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I hear that it can take 10, 20, 30 or more years to age fine Whiskey. These projects are on about that timeline. It started in July 2015 when I brought this "1960 Parts Suburban 400" home. I figured I'd see if I found anything to add to it. So I disassembled it and gradually e-Tanked, blasted and primed what was usable. I've been using Red Garnet 50 mesh and 36 mesh in my homemade blast cabinet. I usually E-tank th epart to remove rust and paint, then blast to put a profile on the metal to promote primed adhesion (That what I learned from the industrial paint reps at work) Did some JB Weld repair to smooth the rear rim bead area. Salvaged both front rims. The are that has the red putty was weld repaired by a welder friend. both front rims got the JB weld treatment in the bead area. Painted the rims with this, The Almond is a shade too dark. The next one I will use a Biscuit color in the same paint. It's not a true epoxy, more like an enamel with hardener in a spray can. I really like the way this dries hard-fast and with a good shine. Christmas 2017 brought some new Ag's for the rear. The frame had been extended on the rear and I cut that off back to original length and welded up some extra holes. The spindles have a lot of wear. I haven't repaired these yet. I tried to find someone to machine these if I welded or brazed them up, but there such an odd shape no one wanted to mess with them. I'm thinking I will use roller bearings instead of the cast iron bearings, so this repair will need to be close, but not bearing surface perfect. Cleaned up all the hardware and primed it. We'll see if I use it or go stainless. I soaked the Choke/Throttle plate in Evapo-Rust and could barely see a serial number. I then polished some aluminum on my grinder buffing wheel with white rouge until the pad was good and black. Then I polished the plate and the black brought the serial number out nicely. This number falls just above the 1st 1000 Suburban's built per the numbers @gwest_ca maintains on the manual's page . The transmission casting date B3-0 February 3rd-1960 and the solid seat pan while not conclusive, go along with the serial number pointing towards this being an early Suburban. I'm calling this a suburban 400. But it's interesting the 2 holes in the upper left part of the hood stand match the foot print of the starter solenoid they used on the 551. So there's a little fuzzyness if this should maybe be a 550 or who knows what the Ponds or some PO might have done. I did a thread on the transmission rebuild that I need to find and insert here.

The trails out back that I used to cruise on a Wheel Horse are real overgrown now that me, my neighbor Tony @Docwheelhorse and my son don’t have quads. Constantly buzzing around in the woods kept the trails clear. Today I ventured out for a cruise, first time in a loooong time. Used my 657 for transport. In a couple spots I couldn’t even tell where the trail was! Definitely not as nice as Jim’s @JCM trails. Had to detour around many fallen trees, may have to bring a saw with me next time The old Craftsman is something Tony dropped in the woods so we could watch it “age”, in the pic with no tractor you can see a deer watching me intently. Pics of course:

The 64 to 65 Before . To after. I hope you enjoy the picks.

My niece is over again today. I swear she loves tractor rides, so she can snuggle into me and take a snooze!

Gotta thank Uncle Jim and Cindy for these sweet new shirts!

Had a little help washing Joe and Leroy today... She reminds me so much of my girls when they were this age!

Got the poor wife to video me and the little guy doing some crazy hauling again. I’ll probably give her a heart attack one day. IMG_4751.MOV

Took the 61's out today for a ride

Calendar shot needed here Madge with those nice New England fall colors! Went on a quick diet here... moved the spacers outboard with appropriate shims...think the clearance is ok?? 'Bout 1/4" Still the rears need to come out a tad I think.

Here’s a pic of the small seat I made for my daughter’s pedal car when she was little. I did a full restoration on this thing. Was her Grandfather’s when he was a little kid and was in bad shape before I started

Still silent forlorn Autumn color patina Worker awaits chance

My fat fingers slipped or maybe it’s because I can’t move so well but ebinmaine got it right. It’s 5 on 4.5”

Fixed. She’s diggin that hard Carolina clay now! No doubt into ground that hasn’t been seen in many years! PS @WHX24 this’ll make ya happy😂 methinks she’s got too much gear. Most of the plowing was being done in low 3rd and high 1st, and I’m tired of playing the pulley vs slip game and tossing belts. Now I didn’t say stock, but a lot less than the current 100% increase.

Way to nice outside to sit at a desk and answer calls about furnaces so played hooky and used the C-195 to drag this parts 160 up for mafia work. This and another parts tractor was given to Dan and I by another mafia dude. Looky here what I found on it @ebinmaine. Guy said he wanted the spacers and rims back but I found 2" spacers on fleabay for 30 clams.

Oh my!! that is AWSOME! If we could just find all our horse stuff in that kind of original condition..... That tire looks like you just bought it!! I have one minor concern tho --- I'm a bit concerned that that hitch pin wont hold up to much use.....

Says the guy with a lathe.....

Getting a real good feel of what it's going to look like now

A few pics of our new crane truck. Pretty impressed so far...

there isnt enough profit margin in that style muffler , for the amount of work that goes into making them the price would be to high and the big factory would just kill you , when they can put 100's of them out per day and a small shop could only build 25 , no way to make money , hell i dont make much on the mufflers i build , but i keep doing them because i love building them and people keep buying them

Little M&G for maintenance...would have them trails up and operational in no time.

Sounded like a good idea to me Richard. I would apply for the job but the closest I come to sewing is stiching greenhorns in their bunks with dental floss out at sea in the Navy.

Would be nice if I didn’t have to work close to 60 hrs a week, everybody keeps ordering stuff and the big brown trucks don’t stop. Wonder if I can teach my 7 year old daughter to make them, I mean she does love helping me in the shop and if she gets out of hand, that glue might come in handy

'Bout time you listen to the pros Green. Now build a dedicated plow mule, dedicated hot rod, dedicated mower, dedicated trail tractor, trailer queen & throw in a couple of round hoods for tub pullers & a couple of blackhoods just for the halibut!

