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Vietnam Veterans Day is annually observed on March 29. It commemorates the hardships suffered and sacrifices made by nine million Americans during the Vietnam War. However, the holiday does not only honor the former soldiers but also their families who supported them before and after the war. The Vietnam War was a lengthy and costly conflict between Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It occurred from November 1, 1955, to April 30, 1975 — a total of 19 years before the fall of Saigon. As Vietnam’s principal ally, the participation of the U.S. significantly determined the fate of the war. In 1961, former U.S. President John F. Kennedy sent a team to Vietnam to report their conditions. It was found that there was an American buildup of economic, military, and technical aid to Ngo Dinh Diem to defeat the Viet Cong. Due to the “domino theory,” which suggests that if one Southeast Asian country falls, the others will follow, Kennedy increased the American aid in Vietnam. By 1962, the U.S. military presence in the country reached up to 9,000 troops. By March 1965, U.S. aid continued in Vietnam with the support of Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy’s successor. By June of the same year, American troops reached 82,000. A month later, 100,000 more troops were delegated, and 100,000 more a year later. By November 1967, the number of U.S. troops reached 500,000: however, 15,058 were killed, and 109,527 were wounded. November 5, 1969, there was a massive anti-war movement in Washington. More than 250,000 Americans participated, calling for the withdrawal of military troops from Vietnam. On March 29, 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon officially withdrew the American combat forces from Vietnam. A year later, the first Vietnam Veterans Day was held.

This downsizing is not working out. Took some furniture to my MILs new residence at a nursing home and came home with this. Never know what may happen when you talk tractors with strangers.

Put the motor back on b-80 and mower deck. Just need some adjustments. It’s running rich but starts right up. Verified battery is charging. Ordered some new battery cables. The ones I have were to long. Finishing it up tomorrow.

Had a couple out today stretching their legs.

Today I changed the plug on a 220V outlet in my shop so I can use my welder. I had no power to the plug. Here's the plug I replaced, conveniently close to the breaker box: None of the breakers seemed to feed it. This is from where it's actually fed. 😐 I now realize how much "fun" I'm going to have identifying the rest of the circuits in my shop. Now I'm waiting for the Walbro carb to the 414-8 to finish in the ultrasonic so I can reassemble it and put it back on. 10 minutes to go.

@ebinmaine I think I did back when I first got the 308. I squeezed the throttle rivet with pliers and its been fine ever since. I did do it bit by bit though so I didn't immobilize it.

@AlexR Didn't Know you needed weights... I dropped off about 250 lbs of dumbbells and machine weights at Kevin's today...! I could have slipped a few into your trailer!!!

Tractor did excellent at the plow day even in the mud traction was better then expected, the carb was dialed. The only two things I would change in the tractor setup is some more weight up front, and need to get the throttle lever tightened up so it stays where I put it.

Credit to @Pullstart for the senior.

@Pullstart plow day haul... kinda a short frame long frame auto now 3 speed kevinized special... Will be a consignment work in progress... power tbd... gas diesel all on the table... Thanks to @WHX?? for the belt guards... I'll try not to get any curd juice on them when I cut them up...

Two hours, give or take, two spots, six fish total that she landed. She got one a little bigger than those two, but it got away while I was trying to get it on the stringer.

This one pictured was a deck that came with a 1986 312-8 that I restored both deck and tractor. This one as yours with nothing attached to the holes. This was an original owner tractor when I bought it. @Bar Nuthin

Nope, it wasn't me.

Its called the "Carolina Lean."

Unfortunately I have lol as a recently reformed sub-25 nutbag I can at least say this was for functional reasons

You just can't get away from those surveillance cameras. Sorry to say your reputation for being a total goof off has been blown.

Started messing with this old gear drive deck for my 857. New grease and one new zerk. Drive pulley bearing is a bit tight. Getting a PB Blaster soak (already started moving)

I have a saw-zall and a welder. I can make anything fit.

My wife's bird feeder caught me doing some spring cleaning in the backyard.

