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We were aboard the U.S.S. Missouri a little while back, just after our visit to the U.S.S. Arizona memorial. Aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz came into port. I muted the majority of the audio, and chose to enjoy some waves. Some of the mindless chatter behind me seemed to take away from the moment. I thank each and every service member, from the bottom of my heart.

Hello, It’s been a while since I posted… Getting started on the restoration of my 1976 Wheelhorse C160, which is about 30% underway… Decided to finish off the year with some new seat cushions for the old style metal seat, pan and back and member Matt Castagno made me a beautiful replacement. They are so much better than the original, but look absolutely original installed. Such a pleasure to deal with Matt, and arrived in less than a week to California. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and holidays. I’ll be posting more in the new year of the restoration. Best, Jason

It was my maternal grandfather "Grampa" that deserves credit/blame for my initial fascination with Garden Tractors. He had an IHC Cub Cadet of the yellow and white variety back in the 70s. Then around 1980 they bought a new (?) IHC 682. A few weeks ago I was perusing the interwebs for an entirely different reason and found a model of just that.

December thirteenth is the U.S. National Guard’s Birthday. The U.S. National Guard’s birthday is a significant event, marking the establishment of America’s oldest military organization. It honors the establishment of the National Guard in 1636. The Guard plays a critical role in both community and national security. This day honors the brave people who serve in the National Guard, showcasing their dedication and contributions to the nation. By celebrating this day, we acknowledge the vital role of the National Guard in maintaining peace and stability across the United States a The Massachusetts Bay Colony organized its local militias into three permanent regiments, forming the first militia units in North America. These early militias were essential for protecting the colonies from threats. They set the foundation for today’s National Guard. Over time, the Guard evolved, but its core mission remained the same. Guard members continued to serve both local communities and the nation, responding to emergencies and participating in military operations.

Made sure my plow rig was ready for tomorrow’s possible snow event. Won’t be a deep snow but still needs to be cleared off the driveway. One headlight…but like most of ya’ll I have spare old/used ones kicking around. My 510-8, half the horsepower but twice the dependability!!!

Glad I’ve never done anything silly to be in this thread….

This showed up today unexpectedly. 12hp Raider with a box full of parts. Guy I bought Workhorse from felt bad bout motor being bad. Last week we spoke & he offered up the 12hp & 8sp if I wanted them. He said they could offset the cost of replacement engine. Thought it was a nice gesture. Shows up today with the entire tractor!

Not a great look, but walk behind snow blower tire make excellent steer tires. No added weight, goes where I point it.

Swapped a few things around here. Workhorse GT1800 outta the workshop space. That's staying by the firewood until @OldWorkHorse gets a day to stop by. After Millie was done plowing snow she went in the workshop. Millie needs both belts. S/G and main drive. Gotta diagnose why it's already eaten a main drive belt. May be normal usage. May be a burr on the belt guard. Also did some experimentation with the Super Scooper on the front of my '75 C160 Automatic. I've posted a video in the Implements Section. Got The Ugly Bruce tractor out for a bit to play in the snow too.

Last night I put an electric fuel pump on the 855 and still had issues. It only ran for about a minute before dying and refusing to re-fire. I worked on it for another hour before giving up, tired, cold, and mad. I messaged @ebinmaine and got some advice that got me going in the right direction. New spark plug and now it runs again.

Glad you made this post. Changed the oil in the 418-C yesterday. Drained the old oil, drain cap sitting on the foot rest, put the funnel in the fill tube, measured the new oil to be put in, got a phone call, went over to neighbor's house to assist him, came back, picked up the oil can - - - - stopped, asked myself "What would @Bar Nuthin do next?" Put the oil can down, looked at the foot rest, installed the drain plug and saved myself from wasting a quart and a half of oil.

We got a few inches of snow over the last few days. Not enough for the snow blower on the GC 2410. But if I didn’t clean it up, it would be a mess. So I drug out the 314-8 and took the mower deck off. Put the front and rear wheel weights on and the chains. Gassed it up. Got my 42” plow put on. Couldn’t find the short lift link to go to the deck lift arm, so I made one out of a piece of garage door opener lift arm and a couple clevis pins. Done. I haven’t really ever plowed snow with the 314-8. Have a blower for it and always used that, until I got the blower for the GC. It worked great, and didn’t dig up the gravel driveway much. Good seat time today.

