1978 Cadet 85
Even though we already had 2 other 85s, we did not have one that was near running condition for shows. This 85 was also part of a package deal with the second 75, so in the end it didn't hurt it bring it home. Just like the 75, this rider was in really nice shape, although not as nice as the 75. The only real downside is it does not have the original motor, although we could easily paint the motor that is currently on it white to match the original since it is at least the same style the original would have been.
Below is the shape it was in before any cleaning:
Below is the shape it was in before any cleaning:
The engine is definitely a keeper, especially after it started and ran after a quick change of the points and condenser. There was one real issue we ran into with the motor, that being the crankshaft was not long enough for the factory drive pulley to be mounted. No pulley was on the crank, showing someone recently stuck the motor on. We did dig up a pulley in a box that fit the short crank since it was only a single pulley, not the double pulley on the original motor that drove the transmission and mower. This thing was not going to be used for mowing grass, so not having a mower pulley was not a concern. The pulley we put on was a little bigger in diameter than the original, giving the rider a little unexpected speed boost than the others with factory pulleys.
With the drive belt situation sorted out, additional cleaning could begin. Before driving the rider, it was hosed down to remove a concerningly high amount of mud from the wheels and areas of the frame. The body was also given a thorough wash to prepare it for polishing.
Polishing the body enabled me to remove the fair amount of black marks on the body as well as restore the shine. A rubbing compound was used to remove the marks and non-factory paint touch ups. For some reason at one time someone painted a large area of the body with a different white just to cover up a few little chips (not needed since it can't rust!). It took some effort, but the paint did come off and revealed the nicer factory color:
The body didn't look too bad with the cover ups, but it really looked better after all the touch up jobs were removed. As you can see there are only a few little chips under all the touch up, which I will try to fill in with an actual white that will closely match.
After I finished removing the extra paint with compound, a second polishing with a finer polish was applied to bring out any little marks and prepare it for wax.
After I finished removing the extra paint with compound, a second polishing with a finer polish was applied to bring out any little marks and prepare it for wax.
With the body polished and waxed, I turned my attention to the final details. These mainly consisted of shining up the plastic and rubber surfaces as well as cleaning up a seat. For the seat, a nicer one replaced the old one since the old seat's mounting nuts were gone. The only thing that held the original seat onto the mounting bracket was a small drywall screw and nut. The original seat was cracked more than the replacement was, so in the end in made sense to exchange the old seat. The replacement seat is very nice, but it did have 3 small rips that stood out compared to the rest of rider:
To make the seat look nicer, I simply used electrical tape to fill in the rips so they didn't stand out. I didn't just tape over the rips, rather I placed the tape inside the rip so the least amount of tape could be seen.
From far away you cannot see the repair and the seat looks like it does not have any tears. Before you could easily see the rips from far away:
It was during this time that things like the seat, steering wheel, grips, shifter knob, and sides of the clutch pedal pad were treated with a detailing spray that restores shine to them. Quite a few applications of the product were spread on, bringing enough shine back to the items that it finally finished the major cleaning. The final product is at the top of the page with more pictures below:
One thing I did not do before these pictures is clean the tires better. I later used a much stronger tire cleaner that cleaned all the dirt out of the treads and allowed me to apply a detail spray to the sidewalls to prevent any future dry rot.
Overall this was a very good purchase considering the end result. This rider will probably never be fully restored, only the motor would ever get a nice coat of white paint. The only other distracting thing is the front decal which could be replace to completely finish the rider off. This 85 is still exceptionally nice and will find its way in shows pulling the #2 cart or other piece of equipment equally as nice behind it.
Overall this was a very good purchase considering the end result. This rider will probably never be fully restored, only the motor would ever get a nice coat of white paint. The only other distracting thing is the front decal which could be replace to completely finish the rider off. This 85 is still exceptionally nice and will find its way in shows pulling the #2 cart or other piece of equipment equally as nice behind it.