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Something like this may save the paint on your pretty wheels. Those 60+ lbs weights are hard to wrestle by hand

Finished the C-145 auto today…she’s ready for battle!! 25# inner and 65# outer weights. Brand new rear Carlisle All-Trails and a 48” 5 sector plow (yes I removed the swept axle extension kit for this install) I have cast iron 8” front weights and a set of rubber tire chains on standby if I need it.

We miss you Jay, for those who didn't know him let me just say that @roadapples was one of the easiest people to get to know and hardest to forget.

Okay, okay I know it’s not Saturday so please forgive me! Yesterday I had to move a few tractors to get my Peco vacuum trailer out, so I figured I’d take a few pictures for you boys!

Slowly getting the C-145 into snowplow mode. Tonight I got the stud kit and inside weights mounted. Also installed the F-Plate braces that I got from @ri702bill. Next will be the outside weights, axle bracket and finally the 48” 5 sector plow.

With the help of a lot of people from this forum, we were able to get the Onan fixed with a new (and correct) flywheel key, and a new ignition trigger module. Over the last few days I put the bucket loader (Thompson TC10) back on. A little bit of new plumbing, a new hose and fluid and I’m back in business!! I also discovered that the Hydraulic pump is from a Cessna airplane. I started the ballast box build as well. Pics attached.

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

This was our first Wheel Horse, bought about 12 years ago. I love this tractor and am feeling pretty proud of how it looks. 1987 312-A, as far as I know, all original. I have a 42" SD Deck to restore to put on it, mule has already been repainted. All done with Rustoleum Regal Red rattle cans. I've been working on this a little at a time for about 2 months. Not as nice as I had hoped for, but I don't have the time to invest in all the paint stripping and glazing to make it all perfectly smooth. Tried some clear coat on top on the fender, and it bubbled so I gave up on that. Maybe I'll give it some wax to make it shinier. The hubcaps had some rust that I mostly got rid of. I still need to do some detailing on the tower tins and engine tins, but am not going to try to repaint those completely. Many thanks to @Vinylguy for the decals!

Put some decks away for the winter. Left one on the 310-8 with Trac Vac for collecting leaves.

Spouse and I just got back from a week in Arizona. She's a Jane Austen fan, and we attended the JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) conference in Tucson. She was an official 'attendee,' and I was just listed as her 'companion.' There were over 700 people at the conference, so it was a fairly big affair. I only attended one lecture and the dinner, which was kind of fun, since almost everyone at the dinner dressed in Regency period clothing (including yours truly). I must say that we really looked the part with our Regency get-ups, (even though I don't know how to line dance or play whist). Wife attended a bunch of different lectures and events, and while she was getting 'Jane Austen-ized' I ventured out on my own and visited the Pima Air & Space Museum, which has a massive collection of aircraft, and the Titan Missile Museum (Titan missile silo), which was very interesting but kind of a somber experience at the same time, since it was sort of weird standing in the control room where mass destruction could have been wreaked upon the world. The tour guide had a couple of people in our tour group act as operators and follow the actual sequence that would have been used to launch a missile, which was a bit spooky. Looking down at a disarmed missile in the silo: We had a free day at the conference and visited the Sonora Desert Museum, which I thought was excellent. Here's a scenic view from the museum grounds: We also spent a night in Bisbee, which I rather liked. Very laid-back, artsy-craftsy old copper-mining town. Lots of arts and cultural events for such a small town. There weren't many tourists, despite the nice weather, and it still retains a substantial amount of its old mining-town atmosphere. We may go back someday and spend a little more time there to see if we like it well enough to use it as a winter getaway spot---not necessarily for purchasing a house, but possibly renting a place for a month or so during the dead of winter, since their winters are quite mild, and they rarely get snow. While we were gone, lots of leaves decided to fall here in Maine, and of course they've been soaked by rain, so my backpack blower won't move them very well. I've decided to wait another week (or more) until almost all of the oak leaves are down, and then use one of the Wheel Horses with mulching blades to make three or four complete passes over the lawn to grind them to oblivion, rather than trying to blow them away or rake them up.

Quickie paint job…wiped the garage dust off these 65 pounders and gave em one coat of glossy black. Hopefully mounting em later this afternoon on the C-145 Auto.

