Leaderboard

Last day on the Delaware Bay. Back to Pa tomorrow to concentrate on deer hunting. Hard to believe MRS. K took some of her first steps on this same sand over 75 years ago.

Me n BBT and several friends spent a long weekend up in Andover Maine to celebrate Trina 🥳 🎉 🎊 turning 50! She and our friend climbed Puzzle Mountian in Grafton Notch State Park ME on Friday. All 5 of us hiked a loop around the incredibly beautiful Dunn's Falls trail Saturday.

Got the fellas out for a breath of fresh air today. Been a couple weeks for some of them, and it’s always better to run them than not. The 523-H is in desperate need of a bath!

I rent mine to all my neighbors.

Today the 257-H got new shoes mounted. I received all my parts from scAmazon & I also got my replacement rim & Transmission cooling fan from A-Z Tractor. A-Z Tractor is a Great place for parts with excellent service. I am Really happy with finding that resource & I highly recommend them. Anyway, The new tires went on pretty easily & I have to reinstal the transmission tomorrow. I had to remove it to get the tire off the left side which was a real chore but it is done now. Gonna put my new drive belt on & see how things go. Hopefully it was just a low fluid situaation with the Hydro pump transmission. I will know more tomorrow. Also I found a C-145 with a snow Blade & mowing deck for $200 so I will be going to get that tomorrow evening. On my way to growing a "Herd" I can hardly wait. gonna get some zzzzzs for now

The C-120 is one of my favorite tractors in the herd, she is a worker & this is how she's dressed this time of year, as stated by others she will get the job done!

Here in Indiana also. We had 5 very large ones in the front "side" yard that were almost dead and dropping limbs. They were within range of the power lines, so the power company came in and cut them down for free a few years ago, and left most of the wood for me to cut up and split for firewood. I still have enough left for several years, just need to get back to cutting and splitting again soon. I've usually done the splitting by hand but my shoulder has been bothering me so I'll probably rent a splitter. I don't use enough or want to bother selling any to justify buying a splitter. Wish I had one I could just attach to one of these WH tractors sitting around watching the whole process.

Not really...gives you some time to enjoy a bev.

I didn't to it my horses, bur for them plus some other benefits. The 520h was used in process. I put up a 10x20 "garage in a box" aka the the "tractor shed", cheena branded from the jungle website. For $269, I'm not disappointed. it will provide shelter for the 310, 520, as well as other out door stuff. took 6 cinder blocks, buried them halfway ish, plus filled back with local soil to top, red clay, packed tightly, then liquid nails a peice of 3/4 treated plywood coated w/ Thompson on all sides, to make a "pad" for the air compressor. its stout, tight, elevated, should last for the a while. i get to move 2 tractors, 2 generators, shovels, rakes ladders. rims/tires, all kinds of stuff out there. working on running a dedicated 20 amp GFCI circuit on exterior shop wall there. inside tractor shed, 3 amazon single tube led plug in 4' lights, and air compressor on electrical load, setup to terminate w/ male plug in end. I will run a 15' 10/3 outdoor cord to connect them, shed sits 34 inches to the side of shop. all of this has been done using existing material other then the garage in a box. none of it is perfect, but it will give a few years of shelter for my stuff, outside of my shop, plus the noisy a** compressor out of the shop. That is its own blessing. A proper pole barn lean-to, w/ a small walled in section to store my 2 prized WH's, walk behind mower, and air compressor, (small huh?) will come eventually..., maybe..., i hope so...? pics to come

Seems like I'm always taking this thing apart as I learn more about how it's been put together vs how it should be put together. While I don't have plans to do a restoration, I figured I could freshen up the paint along the way. It appears to have been painted with a brush at one point (and actually not all that bad). After reading several threads, it seems color choice is somewhat discretionary, depending on the owner. With that said, I found what looks like a good candidate for my needs. I've used Rust-Oleum's "Custom Spray" on some other projects and really like the adjustable spray patterns it offers. The fan pattern lets you lay down nice even coats. When I saw this color at the farm supply store, I thought it was worth checking out. Turns out it is almost a dead-on match to the red of the hood decals. Of course, when I put on new decals, they'll probably be a completely different shade. I've done body and paint work since I was 14 (49 years ) so yeah, I could go full resto on it but that's not what I'm after. "Satin Heritage Red". Not glossy, not flat. I did a quick sanding on the belt guard, a little primer, and laid on a few coats. I think this will do nicely!

Don't need a chip... turn off the tv.

Worked on the 308 for a bit today. I peeled off the old hood stickers and got it ready for paint. I’m also waiting on some Amazon landscaping headlights.

