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Over the last couple of days Trina and I have been spending some time freshening her 657, Pony and my 1974 C160, Cinnamon. She's been cleaning up the paint on both of them a little. We are changing the oil in Pony. We will be adding some engine stickers and a couple of Redsquare stickers and Trina added some black tape on the edges to prevent sheet metal from scuffing on other pieces. The Cinnamon Horse is our heavy load pulling tractor. All four tires are fluid filled and the fronts are quite oversized. Changing back to the stock size unweighted turf tires takes about 375 lb off the weight of the tractor. Before the tire change One of each for comparison The AG tires shown above are on Cub rims which have backspacing 2" deeper from the inside so to make up for that I use these 3" aluminum spacers. The extra inch is to ensure room for chains. One of each of the fronts to see the large size difference After all tires changed A few years ago a good friend of mine who is a fellow truck driver gave me a great gift in the form of a Flying Swan Hood Ornament that has been used on Peterbilts and Kenworths for many years. The one he gave me came off of a Kenworth W900, I believe 1979, that he used to own. A great gift with a much appreciated personal touch to add do something of my own. I've been thinking about putting this on this particular tractor since I first got it and this is perfect timing because it is going to a Truck And Tractor Show.

I have an old Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC welding and needed to move it around so its not in the way all the time. I rarely use it as well especially since my son bought a Miller 210 multimatic machine!! ] So I used a old 2 wheel dolly and moved the wheels closer to the center and down to make it easier to move and welded up a mount for it. Put a couple of hooks on the top and threw some paint on it. It takes me awhile to get stuff done since I can't lift much anymore though. Thought I would show you guys and see what you think.

As per @RandyLittrell‘s request, I’ve started a thread on a cool little plow tractor that has been in our stable for about 5 years. As those of you who have followed my posts over the years know, I have purchased a vintage tractor for each one of my kiddos to use while they are young and then to refurbish/restore when they are about 14-15 years old. It will give them a little background in mechanics, electrical, and paint, and also how to use basic tools. I also like the aspect of the father/child time invested in the project. They also will learn how to take care of their own machine as part of the process (check and change fluids, grease the zerks, make routine adjustments, etc). I got into GT plowing in 2011 and by 2012 I really had the bug. As I looked at the various machines out there, I was really impressed with the Cub Cadet 100. They are tough little machines but still very early production yet with some good options that make them quite useful for plowing. As I looked through the pictures on my phone dating back to June of 2015 nearly every picture of this tractor has a plow attached to it. I guess that makes sense given the purpose for which it is built! The Cub 100 is widely considered one of the neatest Cubs ever made both in design but also overall durability and function. The Original cub was built from 1961 through most of 1963 and was only offered with a 7hp engine. By ‘63, many manufacturers including WH had larger engines offered and IH knew that they needed a bigger engine to compete and so the 10hp 100 was born. They had already sold over 60,000 Cubs in a three year span and so it was time to release a model that had more options and “creature comforts” that offered more attachments to handle the jobs that customers ran into daily. I bought this tractor for my third born Jonathan, whom we call Judge. The guy I bought it from had rebuilt the engine, fabricated the trailer fenders to accommodate the much larger than stock 10.5” wide rear tires and had painted the sheet metal. I saw the potential in it right away and a deal was struck. The ideal plow tractor has hydraulic lift and this tractor was equipped with strong arm manual lift. Thankfully I had a complete hydraulic unit from a different cub on my shelf. I also installed the third arm and bracket for my Brinly hitch adapter. This tractor came new with the optional rear PTO which was really a novelty because it turns backwards since that it the rotation of the engine. The center section of the rear end was directly out of the Farmall Cub tractor and that is the reason that this option was offered. On the FC the engine rotation was correct and the PTO could be used operate a variety of attachments. On the CC, there wasn’t much that could be run. I’ve heard stories of farmers that would hook them to a grain elevator to free up a tractor while harvesting grain or corn. There was also a company that offered the Hub City reverser which changed the rotation to the correct way. Those seem to be pretty rare and I’d like to find one someday for novelties sake. This tractor also has the optional creeper gear. If you notice on the diamond plate tunnel cover just ahead of the gear shift, there is the slot for the Hi/Lo range lever. This one loves to pop out of Hi range and so you will also see my 4 year old (temporary fix) of a small C-clamp! I like some variety in pain colors to my tractors and you will note that I painted the air cleaner cover (off an 18hp Kohler for extra breathing capacity) and the hydraulic pump unit Black on the Mule. This tractor also came with the factory pepper pot exhaust. To be a serious plow tractor it had to have a stack and so a Farmall Cub stack was installed. From the above picture you can also see that it has the optional cigarette lighter. It doesn’t have the factory one (I’ll get one someday for it) but it gives a place to charge your phone should you run low on battery while at Jim’s plow day! This one also came with optional headlights and Grote tail light. I added the rear plow light for night plowing at some of the big plow days. The factory seat was a metal pan with a two colored cushion. I had the old school black short back rest seat from a different tractor and installed that for now. Here is my son Judge with a bone stock fully restored 100 at Red Power a couple of years ago. I included this for reference of the correct fenders, seat, exhaust, etc. This is the first out of state plow day that I took GhostRider to before he got his dark clothes. You’ll notice that the hood on the Mule is kinda gnarly compared to the yellow on the rest of the tractor. The previous owner liked the Patina of the hood so much that he just cleared over it to preserve it. I didn’t like it at first but it has grown on me over the years. Lots of people (Uncle Roger on it here at Jim’s PD) have turned furrows with it and it is almost universally liked as a plow mule. @Rp.wh told me that plowing on that little tractor is what helped get him into the hobby. It only has 10 hp but it does a good job of putting power to the ground. The only real negative is that it has fairly low ground clearance and that can sometimes be a problem when following someone who is trying to recreate the Marianas Trench! This pic was taken in Peoria, IL at Bluniers PD. The Mule is second from the right and did a great job of plowing. @Coulter Caleb Jumped on that thing and plowed for several hours. My mom’s red 782 in the foreground (she calls Decklan) the Mule, the Five, and Grizzly in the background. As with any project machine, improvements can always be made. I would like to build a more powerful engine for it, not because it needs it but because I can😁. I also would like to upgrade the clutch (pressure plates, clutch, spring) rear end gearing. @Achto took this super cool pic last summer of Uncle Roger plowing with my youngest Zach up at Plainfield. It is a really neat little tractor and we have made a lot of memories with it over the years. Judge is turning 9 in about two weeks and I’ll be sure to post some pics on here of him driving his Mule on his birthday. Here he is turning soil in a Stertz field that his great grandpa turned, his grandpa turned, his dad turned, and now him! This land has been in the family since 1948 this little farm boy has the perfect Mule to get the job done (maybe a tad small for a 15 acre field but Uncle Roger can bring out the big guns to finish what he doesn’t!) Feel free to ask any questions that you have about the setup...hopefully the yellow didn’t hurt your eyes too much😉

