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My Toro Whirlwind Restoration Thread

25K views 103 replies 10 participants last post by  evsnova74 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

I’m hard at work on my current project, a 1966 Toro Whirlwind 21. I chose to make my own thread instead of using the big Whirlwind thread because that has really become a library of information for these mowers. This thread will cover the restoration/creation of a 1966 Toro Whirlwind 19220, a 21” push mower.

1966 was a big year for the Whirlwind. It introduced new styling with lots of white accents. New features included a washout port (yes, it’s NOT a new idea!) and a gadget called Trimit that helps cut grass along sidewalks. Also new was a vinyl-bottom bag that lasted much longer than usual cloth bags. Probably the most interesting new feature was the Auto-Oiler, which eliminated dipsticks, funnels, and rags. The ad below indicates what the finished product should look like (that's actually a '67 but you get the idea). No matter what your favorite mowers are, you must admit this thing is cool! :thThumbsU

I plan on keeping the mower as correct as possible – right down to the stickers - with the exception of the starter. The 19220 had the so-called “Saftey Spin” wind-up starter. You wound up the crank several times, pushed the throttle forward, and the starter would release the spring energy and turn the engine over. It was a cool idea but has proven to be the opposite of safe, with that enormous spring waiting to snap. So I will replace the crank mechanism with a standard recoil starter.

Before going further I will extend a HUGE thanks to David aka ToroWhirlwind1970. :thanku: He has been EXTREMELY resourceful in getting me the parts to make a working 1966 Toro. I actually started with a 19” model 18220 that I found at the junkyard. It turned out to just that - junk! - but it did have some usable parts that will find their way into the finished mower. And it still had the crank starter and I’m going to hang onto that. :)

David sent me a complete 1966 deck/wheel assembly, the blade and associated hardware, a correct handlebar, and the bag chute and rod (I’m still working on finding the bag). He also sent a solid 1969 Tecumseh engine. The engine came from a self-propelled mower, which uses a longer crankshaft, so he also sent a correct crank for me to swap in. Finally, David supplied most of the rare “extras” such as the oiler, engine shroud, deflector shield, and Trimit knife. These parts are needles in big haystacks so the fact that I got all this stuff (and at a reasonable price!) is nothing short of a miracle. :dancingpa

Now you will see that this project is much more than putting together a bunch of rare parts. Several parts have needed some very challenging repairs and I will show this work in future posts. Be sure to stay tuned because I’ll have plenty of pictures coming up! :bannana:
 

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#2 ·
Let’s start with some pictures of what I’m starting out with. First is the 19” 18220 that got me interested in this whole project. As bad as it looks, it turned out to be even worse. The deck had lots of rock damage and the engine was completely shot. But it did have a good crank starter that I’m not going to use. It also had some other hardware and engine parts that I will reuse.

Next up is the replacement deck and engine I got from David. The deck is a 19220 from 1966, identical to the other mower except for being 21”. Someone repainted it at some point by first painting it white and then red. So this will be most likely the second time the mower has been restored. The deck is mostly solid but has some minor pitting and a small hole. This damage has been fixed as you’ll see later.

The engine is a Tecumseh LAV35, or a 3.5 HP lightweight aluminum vertical (the 19” mower used the 3 HP LAV30). This engine is much like newer Tecumsehs but uses points ignition and has an adjustable carburetor. I’ll be curious to see if this carb eliminates much of the frustration I’ve had with newer Tecumsehs. I think some of you know what I mean...
 

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#3 ·
Always glad to be of help. :fing32:

And I think that what you have done so far, especially with that shroud, is a miracle in itself. If Simon Pegg were to quit Star Trek, they would be after you to portray the Enterprise's new miracle worker. :D
 
#4 ·
And I think that what you have done so far, especially with that shroud, is a miracle in itself. If Simon Pegg were to quit Star Trek, they would be after you to portray the Enterprise's new miracle worker. :D
Shhh! You're gonna spoil my big surprise! :sidelaugh Just kidding, and thanks for the kind words. I'll link you guys to the thread covering the shroud repairs.

http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=420562

I basically started by physically repairing the parts with plastic welding. Nothing fancy, you basically take a soldering iron and melt the broken pieces back together. The cracks weren't too tough to weld but the red part needed some serious patching. Luckily I had a piece of similar plastic that I cut to fit the holes. I had to thin it down to match the existing plastic but I got it to fit pretty well. The hardest part was cutting some thin strips of plastic to continue the lip around the edge. It's not 100% perfect but it's as close as it's gonna get. :fing32:

I hoped to avoid painting the white part but I couldn't hide the damage. To promote adhesion I used a plastic primer. Painting was frustrating because I got a couple cans of "Blob-oleum" that kept messing up the final coat. I used the Appliance Epoxy because it's very tough and leaves a great shine. But man, they've gotta do something about those spray cans...

