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I learned this afternoon that Paul Benzinger (oldredrider) passed away the week before last. I talked to his wife, who told me he had been battling cancer for quite a while, and gave me the okay to pass the word along to RedSquare. I didn't know Paul well, only really met him once, at the big show in 2021. We talked about the engines he had rebuilt and had for sale at the show, and generally just had a real easy conversation about Wheel Horses and Kohlers, and just life. I know some of you guys knew him much better, and I'm looking forward to hearing some of your stories. Rest in peace, Paul, and thanks for the chat. @nylyon

So the folks working on my house cleaned up most of the debris from the fire. That being said there is alot of small stuff everywhere. Siding, drywall, burnt pieces of lumber, and whatever else you can imagine. Of course this makes mowing a bit of a challenge. So I bought something to drag around and pick it up. Not to mention it will help smooth some of the ruts left by heavy equipment. At least to the point they won't snag the mower deck. I'll report back how it works later this evening.

One of those came with the MF GC 23 I bought this spring. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet, though.

In a high compression engine with oil and coolant passages I might be more concerned but in this 14HP low compression engine that I don't think has been apart before I think these bolts will do just fine. However, if they looked or felt suspicious I would replace them. I think they are grade 8 or grade 5 it's hard to tell with these for some reason, regular 3/8" bolts. Before I retired I was a mechanic at a chemical plant and when it was taken apart for the yearly shutdown maintenance all but the largest bolts and studs (over 2" diameter) were replaced even if they still looked good. The large ones were thoroughly cleaned then checked by an engineer and had NDT checks done to check for cracks, stretching, corrosion etc.

Rest easy Sir.

Picked up some HEAVY Bolens front cast iron weights. They had "BOLENS" cast into the face, so I filled them with some JB Weld. Decided while I was painting them, that my JD rear weights needed to be red too! Now all my iron weights are red. Just one set of plastic fronts are the odd-balls now. Started doing a little prep work for an upcoming parade in our local festival.

Thank you for all the input and comments!!! I have some thinking to do... The C-125 did fine at @Pullstart's plow day this year (well, after some meatball fuse surgery) with turfs and chains... and it's rigged and ready... so I'm leaning toward keeping that as plow mule and setting up the B-80 as dedicated kid hauler and back up snow plow... More to come...

RIP Red Rider.

Fer sure although the 1054 isn't bad on fuel. I take her to WFOT and then just back it off a bit and running in 2nd. not a speed demon but gets the job done. @PeacemakerJack always said it all depends on the soil and conditions with small bore singles. That's why the MN boys run heavy weighted 16s. They are good to go for any soil type.

Like Jim stated the B-80 would do fine with an 8" plow, might even pull a 10". You will be working the engine though. In my opinion, you can feel the difference between a 10hp and a 12hp engine. Beyond a 12hp, I don't seem to be able feel a difference. I also know that a 12hp seems to be better on fuel than a 10hp is. If I was to build another dedicated plow mule it would have at least a 12hp under the hood.

He was a long time member here on RedSquare @oldredrider rest in peace!

I built one like that a few years ago, love it.

I adjusted the lift links. It sits about 4 inches off the ground now. No not really. It's not "60 inch mower deck heavy", but you know it's there for sure. I'm gonna add another hole in the hitch to slide it forward. It has a radiant for rotating to both sides but it won't get used that way here. I think that will lighten the leveraged load a bit on the lift arm. First test was the gravel driveway. Got rid of the studder bumps on the first pass. So far so good.