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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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes, but it might cover up other sounds...

November 1, 1512, The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of the finest works by Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time. Michelangelo Buonarroti, one of the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese in 1475. The son of a government administrator, he grew up in Florence, a center of the early Renaissance movement, and became an artist’s apprentice at age 13. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. After demonstrating his mastery of sculpture in such works as the Pieta (1498) and David (1504), he was called to Rome in 1508 to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—the chief consecrated space in the Vatican.

At the camp. Designed by five architects (family friends) who really got carried away. Built atop the foundation of the original. Rain on the metal roof is deafening!

Beautiful 41* here. Great morning to sit in a tree and watch the sun rise.

Design upgrade you should avoid...

LOL @ Finished One is never TRULY finished.

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.”

We spent the afternoon butchering and processing the boy's deer from last week. It actually goes pretty quick with all four of us working. 17 lbs of burgers, a few roasts and steaks for our freezer, and I took a pack of shoulder steaks over to our neighbors. They have kind of a tough lot in life, and I like to do stuff like that for them when I can.

Made a run up to New Hampshire for $134 of ethanol free fuel. Had my wife and my mom with me for this trip. So it also entailed a stop at the Vermont Country Deli, cool place but it was a mob scene, was hard to find a parking spot for my bright red truck ..dropped the ladies off while I circled the place till I saw someone’s reverse lights pop on! Ethanol free is only offered in the higher octane.

Agreed - but the big money lies in both the engine & transmission - IF they truly in good shape. That showerhead style muffler is NLA and correct for that era - worth $$$ ONLY if it is intact and not rotted / burnt out.

I bought a replacement Kohler K241 engine from a Air compressor to use on one of my Wheel Horse garden tractors. What I discovered was the brass studs on both sides were stripped bare. The threads were originally 10-32. I did not want to toss it in the trash because it still tested good and they are about $31 after tax. So I found an 8-32 die on Amazon that happened to be about 5/8" in outside diameter so I could use it to rethread the post to 8-32. Came out nice and usable. Who ever had it before me over tightened it to used the wrong nuts. Some of you may of had this happen to your coil and i found this an easy fix. the die was about $11 for a pack of two. The threads came out much better than the picture shows. I had an Craftsman 8-32 die at home but was to large to fit beside the center post. I just used my Knipex pliers to tighten.

Obviously the tank isn;t original and the engine specs would show if it's an original engine. With the deck that's about a $600 to $900 tractor IMO depending on location and demand. But I haven't been buying tractors for a while. Definitely not $2500 With the solid seat it's most likely a 1959

leaf cleanup begins 2026 it had been a couple years since we last ran Comanche ( @Coulter Caleb’s 854) and so we got it out, dumped the fuel, cleaned the fuel bowl, fresh fuel and then fun! Zach loved driving the little tractor and I was reminded that is seemed like yesterday his older brother was helping with the same work and he was riding in the trailer they grow up quickly this guy looks right at home on the 62 year old tractor then big brother stopped by unannounced (I love it when he does that)! Zach asked Caleb if he would drive him across the backyard for “old times sake” (I’m not crying…it’s just the dust from the leaves🥲)