Painting the red part was also a pain. I started by priming everything and then spraying the front with white paint. Then I masked that off and sprayed the red border. Finally, I painted the red areas in the middle with a brush. I made plenty of mistakes along the way and had to do FOUR rounds of touchup to make it look right. But overall I give it a thumbs up. :thThumbsU
 

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#6 ·
Y-Block. That sure is a nice restoration you did to the shroud for the Toro you are restoring. The engine in the picture of your 21" Toro looks a lot like the engine from the 21273 deck I cleaned up for David. I sent him the shroud from it last year but I still have the engine. I will be anxious to see your finished product. Al
 
#8 ·
Now it's time to look at the deck repairs. David gave me a nice 21" deck to replace the 19" deck that suffered rock damage (it's sitting by the 21" in one pic). The 1966-67 decks are unusual in that they're magnesium instead of the typical aluminum. Magnesium is lighter but seems more brittle looking at the decks I've seen. They quite rare in any condition so getting a good one is a real find. Also, the 1966-67 decks have the casting to accept the Trimit knife assembly (more on that in a future post).

The deck had been repainted at some point and they oddly started with white and then painted red on top. The deck looked perfect on initial inspection but some flaws were being covered by the very thick layer of paint. Much of the paint had already flaked off but what was left was a real pain to get rid of. I finally figured out that scraping followed by wire wheeling was the best way to get it clean. The cleaning revealed some pitting on the top and bottom as well as a small hole on the left side (last pic).

Before doing anything about the flaws, I sealed the deck with a coat of self-etching primer to keep the magnesium from oxidizing. I'll show more in the next post. :D
 

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#9 ·
I used Bondo to hide as many of the imperfections as I could. You can see I got a bit carried away. :) It look about 3 rounds of Bondo to fix everything and I still missed a couple spots. But doing this makes a HUGE difference in how smooth the final finish will look.

After Bondo I always use filler primer to make it even smoother. This stuff does a nice job with little imperfections that the Bondo can't fix. But unfortunately I got a bit carried away (again!) and put on too much at once, so it cracked. But that wasn't a big deal since I was going to sand it down anyways and prime it again. I did that and it came out nicely. The last picture is the deck sitting in the spray booth waiting for paint. Already shiney! :D
 

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#11 ·
The painting went pretty well I'd say. I only got one run (a new record for me!!) and I won't tell you guys where it was. Otherwise, it came out nice and shiny. I sanded with 400 grit after each coat of filler primer and I think that goes a long way to making the final coat nice and smooth.

I tried a new method of suspending the deck while the underside dried and I would make changes before painting again. The big boards got in the way at times at they helped create a couple thin spots and the run. Better lighting would've helped too. I had to paint indoors because it's just too d*mn cold. I'd swear it's early December around here...

BTW, the color I used was Rustoleum Cherry Red. I really like it but you can only buy it in spray cans...
 

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#12 ·
Looks great! BTW, there is a front shroud plate on ebay for $52 plus shipping. Makes allbyour hard work pay off monetarily also. I like your paint "jig". Where do you do your painting? My garage is in my basement. If I open a gas can you can smell it in the house, so painting inside isn't an option.

Sent from the MTF Free App
 
#13 ·
I saw the $52 shroud front. Ripoff! I might have sprung for it if it was NOS, but not used...

I painted this mower in my garage. I had to heat it up with two tiny heaters but it worked just fine. I just put down a drop cloth, set up some sawhorses and hung some painter's plastic to form a small room. The "outriggers" worked nicely but I think I'll develop some smaller blocks to support my next mower. :D
 
#17 ·
I didn't do any masking on the deck I painted and that went quite well. The last control panel didn't work as well because the bull horns are drawn out quite thin and painting free hand even with a toothpick is a real pita. :maddd:
 
#16 ·
good job so far, keep it up :fing32:
 
#18 ·
I got the handlebar done a couple weeks ago. It's just waiting for the throttle control from David. :fing32: The chrome was pretty good so I just polished it with some chrome polish and waxed it. I repainted the curved bolts and I like the way they came out. I tried #615 bumper chrome spray paint from Duplicolor and I like it. It sprays nice, dries quickly and it's a LOT tougher than the Rustoleum chrome paint. It also doesn't fingerprint at all. I'm using this stuff on any plated parts that could use a boost. :fing32:

EDIT

I forgot about the control panel! Being such a nightmare I should never forget it! I painted the lettering by hand without masking anything. Fortunately, I didn't screw up too badly so I didn't have to do it over. It looks pretty good from this distance, and I think the camera will stay at this distance. :sidelaugh

BTW, the control panel came of the 19"er so you can see how it started at the top of the page.
 

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#20 ·
I never use it with the intention of looking like chrome. It's more like very shiny silver, and it will dull a bit with time. But that should get it pretty close to the plated look. I wish I could find a local plating shop that would do small jobs but this seems like a good alternative.
 
#25 ·
I think Plasti-Kote also makes a spray clear that could help protect it. I've never used it. I generally stay away from clear coats because I've had some terrible experiences with the Rustoleum product. I've heard the clear will make the chrome duller and more gray so I'd definitely experiment before painting something you care about. :fing32:
 
#28 ·
LB77, are you talking about the handle for my mower? That's the original chrome, no repaint or rechrome. Thanks David! :fing32:

I've been using the chrome paint on bolts and plated stuff. I'll get some pictures either tonight or tomorrow.
 
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