Not sure if it applies to all 200 series years/models but this is the 212 wiring diagram.

 

These are the side covers I put on it. I bought them from fellow WMF'er Eric Behm. He had sandblasted and epoxy primered them then baked them in an oven where he worked as a mechanic. I had never prep sanded anything as nice as these were to work with.

 

Speak to it bro!...more pix, love those 200 series machines. 👍

 

I didn't have the head off but here's a torque chart anyway that I just ran across. Maybe somebody can use it.

 

I had just finished this 400 when I did the 212 so my painting skills were as tuned up as they ever get. It turned out really well. I don't mean that as a brag at all. We all have experiences like that where the cosmic tumblers mesh. After I did the 212 I thought maybe I should stop at that and never do another one because I would probably never pull it off again. It's best to get in some practice before shooting big stuff like fenderpans and hoods but sometimes it isn't practical or cost effective. But it really does make a difference.

Yes, that's a blue Cub Cadet sitting behind it. The Blue Goose, as they called it at ihregistry.com. It was actually a nicer blue than the pics show. Exact same shade as the stripes were. Some of the guys weren't as easy going about color changes as we are here at WFM. There were a few naysayers but the more they griped the more I enjoyed it spinning them up . I figure if that's all somebody has to bitch about they don't have very many problems. It wasn't personal though. In fact I actually met several of them in person at the spring swap meet in Portland IN and and we had a good time tailgating. He had no idea about forums like this and Dad made me laugh when he asked how the hell I knew those guys. He said it like I had somehow been sneaking off to Portland without him.

 

There have been some pretty good guys here that are no longer posting. One was Richard Chuckry. He was out west. I forget which province. I mentioned I was gonna have to repair the 212 hood and a few days later a really good one rolled in on the big brown truck. He said never mind the shipping and or paying for the hood but I did some arithmetic and sent him enough to more than cover it. I feel like it's bad for my karma if I don't even things up. Richard is a mechanic for Air Canada and a very mechanically skilled guy. A heck of a good painter too. This is the old hood I replaced. Was certainly repairable but it's been as it is in this pic on a shelf in the old shed for over 15 years now. I might fix it someday though. Maybe.

 

Some before shots. It was really crappy looking under the green stuff. No pitting but as scruffy as they get.

To look at it you'd never guess this 12 HP Kohler ran like a new one but it did. Couldn't ask for better.

A long way to go.. and a long time to get there.

A gungy oily mess but that was good. It stopped what was under it from getting rusty. The carb was amazingly still really good.

The harness was pretty good. Some corrosion but it didn't look like a dog barfed up some half eaten wires.

Various parts on the right are waiting for their turn to be sandblasted.

 

Correction. This pic reminded me I actually did use the torque sequence chart. Not to put the head back on. To replace the bolts. The rusty heads and washers bugged me so I followed the tightening pattern as I took each bolt out (one at a time) and replaced them with new ones w/new washers I got at a swap meet. I have two more sets stashed away. Not really a big deal for a small Kohler engine but bolt stretch from being previously tightened down matters for high performance engines. My buddy's brother had a 427 side oiler in a '66 Fairlane back in the day and I recall him saying he paid a hundred bucks apiece for a new set of head bolts, and that was 40 years ago. He sold the engine for 20K later on. No doubt it would be worth a lot more than that now.

 

The engine clean and prep underway. It's time consuming but I really like doing it. Always have.

 

This is the point where the scruffy head bolts bugged me. They looked awful after I patiently cleaned the head up with steel wool and elbow grease.

 

I prepped and painted everything. Even the carb.

 

Sweet...

 

I stripped the oil pan and the flywheel cover backing plate on this Kohler to the raw aluminum. I always leave the pans bare like this on Kohlers unless they're cast iron. After this pic I went at it with med steel wool till it had a mildly shiny finish and I left it that way. (Edit: I actually painted it later on). Stripped aluminum gets bit dull after a while and looks like brand new raw aluminum at that point. To me anyway.

