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Since it was a nice 55 degree day yesterday, my oldest son Max and I broke out the lawn ranger and picked up sticks in the yard. Here he is when we got started, he was so happy tractor riding season was finally here!

my wheel horse is ready after the restoration. now only restore and overhaul the cutting deck. The results are impressive! what do you think?

Very Longtime member that has been gone for a long period of time. I thought it'd be worth taking a few minutes so the new faces might get the chance to know the old face that's new again. Life and the drama that at one point enveloped some of the WH haunts that I frequented in the past pretty much drove me away from online forums and the like. My collection has been maintained and grown slightly here and there, the love of the Horse hasn't diminished. At the end of 2015 I had a house fire and lost pretty much everything. It's been a long slow road, but with good home owners insurance, good friends, and patience, things are pretty much back to normal. It took six months or so to get a new home that could be lived in and many more months to get all the contents replaced. In the Spring of 2017 I got Married - NEVER thought that'd happen!! I also left a long time job and stepped out on my own. It's had it's ups and downs, had to make sacrifices along the way. There's a few other things that've happened along the way that I'm not going to get into just yet. Think that's about it ... Glad to be back on a limited basis.

Well trying to make some headway now that the weather has improved. I started making the frame for the back trying to get it just right and I had to get me a new hobart welder. But after 2 weeks of off and on bad weather I've got it as close as I can. I bought a heat press to heat and impress the die and frame into the vinyl. This is what I have so far.

I might wait to fix the seams... this hood ain’t budging!

I jumped around welding about 3/8” or so at a time, with an aluminum heat sink clamped to the work piece and the air nozzle cooling it as well. Stainless filler on the TIG machine

I spent some time working Frank in the driveway to warm up the transmission, then finally did the load test. All is well, the big wheels spun at full throttle or the engine would stall at anything less than full throttle.

Hood painting continued this morning. The inside as well as the outside-red were completed a few days back. Once taped-off, I scuffed the red overspray then wet-sanded upto 1000g. And now we finally have a Black Hood! ^^^ I need to touch-up the red on those 2 side rails where the frog-tape didn't cover properly. Thanks for stoppin' by!

So I spotted this little guy while driving down the street one day in winter. It was quarter of a mile from our farm and rotting away under a shed in the woods. The shed was collapsing, and the roof and the mud had just about swallowed this thing whole. I asked the neighbour who had the tractor about it, and he said that if I wanted it, to just come take it. That made me happy! We went down almost 5 or 6 months later, and using my brother's quad, we wrestled it free from its grave 6 inches deep in the mud and brought it home on a trailer on another quad. I was ecstatic. My neighbour stopped by and thanked me for getting it out of the way. We said what it's been sitting since around 2004, so it sat for 14 years. This thing was ROUGH. The original briggs was long gone, replaced with a junk wisconsin which was missing everything to run. That swap was killed so early that the engine wasn't even bolted in. The jackshaft was stuck, the belt was stuck to it, the shifter was good, but the detents are bad, the throttle and choke cables are frozen, the steering is good, and the front tires were flat. The rears would've been flat, but they are so old and stiff that the tubes are shrunken inside the tire and they hold up the whole tractor plus my 135-ish pounds. The chains were stuck to the tires, too. First thing I did was put it outside, where I pulled a ton of parts off, and then winter hit and water in the transmission froze. Oops. Luckily the tractor was on a stand at a 45 degree angle so it saved the gears from getting ice around them, and it only froze the differential. We rolled (well, dragged) it inside and I attempted to remove the transmission to no avail. They used these stupid rounded bolts and the things were stripped. It was awful. I found a Kohler K161 in rough shape, tried putting that in, screwed up all my drilled holes, figured out that the spark plug hole was stripped, and then realized we had a briggs the whole time. And now it sits, briggs engine laying on the frame with no spark. Soon...

Well it’s been intermittently on and off for a while now. But on the 22nd or 23rd, I will start my trek west to Boise ID area. Over the past 1.5 years I culled the collection down to 4 tractors. 3 of them I will personally trailer cross country and the moving company will have responsibility for my C160 which is set up as my mower. Also needed to load onto trailer any flammables, liquids or anything perishable. And valuables or heirlooms simply because I don’t trust people anymore. Needless to say it’s maxing the trailers load capacity. As as I will be on business travel all next week I needed to get my trailer ready this weekend. Its about a 4 day trip, ~ 2800 miles. it will be kinda nice not to have to deal with stresses of work for a few days though:-) The Horse Haulling set up is finally going to earn its keep: i think I may quadruple the number of wheel horses in Idaho:-) Here is the worker which has very few hours since Fireman (in CT) restored it. After 6 months sitting all winter, it fired right up.