I have voted early and have selected my 2025 Medicare supplemental and pharmacy coverages. Now I need to have someone invent a chip that can be used to block all of these political ads and Medicare ad on TV. Looking forward to seeing heemraad cream and ambulance chaser attorney ads again.

Frame painted! Slowly but surely going to start putting this thing back together !!

The "hitch" is specific to that model of Trac Vac, more of a carrier really, it bolts to the top of the axle on both sides & one down through the stock hitch hole. Does your Cyclone Rake have wheels on it like a trailer setup? If so you'll only need the stock drawbar hitch. Here's what this one looks like anyway.

Tasty critters, but mostly a PITA to get the meat out. New Englanders will tell you it's a balance of workin' at them and going hungry at the same time!!

Swapped out the solenoid on the C-160 and put away the hammer.

Would you prefer that chip be embedded in your brain, or somewhere else?

Slowly moving along. Got my frame in primer. Hopefully will get color on it and a few other parts during the warm temps over this weekend. Fingers crossed !! man is it a lot of effort to get these parts ground down and cleaned up. Credit to all of you who have done this multiple times.

I decided to try these out. These look much better that what you see else where, because of fitment. Others have to be retap the holes on the bladder. Also the T has to be filed to fit into the 1/2 turn notch. I think these are so far and looks much better that aftermarket junk.

Did some trading with my buddy Ken b. He ended up with a really clean/mint 417-8 that I got from him a while back and I got a really clean, low hour 523dxi. I have not had much more than a little while this afternoon to start to mess around with it but I did manage to swap out the stock rear meats with a set of trails I had from another xi I had. So far this thing is strong. I have a nice 60” deck she will spin next summer and maybe back up snow machine this winter. As always great doing some trading with Ken!

It was castration day for my lawn today. Sixty 5gal pails full of black walnuts from one tree. I personally do not like the taste of black walnuts. The removal of these nuts from my yard has most likely upset my local squirrel population, but I hear tell that there is a colony of squirrels that live about 4 miles from me that feel that they have hit the jack pot.

Thanks Eric...you know I consider Maine my Second State since we lived there for 3 years. It never fails to remind me how beautiful it is each of the 4 seasons. Most people go there for vacation, but to actually live there for a period of time, you get to experience the 4 seasons that Maine gives you. Happy Birthday Trina !! My birthday wish would be to play 10 pin a few more times and go fishing at Flander's Pond out side Winter Harbor.

Thanks man!! She says, I am two candles short... for sure...

Here's what I did on my 1974 C160-8 Cinnamon Horse. Note: I have NOT YET added a 90⁰ brace as some of the later model HD spindles had. Still a future plan. These front wheels are 12" trailer wheels ordered from etrailer. The hubs are 2,000 lb axle rated trailer hubs. Same bolt pattern as the rears. 5 x 4.5. I bought a pair of the least expensive trailer axle stubs I could find. Like these: As you can see I cut the "trailer side" off. Had a friend with a lathe drill 3/4" holes (3" deep??) I used JB Weld to fasten the drilled trailer stub on to the stock Wheelhorse spindle. I know this Pic is a little tough to make out. The seal rides on the plain steel part where the stub axle was cut off.

HOLY CRAB! Wow it has been a minute since I have tucked into something like that! Enjoy sir!

Rub it down with some boiled linseed oil and it will look like it does when it's wet and stay that way. Some like to clear coat, I prefer to use the linseed oil. Good luck with it.

I'm gonna try that. I'm sure the penetrating oil will love that.

I figured I'd do the heat thing but all I have is a propane porch. I guess any heat will help. I keep filling the hole with Cre-oil and have been tapping it. I suppose it wouldn't be as fun if it was easy.

Yum, Yum

Finally have a place to hang this now….thanks Ed! @Ed Kennell

After it dried

I'm not one to give my tractors a name but this one just seems appropriate to call Dino. Some of you will recall the post on my road trip to Elgin a few weeks ago and came home with this. After a period of pondering what I wanted to do as well as fighting a 314H problem child I decided to tear it down for a mechanical restoration. I've got high hopes on this one. Most likely replacing that 314. I'm doing something different with the paint (no, it will be Regal red) so we'll have to see how it works but that's a ways down the road. I'll either elaborate on that or hide my head in shame. All indicates are that this is a solid machine. I guess just for some quick gratification I decided to get the engine spiffed up. Really just a good cleaning, rebuild the carb and a bit of paint. And of course, Terry's decals. The frame is dirty but solid. No repairs needed. The transmission seals were shot. The hitch pin came out by hand and I had hopes that the hubs wouldn't fight me too much considering the leaks. No such luck. I pushed the limits of a 3-jaw pulled. Something I should have done decades ago is make a good puller. I'm finally doing just that. I have maybe a half hour to finish it when I get a chance. I think this will straighten out without much trouble. No metal is cracked. That's it for now. This is going to be an all winter project. The inferno wobble mounts will be replaced with solid and a complete rewire will be done. Now if I can just get the paint right.................