That‘s the moment when we realize, how fast time run‘s.

Well, this morning was a trial run. We got about an hour and a half of nap time! My butt is sore and my arms are tired!

Ever consider taking on an apprentice Bob? Sounds like @Jon D would be a good candidate? I could lay the guilt trip on you about how your master craftsmanship, quality and attention to detail would then be passed down for generations and you would live in infamy.... naww I would never do that..... still.

If your not one to pull the deck and reoil at least each season, I've used POR15 with good results. I put it on 5 years ago and its just starting to be worn off at the exit chute. Some will say POR15 hasn't held up for them. I believe the difference is if your yard has a good solid grass covering which mine does. Verses if the yard has a lot of patches of bare ground that would sandblast the bottom of a deck.

5 x 4.5 is what mine are

Man if this isn't how I feel right now. The grass has all but turned brown. I mowed 2 weeks ago but with no rain and the colder weather setting in there has been next to no new growth. On top of that the amount of leaves that have dropped is so small that it's not work trying to clean up yet. I am itching for some seat time.

Hi Mike, I clean my decks by hand scraping, then wire brushing. I have coated some in the past with an industrial tank liner epoxy. Now, I coat them with used oil. I save all my drained motor oil and I especially like the outboard lower unit marine gear oil for coating decks and trailer leaf springs used in salt water. I turn the decks upside down and let the oil soak in for a week before winter storage. Brush out any puddles daily as it soaks in and dries. Some will swear by the POR 15 or bed liner systems. I have no experience with these coatings as they are too expensive for cheap old timers.

New to this, have one tractor, and you think we are all nuts eh? Better strap yourself in buddy, its gonna be a wild ride I bought my first Horse in December last year- yeah- nine months ago. Another in January. I kept the brakes on til spring. Then all hell broke loose. I didn't even see it coming! Use the following 'before and after' photos for reference. This is not a work shop- this is my back garage man cave. This happened in less than six months, and doesn't even include the five runners I actually use, the plow, 2 drags, scrape blade and disc. Oh yeah, and i'm going in the next couple days to pick up another. You're early in the game, there may be hope if you run away now, and fast. Just kidding. You're screwed.

Yes, it can be installed wrong. The pump lever must be on the correct side of the cam. If it only ran for a few minutes, it may have been running on fuel that was all ready in the bowl

He doesn't give any model numbers, or a picture of any tags. Here's his pics. Looks to me like each motor has a pair of plug wires going to it.

Thanks @Tractorhead. I totally agree on the steering shaft bushing/bearing. I'm probably going to build a more rigid brace behind the piece that is there now

I found this looks much better imho Jim, that rear to front give a more accuracy line. another possibillity could may be put under rear tyres distance plates with 1,5“ - 2“

Hi @Jon D It was a very hard job to make the patterns just to make that seat. The lawn ranger seat as I call them takes 5 different pieces of black vinyl and about a 2ft×2ft piece of pleated vinyl plus 7 feet of piping. Just to make one seat you would have to purchase the materials and you'll see that the cost is quite high. But a regular sewing machine will have trouble getting through all the layers. I invested more then $1500.00 just to make my first seat. I can tell you where to buy the materals if you want to build your own. 1 yard of black vinyl costs $30.00 a yard White pleated vinyl just costed me $71.00 for 2 yards. Piping is $3.00 a yard plus $3 or $4 Shipping I but it by the spoil 100 yards for $120.00 i buy the foam from a company 50 miles north of me. 2 inch 84"x72" for $90.00 1 inch 84x 72 for $72.00 If you don't have patterns to cut out the vinyl and know how to sew them on it will be a very hard job to make your own seat. The first 4 or 5 seats i made i had to throw out. I had to invent the little tricks to make a seat fit on the pan. A lot of trail and error.

I especially like the wheelie bar Caz! Didnt look at all dangerous to me!

Staged a mini driveway W-H show here today.

Typical! Gets us hooked then lets us down.

Happy Birthday @Sam Pasch! At 16 years old, it’s awesome to see your enthusiasm to these old tractors!

I went around my wood pile a few days ago and found 17 coins. All were about 45 year old pennies. Not gonna help my retirement much. I guess my son is still a problem to me after all these years.

If you got a place to set up a tent I could bring a Trina and some tools....

I took French in high school but all I remember is the kissing. Bienvenue Mon ami

Ford/Dodge 5 on 5x5 1/2” Jim

Plus, like a little Panzer shrine... he already has it's storage spot picked out.

But your result‘s can be definitely shown. especially for low tech. That‘s true handcraft. 👍 i also like the Hood removable in any Way for Service and maintaining Job‘s. I found it stylish in the Way it develops now. maybe 2 springloaded hood clamps to strap the hood down. another thing is the Steering shaft, what needs at least a bearing of plastic or similar. Keep up the great Work

So do these tires make my tractor look fat? Showed them to @Achto and he called me a fat slob. Well he's kinda right but it's his fault feeding me pulled pork and captain's and building fat tractors that give me stupid ideas! ! After a bit of discussion and some more name calling yah they don't' look right... off to look for some wider say maybe 10.50's ags that run wide for the rear. Sure does steer nice tho! Thers a set of spacers on that parts tractor Dan we're supposed to give back to Al. Gonna pull them and see what shakes.

Are you going to use the cruise control too? That way you wouldn't have to exert so much force with your right leg and could enjoy the casual Sunday drive!