Leaderboard

After 8 decades, I started to downsize, but just can't help myself when parts show up. I picked up several auction boxes of new engine parts. Gaskets, seals, mufflers, ignition modules, breathers, filters, carburetors, kits, etc. Mostly Kohler with some Briggs, Onan, and Clinton. I will be taking inventory and preparing to post for the Big Show buy/sell thread that will be coming soon. Here is a preview of what's to come. If you do see anything of interest, PM me for details.

Out for a walk with Mrs Sylvan and we see our 85 yr old neighbor shoveling the heavy 3" snow we got... he has early dementia and we know his wife would if she caught him shoveling... We cut our walk short and the C-105 made short work of both his driveways... His wife just called to thank me for doing it, but also and more importantly for keeping him from trying... I told her he was now "management "... No pics due to the nature of the situation... All good.

Americans love their candy and, luckily, several days have been set aside to celebrate specific candies like National Gumdrop Day on February 15. Gumdrops are unique in that they are not only fun to eat but they also make great decorations. People have crafted with gumdrops for years and because they come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors, gumdrops guarantee festive décor. So, grab your gumdrops and let’s get this party started! With the popular trend of gourmet candies hitting the market, you can now find gumdrops beyond the traditional orange, cherry, grape, and lemon flavors. Whole Foods offers rather large gumdrops (1 inch tall x 1 inch wide) in exotic flavors such as key lime, tangerine, grapefruit, and pomegranate. The classic gumdrop paved the way for what we know today as gummy candies in general, like gummy bears and -worms, and even gummy vitamins (remember, the vitamins are not candy!).

These are from the last couple storms.

With the storms moving across the country I'm guessing a lot of you will get some seat time. We had about 4" of heavy wet stuff overnight. With the forecast of the 30's this afternoon and rain I considered letting nature do its thing. It doesn't take long with the asphalt drive. BUT, dropping temps over night followed by several days in the teens if it didn't all go away it could become a mess. So darn, jumped on the reborn B-80 and got to playing....I mean work. The 181 purrs like a kitten and, as you all know, horsepower is pretty much a non factor when it comes to pushing snow. It never once grunted. Even moving the mess the county left me at the road. Back inside and nature should do a nice job finishing up before the cold returns. Post pics of the 'work' you guys had to do.

I don't plow I blow ... Used to plow, truck, 4 wheeler tried it all, in years of much early snow always ran out of real estate to stack it. Finally got 6-8 of nice fluffy stuff First time the rigs have been out in months. Probably the root of my recent Onan carb problems and one bad thing about having dedicated sno machines. No snow = no seat time = varnish in carbs. I do have a 502 with a fine running 6 hp Tecky for extended seat time and cleaning up the edges. Just amazes me the traction I get with 6-12s and not much for weight. . BTW this was a $100 tractor ... PO didn't think it was suitable for plowing

For a second I really misinterpreted the title of this thread….😁 That being said, I like to be on the ground. I’ve been like that for years.

Saturday morning weigh in. 2 weeks. 269.8 lbs. 2.8 lbs down. On track.

No problem if you have a FEL with the capacity to lift it. You will need to increase the pressure in the rear tires to 110 -115psi.

Well within the ~11,000 lb capacity of the UniDrive

Like my tractors, anything but green.

