ART - For the first 3-1/2 months I worked @ FARMALL, my work station was just across a thin steel wall from the main line paint booth. There were ventilaton fans, waterfalls, low or no overspray type nozzels. The paint & tracors were electrically charged to attract the paint. From where I worked most of the time to where the painters themselves stood while painting was "MAYBE" ten feet with that wall between us. I never smelled ANY paint fumes. And my work area was NOT a "No Smoking area". If I remember correctly, by the late 70's the painters were wearing face masks & breathing masks inside the booths.
Most of the paint booths were set up so the tractors/parts went thru a paint curing oven of sorts after being painted because as soon as the parts/tractors came out of the booth more parts were put in/on. A few lines (there were four alone @ FARMALL) the painted parts stayed on the overhead conveyors and wound around the rafters of the plant while drying. The wheel, weight, & dual hub line was one of those.
I've watched the shows about how BIG green combines are built in East Moline, IL. And to be honest, thirty yrs ago @ FARMALL we were doing almost exactly the same thing, except instead of using robots, we had four men doing the painting, typically only three painting and the forth cleaning equipment, getting the 325 gal totes of paint ready to spray. 2150 red was the only color shot on the main line booth except when special order tractors painted 483 yellow, or orange/green, or other colors came thru. That booth had the ability to shoot those colors thru extra guns from either 5 gal pails or 55 gal drums depending on how many tractors were involved.
Another thing you probably can't notice in the pic's is there was very little MASKING done on anything. Serial number plates, axles/spindles, and very little else were masked. Most belts, hoses,radiators IH tried to install after painting.
Another thing done @ FARMALL, not sure about LVL, about everything "cosmetic" like hoods, fenders, side panels, covers around the operator platform clamps, & brackets, cab steps & battery boxes went thru a BONDERIZER. It was a combination hot water caustic wash, blow dry and while still warm the parts would be painted, either 215 red or 935 white and the change in paint color was only done once or twice a week. When yellow or other colored parts were needed that was done as a separate batch all parts painted at once. The phosphatized wash etched the steel and eliminated the need for primer on all those steel parts.
Many forum old-timers remember Jim Steele, His Dad was painting General Forman @ IH E. Moline for many years, also consulted with our people @ FARMALL and I remember Jim saying His Dad setup many of the paint lines @ LVL.
TOM H. - Yes, BILLOHIO over on the RPM forum started "What IF" threads years ago about "What IF FARMALL built the Super R-TA in '54 instead of the SM-TA. General opinion (I'm more than slightly biased) was that IH would have been still building 125 150-350 HP tractors a day, I'd be retired from FARMALL by now (30 and OUT!) and that other equipment co in Moline would be a short line equip company building wagon gears, grain carts, and manure spreaders.
Don't know about the "660 PUP" decal. I think the real early WH tractors used Kohler engines and they had odd smaller HP ratings like 5 & 6-1/4 HP. You are probably correct that is a 6.6 HP Kohler was maybe a K161 only running 3000 RPM or something so therefore the lower rating.
. I did win a few battles with them and was still promoted last.