I went to school with David Morse. Grew up in Hamilton, Ma. He was in all the school plays. Bit of a rebel too. Firebombed the Patton Tank in the park. I still have the newspaper clipping. 1971. BTW, that's me on the barrel.

❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ Spring? Ya wanna see spring?? Welcome to Maine!!

i have rehabbed a number of the 42 rd decks -- i have found installing a piece of household baseboard vinyl ( has a natural curl ) with carriage bolts to be a simple and inexpensive way of deflecting the grass clippings downward -- especially important if you have a H tractor rather than a gear tranny so as to avoid the clippings going on to the Hydro fins. Good Luck, Bill

If you had to replace all the bearings and seals it would cost you about $200. A lot of times some of the bearings are reusable. But if I open a transmission I always replace the outer axle needle bearing and all the seals. JMHO. Yes the boot you have pictures looks correct One of our vendors “Wheel Horse Parts and More”. Sells transmission overhaul kits.

Only reason I got one of mine done is it was the first lol

Go get it. You will soon learn we are “enablers” around here. Check the condition of the rubber boot at the top of the transmission that the shifter goes through. If it’s in bad shape/missing and the horse is parked outside that where water gets in the transmission. If you see a lot of oil has leaked out the shifter hole That can mean water is filling the bottom of the transmission and the floating oil is coming out the hole. The 3 speed transmission are easy to rebuild and used parts are relatively available. Take an oil drain pan and a 1/4” ?? Allen wrench. If you see oil out the top ask if you can quickly pull and reinstall the transmission drain plug. The plug is on the bottom a little in front of the rear hitch. It is recessed and probable full of dirt. If you get pure water In my opinion, this becomes a $200 negotiating item. If you get white milky oil than may clean up with a diesel flush or two. Sine he was pulling a heavy trailer, check the rear wheel hub is tight on the axles. The hubs have a woodruff key and are locked on by the jack bolt on the hub. If the rear axles, brake shaft, input pulley shaft are leaking where the shafts comes out of the transmission there is a 50/50 chance a new seal will fit it, or the shaft bearing is worn allowing the shaft to slightly wobble around enough to wipe out the seal. With all the above said, buy it anyway. These old horses need some someone to show them lots of love when needed. Im in Texas, and like Florida not as many horses, and many that are here have been rode hard and put up wet.

Here is the check list I had when I bought my 856. 1. Parked in woods and left for 20 yrs. 2. Tires and wheels buried half way in the ground rotting. 3. Weeds and trees growing through the frame. 4. Plants and moss growing out of the seat. 5. Covered in dirt, rust, and crusty as can be. So after I found one that checked all these boxes I dragged it home, cleaned it, cleaned fuel tank, installed new carb, new battery, put new tires and wheels on it, gave it some fancy pinstripes, changed seat. It is now one of my most reliable Wheel Horses I have ever owned. They are bullet proof. Yes it's an 8 horse power but it is always ready, willing and able to complete the task it is asked to do.

For many of us the Big Show is about the people more than the parts and tractors for sale. Last year my truck was loaded fully and the only thing that wasn't pre purchased was a belt guard that I picked up for another member. If an item is priced too high people are not shy about letting you know. If you don't accept their offer it is unlikely that they will return to make another offer unless it is a hard to come by item. Best bet is to post it in the Big Show pre-sale thread at a fair price, most people will be willing to pay in advance and pick it up at the show.

Today is our 38th wedding anniversary so we went out for a lovely meal. A pub called the Dunkirk about 16 miles away (that's a long way for an English man to travel for dinner). Can't believe it's been that long since two kids not long out of their teens tied the knot and settled down. She looks just as gorgeous now, the dessert is a treat as shes been losing weight really well fir the last ten weeks.

I had 2 of them. Sold one with a tractor. The other one was longer.