A golf cart transaxle done the same way. This pic is before I sandblasted the frame and seatbase/floor of the cart and shot them with med gloss black. The driven clutch was brand new and I cleaned up the transaxle with steel wool and paint stripper. As you can see the transaxle looked as new as the clutch when I was done. I prepped and painted the axle housings and brake assemblies med gloss black. I did another cart transaxle this way too.

A 400 transaxle with a raw aluminum finish. I had already painted and installed the original transaxle for the 400 I restored but I had one in another 400 that had never been painted. JD must have used them that way for at least some 400's. I really liked the the original bare aluminum look so later on I cleaned it up with paint stripper and med steel wool and put it in the 400 instead. Sorry about the crappy pic. I seem to have very few pics of it.

 

The engine going back together. I just realized I actually painted the oil pan on this Kohler. Don't recall why but it was likely discolored and not very spiffy looking on the bottom. The oil pans are invisible after an engine is installed but that was apparently not the case for the mental pic of it in me wee brain.

 

Ready to go in the 212. It was a while though. I had to do the rest of the tractor yet.

 

I sandblasted everything on the 212 I could except the frame. It didn't really need it. Just required some light wire wheeling.

 

If an engine doesn't have oil in it there's a tag on it saying so. Sometimes two tags. I seized a nice little Kohler because I forgot I had drained the oil and I swore it would never ever happen again.

 

It's pretty easy to post a flashback thread when the pics are mostly ready to use. Just add some blah blah blah and presto. Hopefully some of you guys will do the same with your own projects from years ago.

My paint booth was almost ready at this point. Another 10 minutes or so and the sun was up enough to see good but not too bright (like me ). No daytime bugs out yet, no wind, low humidity, around 70F and no ventilation issues. It's the best time to paint if you ask me.

 

Looking good,

 

Who doesn't like pretty piles of painted parts? Getting ahead of myself here. This pic is from later on when I was reassembling the tractor. The parts aren't actually as close together as they look here. It's just the angle of the shot. This is actually an old 8 ft banquet table I use for laying parts out. It folds up out of the way when not in use.

 

Original decals?

 

Nope. All new. I channeled the old fart who built Jurassic Park. Spared no expense. Actually it wasn't too bad. Engine was fine. I don't see rebuilding them if they start and run good.

 

My Deere hauler back in the 2000's. I brought the 212 home with it. It had a 6 foot box and the tailgate closed with barely a 1/4" between it and the little tractor. I drove this 2001 Edge from new till 2015 when I retired. Sold it then immediately regretted not keeping it. It cost me very little to maintain it. Virtually all the mileage (140,000 miles) was freeway driving. Unless somebody got in my way I only touched the brake pedal 4X on a 30 mile one way commute to work and that included stopping in my parking spot when I got there. I did the front brakes once and replaced the throw out bearing, but I don't recall any other repairs of consequence. I didn't even replace the clutch when it was apart for the bearing because it was in really good shape. Not much starting out/shifting so not much wear, same as the brakes.( Edit: I forgot I put new knuckles on the driveshaft to eliminate a vibration when slowing down). I loved that truck. I compensated by acquiring a black '96 Splash for my latest 5.0 project.

 

The hood prepped for paint. Block sanded it smoother than it ever was, even new.

 

Reassembly in progress. In this pic the frame had been chemically stripped, wire wheeled in some spots and shot with JD's med gloss black. The dash pedestal was done too. Also all 4 wheels. Blasted them and the pedestal first. The engine was in and ready to go vroom at this point. My 1/2N project and the '50 Mercury pickup were also in progress. I still play with my toys the same as I did as a kid. I went from one to another and didn't focus anything in particular for very long. I played with one for a little while, then another one and so on. The thing is I have too many now and it takes quite a while to circle back and do more work on something again.

 

Sweet, love that Ranger too. I had 2 in a row, both XLT supercabs: 92 green/auto, 99 red/5-spd with crossfire I-4 Pinto engine. The 99 saved my life when I was T-boned by a NASCAR granny speeding & texting. She hit Scooter Red at the cab/bed gap...a Ranger will roll sideways...3 times in my case. Rang my bell for sure...RIP Scooter Red.