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This past weekend we went on our annual camping trip to Mt Blue State Park in Weld, ME. That's the Park where Trina and I first met, along with several other friends. 11 years in and counting. We hiked Little Jackson Mt this year. Good trail. Fantastic views. Very few people.

July 1, 1918 Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo made their first debut on newly designed red, white, and blue Crackerjacks packaging during WWI.

Hello all ! I acquired a 1968 Commando for free of charge.He would not take any money but I did gladly purchase a brand new seat he bought for it. The nice gentleman that owned it had plans to restore it unfortunately life got in the way decided to give it up.It then sat for about 20 yrs. Until I came along lol Its partially disassembled but all the parts are there.He even bought a decal set and some odds and ends parts. I have it running and it runs great all it needed was a carb rebuild kit and a condenser and a couple gaskets- so far. Engine was Rebuilt at some point and still has hone swirls in the cylinder,no smoke the deck is usable as well just needs some love. Im redoing the wiring now and in need of an ignition switch . He was a member here at some point not sure if he still is. He just wanted someone to bring it back to life and not go to scrap and he knew I would do that . Someone at some point in its life decided it needed a racing stripe not sure how I’ll Handel that but I think it has to go . Enough rambling a couple pix for now . I told myself no more WHs well we know how that goes !

I believe you're talking about this style dash similar to the 500 Special I did. Terry's decals are typically very easy and forgiving to apply but these dash decals might be the toughest. Make sure the surface is prepared very well. The metallic decal will show any imperfection. I primed, sanded and cleaned it like I was going to apply paint. Since this decal is so different from the others I started at the bottom and slowly worked my way up fitting it tight to the ridge across the center. The credit card thing works very well although I used an AARP card.

Like suggested above, spray some soapy water on the dash first. Use a plastic body filler spreader or a credit card to help flatten the decal out on to the part. Always start in the middle of the decal and work towards the outside.

I will get them out this weekend and take some patriotic pics of them

So when I’m not working on my tractors, I have another hobby I’m pretty deep into. The hobby is R/C cars specifically 1/5 scale weedwacker engine powered ones. I have a 1/5 scale Redcat Rampage MT. I’ve had it since I turned 30 as a 30th birthday gift. I’m 46 now so roughly 16 years I’ve owned it. It’s mostly stock except for a tuned pipe. Lately, I’ve hit a bit of an impasse with it though. My conundrum is two weeks ago, I got it out after it sat for two years and got it going. It was dungy and would run but had no top end. It’s usually not much of a speed demon but it seemed off. It usually doesn’t have much in speed as the heavy tires slow it down. I tried to tune it with no big change. Once I brought it back in, I noticed one of the fuel lines was rock hard so I swapped it out. I ran some other fuel line but it seemed too small. It would start but it acted like it was too rich and you could give it no throttle. I have since found fuel line that was the right size but it is still running the same. I also went through and checked the carburetor which was clean, checked the intake gaskets and made new ones if needed. I fixed the exhaust coupling and I vented the gas tank as well. It’s getting gas and spark and I would assume air if it runs in short bursts. I did notice that at the base of the head it was wet. It will start and run now for about 3 seconds then die with no throttle. Any ideas or tips to get this going? I’m thinking I blew the head gasket. If I change the settings on the carb it doesn't seem to do much. Thanks! Here’s some pics of it.

I had a small shopping list for this years show. Already had an 867 coming from Jim, so didn’t have to shop the show for a short frame start/gen machine, but was also on the lookout for a C-81. Not a super desirable model but I really wanted one. Last year there were no C-81’s for sale. Found this one on Thursday morning. It’s a 1978 and its in real nice shape! The story is that it was a Phil Bowling (I hope I got his name right!) tractor and after he passed it ended up in someone else’s hands. And this year it went up for sale to reduce someone’s collection. Grabbed a show shirt, 8 speed drive belt and a pair of rear wheels/tires…and that’s it.

Here's my Johnson City tx tractor show today all my wheel horse line up ready for the show

If your not going to repaint the tractor, then I think it's best to leave it. Character marks, battle scares, poor decisions at a young age - what ever you want to call it.

My "New to Me" D160 Kept pushing the dip stick out of the tube. I knew that wasn't right and did some digging about the Onan B43 in it. Took apart the breather reed valve assembly and was surprised that Lufkin made the reed; boy that reed was stiff too! You know what? Lufkin also made feeler gauges and this reed measured in at .0275". Me thinks bubba was at work here. My OEM replacement reed was a little more flexible at .0060". I think the reed problem is solved.