Hello all, with the change in weather the ole horse has come out of the stable. Still have delusions of grandeur about making a front scoop out of my existing plow frame and I fairly quickly realized I need a touch more ground clearance. I know folks have adapted trailer hubs for the front but as I no longer have a machine shop at my disposal elected for another solution Que marketplace. Found a fella selling a pair of Cub 154 Lo Boy front wheels and tires for pretty decent $ so I jumped on it. $25 worth of bushings from McMaster later and viola 4-12 front end on a 312. That's pretty much it, it leans a bit but it's not for show, maybe I'll put 24's or 6-12 on the rear to straighten it up but I don't really mind for now.

Try giving the rivet at the dash end a squeeze with pliers. Someone else on here just went through that. @Pete D maybe??

I actually have 2- 50 pound suitcase weights just didn't have time this time to fab a bracket.

Thanks guys. Now to figure out how to get these hubs off lol. Probably look for an old hub and make a puller that is one here. One side looks like it has anti seize on it. The other looks rusted lol

My 414 does that!

There's one of those things the green tractor guys got right, steering brakes. I've serviced more older deere GT's than I'd care too but the turning brakes really make a small tractor feel big

Those are pretty awesome.

75F and a great day for the youth early trout opener. We have a good population of natives in addition to the stocked trout. More signs of spring. Daffy Dills and Petunias blooming and the plum and pear trees are budding.

That's cool. I did not go to school with anyone who got really famous. From my class one guy did some acting, and is now back here running a stump removal business, one guy did some pitching in the majors, and one girl had a short lived "adult" website. I heard she basically did it long enough to pay for her wedding, which I found very ironic.

A thin strip of rubber bolted through the provided square holes works good too that’s what I used on mine.

I had a day. First I let the Intrusive Thoughts in and spent 20 minutes pondering how "Claudia Sheinbaum" is a very German sounding name for someone who the President of Mexico. Then the guy on the news on the radio said something about Elise Stefanik no longer being considered for an ambassadorship, so I spent another 20 minutes wondering if the US ambassador to the U.N. has to wear special underwear. Then I had to help one of my junior techs get a torx socket out of an engine. We are not sure how it got to where it was, but I got it out. I then specifically requested that we have no more emergencies today, which he must have ignored or not heard, because less than 20 minutes later I was patching his arm up for his trip to urgent care. I don't remember the rest of the day. I think I watched an episode of St. Elsewhere and then read the plot synopsis for Raise the Titanic, because Michael Ensign was in both.

I gave a lot more for my 855, and it had sat a lot longer. I also got a snow plow with it. You should see if he has a snow plow for it. After 10 years sitting all mine took was a spark plug, a battery, and some fresh fuel and away we went. I've had to chase down a few other issues in the years I've owned it, but it's 60 years old, and I have yet to come across a single part that couldn't be sourced between Brian at K&B or Lowell at Wheelhorse parts and more.

I’ll check out the document. I just messaged the seller with some questions and this is what he told me.. Afternoon Peter, Regarding the tractor, when was the last time the transmission fluid was changed and the tractor greased? How come you’re selling it now? he replied: Austin I think we discussed this in your first inquiry. The engine oil has about 10 hours on it in the last 4 years I have owned it I did nothing with the transmission, but greased the zerks probably annually. Also you may recall I purchased it to pull my boat in the yard but it was not large enough to really do the job properly, therefore it does not get used. I figure I have only run it for at most 10 hours in 4 years. Much of that was just to make sure I took care of it. is that to be of concern given it’s been driven so little over that period of time? Or if it runs drives and doesn’t smoke then it should be ok?

Didn't get a bunch of photos, but got the head sanded straight. Ran taps through the bolts and block for the head bolts to clean the threads up. New Kohler points, new champion sparkplug, new condenser, put the rebuilt carb on Loaded up for plow day.

Bring them. Hang a price tag on them. If they aren't sold by the end of the day Thursday, then you know you are asking too much. Lower the price accordingly.

@D_Mac Don, you can use that to edge the sides of your driveway

I said "looks like"...

Here's my contribution for this week.... the 312 and 308 at work.