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Finally got around to taking a few pictures of this little beauty that I picked up from @Dan 312-8 back in June.

November 2, 1947, The Hughes Flying Boat—at one time the largest aircraft ever built—is piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first and only flight. Built with laminated birch and spruce (hence the nickname the Spruce Goose) the massive wooden aircraft had a wingspan longer than a football field and was designed to carry more than 700 men to battle.

Over the past few days I cleaned out my garage and painted the floor. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and with no rain in forecast I figured now was the time. It looked like I was having a yard sale in my driveway! I also took this opportunity to throw some stuff out that I haven’t used in years. Next I will clean off the work benches and paint those as well. I just wanted to get the floor done while it was warm out.

When it's done, you can store it in the freezer.

Judging by your picture and looking at all the clues ( steering wheel , fuel levels , footplates , ect ) it’s definitely looks like a 63-64 Minneapolis Moline or Jacobson garden tractor. I tried blowing up the picture, the best I could on my big screen and it looks like where the air cleaner comes out the hood stand might have been trimmed. The Briggs and Stratton looks to be newer than a 1963 or 64 too so I’m betting on a repower has been done at some point in the last 60 years .

Regarding side load, what tractor would you stick this on? Square hoods and round hoods with the small drive pulley didn’t have a side load PTO.

I hadn't either but just took a chance on them and have been very satisfied with them. They are a 10-ply tire and very tough, almost a must to take them and have them mounted at the tire shop . I let a lot of air out of them since pic was taken and they did flatten out a little across tread but not much. they had 65psi in them (what tire shop had put in), which is what they called for on sidewall, I got 8psi in them now .

leaf cleanup begins 2026 it had been a couple years since we last ran Comanche ( @Coulter Caleb’s 854) and so we got it out, dumped the fuel, cleaned the fuel bowl, fresh fuel and then fun! Zach loved driving the little tractor and I was reminded that is seemed like yesterday his older brother was helping with the same work and he was riding in the trailer they grow up quickly this guy looks right at home on the 62 year old tractor then big brother stopped by unannounced (I love it when he does that)! Zach asked Caleb if he would drive him across the backyard for “old times sake” (I’m not crying…it’s just the dust from the leaves🥲)

My son sent me this video of his new Deere lawn mower in action while his 417H watches. The Deere is self propelled, fuel free and fertilizes while mowing. VID_20261102_074920.mp4

The finish cut may leave a bit to be desired though...

For a working tractor a full length correct size shaft or pulley id is the way to go. For a show and neighborhood cruiser that's never going to see an implement you would be fine using a sleeve on a slightly short shaft.

We spent the afternoon butchering and processing the boy's deer from last week. It actually goes pretty quick with all four of us working. 17 lbs of burgers, a few roasts and steaks for our freezer, and I took a pack of shoulder steaks over to our neighbors. They have kind of a tough lot in life, and I like to do stuff like that for them when I can.

I came across this wheel horse 312 hydro "classic" near my home. $75! Doesn't run. A little over 400hrs. Owner doesn't know why, but someone cut thru the wiring harness! 🤔🤪 Right there is a big clue sir!! 😂

I believe that tires, like MANY other things, are being produced by BAJILLIONS of names nowadays. Some are legitimate lower priced examples of the original name brands. Many unfortunately are unauthorized copies.

Absolutely agreed and I thought through this one. With the increasing forays into heavier machine repair (like my truck or the backhoe or splitter) and the occasional need I've already had in the past for a stronger impact tool, this makes sense for us at this point in time.

They used a solid seat pan in late 59 and into the 1960 tractors. Not all of them so they must've had a supply issue or something

PT base is done. We took measurements front middle and rear yesterday afternoon at the top of the legs. Front was 14' 2". Rear 14' 1". I decided to make the whole frame 14' 1" for consistency. The PT base is cut to 14' 5" across by 20' and 1/2". The extra width gives the metal a centered set on the 5 1/2" wide PT boards. I measured the PT base for square. Metal frame attached to the PT base. These are 5/16" x 2 1/2" grade 5 lag bolts we had in stock. I broke the last one so I'll drill the metal base and add another bolt later. The frame is flush to the front of the base and nearly centered on the back. I did that because nearly the whole front will be big doors. Started a few anchors in but discovered my medium strength 1/2" impact wrench isn't strong enough. It has a spec of 400 ft lbs maximum driving force. I've ordered the heavy duty version which is over twice that strength at 900 ft lbs! Soooooo upset I hadda order more tools. I also ordered some cargo straps which will be fastened from the lower anchors to a point on the metal frame. 10 anchors. 10 straps.

Woke up the snow horses and brought them down from the shed. Everybody started OK.

and make a block off plate....or just leave the old pump in place...

They most likely forced a #10-24 coarse thread nut onto the stud, ruining the threads. Nice save.

I bought a replacement Kohler K241 engine from a Air compressor to use on one of my Wheel Horse garden tractors. What I discovered was the brass studs on both sides were stripped bare. The threads were originally 10-32. I did not want to toss it in the trash because it still tested good and they are about $31 after tax. So I found an 8-32 die on Amazon that happened to be about 5/8" in outside diameter so I could use it to rethread the post to 8-32. Came out nice and usable. Who ever had it before me over tightened it to used the wrong nuts. Some of you may of had this happen to your coil and i found this an easy fix. the die was about $11 for a pack of two. The threads came out much better than the picture shows. I had an Craftsman 8-32 die at home but was to large to fit beside the center post. I just used my Knipex pliers to tighten.

I'll sell you my RJ-58 for $2499 with an original gas tank! That's ridiculous expecting that kind of money but at least they didn't cut the hood

We've begun the construction of the building. Yesterday we moved all 7 of the heavy boxes across the yard with Cinnamon Horse and the black trailer. We opened and reinspected all materials. All fasteners, framing, and brackets were separated and laid out. Today we began by making the whole roof. Added the first vertical section of the legs and all the cross braces possible. There's a slight lean away from the picture taking position here so we got some paracord and tent cords and tied the frame to the ground at 3 places. Tomorrow we'll continue with adding more screws and then the lower section of the side legs. We've decided to order good quality properly fitting metal roofing instead of using the supplied small thinner multiple pieces. For a few hundred dollars investment we'll have a much stronger build and far less possibilities for roof leaks with the better fasteners and no horizontal seams.

Nope. I just need to know they're heavier than before

Splice the harness back together. Clean the carb and I bet it'll run fine. Good score.

Same tractor with all 4 wheels freshened up.

My 20x30 tent garage is sitting on two layers of pressure treated 2x6 with the upper layer notched for the tension straps. I did this to keep the steel frame off the ground and to gain the 3" of extra height I wanted for my tractor with cab to pass in easier. It has been 12 years now and the wood & metal are getting along just fine with no rot or corrosion. +