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

In the continued effort to make certain parts of my life more physical, I've recently picked up this new 36 inch Fiskars splitting maul. It weighs something like 8.5 lb. Trina just a few weeks ago, picked up the little 17 inch mini ax that it's pictured with. Her mom wanted a smaller ax to use for splitting kindling up. The box arrived with two axes in it, so now each one of them has a mini. I did a couple quick test splits with the maul. VERY IMPRESSIVE. I like it so much I think I may have to get the ax that goes with it and has the same size handle. Here's the maul head in my big mitt. I'm hoping to make this part of my better Fitness regiment.

Well it wasn’t today, it was actually Sunday morning but I’m just getting around to posting this. We had a simple tanker/drafting drill on our FD property. I was the tanker operator, that’s me standing on the back of the tanker.

Yep, you got that right! He walked right up to me (a total stranger mind you) at the Wheel Horse Show years ago and said “Are you Sparky on RS?”…and then we talked for awhile like old friends catching up. We met up and chatted every year at the show like old friends. I’ll never forget him.

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

LOL @ Finished One is never TRULY finished.

Rubber tire straps/chains installed on 416. New seat coming tomorrow.

November 7,1962, Richard Nixon concedes his loss in the California governor's race, telling assembled press: "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference." He would win the presidency six years later.

I don’t actually know when I’ll have these in my possession, but these were about 6 miles from the plow day I attended last weekend. I saw them on FB marketplace and sent a message asking if I could pay for them and have a friend pick them up. When he responded, he said I was first in line and the only person who had not asked a bazillion questions. I paid the man with Venmo, and he set them next to his trash bin near the end of his driveway. Risky I thought, but Adam got them for me! He threatened that they may turn purple and be on his daughter Angela’s tractor by the time I see them, and I told him they will likely stay whatever color he makes them and I’ll run em anyway if that’s the case!

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.

Prototype Tesla

So is not wearing it!

A fine day to plow leaves!

Half inch NPT should screw right on. Adjustable volume, course, fine, and pulsing exhaust....what's not to like?

November 3, 1998, Jesse “THE BODY’ Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota. The retired professional wrestler served one term as governor and declined the opportunity to run for a second term.

A personal fave: A button spotted being worn at an event: “Help stamp out ‘Help Stamp Out’ buttons"

Not a sign, but a meme that really hits home.

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

One of the few finishing touches to the new shop that has gone neglected to this point is the expansion of the shop air system. Most of today was spent running to the store and back, and cutting, threading, and hanging iron pipes for air. All the new line is installed, I just have to button up a few end-of-the-line (literally) things before I can turn the air on and check for leaks.

I wonder if there is a lot “c”.

A Chinaman goes to see the eye doctor... After the exam the doctor said, "I know why you're having trouble." The Chinaman says, "why?" Doctor said, "you have a cataract." Chinaman says, "no, I have a Rincoln Continental."

November. 6, 1865 CSS Shenandoah is the last Confederate combat unit to surrender in the American Civil War after circumnavigating the globe on a cruise that sinks or captures 38 vessels.

I’ve been wearing my ring for 33 years even though my wife tells me not to! She says put it on if we go to a special event or something like that. I’ve had a few close calls for sure! Mainly I wear it to keep the ladies from constantly hitting on me 😜😂

Yep, the ring will stay on the finger. It's the finger that comes off. Nearly lost my index finger in 1964 when the ring hooked on the metal brace of a wooden ladder while I was sliding down fireman style. I put the ring back in it's case and left it there for 50 years. When I put it on it was too small for the index, but was a perfect fit on the pinky.

I would position the engine to get the best fit with the existing belt guard to minimize the amount of altering you will need to do to make it fit and work. Then buy the correct belt length.

