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We got a few inches of snow over the last few days. Not enough for the snow blower on the GC 2410. But if I didn’t clean it up, it would be a mess. So I drug out the 314-8 and took the mower deck off. Put the front and rear wheel weights on and the chains. Gassed it up. Got my 42” plow put on. Couldn’t find the short lift link to go to the deck lift arm, so I made one out of a piece of garage door opener lift arm and a couple clevis pins. Done. I haven’t really ever plowed snow with the 314-8. Have a blower for it and always used that, until I got the blower for the GC. It worked great, and didn’t dig up the gravel driveway much. Good seat time today.

Here ya go:

Jim & I went on a short trip to purchase a 520 for $1.00. Guy said that it would crank over but would not start. Pushed it on the trailer, paid the man & away we went. Got it home & discovered that he had hooked the battery up backwards. Placed the cables on correctly & it fired right up.

Now where did I leave that handy light? Haven't seen it for years. Had a magnet that would stick anywhere. Sure was handy wonder where it went? For those of you that don't know it you can't change the oil on a 520 with a deuce on without taking the hood off...

If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is!

Darn. Figured you would of went with the classic

If you get stuck, someone will ask "are you stuck?" Nope, just camp n!

December twelfth is Gingerbread House Day, get creative decorating a tiny, edible home and have a friendly competition with family to see who can make the tastiest, prettiest, gingery house. Gingerbread houses are a favorite holiday pastime with families, be it with parents, grandparents, or even both! But these delicious, decorative bread houses have always been a staple of the holiday season for as long as people can remember. Where did they come from? Who came up with the idea? To answer those questions, we must follow the ghost of holiday’s past into the history of Gingerbread House Day! We can all agree that the best part of the process is eating the delicious gingerbread and decorations, no matter whether you managed to turn it into a work of art beforehand or not.

Ya know @WHX??... that Brinly plow you sold me had a money clip and a bunch of 10 mm sockets stuck all over it... I vaguely recall @Achto and @Pullstart mumbling about some plow field with a money tree??? I wasn't sure what to do with them, so I just spent the money on tractors, promptly lost all the 10 mm sockets, and now I need a light to find my wallet... can i borrow yours?

My wife will be heading to the elementary school this afternoon to assist with their gingerbread house building day. She will be the 'foremen' of a two person crew consisting of our granddaughter in 3rd grade and a kindergarten student. I never knew this was Gingerbread House Day but, being in construction all my life, I do understand the need for safety and building codes. I sent this to her with hopes she'll show it to the students prior to construction. I'm sure the International Brotherhood of Gummy Bears would appreciate it.

I picked this up yesterday, a 1997 Ford New Holland 1715. 26 hp, 3 cylinder diesel, 9 forward speeds, 3 reverse. I really like these Shibaura built Ford compacts. This is my second one, I also have a 1986 1310 4WD. If anyone has a chance to pick up one of these Ford compacts, I would recommend doing so. For a little history lesson, around 1986 Ford bought New Holland. Then in 1991, Ford decided to focus on car and truck production, and sold their ag line to Fiat. The agreement was that Fiat could use the Ford name on the tractors, but to phase it out. This tractor is a 1997, which might have been the last year the Ford name appeared on a New Holland. In 1973, Ford brought their first compact, a Shibaura built Ford 1000. Shibaura built all of Ford compacts, even after Fiat took control. I believe 1998 was the last Shibaura build Ford or NH tractor. Today LS makes the New Holland compacts and sub-compact.

Happy Birthday Lowell @wheelhorseman

The original battery charging indicator light on my 522xi is still working fine, so it doesn't 'need' to be fixed, but that doesn't mean that it can't be improved upon. I found an indicator light on eBay that is 'smarter' than an ordinary idiot light, since its tri-color LED provides voltage range information via different colors and flashing patterns. Some of you may already be familiar with this product, but it's new to me. It's made by Gammatronix in the UK, and I think they call this version the Model E. I plan to install it on my 522xi or possibly on my Case 480E...or I might order a second light and do both. It's very compact and fits in a 14mm hole. It does NOT require a separate electronic module to control it, since it has its own built-in electronics, making it super easy to wire up, and it comes with clear instructions. The indicator has two selectable operating modes: If you remove the jumper, it functions as a battery charging indicator light, which is what I would use it for. If you leave the jumper in place, it can be used as a battery level indicator light. Since I would be replacing the existing battery charging indicator light with this gadget, I will remove the jumper. I made the following chart with Adobe InDesign, showing the battery charging voltage ranges that correspond to the LED colors/patterns. I'll insert a copy of this chart in the owner's manual. The maker said that it doesn't need potting, as they have been used on motorcycles for many years without issues from water ingress, but I think I might over-engineer a bit and put a dab or two of electronics-grade silicone on it anyway, not just to keep water out, but as a strain relief for the wires. (I recently replaced the non-functioning battery charging indicator light on my GT18 with a digital voltmeter (see post), which is another improvement option, and it's working great so far.)

