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...when you've stumbled upon another keeper. Earlier this week, I noticed a newly listed C/L ad for this "barn find" 1056... price was right, so I picked up the phone, contacted the seller who was still at work. Made arrangements to meet up with him around 5pm later that afternoon, a take a peek at what he dragged home. Story goes, he's a John Deere guy...who picked this up in a recent package deal, & just wanted to pass it on to the "right guy". Original owners son, run on some hard times...(aka, going to jail ) & was selling off some of his deceased fathers collection to pay off some bills. Seller was told, his Dad was meticulous with his maintenance, which seemed plausible, considering it was covered in grease, & inside of the fuel tank looked brand new. Said he always fogged the engine before being put up for storage, so...other than a front tire off the rim, and the JD seat...seemed like a pretty good deal for $100. That said, I took the chance, shook the man's hand...and loaded the ol' girl up. After getting it home & unloading...I was hoping the story wasn't BS. Had to admit here, the old girl was looking pretty rough. The following day, I did my usual routine though...took it to work and it an hours bath with our heated pressure washer...followed by a good dose of compressed air. Then left it sit for a couple days to dry out, while I tackled the usual fuel system refresh, new plug, new oil & air filter...then tubed the flat front tire. Today was the day to try putting some fire in the hole, though it did initially try to pop off...I discovered it had a really weak spark. Once I cleaned to points, she fired right off...smoked like a chimney at first. Then, cleared up, and is running like a champ now...no runs, drips, or errors. Was so stoked, that I took the rest of the afternoon, to do a little aesthetic detailing, changed the gawd awful seat for another I had here "in stock". Took a couple picts here to show the progress so far, plan to to the rims, and probably add new rubber in the future. I think it turned out pretty good so far...let me know what you think.

Thanks to Terry the 876 is looking sharp again i put my new decals on last night. This is the tractor i picked up last month at the portage show all polished up. And a couple others out getting some sun

Seen on a wall in a rec room of a cedar chalet rental home in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland...

Dear Lord, Duke has a medical condition that needs your divine intercession. Please guide the therapist’s hands to be steady and effective to do the task at hand, and not create any further damage We pray against any infection or complications. Calm the heart of his family. Give him your peace so his body can heal under the best conditions. In the name of Jesus, bless him to be healthier after this procedure than before. Lord allow this temporary trial to bring this family closer to you and each other. Thank you Lord for your blessing on this family. We praise you as we know we are in good hands- the very hands of God. In Jesus name, we thank you for each day. Amen.

A friend woke me this morning saying GO look at this. So I did. WOW! The story behind it is even more amazing, but for now Just WOW!

Well the last time I had some T.I.A's it was due to my own negligence as I was smoking and it cause them. I lucked out back then in 2009 because I had a 100% recovery. I wasn't so Lucky this time MaryJane and I have been going to the Bone Cracker the past couple months (I had been going for lower back pain). And the last time we went was on July 13th. After we left I had a terrible headache and to make a Long story Short I ended up In the Memorial Hospital In South Bend that day and I have been in here ever since and at present am going through physical therapy. I have been getting my arse kicked every day and am on the road to recovery. The Doc asked me what I was going to the Chiropractor for? I told him lower back pain. He said why was he adjusting your neck I told him I didn't know According to the Doctor he said when he adjusted my neck he broke loose the arterial artery that cause a blood clot to go to my brain that caused all this. What I am battling is swallowing, Right side leg control, and Vision. I Get out of therapy the 8th this next Tuesday and will be going through two more months of outpatient therapy. I thank God because it could have been worse. I don't know what my full outcome will be, but any prayers you want to send my way I appreciate them! P.S. Please think twice before going to the BONE CRUSHER! ~Duke

Back in 2010, I spent $5 for 6 tickets for the Raffle Tractor at the Big Show...and they called my name. I managed to inherit 4 horses from my Dad (which I got for nothing), but he did buy them.

Picked up this 518 a couple days ago. Runs good. It mows great and drives amazing. Very comfortable to ride. Has 1100 hours but runs like it has 500. Does not smoke nor knock. It will be my permanent Lawn tractor. Just for mowing. Here are some pictures.

I can't believe you put new stickers on that girl.. That is a very nice line up Mike.

It came from a local NASCAR Drivers family, His father bought it new, After 15 yr.s of grass cutting it went to their Basement were it has been till recently. He believes the original engine is still there and went looking for it tonight and said I can pick it up when he gets it out. So 2nd owner, and getting to put this in the yard Cutting and Struttin, I can't wait.