I struggle with videos with my phone. What the heck is HEVC???? I finally got YouTube to do it's thing and hopefully it will work here. This is the first start up. Spark good, fuel to carb good (currently using a cheapo thumpy thump electric pump) and wiring checks out. It actually surprised me how fast it started. I had fogged the engine a while back and it didn't smoke as much as I thought is would at first start. It didn't care for the base carb settings but I got it to smooth out some. Still needs some tweaking. Took a mini cruise through the first woods just cuz. I used the battery from my 05 and found out it's 5 years old. I was going to park Dino for the winter and put the battery back in the 05 but I'm just going to leave it in Dino and buy a new one. I still have some odds and ends to do I'm waiting on some crimp lugs to redo the battery cables, I may repaint the fender pan. Something got on it and it feels more like sandpaper. I've got a good electric fuel pump on the shelf but I'll just leave the thumper on it until it quits. There seems to be some noises that are more obvious on the video than from the seat. I'll be chasing those down. Hopefully it's nothing internal. https://youtu.be/e1FIVKRNTlM

November 4, 1990, Dances with Wolves, a film about an American Civil War-era soldier and a group of Sioux Native Americans that stars Kevin Costner and also marks his directorial debut, premieres in Los Angeles. The film was a surprise box-office success and earned 12 Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Costner. Dances with Wolves took home seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and solidified Costner’s place on Hollywood’s A-list.

If you can not sleep at night, it is usually because you are awake. I hope this helps. If I am sent to jail my wife will get me out. She never lets me finish a sentence. Doing nothing is extremely difficult, you never know when you are done. A dentist will say “You are brushing wrong.” A nutritionist will say “You are eating wrong.” Parents will say “You are living wrong.” Your bartender will say “Excellent choice sir.” There is a new movie out about a snowman who became a vampire. It is called “Frost bite”. My son asked “Why do birds fly?” I replied “Because it is faster than walking…” used to think I was indecisive but now I am not so sure.. My vacuum cleaner broke, now it just sits there collecting dust. I attempted to organize a game of “hide and seek” but good players are hard to find. You can never trust stairs because they are always up to something. I told my wife “For the past 50 years all you have done is found mistakes in every thing I say.” She replied “That is 55 years dear.”

At the Polo, IL plow day 2 weeks ago, the 520-8 started running rough. It would just quit like it was loosing spark. When I got it home, I verified that it was. Ordered the engine ignition system kit and got it installed and back together this weekend. While I had it apart, I figured I would adjust the valves, since I was sure that the PO hadn't done that at 1,000 hours. The Onan 4 piece kit p/n is 166-0785 and is available on eBay. Here's how it ran before: IMG_9315.mp4 Here's after: IMG_1176.mp4

Remember when we used to laugh at the commercial on TV “I’ve fallen and I cant get up”? Well, it is not so funny any more … The lady said she got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. She said it was the best game of “Hungry Hippos” she has ever watched. What did the DNA say during the conversation –“Do these genes make me look fat?” What are the worst IQ test results? When they come up negative… Why cant you trust atoms?? Because they make up everything. Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven eight nine… What do you call the wife of a hippy? Mississippi … What is the difference between an outlaw and an in-law? Outlaws are wanted. I started to sleep in the fireplace, now I sleep like a log. If you think I am annoying now, imagine if I could play the banjo!

Today I brought Mrs. 953 home from the hospital. Both of us got the flue shots but the flue my wife came down with didn't seem to be the one the shot covered. It was an intestinal virus that hit her like a ton of bricks. She had been visiting a friend at the hospital several times so my guess is that is where she got it. The first symptom was her throwing up right after lunch, I told her if she didn't like my cooking she could just tell me!

When replacing the fuel line I use a double male barbed fitting, connecting the old one to the new one. Then you can pull the old one out and the new one in very easily.

Happy ending! He turned 90 degrees from last blood and headed for cover. My neighbors came out to help track him and one of them just stumbled upon him tangled in the grapevine.

Hard to beat an old Kohler, and a recoil start might be nice when battery and starter maintenance is concerned. But if you go with a repower, most newer engines are more compact and the PTO as a result is lower, and the engines tend to be more narrow as well. I've repowered 3 machines with Vanguard V twins. That means not only raising the engine by about an inch, but shifting it to the right as well. The only way I could find that works consistently is to fab up an adapter the bolts to the existing frame holes while providing a new bolt pattern to interface with the smaller engine pattern. One thing that helped get my builds in the ballpark was to use the PTO hoop lower bracket and the beltguard as a guide for where the PTO shaft needs to be. It isn't perfect but it helps alot. It at least removes guesswork from the equation. Just don't swap any PTO brackets. Different models did use different locations as well as manual and hydros are different. Stick with what was originally on your machine. One pic below shows how different the locations can be between models.

Step by step guide on how to fall down stairs Step 1: Step 2: Step 4: Step 7: Step 12: Step 18: Step 25: Hospital