on CL for a good price. I should of took some before pictures of it. It was rusty and the holes were worn a bit. I had the powder coater blast everything and I re bushed the worn holes and added new paint and stencils. All ready used it for the neighbor. I also installed some LED front lights to give me more light. Installed all the new stencils and painted the bucket this morning. Now that's off my list it's time to see if I can get moving on the car again. Good thing that there are several great restorations going on right now. As far as the house with the big shop it got an offer a day just before we were planning to go see it. I guess the search continues. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Very nice tractor. You did nice work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeventhSon Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Nice job - your neighbor's gonna want that tractor back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 He's 78 and told me his knees wouldn't let him get in and out of it anymore. If he needs work done he will just get a hold of me. That's fine with me, he's always let me use what ever tools I need that I don't have. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Love the tractor!! Now I "need" one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 Thanks for the comments guys. Having an acre and quarter of land you kind of need one. Looking for a 3 point chipper for all the tree rimming between me and the neighbor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 1 hour ago, Laughing Coyote said: 3 point chipper Get one that feeds itself, if you have the hydraulics at the back of the tractor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I picked myself up a nice used 4wd Kubota B7510 just about a year ago. 1.88 acres here, my wife loves her landscaping and flower beds. Moving mulch and anything else is so much easier now. Wheeling wheel barrows full of dirt and mulch is something I told her was no longer “good exercise” for me. I said if you want the exercise, go ahead. Needless to say she agreed to the purchase and learned to operate it pretty quickly! Made an oversized bucket box for moving yard debris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 Well I haven't posted anything in awhile so I thought, how about another blip of Farm and Garden. I found a PTO chipper on CL about 3 weeks ago. It belonged to the guys dad who purchased new about 30+ years ago. It's a Machete brand made in Portland Org. They have been out of business for a long time so you could say it's a vintage chipper. I have already torn it down to parts and I'm now in the process of clean, inspect, repair, and re finish. I have more than half of it done. Just have to finish sanding and painting the rear panel with the chute and put it all together and get chipping. It has an auto feed drum that works off a belt that is driven by the flywheel and uses spring tension to keep it held down on the branches. I do have to fabricate a new chip chute since the other one was pretty beat and had been modified. All in all it's pretty solid and in pretty good shape mechanically. Made with good heavy steel. It's a good little project while I wait for the rainy season to die out and the heat to drop some so I can get back on the car. There is always something to do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Wow, I got major envy now... need the tractor and the chipper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 Don't be envious Jeff. At least you have a shop big enough to work on your car inside. I have to deal with the heat and weather to work on mine. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 Been starting to get things done. I finished the chipper a about 2 weeks ago and put it to use already. It may be old, but it chips up the branches pretty good. I need to make a stand for it when it's not hooked to the tractor. I have it resting on some 4 x 4's right now since the 3 point leaks down a little and I don't want the PTO shaft to get damaged on the trailer ball. I also took time today to actually work on the Merc. I know, I can't believe it myself. I started to work the driver rear quarter. I was going to do the roof, but it doesn't require as much work as the rear quarters. I will probably be working them for awhile. Lots of little rust holes to repair and wavy dents. Like LUV2wrench is doing, I too will be taking it on in sections as not to get over whelmed. Going to work a little everyday in the evening since the rains are suppose to start dying out. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE POLLARD Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 The quarters look really nice ! Good advise about doing a section at a time.... how many years has it been since you started the restoration ? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 This November it will be 6 long years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE POLLARD Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 My first restoration took me 14 years...'69 Impala, Black with a red interior ( I have a picture of it on file some where ) family life, work etc. takes priority. I thought I was done with car restoration until the "69 SS came along.... sold the Black Impala to buy the SS Impala - wife thought I was nuts...lol. This December with be 5 years for me and you can see in my thread here that I have a long way to go ! 😄 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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