Current # is 32 squeezed into that 10'x14' magic shed.

Finally got the rear wheels and weights repainted... This is what I have on GhostRider for weights-- A set of WH weights, a Toro weight that came with my Dxi, and a Farmall Cub weight. I was tired of the cream not matching the black, red, and silver theme. So I went to work... I used Rustoleum Aluminum for the weights and the rim portion of the wheel. Since this is a dedicated plow tractor, I decided to paint the centers of the wheels red. It took quite a bit more work but I like the results. Just a few more items to finish and my plow rig will be complete! This is a really fun tractor!

Duke- I had no idea about this. Prayers are with you. Man you need to get better as you have some horse restorations to get to still.

God speed on your recovery Duke... you're in our prayers my brother.

This is my M-series Lawn-Boy mower that I've had since it was new, around 1994? or so -- it's been a while and I forget little details. Enough to know I bought it brand-new; it's the second-generation version of the M-series where they re-worked the final drive at the rear wheels slightly. It was my only mower at the time on a small city lot in Indianapolis, and it replaced a cranky F-series Lawn-Boy that came with the house I inherited. The "F" was one of the odd green-and-yellow(!) ones which ran well enough, but tended to balk and need service at the worst possible times. The "M" series was like nothing anyone had seen before, back in the 90s. Magnesium deck. Oil injection, like on a snowmobile or good dirt bike. Magnetic safety switch to detect that a bagger or chute was attached, not a contact to rust or get dirty. Piston ported engine instead of the old reed valve design. Mine came with the blade clutch, so you could step away from the machine while it idled, unlike the then-new (and annoying) "zone start" safety system where you have to hold the bail on the handle or the engine shuts down. It also meant you could stop the blade any time to travel through areas without kicking up dust. The only thing it didn't come with was an electric starter, something I'm happy to do without the complication of even to this day. A Lawn-Boy two-stroke engine should start on the first or second pull -- third one if it's sat a while -- and "pull" is kind of a stretch of the word; "spin" is more like it -- they're ridiculously light and easy to start. This one was my only mower through two houses in Indianapolis as I started a family, then it came out to New Hampshire with us and worked two more yards until it started having problems starting. My brother-in-law brought over an old Snapper Hi-Vac that had been in my wife's family since the 80s, and then left it behind. The old Snapper then became the alternate while I tinkered with the Lawn-Boy. I got the Snapper tuned up (and my wife's family thought it was mostly dead...) and so I had two interesting mowers to work with. (I love the simple miniature snowthrower disc drive on the Snapper Hi-Vacs!) We moved again, this time to a property large enough to need a lawn tractor. The Lawn-Boy got a bit of a rest now that it only had to work as a trimmer, but it began having difficulty starting again. So it got put aside and the old Snapper got a carb rebuild, new belts, and got put back to work. That's how it's been for the past number of years, especially since the trimming at that house's yard, the next one, and the one we're in now have had so much sand and rough ground that I really didn't want to beat the Lawn-Boy up on them. Two things came together this year -- with a bit of work, the lawn is coming in nicely so I'm not mowing over so much sand. And the old Snapper is getting genuinely balky -- pretty sure the 35-or-so-year-old Briggs engine is losing compression, one of the front axle mounts is worn severely oval, the belts are worn out again, and the idler pulley on the miniature disc drive is in need of a new bearing. So it was time to dig into the faithful Lawn-Boy and see what was going on. Like so many times with the simple Lawn-Boy 2-strokes, it turned out to be a simple problem. Pinched wires! A pair of wires that run to the ignition module provide continuity against the safety shutoff and low-oil cutout function. They'd gotten pinched in two places when the engine shroud was re-assembled at some point when it was serviced. All it took was splicing in a short run of wire and she started right up! Now, the wires are wrapped securely with 3M electrical tape like a stiff car wiring harness instead of the thin PVC sleeve that came from the factory, and carefully tucked up in the engine shroud away from where they were pinched before. The starter rope was getting frayed, so I put a new one on. Greased the zerks for the power drive and put some Sea Foam in the fuel. Now it just has to stop raining so I can go out and mow! Here she is -- well worn but ready to mow for probably another 20 years or more! Yes, she's missing the green plastic trim on the muffler housing. It was held on by tabs on the back and the pair of screws you can see on the front, which didn't really go through the plastic trim -- just a couple of loops molded onto the bottom of the trim. Naturally, those loops give up after a while. I think the trim piece might have gotten lost or misplaced in a move at some point. If it surfaces, I'll try to figure out a way to put it back on. Here she is from behind. In need of some paint on the access panel that covers the Tuff-Torq drive unit, but everything is working just fine. The mulch plug is installed right now. There's a slightly odd discharge chute that throws to the left, and a rear-mount bag, too. You can see the "windows" that reveal the fuel and oil tank levels that were kind of innovative at the time. One downside to the M-series is that it's not easy to get to all the fasteners to loosen the fuel and oil tanks and the engine shroud. If you have big hands, it's miserable. I'm not that bad off, but it's tricky and darn uncomfortable. It's not camera distortion -- the handle, it's adjustment knobs, and the drive and blade bails really are that beefy. Channel aluminum bars, and big castings. It looks like what happens when engineers get a hold of a lawn mower design. I've always liked the typical Lawn-Boy heavy vinyl debris flap. It's still flexible after all these years, and it won't bounce and flip up like stiff plastic or metal ones. Here's a shot -- top-quality lawn care equipment, old-school 1990s-style! Next time I'm in in the big-box store and the guy in the lawn and garden department asks if I need something, I think I'll show him this picture and say, "Nope, I think I'm all set, thank you!" Historically, Toro kept the M-series deck and drive system in their own-brand commercial line after buying Lawn-Boy, although environmental regulations killed off the 2-cycle engine. Their high-end commercial trimming mowers use a 2nd-generation version of the deck, cast in aluminum instead of magnesium. Some of the sharp angles have been rounded off a bit, and the front edge looks like it has a thickened lower edge. Steel reinforcements in the height-adjuster notches. And the crazy-over-built handle is replaced by a more conventional steel tube stock one. But deep down, a bit of this beast still lives on. (And meanwhile, this one's companion, the Snapper Hi-Vac, is still in production too!)