Although I have a drill bit sharpener that I inherited, I have always and still do sharpen them by hand on a grinder. I can do it quicker and more reliably accurate than using a machine. It’s a matter of habit and practice. Also when drilling , wood, steel , brass, bronze or aluminum, ideal bit edge angle is a little different from each other. One can do that quickly by hand. Just need to know what to look for and have a steady hand. I know that some of you will not agree with me but I use the side of grinding wheel to sharpen them. It’s easier and more accurate than using the edge and in 40 plus years of doing it I never had a problem with it. Before all of these gadgets became available, everyone I know did it by hand. Their availability took away one’s ability or desire to learn how to do it by hand .

I'm 70 years old and try as I might I never mastered hand sharpening drill bits. Finally last year I bought the Drill Doctor and sharpened all bits from 1/8 to 1/2 inch and they all now work. As good as new? No, but they are now able to drill a hole through metal which they would not touch before sharpening.

I do large bits by hand, small bits I used an old Sears bit sharper it goes up to 3/8". Still does a good job, was given to me used might be 50 years old. Sears had some good tools back in the 50. 60 and 70's. I have all metal Sears drills in 1/4" and 1/2" that just won't quit. I bought that 1/4" drill in 1956.

It's hard to tell, but if that idler pulley is a flat pulley then the top side of the belt should be riding on it, and the drive pulley should be a "V" pulley with the belt running in it. That should get the twists out of the belt. What do you think ?? Maybe put a trouble light uunder the chassie.

I am thrifty cheap, Grab a piece of 1/8" from the scrap pile and drill a couple of holes, make a few cuts, and punch out a new gasket and you are done. Saved about $ 25.00 and didn't have to sit around waiting for UPS.

That Continental engine is near and fits in there properly. While I like them original and correct parts, I would be tempted to see if the engine will run and if so keep it.

I'm a blind welder is the reason I didn't add this picture to the build. Got old and can't see. I add the 1/8" x 2" flat to the front and a 2"x2" x 1/8" angle to the rear. Also added some 1" square tube on top of the fender with a few washers to raise the front of the seat. The fender also hinges off a 3/4" rod welded in the seat frame. where is also a fender latch at the front .

Changed gear oil in both my 315 and 416 8's last week - today the 315 got new front wheel bearings all around - checked they were starting to get sloppy . For the trans changes put Lucas oil in both - this weekend gonna jack up the 416 check those bearings - many years ago plowing with the C 101 front wheel came off - bearing went out made a total mess of the spindle - made the best of it with new bearings until the big show picked up a new used one - now I check bearings periodically - if I find slop in 1 or 2 change all 4 . Not going through the spindle mess again - have a blade on the 315 all year and a tall chute on the 416 4 months a year so both are carrying weight in the front . Can anyone point out a thread for upgrading the front wheels/axles for weight ? I'm curious about the process

Yup, drill the rivets and open it up, clean the copper ring and contacts etc and put it back together using screws instead of rivets. If you have a bad one, open it up because you can't break it anymore than broken so there's nothing to loose (Except for a spring inside! LOL)

You can pick up the style Ford used just about anyplace and what I usually use. But it's wired a bit different than the two small terminal solenoid Richard is referring to. The small terminals are marked I and S. The I terminal is a bypass and sends full voltage to the coil. Just ignore it and don't use it. The mounting bracket must be grounded for the coil to operate.

hello all, here we have a roached out 312-8. giving it to a friend. i changed the axle seals as they were leaking. installed a new shifter boot. the gear oil was rusty. drained that. filled the tranny with kerosene and drove around the neighborhood. drained the kerosene and filled with fresh gear oil. changed the engine oil. greased the machine, including the nearly dry pto bearing. air filter was ok. new fuel line and filter front to back. had to replace the left footboard as it was crumbling (very rusty) with a better one from my stash. installed a draw bar from my stash too. not pretty but with a deck i have he should be good to go for mowing next year. regards mike

I'VE USED THEM KITS FROM I SAVE TRACTOR, THEY WORK GOOD WITH NO PROBLEMS

Thank you sir. And you are correct: I failed to mention all the charitable organizations that are helping. They are doing an exemplary job. But it also solidifies my point. Government agencies have once again failed its citizens. There is no excuse.

I have a friend in the mountains that not only lost his entire homestead, but he literally hung onto a log in the water for hours until someone found him. There are entire towns that are no longer there. The last news I saw still had over 600 people missing. There is a lot of aid coming into the area now, but folks will be recovering from this for a long time.