




After a 9 week wait, the pistons, rings, bearings, gaskets, seals, and coolant outlet/stator mount have all arrived and I've been able to start reassembly. Of everything in the kit, the only thing I was unable to install in my shop were the top connecting rod bearings, as they are very thin, and have to be pressed in and line bored. Once again, Sanel's machine shop in Concord, NH did a great job with this and had the parts back to me in 2 days with a $45 cost, which was well worth it.
So far, the block has been thoroughly cleaned, wire brushed, and primed. Also, the crankshaft has been installed, two of the three pistons installed (I somehow manage to strip one of the connecting rod bolts, so I'm out another week on installing the third piston assembly), and all the front gears have been reinstalled. All the other pieces have been thoroughly cleaned, stripped, and as of tonight, primed. Tonight's batch of cleaned and stipped parts will receive another coat of primer tomorrow, and as soon as the new connecting rod bolts arrive, everything will be bolted back together with primer on it.
I had a batch of single stage automotive paint mixed up to match the factory Kubota paint ($85 for everytyhing I needed for the job, including hardner and thinner - once again, yay Sanel Auto Parts!), so as soon as I have everything bolted on and torqued, I'll paint the engine assembly as a whole. The front of this little machine is going to look brand new (other than the hood), so I got enough paint to do the rest of the blue when I have time to strip that part down. Once the chassis is repainted, I plan to strip down, pop out any dents, and paint the hood, fenders, and dash panel.
So everyone can see where I am so far, I've attached pictures of what else has happened since my last post. Once I have the engine assembled, I'll post more pictures.