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So as may of you know in September I bought a 1257. We fully rebuilt the transmission. I got a new ignition switch a few weeks ago and put that in. Then we got snow so it got pushed to the back. Today we finally brought it back in. Cleaned the points and it fired right up. More to come later today. IMG_1453.mov

Got my latest C-160-8 to pop off today. Think she was auctioned off because starter motor was bad. Fixed some wiring issues replaced starter and she popped.. ( can't spray carb cleaner and film at the same time) This is the tractor with the unique K 431 engine.

And I thought you were asking about the MPG fuel stats on Mrs Ks favorite ride.

I figured I should get in a ride while the getting is good because of the uncertain weather conditions nowadays. I used the Side x Side to pack roughly 6 '' of snow on the ground. The 418-A is my mowing tractor and it's nice to get behind the wheel with no mower deck and wind it up some. This was on Thursday after lunch.

Tony boy does that bring back some memories good and bad. I’ve had four of these 1257 one of my favorites. It has a nice feel at the steering wheel and the foot rest. I’ve always liked sitting over the tractor not in the tractor. The engine sounds good. Nice smooth idle.

I only modeled the hydraulic surfaces from the intake to the discharge. So I never got involved with the size or shape of the upper and lower reservoirs. I only needed the max and min water levels and the flow rates to conduct the model tests. There was one TVA project where the prototype index test showed 4.5% less HP output than the model test. After extensive testing and inspection of the new runners we supplied and of the modifications we made to the draft tube shapes, we determined the turbine was not seeing the correct flow. Divers were sent down upstream of the intake and discovered a silt build up that was blocking a lower corner of the intake. Using a Garmin depth/fish finder with GPS I made a map of the silt and installed the same scaled down obstruction on the model. The model test now matched the lower output of the prototype. There is a lot of reluctance to disturb these silt deposits. I do not know if TVA ever removed the silt or just lived with the reduced output.

January 11, 1838, First public demonstration of telegraph messages sent using dots and dashes at Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New Jersey by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail.

If you don't have a problem with the colors I've bought a couple of these when they go on sale for under 9 bucks. Four-Way Trailer Wiring Connection Kit, 25 ft. They separate easily and are very flexible. I do keep some red and black for certain things.

I love my 1257, had it since my dad gave it to me 10 years ago. My favorite WH tractor. Yours looks like a solid rig 👍.

Stevasaurus would say that ...

I have a soft start module on a Magnum 18 with an electric PTO. It makes a huge difference. I originally ran it with a manual PTO so I knew exactly how much of a difference it made.

@WHX?? sold me a 1257 with a HY2 unit installed. Brought it back with me from the Big Show in PA. and it is awesome. Have a 48" snow plow on it. You will love it. To quote @WHX?? from another thread, "Just sumin special about looking down the long square hood of a 60's model Wheel Horse". May not be exact quote but close enough for guberment work. @TonyToro Jr. hard to tell in pic but does it have the 15" steering wheel also.

Good looking rig! I’ve got a soft spot for the 60’s square hoods

Exhaust covers and air deflector ready to be installed. Engine ready for exhaust covers to be installed. Right exhaust cover tucked under side cover as it was originally. Right engine lifting lug loosely bolted through exhaust and side covers. Both lifting lug bolts have never seize applied to threads. Left engine lifting lug loosely bolted through exhaust and side covers. Note the exhaust cover is on top of the side cover on this side. Both engine lifting lugs loosely bolted through exhaust and side covers. Air deflector sat on muffler and loosely bolted to exhaust covers. Chrome muffler cover attached loosely with the two center screws. Chrome muffler cover attached to muffler with all 6 screws, this also firmly attaches the air deflector to the muffler. Note, all screws have never seize on the threads. Air deflector bolts tightened making sure that there is no contact between the exhaust covers and the intake manifold. Exhaust covers and air deflector installed.

