1958 Dexta Restoration

This forum is about the Fordson Dexta, Super Dexta and Petrol Dexta.
Mervyn Spencer
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Hi Charlie, That would be very nice if your work colleague could deliver to Cape Town. As I mentioned in my earlier post all that is needed is some paint sprayed onto some card that would fit into an envelope, nothing heavy. I have a sister who works at the Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town, we can arrange her to forward it to me rather than costing him postage.
As per your hydraulic cylinder rod are you referring to the one(dog bone) that pushes the piston into the cylinder?

charlie63
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Mervyn,
I will spray up something when I am doing the rest of my parts next time home and will let you know if my workmate can drop it off to your sister. He has been moved to another platform for the rest of his trip so hopefully will see him again before I go home to ask if he can do that. The rod that I replaced wasnt the dog bone one but the threaded rod that goes through the large draft control spring that the adjustable knuckle screws on to. It has a shaped end and a groove that a locating pin sits in to stop it turning when adjusting the knuckle. The groove for the locating pin hadnt been machined deep enough and had to reshape the end to match the original one. The only reason I had to replace was the original one was seized solid and even heat wouldnt move the knuckle on strip down so ended up cutting it off with the grinder. I replaced all the parts including, draft control spring the adjustable rod, knuckle etc.

Mervyn Spencer
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Location: South Africa

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Hi Charlie, thanks for the offer of a paint sample, if it is not possible I'm sure if my blue is a shade or two different it won't be a problem. Thanks also for the explanation on the shaft that you had to repair. I was very fortunate my lift top was quite clean. I look forward to seeing more of your progress when you get back. I will get some pictures up on the forum, just need to get some order in my photos.

charlie63
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Making more progress this week. Lefthand footplate fitted along with the clutch pedal and PTO selector. The only seal which had not been replaced was the PTO selector one and had a slight seep so lesson learned replace all seals when refitting parts. Also selector fork had a large chunk of it missing so a second hand one was obtained and fitted. Had to strip down the brakes at the right hand side again as I managed to get all original hand brake fittings but hadnt realised that the small locking piece fits in to the brake lever arm from the inside which meant that the brake shaft had to be removed from the transmission trumpet. Its great how you learn from your mistakes. In the picture it looks like the bonnet is a different colour from the tank but this is just due to the light for some reason.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

charlie63
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

The dreaded original handbrake assembly all fitted with new roll pin inserted.

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All new lift arms, leveling box assembly etc trial fitted to ensure everything fits okay. All to be removed tomorrow for painting. New number plate fitted too.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

charlie63
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

All lift parts removed from the tractor, primed and painted.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mervyn Spencer
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Location: South Africa

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Hi Charlie, looking at that picture of items painted blue, the one lift arm hanging in the centre the big one, I would guess is the closet colour resemblance to your empire blue compared to the colours of the email picture you sent me earlier.

charlie63
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

All the newly painted lift components fitted to the tractor, lift arms , levelling box, check chains etc.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

MikesDexta
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by MikesDexta »

Very smart indeed Charlie, what make and size compressor and spray gun did you use? Did you blast it yourself?

thanks
Mike
1959 Dexta
I'm not retired just re-deployed

charlie63
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Thanks Mike.
All the paint was removed and everything taken back to bare metal using industrial strength paint stripper and wire brushes in the drill.
My compressor is a Clarke Raider 15/1000, 3hp,100 litre 14.5cfm and the spray gun I use is a Neilsen suction gun with a 1.6mm nozzle. I find this works for me but it does put the paint on thick so have to watch for runs etc.

Regards
Charlie.

Mervyn Spencer
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Hi Charlie
Gee you are moving along like a fast train, well done mate. I bought a new spray gun a few weeks ago and it has a 1.5mm nozzle, not bad except I lost concentration yesterday and did a bit of a botch, runs on the centre disks I was spraying. :x . Now I have to wait for the paint to dry then sand it down.
Most of my paint removal was with a wire brush too.

charlie63
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Thanks Mervyn. I feel like im making rally good progress now. Im not happy with the outcome of my bonnet. When outside in the sun and day light it looks slightly different shade than the tank and nose cone. Now all my mates that have seen the tractor say that it is alright but I know it will just niggle me so going to flatten the three of them down again and repaint. The only thing I can think is that I had not mixed the paint properly when I painted the bonnet. With regards to your 1.5 nozzle it is very easy to put on too much paint and end up with runs. I got over zealous when painting my tank and ended up with runs. The only thing good about it was I was away for my 4 week stint in Angola just after it was painted so gave it plenty of time to set for flattening down again. I usually leave a good hour between coats or once the paint becomes tacky to touch. Patience is a virtue lol.