I have 10 acres just south or Bushnell FL, I use my Charger 12 for anything and everything on this property. Hauling dirt, rock, firewood etc, plowing driveway and spreading limestone. It has greenbriar like I have never seen before. Think "Jack and the Beanstalk". One inch thick and better stalks. Raspberry stalks, grapevine, sand spurs and every other manner of pointy vegetation known to man. I am using a Maxxis AT22x10-12. Even wound barbed wire around axle a few times running fence lines. Never flatted. They are tubeless. Work well in sandy leaf littered terrain. The AT tires have a wider flotation type profile and work well in this soft sandy environment. Look at Craigslist in your area, and Ocala, Always see ATV tires listed that will work.;

Next thing you know we got a bunch of blonde bombers running around the Horse barn!

bahh, I’m used to it!

Yes when looking for tires for our horses ply rating doesn't really factor in as they don't weigh a great deal. Four or even two ply is sufficient. The number of plies correlates to the load range of a tire. Example load ranges and their equivalent ply ratings Load Range B: 4 Ply Load Range C: 6 Ply Load Range D: 8 Ply Load Range E: 10 Ply Load Range F: 12 Ply So looking at that you'll never put enough weight on GT to warrant anything over 4 ply.

You talkin’ to me? Of course, it was night and the power was out and I’m sweating bullets that it won’t start. Switch to run, one pull, and off it goes. Whew! But it never happened--your word against mine.

Parking brake lever assembly ready to install. I am installing an early style as I do with all of my builds as I don't like the later style with the plastic knob on the left side. Parking brake bolt, washers, and spacer installed. Never seize on the SS bolt. Parking brake lever assembly installed and nut torqued to 30 ft/lb. Parking brake lever spring installed. Shift cover plate sat in place to verify parking brake lever location. I cut out the slot for the parking brake earlier this past summer. Adjusted brake spring according to manual.

I picked up another WH very close to home. 2 miles away. The fellow moved into a new housing plan with very little yard and no need for it. Very good price as it is off season here.He said it was used to mow a half acre field next to his old house about 6 times a year. I think I have to believe him. No rust just dirty which I will address. It will need a new seat and a hood as he said the hood met with a tree limb. Deck shows no rot or rust at all. Oils are clean. He said he serviced it regular. To dang cold to do much yet. Will probably start with the deck first for a good power wash when weather permits. It will be a camp tractor. It does have the 15 amp charging system. It probably will become a Burgundy stripe machine. 1990 vintage.

My 310-8 was purchased from a gentleman who joined Red Square to be able to post it in our classifieds. I was the second person to contact him but he accepted my offer ( a bit more than he was asking ) because I could be there the next day with cash. First offer wanted him to hold it for a couple months. It had been used to mow the 1/8 acer lot at his lakeside camp and maintain the gravel driveway for about fifteen years. Only had about 350 hours on the clock and full set of Toro Dealer service records. It looked like new came with a 42" RD Deck and a mid mount grader blade. I sold the grader blade leaving me with a net investment of $ 150.00 and a tank of gas for the round trip to Knoxville, TN.

At your young age I'm suppressed you dye your hair.

I usually welded a piece of bar stock to the drawbar under the case to take up the slack and disperse the weight. But I seldom used that bar for towing. I did the bar stock with a 2" ball stuck in the slot hitch thing. Obviously the weak link there was the cable going to the lift. But you'd be surprised how much that would carry. For years our RV was stored in the barn. I would back it in and pull it out with the 76. The tongue weight would be 5-700# depending on which RV we had at the time. I always kept the RV tongue jack cranked close to the ground and had to mount the snow thrower to keep the front down but it never broke. I wouldn't recommend that though. I just got lucky in my young and even dumber days. Now I have these receivers on two of my tractors. And no longer have an RV to move.

Late to the party but here goes... This years prep procedure..... Blow leaves one last time before snow. Repower the snow machine, the old shaker plate Kohler was smoking & burning oil, time for a K341 big block. Tighten up steering, new thrust washers on spindles. Replaced the snowblower with one I've been saving, the old one only lasted 45 years. Just had to switch over the power chute control. ( The JD box was used to catch crud I scraped off the frame ). Ready to go... Procrastinate till it snows, take the CJ out to get at the plow for the truck, ( photo op Lol ). Put plow on truck, put the CJ back. Wait for our fun Thanksgiving snow storms & give her a workout! Ready for another 45 years.

My first Wheel Horse was my 310-8. I worked the crap out of it for over a decade. Rebuilt the engine and did it again. Now it has morphed into a 414-8, and it's still my most trusted worker. You did good. Your tractor is a solid machine with none of the electrical issues of it's higher end brethren. Also the 10hp Kohler has great power and no balance gears to worry about. Enjoy it!