Really, really nice. I can't barely wait for you to start actually making the seats. I'd like to be the 1st person to put in an order for one. If it would help, I'll send you the seat I have for you to recover.

It fits!

This old dog is still learning.

Electrical should be about wrapped-up for this bad boy. All of the connectors were missing but they weren't too hard to find. The clutch switch came-up in a thread a few weeks back...that helped alot! The Packard 56 series female terminals (for 14-16 wire) get the double crimp followed by solder then some marine grade heat-shrink. The connector came from amazon. The PTO and ignition switch (and regulator) get the same terminals. If you go this route, I recommend getting one of these crimp tools as well as a terminal removal tool. We'll tidy-up in here once I run the machine a few times; Initial checks passed w/ flying colors.

Hello, all. Have my eyes on a 1983 WorkHorse GT-1848 not far from me. Looks like a mostly decent survivor with a decent 48" deck under it. Still appears to have the wide wheels too. I'm not too familiar with them, but from what I understand it's more or less a 400 series WH in different paint, with a Briggs engine. As I understand it has a Eaton 1100 rear end. I'm more adjust to Sundstrands and have had my share of good and bad. How are these 1100's as a unit? Are parts available for them if/when they fail, can they be rebuilt? My fleet currently consists of 3 early hydro long frames, and I have been considering a newer, bigger machine. I think this would fit the bill nicely.

Bob, I'm sure if you can make seat covers with that logo imprinted on them, you couldn't keep up with the demand. That would make any tractor, look original.

Yep...it’s stick season here as well. Unfortunately I don’t have a great helper like you

Here you go. FEL Fork Pics These were burn outs, I made up a set for a friend by spiting 3 inch square tube and welding fixtures on the end like the ones shown a the bottom.

I guess you can.... what a way to get some boiled sap! Is there such a thing?

Right, wrong or indifferent, I’ve decided to weld the plate over what’s existing instead of cutting all the steel out and welding new in.

He may not make it back on the tollway @stevasaurus 😂

The typical cause of that symptom is crankcase pressure. There is not a "seal" for the governor shaft. Check the breather. If it is clogged or installed wrong, that will not allow the pressure to escape the crankcase. Worn or bad rings will create excessive crankcase pressure as well. The oil is being pushed out

You get some cutters for the ends of them axle stubs you be like them chariots on Ben Hur!

It cleaned the majority of the 56 years of grime off it, along with an old sanding sponge. I will soon need to remove Frank’s one good eye, but only for a little while.

The good thing is that this discussion is not subject to personal opinions or even different interpretations. It is what it is and no doubts about it. Although I have learned everything I know about tractors , engines and other related matters mainly from this site, there are countless other countless subjects that I learned much from being a member here. The diversity of individuals with all kinds of different skills, talents and also their geographical diversity is indeed a seldom found treasure of information and talent.We share our knowledge and experience, and respect our differences in personal and cultural areas. That of course is also done with the help of great vigilant moderation which is essential when something gets out of track. I encourage everyone with young children or grandchildren to expose them to much of what goes on here. Much of the talent and knowledge present here unfortunately may just be lost in another generation or so if the younger generation does not take an interest in it. Sometimes it takes just a little glance at some nut building stuff out of toothpicks to inspire a youngster into a life of not only rewarding talent for self and others, but also in the very least to appreciate it and those who possess it.

What a grin!! Glad your teaching them young!!

Welcome, @ET160! Do you have fairly decent welding skills? Here is a recent thread from @Ed Kennell where he worked through a wallered our axle keyway.

Safe travels Aldon. That's one nice truck/trailer combo you have.

I got some plow feet from @WVHillbilly520H but haven't taken the time to install them yet. Absolutely needs to be done before next fall.... That'll help a lot with the unintentional dirt moving.