Even though I only made it to the show for a couple of hours this afternoon, I still had a great time. There were lots of farm tractors and tons of GT's. Lots of the common ones and even many of the rare ones. I'll start the thread and put in a few pictures. I'm sure that Dan will have a lot more pics and more info since he was there for several days. Lots of nice horses... I was drooling over this awesome "Big Wheel"! Dan's buddy Jason has a growing collection of vintage MF tractors that have been pictured in other threads here. He was gracious to let Zach sit on his 7. His grandpa purchased this tractor new in 1970. He grew up using it. I very much enjoyed the history lesson that he had to share on his 6 cool tractors. Lots of classy Cubs I probably shouldn't share this here but one day I would like to own a 140 H3 just like this one! This Allis was super cool! I wanted to ask him if I could through on a 10" Brinly and take a couple passes! This David Bradley was a unique machine for sure. The highlight of the day for me was Dan sharing his awesome pulling tractor with our family by letting Caleb drive it and... Zach go with him for a ride. They both enjoyed it very much. Thank you @Achto! It was a great day. We also got to speak with Jim for a few minutes before he left to head home after an early morning wrangling in northern IL. Always fun to share with him! We missed you @Rp.wh! This show is worth attending if you are in the area and can make it...

So how many could you "squeeze" into my new 18'wx20'lx8't red tractor shed , and yes around my neck of the woods they start at $500+, Jeff.

I have been to a chiropractor off and on for 15+ years for sciatica, with physical therapy along with adjustments it did help but in the end he became a $ grubber IMO and going 1-2 times a week didn't make me any better so I quit going, my lower back still gives me fits time to time, until it gets to the point I can't function I'll live with it, so I feel for all those that have back issues and wish you a speedy and full recovery , Jeff.