Wow, only .4 hours! You've got yourself a new machine!!

Not a great look, but walk behind snow blower tire make excellent steer tires. No added weight, goes where I point it.

Rebuilt a B&S model 19 engine. Reinstalled it, hooked up the gas line, wired the starter/gen up, double checked every thing, & fired it up. Ran for about 30seconds then notice smoke coming out of the breather. SHUT IT DOWN !!!. Note to self: Pull the dip stick & make sure you put oil in it before starting.

That’s why I have a can of it in the garage! The horse should be ok, it gets plenty of greens and no meats or saturated fats.

I agree - rear weights for traction, front weights for steering with the plow angled.

Ok, question, who has tried to start their generator with the ignition switch off? I have

Might be the choice for a mid sixties custom in place of the Gen light. Decent price to boot.

Direct bolt in, no mods, no drilling. The only thing you need is the longer PTO hoop & lower bracket which just bolts over the forward two holes of the mid Tach-A-Matic. You don't even have to remove the belt or guard, just remove the PTO & friction plate, the one bolt that holds the guard to the block, slide the engine back & over a little,comes right out. You can do this on the older ones too with the battery behind the engine, just take the battery tray off while you're under there anyway unbolting the engine.

You can get some Horseshoe brand AG bar tires they are 10 ply!!! They have them in 23x10.5-12 size. Not sure how you will get them mounted but once you do you shouldn't have any issues haha.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It was short-sighted of me to assume the case could handle the load. Didn't really investigate thoroughly enough, got caught up trying to make the mount work. It's great, actually when I run into things like this. Reminds me to keep a curious and critical mind when doing fab work. Sometimes I get too comfortable.

Seems to be the thing lately ...

Ya beat me to it!

Seems like it would hard to maneuver with that camper on the back.

Keep the camper on while plowing??

Never done that on a rebuild but ... ahhh ... yeah maybe shoulda checked the oil on that new to ... Like the time someone lost their gas cap and accused everybody at the show of takin it ... to find it laying on top the head after how much running around at show?!?!?!

Yes NO BIG NO ...as stated above higher plies just means the tire can take more weight. Another NO ... all the plies in the world will do ABSOLUTLY NOTHING in preventing loss of air. . The only thing that will is the type of rubber the tires are made off. There are many grades of rubber used in tire manufacture. Some softer and pliable ...some very stiff and hard. Skid steer tires as I pictured above are a very hard rubber due to the nature of how a skid steer operates. It also just so happens a skid steer weighs a hell of a lot more than a GT thus the higher ply rating. A higher ply rating also generally means a stiffer sidewall so if they don't have any air in them you'll never know it so don't worry about it. Me thinks you are a bit over thinking & overconcerned with your picker bushes blowing tires out. Guys Like young @Pullstart have been know to romp in the nettles to try and puncture a tire. Get a fine pair of Tru Power ags, mount them on standard rims & you'll have no problems.

I use old motor oil... return it to whence it came... Now regarding PAM - Mrs Sylvan won't have any of it in the house... So, does this clog the 's arteries like ours?

Good time to work on the mods to the Bobcat deck.

Absolutely ... I should have tubed them and gave up on keeping them aired. At 6 ply they don't really need air.

I remember a few years ago while discussing carburetors with Brian @buckrancher, he said the he finds it best to soak the carb and all non-plastic and rubber parts in regular lacquer thinner. I also fully concur with @ri702bill that the inside of the high speed needle is hollow and It's the most missed place when cleaning these carbs.

Happy Happy Big Guy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MAN WITH ALL THE PARTS THAT KEEP OUR GOING.

Tires really depends on what you plan to do with the tractor. Turf tread for lawn care, Ag tread for ground engaging implements. These 8 ply tires should get you through the brush. These tires are kind of multi purpose. Even if they don't hold air they will still stay on the rim. I have a friend that runs these with no air in them all the time. https://www.millertire.com/23x8-50-12-rubber-master-skid-loader-tire-8-ply/ These tires are claimed to be even more multi purpose. I want a set of these but the sticker shock holds me back. Being 6 ply they should hold up well in the pickers. https://www.millertire.com/23x8-50r12-carlisle-versa-turf-compact-radial-tractor-tire-6-ply/

In a twist of "rugged" mentality, it's not thin necessarily- but is the thinnest part of the case. The hitch you are using can pull a great deal of weight, but the tongue weight pushes up on the thin part. Any "bounce" on the hitch can break the case. The case below isn't broken, but you can see the thin part just in front of the hole the hitch pin goes into.

Oh do I have a bunch of these ... Gas cock off/tank empty ... multiple times. Trying to diagnose no start with the spark wire not on the coil...