Started another fuel pump rebuild. This one came off of the C160. Will let this soak until my kit gets here. Still cant get over how much junk is in these fuel pumps. Was going to try and just clean pump out and put back together but tore diaphragm right when I was almost done taking apart

Our village is home to a major railroad equipment maintenance facility that occasionally invites the public for tours. One year I learned that when mechanics begin work on a train that must be completed and inspected before the train can be moved, the mechanic hangs his name tagged blue-flashing lantern on the controls. Only the mechanic should ever remove it.

Careful...Looks like frozen poop, talk about a photo bomb! ROFL!

6-10" minimum predicted for us thru 7am Monday along with up 35mph winds. Don't have to be anywhere. Got plenty beer, crown royal, & cigars. Listening to police scanner

Trimming tall grass around a tree is super easy in low range - and leaves a consistent finish to the cut. The HUGE advantage with the 854 in low range is when using the 32" snowblower in about 6 inches of snow. Engine runs at WOT, blower going full speed, and the ground speed is a crawl to allow the snow to process thru.

I used to work on Valves for aircraft and we used to do a lot of wire lock or lock wiring. So I had an idea to do this to the chains for the rear tires when you plow snow. I have to say it’s a lot easier. You have to get the wire as tight as you can. So far so good we had a storm last Saturday. It was at frozen big chunky stuff which turned into a ball. They worked well and they’re easily removable and installed a lot easier. I just thought I’d bring it up.There for link I had them why not use them. You don’t have to use the twister that people use when they do lock wiring. You can just use some vice grips. Give it a good snap when you’re making the first twist this will tighten everything up a lot better. I was using mechanic six gauge I believe they call it. Mechanics wire. Enjoy your day.

Got some serious potential. That should be a SIX speed which would have Limited Slip Differential. Excellent work tractor.

Take inventory of the "Better Half's" stash and tell her you are just attempting to catch up with her. Then run and hide.

They will untangle. Start at one end and pass the short end thru to get cross chain #1 and #2 laying correct. Then continue with #3,4,5, etc. untill they are all laying correctly. Here is a correctly laying chain. And by passing the red hooks thru #1 and #2 cross chains, you get this. The same as your picture. The cross chains appear to lay correctly, but the twist is in the side chains.

As recommended by Handy Don, I replaced the 5/16 x 1" bolt with a 5/16 x 3/4" bolt. It protrudes through the nyloc by a full thread so it is good to go.

Sister tractors. Everyone must have one! Had these on for a while, just can't go on the concrete.

And that is why I have a orange tag that ties to the key saying "no oil". Cause I know I'm going to do just that when I leave and I coming back later.

@JoeM

Yup. Got them on the blade and blower tractors. A must to protect our long asphalt drive. After using them I like them as well and probably better than steel. I do quite a bit of dirt work with the blade in the summer and they are great in the dirt too.

It started here bout an hour ago. 6-10 is predicted here. It is a wet slippery devil this time so far. I will plow some off this evening.

Ha, I just used a garage door opener lift arm to make a lift link for my plow. I think that was my last one. I had to dig pretty deep in my scrap barrel to find it.

One of the advantages of working at a large company (DuPont) and having my site shut down after cutting the maintenance department down to just me as the sole millwright is I got to take home truckloads of hardware. This is a bit of it.

Breakerless ignition. Be very careful not to apply any voltage to the wire on the bottom of the coil. When they work breakerless are great systems no points to wear corrode or set...and timing is always spot on.

And you “just happened” to have that shorter bolt on hand. I’m still in awe of your work!

the blackhood C175 plowing seems to do the job with and without chains or weights -- each fall I install the plow on i think if i should use the chains or weights or even maybe invest in a more aggresive front tire winter tread -- but with smart plowing technique the horse seems to mostly function fine -- have not put the chains or weights on yet this season -- will wait to see if we get any big storms? I can always put the weights and chains on if a forecast says deep heavy snow coming?????????