Wow! You guys are good! And I thought this was only a forum to discuss the correct choice between detergent and non-detergent oil or the color of Rustoleum paint that the Pond family used on their tractors!!! I am impressed that someone not only knew what it was, but had actually used one. Then, for a video to surface!?!? That's doubling down, right there! OK formariz and bcgold, you are my new heros! Great job and thank you for the explanations and video. Eric: I'll probably give this a good cleaning, hit it with some boiled linseed oil and it WILL find its way to a spot on my "wall of fame" in the new shop. Cheers everyone! I'll have another Whatzit Challenge for you in a few days. Dave

The things you can learn here......!

For those of you that never used a brace, it is usually used on wood. Bits for it almost always have a screw point center to aid bit digging into the wood as it is turned along with user applied pressure. Without that aid, specially drilling into a hard material like metal, between having to apply a fair amount of continuous pressure ,coupled with the unbalanced motion of turning the brace makes it extremely hard and frustrating to drill such a hole, not to mention how inaccurate it would be since one cannot keep drill going straight. That device automatically exerts the correct amount of pressure as drill goes deeper into material being drilled. Actually where i found it it to be most useful is when one drills over head, straight up. Nearly impossible to apply pressure that way. As long as one can wrap the chain around what is drilled it works great. There are literally hundreds of weird different devices such as this one to be used with a brace.

Brace chain drill. Chuck is missing on that one. One would wrap chain around item being drilled so no pressure or little pressure had to be exerted on brace. Usually used on drilling metal. That one looks like the Millers Falls version. Pressure is exerted by threading chain holder upwards while chain is wrapped around material being drilled.

Need to mow but the wife won't let me until after Easter needs a place to hide the eggs for the grandkids.

Put down lawn fertilizer with a Garber Seed Easy 60-inch drop spreader. All worked great!

The Red... aside from the whisker hair or pube on the fender pan ..gets covered up by the seat anyway... Dan was scratching himself alot! Absolutely awesome finnish for a GT! Put them in the guest bedroom for safekeeping and curing. This is what the master says and who am I to argue? Belt guard did not come out to his perfection and threatened to beat me over the noggin with it if he could not refinish to his perfection..again who am I to argue? Damn shame his fenders suffered the same. Real bad time to come down with the "runs" when spraying automotive quality red! Pics are not doing justice!

There are many questions that we have regarding the Amish way of life and many times what to us seem to be contradictions to that way. From conversations with an elder regarding that same question you posed above, although a bit more complicated,the basic answer is about speed and their way of life. The horse is what dictates their way of life in general. The speed of the horse is how fast they want their pace of life to be if I make any sense.Same reason why a tractor is allowed for some operations by some but it has to have metal wheels. It involves in a way also a sense of humility and a desire not to be too ambitious since that promotes vanity and so on. Inevitably some of those ways are now being changed due to either necessity or outright influence from outside. I always admired them, for it takes strength and conviction to stick to your believes despite being surrounded by something totally different. They are here because it is here they have the freedom to be who they are and that is something we should all be proud of. Trust me , there is no where else like it.

Heinz all the way! Lol with extra Mustard on my hotdogs! ok now this post got me hungry!

Mr. Apples. Those are meant to keep people away from the horse so as to prevent them from touching it. Maybe....

You could take out a few of the green & yellow thingys !

The machine shop told me that the rod would be fine as long as I put it back the way it should be and the oil hole is facing the right way. As far as the lifters he said that they aren't that hard, they are a grade 8 bolt and should be able to be filed. He said almost all that they get in need to be resurfaced. I guess I'll put the motor on the tractor next chance I get.

LOL. Its really not that bad. The problem really is that it is one of those things that one does not use very often so every time it is used it is a learning experience all over again. Like anything else in any trade there are a few little tricks to make it easier to set up and use. Timber Framing.

@buckrancher and @Herder Here's the combination of Brian and Jo's tractor and Adam's generosity in helping me find this grader blade. You folks just would not believe how much fun she's having. Out here driving around on the tractor and smiling and moving dirt.

Well, he sold the tractor this weekend (how rude) but I was able to grab a decent load of dead ash and some maple. Still not a bad day!

For a 2 cylinder a second piston would be nice

If you have better than basic mechanical skills, you can swap the axle easy enough. Be a good time to put in new Axle seals while you have the hub off, that'd be a bad day if you get it all back together and use a few times only for it to start leaking. Good Luck!

Dave it looks like you've got your first piece of wall art for the next pole barn. @formariz well done caz...

Parts tree has the plug for 4.00 plus shipping they want a ton for the switch though ... Amazon has the same toro part for about 15 i think. Thanks!!! Worth the 400 I paid for sure