Regards
Charlie

Mervyn Spencer
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Location: South Africa

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Hi Charlie, pity about your bonnet paint work, you sound like myself if something isn't right it certainly keeps one awake at night turning this issue over and over in your mind :x. Thanks,that's interesting and I think I will do the same with regards waiting longer before applying a second or third coat of paint. I actually asked my paint supplier how long one should wait before applying another coat and was told about ten minutes, although I was waiting about 20 minutes. I tried sanding down one of the runs this evening which is about tree days post painting using 400 and it is coming down nicely.

Kind regards
Mervyn

Brian
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Brian »

Charlie, I brought pictures of your pump over with me to show a couple of members of the Fordson Club of Australia, Allan Cook, a good friend, immediately said he had been contacted by the owner of an early Dexta with a strange CAV pump like yours. We are trying to get further details and will put your picture in the club magazine and see what it throws up.

At least you now know there is another one out there. :D
Fordson Tractor Pages, now officially linked to: Fordson Tractor Club of Australia, Ford and Fordson Association and Blue Force.
Brian

MikesDexta
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by MikesDexta »

Hi Charlie some good tips for my repainting planned for next spring, thanks. Where did you get the number plate from, mine is an ugly yellow one. cheers Mike
1959 Dexta
I'm not retired just re-deployed

charlie63
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Brian,
Glad to hear that you and your good lady have safely returned from your trip down under. Looking at your posts you seem to have had a fantastic holiday and a lot of great pictures too. Thanks for the information regarding the Dexta. It will great to hear if we get any further information. At least we do know that there is another one out there now. It would be interesting to see what the engine and serial numbers are on the one down under and see if they correspond in any way with mine. I am very appreciative of the work you are doing in trying to find out more information for me. I am waiting in anticipation.

Mike,
Glad you have managed to get some painting tips. I purchased my number plate from a seller called ej-parts on E-bay. It was only 13.95 including postage which I thought was very reasonable.

Regards
Charlie.

charlie63
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Well thats the new rear rims and the centre discs painted in primer. Was hoping to get them painted as well before leaving for Angola again but time was against me. Had to wait for more supplies of primer so they got a good 3 coats today. Will get them painted up on my return though and the new tyres and tubes fitted.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mervyn Spencer
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Looking good Charlie, pity you were unable to get the base coat down. Enjoy your hot 4 weeks in Africa.

Take care
Mervyn.

charlie63
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Well couldnt wait to get up to the workshop and get my rims painted. Just arrived home yesterday so ventured up this morning. All nicely painted and no runs. Great what a bit of heat in the workshop does. New tyres and tubes have arrived as well so going to give the paint a week to harden off properly before fitting them. Ive just purchased a couple of halogen heaters so going to see how well they work.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

charlie63
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Managed to get one new tyre and tube fitted and refitted the centre disc to one rear wheel today. Im waiting on a new 1" drill bit to arrive so as I can drill out the wheel weight fitting holes to the right size on the new centre disc that was purchased from Agriline. The disc arrived with no holes in it so had to purchase a few new drill bits. It would have looked odd having one disc with fitting holes and one without. This has given me the chance to get my mudguard retaining bolts and various other fitting bolts/nuts primered whilst the wheels are off.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

charlie63
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Both new tyres and tubes fitted and wheels built up.

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Mudguard bolts etc now painted in Blue.

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Wheels now fitted to the tractor. Just the centre disc retaining nuts to prime and touch up with orange paint.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

charlie63
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Wheel nuts and wheel rim nuts painted.

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Fuel tank and bonnet removed again and flattened ready for repainting. Grills,headlamps and badges removed from radiator cover ready for the paintwork to be flattened.

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Last edited by charlie63 on Tue May 01, 2018 8:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mervyn Spencer
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Hi Charlie, all looking very smart ready for the next tractor show or run. You can be very proud of all your effort put in to your restoration. :clap:

charlie63
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by charlie63 »

Many thanks Mervyn. All going well it should be completed next time home. Im hoping to get the tank, bonnet and radiator cover painted in the next few days before I head back to Angola and that will give the paint plenty of time to set before refitting next time home and then just the wiring to do. We have a new show at the Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston in March its the Tractor World Scotland And Classic Commercial Show which should be fantastic and is only about 30 minutes from me and I was really hoping to make it but sadly looked at my rotation and Im going to be out in Angola at that time and will miss it. :( :(

Mervyn Spencer
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Re: 1958 Dexta Restoration

Post by Mervyn Spencer »

Real pity that, always some little gremlin to upset your plans. I'll fly across and take your Dexta to the show for you Charlie :wink: .

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