Last Saturday was a really difficult day… This was Kahlua at the age of maybe 3 months. She was technically my son's dog, along with his wife and eventually their two lovely daughters, but in reality she adopted all of us, including my wife and daughter, and we all loved her as if she were our own. Lu came to us in 2014 from a local rescue organization, and lived with us for about a year or so while my son lived at home with us before he got married. She was an adorable, fun, energetic pup, who loved being with her people and getting as many belly rubs as she could possibly talk us into. We took her to dog parks, and along on numerous hikes, taught her the joys of laying in small flowing bodies of water, and generally let her explore life with the rest of us. She loved going with us to visit our place in Virginia, where for at least a few days at a time she could finally be rid of that dang leash that always seemed to be holding her back, and just run and wander and chase deer, seemingly forever. Lu loved to let her spirit run free, and sometimes had trouble understanding basic life principles, like "just because it's laying on the ground or the floor in front of you doesn't mean it's food". Or "you really shouldn't jump off high places very often". She played hard, and suffered some physical ailments because of it, and had some surgeries to correct those ailments, and so was doing pretty good in her middle years considering everything she'd put herself through. But then a couple of years ago, during a regular routine exam, her vets noticed some problems with her blood work. They did some more tests and found that she had some sort of blood cancer that I couldn't possibly explain to you all, and told us that even with chemo and medications she probably only had another year or so to live. We fully expected Christmas 2023 to be her last with us, and celebrated accordingly with lots of presents and attention. She didn't have a clue what was going on, and went on with her life as usual, and for most of 2024 only showed a moderate bit of deterioration in her energy levels and general physical condition. To our surprise we were lucky enough to be able to celebrate Christmas in 2024 with her as well. But then things started going bad pretty quickly. I'll spare you the details, but at some point my son and his wife decided they were out of options and it was time to let her go, and Saturday we said goodbye to Kahlua for the very last time. The day before that, I took a long walk by myself through one of my favorite places to take Lu for hikes, a local nature preserve with streams and woods and lots of wildlife and all their sounds and smells. It was a peaceful walk, with lots of memories, and by the end I had gone from being very sad to thinking I had it together and was finally ready to accept what was going to happen the next day. But that feeling ended as soon as my son and his family arrived Saturday to let us see Lu that last time, and I saw her walk down the ramp out of their car, with a good bit of difficulty, and then come running right over to me for the usual hugs and licks and belly rub. I just about lost it right then, and as I looked around at the rest of my family I realized they were having as much trouble as I was. We somehow all managed to keep it together while they were here at the house, said our final goodbyes and took care of our two granddaughters while their mom and dad took Lu to the vet for the last time. It went well, mom and dad returned a couple hours later without Lu, and suddenly their 4-year-old understood the reality of what they'd explained to her was going to happen, and she got real sad and quiet. I understand she's handling it well back at home, but she really loved her pup and I know she's going to miss her, and so will we all. Anybody who's read this far, I appreciate your hanging with me here. I didn't expect to write so much when I sat down to compose this post, but this one's going to hurt for a long time. Here's some photos of Lu in her adult years, enjoying some of her favorite activities and people… Rest in peace Luey, and thank you for ALL the memories.

Help for what, seems normal to me.

Current scene.

Too late Paul...it's terminal.

I have the same problem. Multiple trips to the garage. Out door projects I throw everything I can think of into a dump cart. Indoor projects are another story as a tractor won't fit thru the door!

Here’s a side shot of my 1257. Back in the fall, I regrettingly sold my sickle bar mower. I used the money to fund another project. Later on this year I will be trying to find another one, maybe a Haban, I know all are hard to come by these days but it is what it is. But the ol 1257 is still running strong, still got the 54” plow assembly and tub cart in the corner.

The jet Cleat spoke of. Yes it was plugged at the bottom. I have a set of micro brushes that worked along with the torch top cleaner. A gunsmith screwdriver worked well. I did not remove the main jet. A real bugger to get at on place but blasted it good. This stuff works very well. Came with the long flexibil straw. Back together and blowing 6 inches today. Surging gone for the most part. Still need to get it back in and check out the manifold.

My drive and yard hear in Peru Massachusetts are one big skating rink. Seems every storm we've had has had some rain or mist involved and the pending storm bearing down on the area is going to be the same with more snow and rain and then subzero and heavy winds. Luckily I have a good friend that lives just up the road that has been plowing and sanding for us this winter because I can't do anything. Good thing spring is just around the corner.

I like all of them…..in multiples. Did I forget to mention that I have a sweet tooth.😁

Same Here in most areas. . if CWD is found in a county baiting and recreational viewing feeding is banned along with adjacent counties. Food plots are still allowed go figure. Personally I don't believe in CWD. Mother nature's way of culling. Wolfs & severe winters take more toll on the whitetail population than anything yet wolfs are still not able to be managed by the states.

Old mechanic saying: You can't do diagnostics until you do all the maintenance. Be sure to check off all the simple things first.

Penny is out French bulldog. She is addicted to my rc trucks. I have two dedicated to her. She wakes me in the morning and goes and lays by it. Steve

Yeah, Lu would get up in the morning, stiff as all get out, she'd stretch for a few seconds, and then we'd open the door for her to go outside. If she saw a deer she would haul a$$ after it, stiffness and bladder be damned. If there was more than one, they'd run off in different directions and she'd start thinking she could catch ALL of them. It was hilarious to watch, she was pretty quick but she never had a chance.

50 cents was a pretty good chunk of change in 1893. $37.07 according to the googler In Manila, Philippines we visited an amusement park that had a Farris wheel. My wife is a little wary of contraptions especially in countries that utilize equipment that other countries might consider worn out. Guma is the duct tape of the Philippines. It's strips of innertube that can be wrapped tightly around water lines to slow down leaking , it's used to hold parts together and should be in everyone's toolbox. With trepidation, Pam let us buy tickets. When our cart on the Farris wheel reached to the pinnacle, I said "Well looky there's goma." I doubt that I "won that night"

Just got done blowing the windrow of snow out into the field.

Woke up to 5" of snow on the ground. Got the blower out & cleared it out so I could go about my day. Was gonna scrape the pavement clean with the C145 but it was still snowing so I didn't really see the point. Left home to get some work done, came back home to another 3" on the ground and no snow falling from the sky. Got the blower out to clean up again, then the C145 went to work scrapping all the pavement clean. Got done just in time for it to start snowing again.