Took a few minutes but I found it! The "Spherical valve" engine is what I was referring to. The rotary valve combustion engine possesses several significant advantages over the conventional assemblies, including significantly higher compression ratios and rpm, meaning more power, a much more compact and light-weight cylinder head, and reduced complexity, meaning higher reliability and lower cost. As inlet and exhaust are usually combined special attention should be given to valve cooling to avoid engine knocking. Rotary valves have been used in several different engine designs. In Britain, the National Engine Company Ltd advertised its rotary valve engine for use in early aircraft, at a time when poppet valves were prone to failure by sticking or burning.[1] From the 1930s, Frank Aspin developed a design with a rotary valve that rotated on the same axis as the cylinder bore, but with limited success.[2] Kawasaki and others have also used rotary valves in two-stroke motorcycle engines, where the arrangement helps to prevent reverse flow back into the intake port during the compression stroke.[3] Austrian engine manufacturer Rotax used rotary intake valves in their now out-of-production 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 532 two-stroke engine design and continues to use rotary intake valves in the 532's successor, the current-production 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582.[4][5] US company Coates International Ltd has developed a spherical rotary valve for internal combustion engines which replaces the poppet valve system. This particular design is four-stroke, with the rotary valves operated by overhead shafts in lieu of overhead camshafts (i.e. in line with a bank of cylinders). The first sale of such an engine was part of a natural gas engine-generator.[6] Rotary valves are potentially highly suitable for high-revving engines, such as those used in racing sportscars and F1 racing cars, on which traditional poppet valves with springs can fail due to valve float and spring resonance and where the desmodromic valve gear is too heavy, large in size and too complex to time and design properly. Rotary valves could allow for a more compact and lightweight cylinder head design. They rotate at half engine speed and lack the inertia forces of reciprocating valve mechanisms. This allows for higher engine speeds, offering approximately perhaps 10% more power. The 1980s MGN W12 F1 engine used rotary valves but never raced. Between 2002 and 2004 the Australian developer Bishop Innovation and Mercedes-Ilmor tested rotary valves for a F1 V10 engine.[7] Bishop Innovations' patent for the rotary valve engine was bought out by BRV Pty Ltd, owned by Tony Wallis, one of the valves original designers. BRV has constructed several functional motors using the rotary valve technology, such as a Honda CRF 450, which had greater torque at both low(17% increase) and high (9% increase) engine speeds, and also produced more brake horsepower up to around 30% more at functional engine speeds.[7] The engine was also considerably smaller and lighter, as the cylinder head assembly was not as large. A company in the UK called Roton Engine Developments made some progress in 2005 with a 2 rotor (one for inlet and one for exhaust) on a motorcycle single cylinder Husaberg. They filed patents and got an example running in 2006 but were backed by MG Rover who subsequently went bust, leaving Roton without enough funds to continue. The designs surfaced some years later in Australia with Engine Developments Australia Pty Ltd. A prototype casting was produced in 2013 on a Kawasaki Ninja 300 parallel twin unit. This unit is still in development phase at the time of writing but is significant as it has the potential to run much higher compression ratios than even other rotary valve engines due to a significant but undisclosed new cooling method of the combustion chamber and the ability to eliminate the throttle completely, making it vastly more economical at lower engine speeds, so it is claimed.

Needed a measurement for the extended fender supports, so I consequently did a mock-up of some of the parts to sort of determine about how long the extended fender supports would need to be. Took some pics but the lighting was not the best so they didn't turn out too well, but here they are.

Craigslist find that just happened to fall together today. The first tractor is pretty straight but appears to have not run in the last decade... The second is pounded, prior owner replaced the kohler with an 8 horse briggs, and the seat pan with a metal one that did not have a filler hole in the right place (268H), so he sawed the neck off the gas tank and duck taped on it's replacement". Over all it's a mess, but that loader is pretty darn nice and it seems to work well, but tractor doesn't run well enough to give it a good work out yet. The only leak is it seems to be some weeping at the drain hole on the tank. I'll need to build a weight box for it, but over all pretty excited as I've looked a long time for a loader.

She cleaned up real nice Craig! So fall is still 2-3 months away right??? What's up with your neighbors tree in that last pic? Please tell me leaf season isnt knocking on our front door 😱 !! Mike....

Wired her up today. Used a key switch for a 420lse and wired the carb selonoid to a toggle. It's alive. Now to break it in and adj valves.

A friend says "Dave, my starter quit"... so I gave him a replacement, thinking I could rebuild his dead one. Well, I gotta tell ya.... it is beyond DEAD. Here is every reason why to NEVER HIT WITH A HAMMER..... The armature in this would NOT turn at all...stuck tight and he wondered why it didn't work. So... TO EVERYONE..... DON'T HAMMER IT.... If it quits, take it off and fix it....or buy a replacemment

I can't wait until this makes it's way into the ATV engine

Better yet..... is it still there?

I don't know about your area... but, $100 's are getting hard to find around here.

I am glad you are doing better . Maybe you should visit the Chiropractor with a baseball bat. My wife had some horrible experiences with Chiropractors , I think it made her back worse. Are you going to have back surgery in the future. I hope you continue to improve.