Thats a fantastic rescue story, well done for showing such care and responsibility by doing the right thing. We have all kinds of problems over here for our birds of prey. From road collisions killing owls as they hunt and gamekeepers poisoning hawks to stop them taking game birds. But we have success stories too with reintroduction of some species that had been extinct in some areas. We are only a tiny country and space is in great demand for housing and other building projects, so our government ignore wildlife at every turn and only pay lip service to nature conservation. Look after your wildlife, while you still have it.

I don’t know my birds of prey well, but I am continually attempting to improve habitats out back. As much as I don’t want mice, I know they have a place in the food chain, and they move in with the habitats I create. Along with having my chickens and cats around the place, I have more eagles, hawks, coyotes, and other predators around here. It’s a nervous balance of mine, to keep the habitat growing and keep our farm animals on the ground.

Hey folks , I haven't been as active here as I once was ( apologies ) . I have been busy . This happened to me this week and I remembered there are "birders" on this forum . Last Wednesday while at work , myself and two coworkers were just shooting the breeze out in our drop lot when something caught our eyes . It was a seemingly injured bird hopping along the fence line. Birds of prey are very common in the city . They hunt the pigeons that nest nearby. We decided to call the SPCA and they forwarded us to the DEC. About 1/2 hour later a woman from the DEC shows up and she can't catch him. My 2 coworkers had left and I decided to help her as she was about to give up . She threw a blanket to me over the fence and told me what to do . I managed to toss the blanket over him and get ahold of both his feet .I carried the bundled injured little guy over to her Jeep and slid it into a pet carrier. He looked in pretty rough shape to my untrained eye . I gave the woman my info and asked if she would keep me updated. This afternoon I get a call . The bird was taken to our SPCA and is doing "quite well". She sent me a pic . He's about a 1 year old Coopers Hawk. He's gorgeous.

Foot control pedal assembly ready to install. Foot control rod end ready for Heim joint. Foot control rod end Heim joint jamb nut screwed on fully. Foot control rod end threads greased. Foot control rod end Heim joint screwed on fully (this will be adjusted later). Foot control pedal slid onto shaft. Foot control pedal retainer installed . Retainer is just a large nut drilled out and a set screw added. Heim joint bolted to foot pedal. Heim joint bolted to foot pedal with temporary non locking nut (a nyloc nut will be installed once final adjustments are complete).

Yep, I bought those from a vendor up here and replaced them when I put the replacement on and they are still good. From the info earlier it sounds like the plug loose/falling out. It went from awesome to nothing in a very short time. Looking forward to pulling it down to see and will post back what I find. This thing has had me pulling out what little hair I have left, lol.

Check forward and reverse valves springs are known to break. One of are vendors have them. Clean and check valve bore and piston for smooth operation

Went for a drive to visit our friend yesterday. Got some lunch and went for a nice woods walk. Fresh squirrel tracks. These stone walls are very unusual in our area for several reasons. The height is extreme at about 4 feet in the middle but the length doesn't justify that for any obvious reason. It's only a few dozen feet long and also follows a pretty steep downhill. And... the rocks are flat!

This service work was done for a 30 year customer by me in their Master Bath installed by others. These fixtures are at least 35 years old. The tub faucets are in polished gold finish which have been very well taken care of over the years. The Symmons shower valve is brass but the trim is not. Always enjoyed working with quality Plumbing products and buying OEM parts knowing full well you could walk away and stand behind your work. I use food grade silicone grease on all parts on reassembly. In todays world you keep your fingers crossed and walk away. One of the main reasons I work for certain customers on a semi- retired basis. Lately I have been going through a LOT of stock and it bothers me to toss it out but I just will never use it all. SAD

Decided that's the way to go here. I'll have to drill holes whether they're 2.25" or 2.5" OC. The larger bearing mount is substantially more heavy duty than the original WH one. It also has its own set screws. The larger spread will also help ease of spacing for fasteners. I also decided to make a serious upgrade to the locking collar. Getting on & off the tractor without using the steering wheel as a handle is extremely cumbersome for me. The existing single set screw is degrading due to corrosion. I've personally had them move and I've seen several other tractors with that collar moved down the upper steering shaft from previous owners apparently doing similar. I have a 2 piece collar with 2 screws. Pics later...

