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You could use Kev to demonstrate the consequences of unsafe practices.

American Redneck Day is celebrated on July 3 every year. The day is observed across the country, particularly in the southern United States of America, where people are more likely to be categorized as rednecks. Originally used to describe farmers and coal miners, ‘redneck’ is a word applied in myriad ways. While it has been used in denigratory ways, southern farmers proudly referred to themselves as rednecks even in the early days when the word was supposed to mean a poor and uneducated white farmer. Over time, the term became increasingly politicized as people began to call on the American rednecks to wear their title proudly, mobilize for various causes, and protect their interests. Many southerners adopt the term as a self-identifier and are proud of being American Rednecks. Despite the negative representation, the question of rednecks in popular culture changed the perception of the word, making rednecks supercool. The increasing popularity of country music has also played a big hand in changing the understanding of the term. The significance of the word becomes more complex by the increased mobility of people from the south. With comedians, actors, and trendy musicians adopting their redneck heritage and wearing their status proudly, the essence of the term has expanded into a symbol of collective identity.

Picked up this 315-8 at the show from @ljsdad414. Carburetor and various linkages were missing. Acquired all the missing pieces. Had to settle for a cheap carburetor for now. Happy to report she’s alive and running. Replaced the rear tires, fuel lines and filter. New seat from @76c12091520h. Small oil leak around the valve cover to fix along with complete fluid and filter change. Then a good scrubbing. IMG_1436.mov

I can hear it now: “Who are you to tell me my kid can’t drive the tractor without taking your ___ course? He mows the lawn at home all the time!" Probably a party pooper, but I live in a litigious world. To me, rules that apply to everyone are easier to accept and enforce: - safety session is mandatory (driving is a privilege, not a right) - liability waiver is mandatory (hold organizers harmless and accept personal responsibility for your child and self) - no wristband, no driving - shared wristbands get confiscated - non-compliance gets you an escort out of the show

With all of the hype concerning computers loosing their minds on Y-2 K the managers at the power plant had us on triple staffing. Everything was in manual mode and after midnight everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief that the computers were fully aligned with our manual settings. As for being half way to 2050, I would be 105 years old so please celebrate quietly, us old codgers will need a nap.

I like using a spray bottle with gas and a little two stroke oil mixed in. This way if it does fire you can run it on the bottle until it picks up the fuel.

Just an FYI. Now that today is coming to a close, we’re officially closer to 2050 than 2000. I remember Y2K like it was yesterday…

Hello all, I know my horses pretty well however not great with all the attachments. I picked this slant back cart today locally. Seller said he got it with an 854. That being said what I found weird is the what the trailer connects to the tractor. Seems to be a slot type hitch. Any help in identifying this one is appreciated.

poor white farmers, in the sun all day, with sun burned farmer’s tans… right?

The only time I've been there I went with my friend that was doing them favors for free. We still had to pay to get in. Bill built this wood engine and ran it at the show for a two years that was about five years ago. .It's in the building with the old radios and appliances about center back up close to the ceiling. He made them a wood sign for something. Bill died of cancer last year, I have his Wheel Horse.

Good luck with it young man. Be safe and have fun with it.

Frank had a right rear tube blow out, and the left rear has a gash in the sidewall. I picked up some Firestone 23’s at auction a year or two ago, waiting for this day. The difference between 6.7-15 and 7.6-15 is astonishing!

Seconding that bringing a good voltmeter, access to a good battery, and some patience to do basic examination and diagnostics can go a long way to making sure you get good value. If you read past threads on 520’s, you’ll learn that they are great machines but they rebel at poor maintenance and abuse.

I'm taking notes here because I have to go to a meeting with a local club here who is shutting down being able to ride garden tractors around the show. I'm sure it's for insurance reasons, but maybe if I can rip curriculum from @WHX?? I could volunteer to teach a safety class too and not lose the ability to ride my horses around that show. Jim, maybe you could do a wristband that they keep on through the whole show that identifies they took the safety course? Something bright orange or yellow that easily identifiable?

“My hair’s turning white, my neck’s always been red, my collar’s still blue”

@peter lena would be happy with this one. I found a couple NOS choke cables in my stock and I wanted to run a little Lube down through them. Turns out my door handle is the perfect place to hang these where they can't fall through.

My job during 1999 was to make d-a-m-n sure that the payroll and benefits systems for my company (000’s of employees) worked perfectly and make hundreds of fixes so that it would continue to do so in January 2000. I slept well on New Year’s Eve because my team and I knew it would be fine--and it was.

Yep, definitely goes in the slot hitch. That will keep the tongue quite a bit higher than connecting to the drawbar. BUT the tongue would also go up and down with whatever other implement was on the tractor, e.g. mower deck or snow/dozer blade, unless the lift cable was disconnected. I made an adaptor for my slot hitch for parking and retrieving my empty road trailer (slowly and cautiously since the link is above the rear axle).

So this year I have been asked again to give a safety lesson to the younguns at the Portage, WI show. Past years I have just plagiarized safety handouts & rules from other shows which worked fairly well. Getting them to attend is another matter. Trying to make attendance mandatory or can't operate a tractor. I have used little tractor stickers that the kids are supposed to put on their shirt to prove they attended and to try and make things fun for them. Any ideas or improvements appreciated.