I know your project is going to be great , a Chevy steering wheel. You have great tastes. Can't wait for the finished product.

Wow...... two thumbs up on that. I can't wait to see this together. Awesome job!

Looks like he used a BFH

In the early '80s a camless, valveless engine was developed that had a "log" with cutouts for fuel/air and exhaust gasses which was situated where the cam shaft would usually live. As it turned it would open and close the passages and with fewer moving parts there was reduced friction and virtually no RPM limit. Wish I could remember what they called it so I could post a link.

The Aluminum brightness makes it really pop. Ive not had much luck with that color being robust and lasting. Would like to hear how how it does for you. I may go with more or of a stainless on next project and it will have exterior weights which are red so it will have a similar look. These are getting mounted on the GT22-8 rear rims.

A friend of mine built this little beauty...

I could see where it would be handy if you were roping off something that needed to be taken off and on quickly. Of course a d ring could do that also. Must have been a sailer or dock worker

Got it out of the truck and powerwashed it. It cleaned up better than I thought.

I was fortunate to have these two given to me. A 657 and a Frankenhorse that turned out to be a 500 Special. Both had serious issues but I figured I could build one good one out of the two. Here's where I'm at with it now. I wasn't able to complete it yet because of the move back to Indiana. Hopefully by this winter. A little off topic and not cheap but it was a dirt cheap deal. It's a 2005 and I bought it in 2009 so it was 4 years old with only 100 hours. At $1000.00 including the deck I don't think he knew what he had.

The 1956 RJ35 with plow and mower deck cost me a case of beer. The 416-8 was $45 ..... needed a little work. Starter need cleaned and the frame needed welded. No deck.

This C-101 was a freebie. Unfortunately, I don't have before pics, but here are some after investing a few hundred hours of labor and a few hundred bucks for paint, decals, and vinyl to make a seat.

Best I have ever done was free, but I did have to remove the debris and remains of the shed that had collapsed on top of it. '57 RJ-35, I haven't done anything with it yet but here it is.

My Uncle Roger held a plow day at his farm in early October and I felt that was a perfect time to do some more testing and tuning on GhostRider. Instead I only ended up making a couple of rounds on him since I was busy running and organizing the day. One guy with a Cub broke his lift arm/link assembly and we repaired it at the shop and got him right back plowing. We had a small group with about 15 tractors present but it was a blast! Watch this video and keep an eye out for GhostRider. My friend Nate is driving. I'm on my dad's Iron Horse (875)... GhostRider was running good and working well. I Wasn't real satisfied with the hitch assembly and will likely fabricate something a little more stout in the future, but other than that I know I have a winner! After Rogers plow day, I decided to take my two oldest on a weekend run to Buck Creek, Iowa for their plow day...

Craig, That really cleaned up well. I have a nice set of fronts for it that are original wh if your interested.

Looks good Craig! Steal at $100!! Also I love getting dirty tractors like that because once cleaned it's like you added $100 in value to its looks just by giving them a good bath! Also getting rid of that John Deere seat helped big time!

I'll try to answer the questions in order! The footrests are attached by stainless machine screws. Yes I have proudly been an active volunteer firefighter for 29 years, although a few years ago I opted out of being an interior firefighter and now mainly do truck operations. Below is a picture of what I like to think of as the pride of the fleet and other guys jokingly call "Dons Tanker". Ohiofarmer, I would consider trading you but I'm pretty sure the shipping would turn my free tractor into a 5-600 tractor!! Retired wrencher, she runs beautifully after some minor carburetor tweaking.

Funny thing is I grew up in a family owned Allis Chalmers AG dealership and I don't even own one . We didn't sell lawn and garden because the local hardware sold Simplicity . I do believe though these are both 64's . Neither run but really haven't tried . Couldn't pass them up because they were cheap .

Finally got some new tires for the Bronco. They're Deestones I found the on E-Bay for $14.95ea w/out tubes. SWEET!

Taking the pets for a walk--maybe? hitching your horse in the garage at night so it doesn't decide to go out for the night-- PO installed stuff can be very interesting for sure... Aldon--in all sincerity, you did/do a fantastic job and this thread will be reference for us when we restore Blackbeard. Thanks for paving the way

Lets see if these help you. I may have to remove heat shield for better access to battery area if they don't. Sorry that she is a little grimy but she is a working girl.

Put front rims and tires on but have to get spacers for them.

Hard to beat my freebies.