Jim that looks like a nice ride. The tractor also looks good.

Down pressure from that lift is actually stronger than the up pressure because down is extending and lift is retracting.

It still should move tho as it's a double acting cylinder. Means it uses hydraulic pressure to move it up and down. You may have some air in the system. Check the transmission oil level. Having some weight on it may help bleed air. It may also be the transmission might need some warm up time. The charge pump... the part of the transmission that provides high pressure ... often needs to run for abit to get fluid moving. Especially in cold weather.

Wow... give a guy indoor plumbing and the lectricity and bam - you are so much more than a fried cheese curd... Beautiful work!!!

Todays adventure - rebuild the steering system. To start off I turned a portion of 5/8" stock down to 9/16" and threaded it to 12 pitch. Next drill a hole in it and tap the inside of it to 3/8-24. Then use a parting tool to cut it to length. OK, what am I building here ?? Remember the fan gear that the PO messed up by welding the drag link to it? The hole in it was too large for a heal-a-coil. So I tapped the hole in it to 9/16-12. What I made was an insert to repair the require 3/8-24 hole in the fan gear. Inserted with Loctite plus I peened the edges to ensure that it does not move. Next - take a peace of 5/8" x 4.5" stock, turn a 15/16" length of each end down to 7/16" and thread it to a 20 pitch. One new drag link. Now for the tie rod that was butchered up. First off, position the front axle and spindles so that everything is held strait. Then cut a 1" x 5/16" flat bar to length. Use a transfer punch to mark the outer holes. Drill the 1/2" holes in each end and the 3/8" hole for the drag link and test bolt things together. Looking good, now it was time to turn the two 1/2' bolts into part #3949 clevis pins. Cut to length and then drill an 1/8" hole 1" deep into the end of the bolt. Drill & tap the end to 1/4-28 to a depth of 3/8" for a grease zerk. Drill an 1/8" cross hole to meet up with the 1/8" length wise hole so that grease can get to the pivot point. Front end repaired & almost ready for some paint.

Oh man. Like I need more bad ideas.

I'd love a 1257 with hydraulics. 8HP is plenty for most of what I do, but every so often I need, or would like to, run something that needs that extra umph.

Check out the dry rot on them sidewalls. These are tri rib and they look like that in between the ribs also. Have a set if deestone tri ribs that’s supposed to be here today . Cant complain these are probably at least 17/18 years old. Deestones came in figured id side shot them too.

Doing some mid season maint/inspection on the 702. Relocated exhaust because it was originally turned down towards the snowblower controls. Used whatever pipe/connectors I had. Didn't wanna drive out in the rain to get parts......all the cars are washed & clean in garage 😆 Also installed some rear wheel weights that I cant even remember where they came from. There's only 2 bolt holes in weights & of course only 1 hole lines up. They really fit well into the rim tightly so I think just the 1 bolt is enough because they they fit so good.

Absolutely beautiful trails in the snow! Always good to take the horses for a brisk walk on occasion!

Nice save! Glad you got it running again!

Keep us posted on what you come up with. This one's in the shop now for multiple hydraulic leaks. Maybe try and clean up some hose mess. I think it was @Handy Don was asking about hard lines once and at the time I thought he was nutz. He ain't lookin too crazy now. Also fuel delivery issues including either electric pump or your route.

Just don't get you "Hooby Dooby " caught in it!

A “Sparky”

It is tapered.

The generator bulb socket is a special one. Both the - and + are isolated. Just a heads up.

Muffler ready to install. Muffler gaskets used. Engine ready for muffler to be installed. Muffler gaskets sat in place. Muffler bolted into place and torqued to 120 in-lb. Bolt threads have a coat of never seize. PTO pivot plate assembly ready to be installed. I used 1-1/4" bolts to maximize thread engagement into engine block. Engine ready for PTO pivot plate assembly to be installed. PTO pivot plate assembly installed and torqued to 20 ft/lb. Muffler and PTO pivot plate fully installed.

A few more of the build