Did any YM1500's come with Green paint?

[Torx]

Were there any green YM1500's that were not gray market tractors or were any painted green?

I have a stripped down YM1500 with green paint showing under layers of red. The engine is definitely different in shape in some areas. Fuel and oil lines are routed differently. A high pressure oil line from the bottom of the engine has a correct mounting hole under the starter but isn't used. It comes from further forward on the engine and takes a different route to the valve cover area.
I realize that it could just be a different year model or maybe a slapped together tractor from a bunch of imported parts or junked tractors.

The reason I ask, is that I recently pressure washed the hood, transmission, fenders etc. Some of the obviously can sprayed red paint peeled away and I can see Yanmar green paint colors. I chipped a piece of paint from an area near the front of the fender and I see green paint under several layers of red paint. The green appears to be the original color of this tractor as it shows up in many different areas of the tractor, not just one fender.


No ROPS. Unfortunately, all the decals are gone. Not painted over, just gone.

I know that its not a YM195 tractor which is the US equivalent. I know this because the rear seal was replaced and I ordered both seals for the YM1500 and the YM195 just in case and the part we used was the YM1500 part while the part for the YM195 wasn't even close.
Also, the air filter mounts on the left side as opposed to on the top as the service manual for a YM195 shows.
If you ordered a service manual from Hoye for a YM1500 they would send you the manual for a YM195. Fortunately a tattered YM195 manual came with the tractor. The owner said he bought it at a recent tractor auction and the manual came with the tractor. (He thought it was a YM195) I researched the 3TR15 engine number and it seems that it is exclusive to a YM1500.

Maybe I have the whole green/red import concept completely wrong but I thought if anyone knew it would be the folks here at this forum.

Thanks,
Torx

 

[Neat 1500]

Early 1500s were Green, Later ones were Red. A Vn reco tractor even though it was green originally would have been painted red.

 

[normde2001]

The YM195 is NOTHING like the YM1500. It is the US equivalent of the YM1700.

 

[BatesBunch]

There were indeed YM1500 Green models which were the earlier year models (others here could probably list the dates of production for the Green's). These earlier models had a simple color scheme... Yanmar Green for all sheet metal & wheels and black for pretty much everything else. The brake housings are a very good way to differentiate between what was originally a 'Green' model as compared to the newer 'Red' models. The 'Green' models will also have a stamped (smooth) steel clutch housing as compared to the cast housing on the 'Red' models. My 1500D does not have a differential lock and I assume that is the case with other 1500 Green's (but am not 100% sure).

As California mentioned in a separate thread a while back, a good place to look for the original color is the bottom/inside area of the dash. This would apply to a tractor that someone has freshened up with some 'rattle cans' of paint, as the under side of the dash wouldn't typically get sprayed (not sure if any of the refurb'd tractors get this area painted or not).

I completed a refurbishment (no engine work was needed) and safety upgrades for my YM1500D (Green) early last year. I tried to match the Yanmar Green as closely as possible with it being custom mixed at a local Professional Paint Shop (Auto & Industrial Finishes) to a sample that was left on one of the front rims. I disassembled and sandblasted all green components to bare metal (all sides) prior to repainting. There is a before and an after picture attached. The colors are close, but the green will vary in appearance based on the amount of shade or light. The original paint wasn't in all that bad of shape except for the front rims. Once the rims got a fresh coat, I decided to go ahead with the rest of the green.

 

[Torx]

Thanks for everyone's replies. BatesBunch, your tractor looks amazing. I wish I had the skills and patience,plus the equipment to trick my YM1500 out like yours. Did you get your ROPS from Hoye and if no, where did you find it.? Was it hard to mount it? I've heard some horror stories.
I also like the seat. I have thought about getting an upholstery shop to do mine instead of buying the new model with backrest.

I checked under the dash and it is indeed green. I could find no green paint after sanding a spot on the front wheel down to metal.
My 1500 does have a differential lock.
I have a low hour well kept red YM1500 and the valve cover and clutch housing, along with other engine parts are definitely made differently. The red one has an industrial deep blue coloring on the engine and transmission, while the green tractor has black paint all the way to metal.
The green tractor doesn't have a thermal plug with the fuel receptacle and feed lines. It has a heavy,threaded bolt that looks original instead of the electric key fed thermal ignitor. In fact, I just rebuilt the whole engine and its still cold natured.

I can hold a plain ole hair blow dryer in the air intake nozzle near the radiator for 5-10 seconds and it will start on the first turnover of the engine.! I may post this as a way to troubleshoot a hard to start tractor. I thought I had air in the fuel lines and bled them until my knuckles were bleeding!

I saved a picture of your green YM1500 and may show it to prospective buyers, as I have a new to me YM226 to sink my money into now. I ended up with two YM1500's by chance, cleaned em up some and got em running. Now with Spring around the corner, I'm going to have to list em in hopes of recouping some much needed cash and barn space.
Thanks again, and if you can tell me about your seat, ROPS and any other tricks,please reply.
Regards,
Torx

 

[California]

It would be easy to add Thermostart. About $20 for the module, another $30 (??) for the fuel bowl, mount, hose. (salvaged). Then a dash button if the ignition switch doesn't have the 'twist left' position.

You won't need the hair dryer after that.

 

[BatesBunch]

Torx,

Thanks for the kind comments on my YM1500D. It was definitely a long term project with the refurbishing. There were times that I might go a month without touching it and then there were stretches that were pretty busy. It all started with some the seals starting to leak too badly. As you can see from the 'before' picture, the front rims seem to take a beating and had very little paint left on them.

I purchased my ROPS from Mr. Danny with Parker Equipment Company (Contact Us). He picked it up from Fredricks Equipment Company (Home - Fredricks Equipment) during one of his regular trips to Fredricks. I bought several parts at different times through Mr. Danny. He is very knowledgeable and was willing to ship via different methods to keep my cost down. I am originally from South Alabama and was able to coordinate the ROPS purchase so that family was able to pick up the ROPS during a return trip from Tennessee. This kept me from having to pay a large shipping cost. My son and I had to use a little 'friendly persuasion' to get the ROPS to slip around the rear axle case. It was a tight fit, but installation wasn't overly hard. I definitely feel a lot better with having the ROPS installed and having a properly engineered/approved ROPS was worth the cost.

My understanding is that the only OSHA Approved ROPS for Yanmar Grey Market Tractors are manufactured by Custom Products for Fredricks. I noted that there was little to no difference in price between dealers when I priced the ROPS, but shipping was always spendy due to the size/weight.

I have read some posts that suggest that the recent Yanmar lawsuit that pushed many dealers out of supporting the Yanmar Grey's may have also got Mr. Danny, but I have not asked directly. A good summary by Mr. Tom Fredricks on the whole Yanmar Grey history and recent lawsuit is located at History.

Details on my seat can be found at http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/yanmar/271709-new-seat.html#post3197074. See post number 7 under that thread.

I know what you mean on having to get rid of a few things to make room (or provide extra funding). I am looking at the possible purchase of a Yanmar YM3110D with attachments. It is a very good deal, but I will also need to purchase a larger trailer to be able to haul it home (I could borrow a trailer but purchasing one was in future plans anyway, even before the 3110D came into the equation). I could look to sell my 1500D for a little extra funding, but am not really sure that I would want to sell it.

Thanks again for the comments.