Sorry, the camera angle made it look close. I can actually fit a finger between the bolt and the hydraulic line.

This close tolerance would bug me until I’d emoved and shortened the bolt. And I am not nearly as meticulous as you are!

No time to do anything....Too cold ......Retirement takes up too much time with phone calls, and paperwork...It STINKS Medicare ,SS , NYS Retirement....the list goes on. Its easier to just stay working....I don't like being on the phone on HOLD for Hours at a time !!! I will get to it in due time. Its a C-160 ,

Back when the original owner owned my 1992 312-8, he as the story goes let a neighbor borrow it to do some yard work (mowing etc…) as luck would have it. the neighbor was near a gravel pit and accidentally rolled it on it’s wheels and barrel rolled it down the pit wall. The tractor was hammered out, and fixed up,and put back into use. It still had the significantly mashed in hood when I got it in 2021. I did attempt to fix it. But, I eventually swapped the hood to a straight one. I still have the old hood. The tractor is still going strong today.

I agree - rear weights for traction, front weights for steering with the plow angled.

@Ed Kennell says they work great. Was always gonna get a set But believe it or not just plain turfs with weights is workin pretty good. Those fronts are the exact same as what @Achto has on his sno pusher.

Picked up these rubber tire chains at this summers Wheel Horse Show. Anyone use them? Thoughts? Might set up a second plow rig with these on it, see how they “grip”

I worked for Dupont for 11 years, then they sold off the electronics division. Some made off with a considerable amount of stuff as they were floundering, I got very little. Anyway, leaving that zoo and operating my own tool & die shop was the best move for me.

My chipper shredder attachment I rigged up, uses a garage door lift arm as part of the idler pulley setup. It also uses a bracket from an old snowblower as the attachment. I love repurposing parts from their intended use.

Their version of LOTO. Lock Out Tag Out

Front fender bracket ready to install. Note the large washers that will hopefully prevent the Hoodstand from cracking again. Front fender bracket bolted into place just loose enough that it will move around. Fender sat on to verify bracket placement. Turns out front fender bracket needs to be moved forward as far as possible for the holes to all line up. I then removed the fender and checked to be sure the front fender bracket is square by measuring to the hoodstand as shown. Both sides were 7-7/8" so good there. I then measured side to side from hoodstand to outer edge of front fender bracket. Just over 2-3/4" both sides. Front fender bracket bolts torqued to 204 in/lb. Shown here are the large washers installed. They are different only because that is all I had on hand.

I have 3 or 4 of the black posi-flo pumps. never an issue over several years now. I am sure the metal one you found would work well also. i buy them because they designed and Manufactured in the USA actually Elmira, New York.

These bar nun. Aviation class fuel pumps. I say good enough for aviation good enough for tractors.

It had to be removed before it melted or blew away!

They seem to work pretty good the way they are, never have an issue with them plugging up. Might be worth a try swapping them around though.

Jim & I went on a short trip to purchase a 520 for $1.00. Guy said that it would crank over but would not start. Pushed it on the trailer, paid the man & away we went. Got it home & discovered that he had hooked the battery up backwards. Placed the cables on correctly & it fired right up.

First video on the revival published today!

I picked this up yesterday, a 1997 Ford New Holland 1715. 26 hp, 3 cylinder diesel, 9 forward speeds, 3 reverse. I really like these Shibaura built Ford compacts. This is my second one, I also have a 1986 1310 4WD. If anyone has a chance to pick up one of these Ford compacts, I would recommend doing so. For a little history lesson, around 1986 Ford bought New Holland. Then in 1991, Ford decided to focus on car and truck production, and sold their ag line to Fiat. The agreement was that Fiat could use the Ford name on the tractors, but to phase it out. This tractor is a 1997, which might have been the last year the Ford name appeared on a New Holland. In 1973, Ford brought their first compact, a Shibaura built Ford 1000. Shibaura built all of Ford compacts, even after Fiat took control. I believe 1998 was the last Shibaura build Ford or NH tractor. Today LS makes the New Holland compacts and sub-compact.