Be able to fix things and you'd be amazed at what you can get. About a year and a half ago, picked up this little guy for $1500, about the price of a 312-8! Finally finished fixing everything, lots of little things, a couple of big things, but this is one nice ride! This one goes to my son, he's chosen to commute to college, not a bad commuter car. 2006 A4 Cabriolet, 3.0L Quattro even has factory navigation!

A nice Patio collection. Page Tractors My friend Jason has added to the Moto Mower half of his collection. One lonely Swisher at the show. A new name brand to me, a Root mower. I can't seem to remember the name of this little crawler. A cool Statue of Liberty shift knob. Oddly this shot came up as photo 911 on my camera. @Deadguy with Henry.

I believe that some of you requested a few pictures. After loading, unloading, getting every thing put away, & getting the lawn mowed, I can finally sit down & share a "few" pictures. Somebody had a new addition to their family at the show. Nice RS. Some of Barry's @Bear G custom rides. I believe that this was the best of show winner. The "Horse Barn" was a cooler place to relax and share some good conversation. A pic of the 2 cylinder hot rod, @19richie66. Even had an Air Horse at the show. An excellent lever steer @pullstart's line up A nice set up with reel mowers brought in by @joebob Lowell's @wheelhorseman's RS with electric start.

I have more than a few pictures from the Portage, Wisconsin "Garden Daze Show and Swap Meet". Rodney Burger and I took a 24 foot trailer up with 8 tractors and lots of parts for sale. Sold two tractors and lots of parts-mostyly onNFriday and Saturday. We had a great time this was our second year at this great show Bret Esse and his volunteers put on. We had over 230 Wheel Horse tractors here as it was the Tractor of the Year and a ton of the Red Square people brought them to show! We arrived around 5 pm on Wednesday and departed about 5:30 PM on Saturday.

Here are some snips of me taking a dive off the water skiis too!

