The ol' BN had a bit of a run-in with an immovable object at some point in its past, creating a hole in the mesh screen behind the left grill sheet metal.
One major issue with the hole is that birds really, really like to make nests in there. I've taken two nests out since I've owned the tractor. It got to the point that I had to stuff a rag in the hole to keep the birds out. Gratuitous shot of all three of my Deeres (L to R: BO, LA, BN).
Here's another shot of the damaged screen after I cut the welds holding the screen to the grill.
I tried finding a replacement left grill piece but wasn't successful at finding anything that was in any better condition than what I have. I then looked for replacement screen material, and found two pieces, enough to do both sides, for $53 shipped. It doesn't have the wide bands around the edge like the old screen did, but I'm hoping I can get welded in OK.
Since I had the old screen out of the grill, I straightened the grill slats as best I could. The first photo is when I was halfway done and decided to take a photo. The second photo is of it all fixed.
This next photo shows the new screen bent into shape and taped in place. I think it will look good when I'm done.
This photo of the old screen shows some round bends or divots along the one edge that I'll need to duplicate on the new screen. They provide clearance for some mounting bolts.
This photo shows the screen welded in place. Not that it looks any different than the other photo of the grill two photos previous.
And a couple of days later both halves are painted. They look OK from a distance.
The tractor looks much better now, and with the hole in the screen no longer there, I won't get birds nesting in front of the radiator. This project was completed the night before I had to move the tractor to the local county fair.
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