First time back since 2002. Picked up this 701. My boy already stole it from me. 🤣. Guess I will stick with the 633. Thank you to everyone that made it possible and it was a great time being there again and making new friends and memories!

Preliminary clean up on the 2 piece seat

A view of the cargo carrier which willbe retro fitted to use on a slot hitch.

A couple sets of 32" gear deck blades, a new seat and cables from K& B, a 2 piece seat to rehab , shirt, hy2 pump and trans from Paul and a cargo carrier to retro fit to a horse from Dave Brown.

This was my only show pickup. A set of cool looking rear wheel weights. I determined they were off a Jacobson.

Take a look at this thread: https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/90128-calling-all-metal-fabricators/

@Thegearhead0324 had to put on a bib , was having a lubrication meltdown ! a regular for me , is to clean out and ENHANCE EVERY RELATED BEARING , WITH LUCAS X TRA HD GREEN CCHASSIS GREASE , specs are awesome for trouble / failure areas . 550 deg flash point , polyurea rated , every pulley , movement point , will actually move with ease , DETAIL , MAKE SURE YOU CLEAN OUT AND LIGHTLY REGREASE THE PTO CONE INNER NEEDLE BEARING ? typically dry / cooked used to be grease , is like a drum brake on your initial lever engagement , ? once you try that , you will want to enhance every / any movement spot . every bearing stage I have has this improvement , years in , no whyining noise or failures , more than worth a try, , dare to experiment , walmart $ 8 , never burned out a clutch disc , what does that tell you about drag reduction ? doing a good job , sending you good ju ju . pete

Friday #25 is Docwheelhorse, Tony Ruggiero, Andover Ct

Friday #6 is Jay Holt @jay in nc . Selma NC

Ok that Is good. He did this one a couple years ago.

Pulled both mower blades and sharpened them.

Hey Jim, you might want to check out the Hankook Vantra trailer tires. I have a pair in your size on my 5'x10' utility trailer, about 4 -1/2 years old, so far so good. Just drove them down to Virginia and back over the last couple of weeks, absolutely no issues. Even exceeded my own personal 70 mph limit with a trailer a few times, no problems.

#17 Friday photo @BHunter. Bob Hunter Willow Grove, Pa

Slide me some of that check I'll think about it ....

I like the speed myself and would like to fix it

Buy the Goodyears. I get a pension check every month from Goodyear.

And much more practicable!

I took a chance and purchased the tires (see sticker below) for our 24' camper online in 2019. They never see sunshine except when on the road and camping as I cut plywood to fit into the wheel well openings. . I run them at 65 lbs and seldom hit 65 mph going down the highway. Most trips-usually three or four a year-are 40~90 miles round trip and one or two 250 miles round trip. I usually stop about every hour of driving and feel them and the backside of the brake housing for differences in heat. At home, they are parked on a rubber mat and some of the weight taken off by use of the stabilizers. They seem to hold tire pressure well between trips. The second picture was taken for this post. The valve stem cap is off because my neighbor gave me a tire mender pressure monitor that I remove when I get home. My wife's Michelins that are newer than these have more tiny cracks than these foreign jobs. I also watch the date code on the sidewalls of tires.

Being a long time collector there was a time when I had one model year of each Corvette from 1953 - 1988. The insurance was not bad, in fact it was really nothing at all. Of course they were all 1/25 scale plastic models.

had a set of extra holes in my 1257 hood but added lights instead of removing

And yes, if this was a worker I would have kept the headlights. But it’s pretty much just a show cruiser. Occasionally I’ll hook up a trailer and move firewood but never at night.

My tractor had the same round lights, they got old and burned out. Rather than replacing them I found new LEDs that looked very similar. Since this tractor is my work horse, the LEDs were a very functional upgrade.

Gulp Ther was a guy at the BS that told Wild Bill at the parade he had 400. I think he was the guy kitty corner from Squonks corner with all the mid mount blades. There fixed that. There fixed that too ...

More to come on my newest addition. Picked it up last Saturday and have made decent progress so far. It's the one in the background.

Send me a PM with your mailing info and I will send you a key. No key chain , just the key no charge. @702854boy

We got a rm-425 deck from him that he wouldn't let us give him anything for

Aw. Come on. We all know that your magic barn has an infinite volume. My worry would not be fitting it inside, but finding it at a later date.