Glad everyone enjoyed the Friday fish fry... Dan pulling his pork Saturday nite... did I mention we eat good?!?

Mrs. Pullstart’s photos from the show... in no particular order... What a fun time! We have a bunch of video clips, I’d love to know how to stick them all together! @dclarke thanks for taking the time to say hi, it was a pleasure to chat! @Lane Ranger it was good to visit with you again, it’s always fun with you and Rodney around! The little tiny narrow front Craftsman was built to run a table saw back in the day. Tan at Allic Chalmers “Mini-B” had a flat heat Ford v8 powering the hydro pump! I helped a guy (Marty?) get his new doodle bug hit and miss machine running so he asked me to take it’s first ride of the day! It was such a cool piece! Hot Wheels was able to give many smiles to some kids who pointed out the cool flame paint job. I offered for about every young and enthused person to ride it and we were able to snap a pic of a little green and yellow guy loving his ride!

"And now page two." For those who may remember Paul Harvey. snowmobile. Lowell out for a cruise on the Farm Handy. Rodney " Biscuit " giving the camera a wave. Lane @Lane Ranger must have been camera shy. he's in the back ground heading for the hills. David @new2horses enjoying some conversation. It's always a good time siting down & talking with David. Other brands & customs. A well done scaled down IH. A very nice Sears Collection. I believe that these are National reel mowers. Another IH custom. Gotta like a nice looking Beaver. An interesting Craftsman mower.

Hello All, I just wanted to share with all of you the seat I just received from @BOB ELLISON. @BOB ELLISON does fantastic work. Look at this thing, It looks terrific. I will be proud to show this off on my tractor. Now to finish up my GT14 Feel free to contact @BOB ELLISON directly if you would like a seat for yourself.

Ok here's what I or Cindy got.....sorry if I dup that were already posted but it was just that much fun! Cindy and I taking Bear's custom for tool.

Mrs. Pullstart pulled these off the Facebook page, I thought I’d share. I think @Lane Ranger, Brett and maybe @Shynon are to blame? Or credit?

This is definitely a great show! I got to meet several members for the first time and got to visit with several old friends. I really think that's the best part of show. I met Kevin and Mrs Pullstart, Bud Wilkins, Peacemaker Jack and Caleb, Darrell1 and his family and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. I even came home with another Ranger that'll belong to my granddaughter. What a great time, it's on my calendar for next year.

Great pictures everybody I was on the fence about going and I clearly screwed up by falling off on the wrong side. That ain't gonna happen next year.

So this $20 auction special Sears/Roper/Craftsman tractor here came with an automotive battery I needed for a core return and a “spare” engine. The battery core was worth it in my mind. With what gas was in the turpentine can gas jug, a jump from Norman and it was alive! I even drove it around the camp site... until the gas jug fell out and it was spewing fuel all over! I ended up letting it run out of fuel since it’s a magneto ignition and the wiring was cobbled to the point the key wouldn’t kill it. The spare engine is a bone dry vertical shaft, so it’ll be stripped for any possible parts and junked. After @wheelhorseman Lowell’s son Travis helped me finish field dressing it, we made room in the truck bed for important parts and we found a trash receptacle for some unwanted parts. I was thinking king last night, there’s a possibility that this engine finds it’s way into the Sears Suburban 12 that I drug home a few months ago. A set of tires and it’ll be a ripper!

She wanted to do her own her own way so with minimum help she’s creating this tractor on her own painting it herself following her mother and father footsteps!!! Giving it her own touch!

Picked this up this evening, it needs a little tweaking as the deck pto belt seems to be slipping, I'm not sure it's even the correct belt yet. but it seems in pretty good shape, I had to give 475$ for it, not sure if that's good or bad, but I've seen asking prices of more. I'm one step closer to selling my 6 year old husqvarna if this one works out for me, anywho, just sharing.

Not a horse but I stared at this in the mirror for two hours today.

This was a great thread Dell, a cool restore, and even a better story! I can totally relate to the history with a tractor like that as was the case with my Dad’s 875 that we restored back in 2015. I grew up on that machine much like you did on the Ford. It is fortuitous that your dad never junked that old tractor and that now (with your loving and expert touch) it looks better than it did even when brand new. Well done my friend! I love the fact that you can enjoy it with your dad and your son much like I’m blessed to do with my dad and my boys. I never take that blessing for granted!