Yes that is the entire correct assembly. Order it ... Linc at A-Z is a good guy to deal with. BTW I have seen those at the BS for upwards of 75 clams. Much more if in a original blister pack. Your a hamster KP ...

I um, never found originals. Decided to just make a funny...

I use Seafoam all the time. If your carb is slightly clogged but still flowing fuel it may well clean it out. However, if a passage or jet is completely clogged then the Seafoam can't flow through to clean it. My 520HC was stumbling when working hard plowing a couple weeks ago so I dumped some seafoam into the gas. After a couple of uses plowing out the driveway it is now running perfectly.

It is time to seek help for an addiction!!

Huh? We need to send the boys over to check on you??? Crazy talk...

A Chinese American friend in college recounted how the kids in her family would fight to get the fish eyes at supper. Gaaah!

No question about it, they become family. Its clear she knew that she was loved. In time, you'll catch yourself laughing at a funny memory of her. It never stops hurting, but it does get a little easier over time.

Did you clean off the contacts on those new set of points? They come shipped with a coating on them which prevents them from oxidizing in the package, but that coating also prevents a closed circuit from happening unless it's cleaned off

Yep I did the same but went with a mechanical pump. Fuel line and filter first but inly helped marginally. It stalled when it got hot then ran fine after it cooked. The new pump fixed that.

Dad and I did our last tandem rabbit hunt for the year this morning. We went to his friend's place that we get to hunt once a year. Not a ton of action, we saw one three times in 10 minutes (reasonably sure it was the same one). It got away. Then we went through the same spot on the way out about 90 minutes later and got one. I moved it, it ran right towards dad and the dogs, saw them, stopped, and both of us shot it at the same time. I may or may not go out by myself next weekend. We'll see. I also have an older friend who is a big-game guide who wants to come along on a rabbit hunt just to observe, maybe I'll see if he is free.

No worries man. My own favorite small engine repair guy mentioned juts the other day that he's "only" got 35+ years experience and STILL occasionally forgets to do something mundane like replace the spark plug. FIRST.

After @Ed Kennell mentioned Hasenpfeffer I stepped outside the shop to take a look under a tree. Lookey there a rabbit!

While fittingbthe cab floor I got sidetracked again. There are foot pedals, gear levers, but no handbrake. So I decided to add one. It was going to be a fixed rod but I got distracted and ended up building a working lever with a sprung detent to allow the lever to hold in the up or down position. And I just had to make the little release button work, didn't I? The unit bolts onto the kick plate beneath the drivers seat. It looks pretty neat but will probably never be moved.

You may benefit from adjusting the governor, as well as installing a spring between the governor arm and carb link. A rapid and slop-free governor response makes a great difference in engine load performance.

Or you could do something like this. This is a vacuum pulse pump adapted to a Kohler single. If you go this route use a genuine Briggs, Kawasaki or Kohler pump. They are made in Japan. Much better quality.

my local auto parts store is an old timey kind of place. they have a full machine shop out back. they have a waste oil furnace. they gladly accept my used oil

I bought one of the Lotos branded ones off Amazon a few years ago. I don't recall the cost, but it was way less than I expected. That thing has been a revelation. I can't imagine not having one now. My first project with it was making a custom flat top griddle for my Weber gas grill. I was thinking about buying a Blackstone, but didn't like the cost or adding another apparatus to the "grill patio". So instead, I spent the money on a plasma cutter and made this out of 1/4" plate I picked up from the scrap yard

I just bought parts for it. It’s working for them.😁

Snow beasts!!!

No the socket is missing but your pic isn't showing us squat. .

I'm about 37 miles Northwest of @Ed Kennell and we had on and off heavy snow from about 10:30 this morning until 2:45. Everything that managed to lay in the driveway, all 1/4 inch of it, melted away as soon as the rain started. It's not even slush, it's just wet, so tomorrow will be interesting. Just as well that I didn't have to plow anything today, I just got the parts for the hydraulic repairs out of the mailbox about 15 minutes ago.

I've been running my '73 which seems weak. It just occurred to me that when I replaced my fuel line, it ran down from the tank to a petcock & filter, then directly to the carb. Hmmm. Sounds like an electric pump may be in my near future plans. To be confirmed tomorrow.

I was traveling with a missionary out to some small villages in Asia. We were expected to eat with the locals a lunch time. He warned me that I could very well end up with a fish eye (a delicacy in locals minds) in my bowl of soup. He said that they were pretty strong tasting and that I'd probably not want to eat it. Fortunately, I didn't have a fish eye and the meal was quite tasty as I remember. Apparently the video clip attached to this thread is best watched when inhaling or consuming something stronger than the glass of tea I'm enjoying.