There is about 32 shows in TX I try and go to 12 to 14 shows a year

I got two 42 inch rear discharge decks for 40 bucks one has a good shell and the other one has good spindles, horrible belt, but the shell is all blown apart and stuff and the good one has a broken spindle. So overall it was a pretty good deal

Friday #26 Jeremy Stum, P38JS, Jacobus, pa

I'm happy to report the B100 is basically complete and useable as a tractor. It still has a leaky front left tire that needs an inner tube installed and a better seat would be nice. So I now have to functioning Wheel Horse tractors, the B80 4-speed and the B100 8-speed. I really like the low gear on the 8-speed, it will be really useful when grading the driveway. I was initially worried the motor on the 8-speed would have issues because it apparently sat outside with a vertical exhaust muffler that wasn't covered. Fortunately it runs great with virtually no smoke with just a slight amount on start up. Now that the B100 is useable I can finish up the grader blade I'm building and put it to work. Thanks for all the advice and comments during the rebuild

The big one for me was this new project, purchased from @Ed Kennell: It fires right up, and it will about do a wheelie taking off, but it slows down pretty soon, and it seemed like the deck was causing the engine to bog, despite turning freely by hand. Also, it doesn't seem to have anything that even remotely resembles brakes. It did cut nice, for all the more cutting I got it to do. I got a hydro trans from @pfrederi, who wouldn't take anything for it, just like the the engines that @Pullstartgot. I think I'm going to see about putting that trans in the 1076.

Almost to nice..but I’ll grease it and swap fluids and then she’s getting a 36”RD to prove it deserves a spot here!

So I rescued this 420 LSE from a friends backyard. He's an older gentleman who often gets used, unwanted tractors from others. When I got it home I found the cylinders had water in them from sitting outside with the air cleaner off. I blew out the cylinders and oiled them then pulled the carb and rebuilt it with an OEM Kohler rebuild kit I had around. Put some new fuel line on it, new plugs and went to fire it up on 50:1 mix, nothing! Coil was bad. Got an aftermarket coil online and it started right up. I can hardly believe how well this thing runs. Just bump the key and it fires right up. I was repairing the wiring and I bumped the starter while testing the key, and it started at idle, with no choke!! I had to scramble to shut it off as it was in my garage and the kill wire was unhooked! The wiring was another issue. The connector and light panel was melted. Got a replacement light panel and spliced in a connector from the remains of an old wiring harness I had saved. Got all the test lights working and all the safety switches functional except the neutral safety switch. Not one of Wheel Horse's better designs. I left that jumped. If Jim wants to connect it it's easy to do. Since he and his wife are the primary users I left it up to them. It does need a new oil pressure switch. I pulled tank and cleaned it. Installed a new tank grommet and shut off with screen. Changed the engine oil. Jim did the transmission service. All new Made in USA fuel lines. New air cleaner, plugs, aftermarket coil, rebuilt kit for the carb, LED test light panel, light panel connector spliced in with double crimp splices, new tube in right front tire, new battery and home made battery tie down, new drive belt and bushing for the idler pivot, fixed the bent idler arm, reinforced the hoodstand where it cracks with fender washers, replaced the left front spindle with a good used one, installed a good steering shaft cover, changed the cracked seat base and found a proper spacer for the seat mount to replace a socket that had been used previously. I tried to make it mechanically sound and left it up to Jim to make it pretty. It could use a new or rebushed steering block, 6472 bearing and tie rods. It has 1450 hours on the clock and is a true survivor. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Glad to see it breathing fresh, pine scented Maine air. Last, but not least, my thanks to @Brockport Bill for transporting. I don't have truck or trailer.

Some before and after pics. All small chrome parts are cleaned and ready. Gorilla tape has been redone on a few tears on the leather seat. Seat back is in really nice shape. Both front wheels and tires need cleaning. Transmission oil and a Toro / WH filter done. Synthetic Mobil 1 engine oil was changed by BILL D. Both rear tail light lenses were replaced from amber to red. Used polishing compound on all red surfaces for now to bring some red out. Leather seat was cleaned with Maquire products. Had to use a snap-on swivel adapter with flexible hose to grease the fan gear that looked like it has almost never been greased. On most of the grease fittings I use a small roll pin punch to go in and out off the stuck fittings. Installed one new mule drive pulley. Last pic is Big Brother keeping an eye on the new addition to the family. STAY TUNED Thanks for your interest.

PLEASE feel free to list the actual parts and roughly labor / time spent on this LSE @Bill D and @Brockport Bill for transportation. Please give credit where credit is due. Without you both this would not have been possible. Can't thank you guys enough.

That's all I could talk @Raven AKA my significant other into posting a lot of pics this evening. I was in Mass and she headed to N.H to hang out with her sister. We met up with @Bill D and @Brockport Bill at the New York border last Saturday. We left at 5 30 am and returned home to Maine at 5 pm. Long day and haven't stopped working on it since. Will keep you guy's updated on the progress. By the way you meet the nicest people on Red Square. Two great members. Bill and Bill.