If you are looking for a good tape to keep from scratching something, try that “Flexseal” tape they advertise on tv. That stuff is awesome. Used it to seal a small roof leak on a shed. It is not too thick but really sticks. I’m going to use some on mine when I get back to working on them. Have fun at the show.

Had a great collection of tractors and engines. One fellow displayed several of his wheelhorses and a Murry. Enjoy.

Me neither Dan ... It was a heck of a show. I never in my wildest dreams did I think there would be that many there.! If one didn't know any better one would have thought he was at the BS! Special thanks to the guys that hauled their herds a great distance. Us locals know and appreciate the money you guys spent on fuel, lodging and food to make this show great. This is why we will go great lengths to show our Wisconsin hospitality and make you feel welcome. Glad to know you made it home safe & sound. The other bunch that claims to be stealing from the Mafia not withstealing. ....... If we had any decency we would have gotten the RS group banner and a pic taken. Many pics & smart @$$ comments to come ...

I have Bob's seats on a couple of my 953s and the 1055, they are top notch too.

I got one of his seats also, top notch

Instead of fluid, which is kind of permanent weight. Why not make a set of wheel weights out of some old brake drums filled with concrete? Paint them up before installing & they should look pretty good. When you are not plowing you can pop them off and put the wheel covers back on. This will also save on weight when you are just headed to a show with it. For front weight I would suggest making a bolt on weight out of some heavy scrap metal.

Kevin, I don't know if the rear tires have tubes or not, they were on the 953 when I got it. The fronts are tubeless. I plowed with "Hot Wheels" once and had no problem with traction. My plow is a "Slot Hitch" 10 inch and the oversize rear tires and wider rear track width caused the plow to not quite fall where it should. With a sleeve hitch you could adjust the plow over a bit to solve that problem.

Round about that much... and room for a bag of clothes!

I hear you can stuff quite a lot into a Colorado...

@PeacemakerJack thank you for posting that!! Way more than I thought you would do. Some great info there for the guys that aren't into cubs. Your mule is about like I would like to build for myself with a 73 currently on the work bench. My son and I have 2 1961 OCC's with consecutive serial numbers. Those were my Dad's and never gonna leave the family. 2 149's, a 100 with rear PTO, 122 puller, 682 and a 784. The 784 is a 782 with dual hydraulics but they never put 784 decals on them. We have the clutch out of one of the OCC's right now and the other is still in process of restoration. Randy

Great thread @PeacemakerJack You certainly can give people the "Plowing Bug" As far as the yellow, I like em working in all colors Setting up a plow tractor is on my build list! Some tractor clubs around here have plow days for there old full size tractors. They even use have Cubs, Farmall A's, etc, but no GT's. I just may be the 1st to show up with a GT.

Thanks Jim! I'm thinking they were purchased off the flea bay. I only have 6 months purchase history in my phone. I can check on the PC later and see if I can find them. Well Norman... Trina's going. So they'll be pics. Lots of pics. Tons...

953 inside weights:

Miss Vicky & I made it home safe & sound at 8pm (est) tonight. Long trip. Fun time at show. thanks all for the hospitality, laughs, great food, and good time!!

I'll start you out with a video walking down the line after the parade.

Heres the group going to breakfast at the local diner Cool shot outside of the diner Here is the barn that Wheel Horse has taken over and were given as our "Home" from this show on ! Couple shots inside the barn By the way Wheel horse beat the feature tractor record previously set by the Allis/Simplicity group of 209 with a Whopping 230 tractors so that deserves a round of applause way to go guys! A little night cruising @Lane Ranger wanted to take the TUB RAT for a ride doesnt it look his style? And here is something i never expected, im still kind of floating in a high right now The TUB RAT received an award (dash plaque) along with a lot of thumbs up! Another great year in the books, got to see a lot of old faces and many new ones, anyone thinking of going needs to go its an awesome show!

Bravo on the successful surgery. Had mine done a couple of years ago, but I now need to wear glasses all the time. Corrected vision is better, no cloudiness, and better night vision, but I think the doc used the wrong lens in mine. Instead of only needing readers, I need complete progressives that include distance. However, I would like to point out something that your ophthalmologist probably didn't tell you. My surgeon told me that people with prior cataract (or any other eye surgery) have a 30-50% higher risk of developing retinal tears. On the way home from the big show I suddenly developed a shower of floaters in my left eye. Then I was seeing flashes of light toward the outer edge of my vision field. A visit to the ophthalmologist revealed a tear in my retina. Within 3 hours I was at a retina specialist for surgery. I go back tomorrow for my follow-up. So this is not to scare you, but just to let you know that should you developed the symptoms that I described, don't wait to have it checked. Retinal tears can lead to detached retina Other than that, have a nice day!