Bought an 875 from a friend months ago. He got it from his neighbor. Hauled fire wood most of it's life. When I got it I noticed a little flex when the park pawl is engaged. Expected to find a cracked F plate or loose/ missing trans mounting bolts. Looked it all over and couldn't see anything. Was out mowing today and it felt like the seat got loose. Got off and nope the seat was tight..Got back on and my top half went one way and the bottom half went the other way. Looked down and found this! The F plate looks ok so hopefully a quick buzz job from Billy the Welder!

Now we are home so I can give you the story of the tractor. So this was the PO’s friends tractor. He passed away and it sat for a bit. His barn got cleaned out and the PO bought it from the family. He started to dig into it. He says it cranks over and one cylinder has spark and the other doesn’t. So probably going to dig into this weekend. Oil is not too bad and a tad low. Other then that the tractor is in decent condition with 1058 on the hour meter. Things it will need so far as we can see. Rear lenses for the taillights Gas cap 4 new tires Full tuneup Storm rolling through now. Pics either later or tomorrow morning.

Check all of those bolts on the engine around the PTO bearing. When they loosen you lose all the oil real quick!

More pictures to come soon.

It runs! I replaced the switch with the correct one. I also replaced the spark plug and it kicked over and is running great! I am not sure how I got luck that the magneto did not get ruined, but it starts and runs like a champ!

Ok I replaced the rod piston , rings in my m12 kohler. The service manual stated 200 inch pounds for the old rod which i was installing. i bought a torque wrench for inch pounds previously but never used it until now. it feels way to light, lol. im used to more torque i guess. is that normal for small engines? i removed the balance gears also. I was going to leave them cause other than smoking and low power the engine ran smooth. but i wiggled them and almost passed out, lol. they were crazy wobbly.

wait 'til you try the torque specs on some small #10-32 screws - they can be as little as 5 to 6 inch pounds - in some applications, over torquing those screws can pretty much ruin the part (Thinking carburetor flanges on Briggs pushmowers, etc.) It's ridiculously easy to over-torque by hand (Just "feels snug" would be well past 15 inch pounds) so I always used a torque screwdriver. Amazingly enough when removing those same screws a day or two later, they took a LOT more torque to loosen them. Oh yeah, the flywheel screen screws on many Kohlers is another example.. as well as fuel pump screws (all too common to find them overtightened and warping the flanges) Torque screwdrivers can be your friend, and well worth the investment. (as well as looking up even standard fastener torque specs where none are otherwise specified) I had 8 different torque wrenches and screwdrivers in my tool box. Just about everything got torqued, and never had anything come loose due to not being tight enough.

A Haiku... A Redneck says you? Perhaps it is true says I It's red white and blue A Limerick... There once was a man with neck of red Whose green tractor ended up dead He said with dismay I need a "good" tractor today So he bought a Wheel Horse - a "great" tractor - instead.

Maybe a Raffle tractor - attendees each get a ticket? Parents of course would "get it" for the kid. Seriously... I bet between you, @Achto, and other Cool Kids could come up with one... Or, event T-shirt raffle for all attendees... maybe 3 shirts... Attendance lanyard that they can wear for the day. Souvenir to take home. I like your idea of using prepared safety materials...

That is what the service manual calls for. Good catch on the grenade gears.

Realize during the compression stroke, the crank is pushing the piston up, the load is on the rod end not the cap end. During the power stroke, the piston is pushing down on the rod end not the cap end.

I engage my xi clutches at half throttle. Not a soft start but not nearly as violent Not much for those soft start electronics, wears the facing out with more slip on the clutch with larger decks.

Check the frame too. Look at my "something loose in the caboose thread"

That looks way better!!!

@ri702bill regular reference to dreaded 9 pin connector , has anyone dared to mount that in a cooler safer spot ? personally look for , a repetitive problem / issue to make a change , you already know what fails , why not eliminate it ? a cooler air flow , wire chafing , etc . would be worth a try . one of the first things I would add / try is a slotted / holed belt guard , it insures heat removal . just my view of a consistent problem , thats like living with bearing failure issues , make a change , pete

It must feel like a breath of fresh air when you get at least 200 miles from that place.

Look at the condition of the dreaded 9 pin connector. Even if it looks OK, undo it to see the terminals. It might be an unpleasant surprize.....

And that's from a 520H which is a substantially heavier, longer, wider, more powerful tractor.

From a 520H Owners Manual: I may have gone ten times that, but that is not my recommendation.

@ebinmaine like that , hiding in plane site ! also like SUPER LUBE , SMALL BOTTLE ,HYDRAULIC OIL , check out temp range , in a tough spot , like penetrating oil , first to verify flow / tracking , then SUPER LUBE , once you try , verify that , you are hooked . thank you for the shout out , BTW , can you send me your mailing address ? pete

I was thinking because they wore red bandanas Kev??

Good choice culling those balance gears too!

@c-series don you have 2 new reflectors because when your brother came back with one, I told he had better see if it is a perfect match, he came back and said it’s slightly different. I pointed to the horse barns and told him to go back and buy a second one so they are a perfect match, because guys like you and me would lie awake at night thinking about the fact that they don’t match. Truth! 😬

I found the screen in the Trac Vac clogged pretty quickly. I added a full width baffle to direct the grass down away from the screen. Test to follow at next mowing.

Hosta's surround my yard art Suburban and fake chickens. See if you can spot Homer!