Kevin—I love your sense of humor! It really cracks me up I definitely would recommend a little more on the land side wheel. On GhostRider I have about 150# on the land side wheel and about 75# on the furrow wheel. That’s how I run it anyway...hopefully @Shynonand @prondzy Check in with their thoughts...

Nope, too old to do that, had a shop who specializes in VW / Audi take care of that for me.

@RandyLittrell they are 16" rear wheels

Having engine problems can can kill the value of a . Unless you want to take on the task of rebuilding/replacing the engine I would hesitate on buying that particular tractor. If you like getting up to your elbows into a project then I would suggest paying no more than $ 250 considering the amount of work and money you will be investing. A properly maintained Onan engine is a great power plant, but they can be rather expensive to repair. One option would be to re-power it with a 22 HP Predator engine. https://www.harborfreight.com/22-hp-670cc-v-twin-horizontal-shaft-gas-engine-epa-61614.html?_br_psugg_q=predator+engines

The extended fill plug would indicate it was ..at least originally ...a 10 pinion. If it was still in there and the spring was in good shape the wheels should turn in the same direction. That yours is going opposite indicates the differential may have been swapped out or the spring is shot. If it is a 10 pinion with a bad spring Lowell sells replacement springs,

You figure about four tractors and some parts?

Ok, I’ll be pulling for reinforcements here @PeacemakerJack, @WHX24, @Achto... As soon as it sold, I kicked myself for not bidding on the full hooded David Bradley walk behind, outfitted with 15” ag tires and outside wheel weights at the Portage auction. It went for a measly $95! Once invited to the plow day at Jim’s this fall, I immediately thought of Hot Wheels! With the largest gas tank in my fleet, high ground clearance and the hydraulic lift, why not make this into a plow dog furrow monster? I heard the soil is perfect for even @stevasaurus‘ turf tires? It gives me the feeling that the Hankook Radial T34’s will probably be plenty enough bite? My guess is there is at least 5/8” tread depth on them. It appears that one set of chains I picked up is for a 15” tire of some sort... maybe they’d fit something I have to roll around on! Weight. I know weight is almost the most important aspect of plowing. Should it only go on the land side tire, and could I get away with fluid filling my tires and calling that good? @953 nut do you recall if Hot Wheels has tubes in the front or back, or should I break them down and double check? The rears are 235/75/15 and fronts are 5.7-8. From the weight of filling my 4-8’s and 23x8.50R12 Deestones, I know there will be serious weight added. I believe the plow I have is a 10” and I have a coulter wheel for it. Also attached is a picture of the Brinly type hitch I built. I imagine it’ll work just dandy on Hot Wheels. Am I missing much?

Kevin—thanks for bringing this one back up again. You were the first one to welcome this thread with your comment and all you were at the time was a cyber avatar to me. As time went along we built a virtual relationship through the forum but it was so cool to finally meet you in person last year at the BS (as it was to meet many others). Then to hang out again this last weekend at Portage and meet Mrs Pullstart (what a gem!). It sure brings things into a new and more personal context and so when you go back and read those old posts it gives them a new perspective or even context. The Iron Horse build is what brought me to this forum. I wanted to share the well deserving story of this Horse with guys that were passionate about the brand. In the process, I became passionate about the brand and made a bunch of new friends (WIN-WIN)! Thank you for your kind comments, it really was a HUGE privilege to do that build (and now enjoy the tractor) with my dad and my boys. I hope that this tractor and it’s awesome story inspires others to take their own journey or if they have a similar story to take the time to share it with us. I enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing this one! Thank you my friend!

Very cool show, looks like perfect weather and you sure did eat well. Thanks for taking us along!

Surprised you didn’t stumble onto Julie Andrews playing guitar and singing. 😂 great pictures Eric 👍🏻

My new style glasses. I had to pop the lens out as it was blurring the 20/20 vision of my newly repaired super eye. This will make it easy to hang them on a limb while I'm in my tree stand. If the surgery improves the right eye like the left eye did, I will only need a pair of 2X readers from the Dollar Store. I find myself constantly closing each eye and comparing the new eye w/o glasses against the old eye with glasses. The difference is like watching a football game on an old black and white analog TV vs a new digital Hi Def. Thanks again for your support....I am a happy camper.