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January 12, 1966 "Batman", starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Cesar Romero as The Joker, debuts on ABC.

I haven't named any of my tractors, even if I thought of a good name. Nothing against it at all. It's just that I can barely keep all my kid's names in my mind so I'm just trying not to confuse myself...

Forgot to post this one from last month.

I found a good trick for getting the gas out of a float. Seal the float in a container to keep the smell in and put it in a freezer for an hour or so. Remove it from the freezer, position the hole so that it is down, and heat the float up with an electric heat gun or hair drier. The temperature change will force the gas out of the float. It may take few cycles of this but it does work very well.

That shouldn’t matter..you think you’re the only Eric? Or me the only Mike? Clyde is still my choice …. Now make it happen

I may have to reverse that and call the other one Colossus II. Given the time frame you know......

Colossus II

↑ Same bat post?

The Facet pumps have an internal circuit breaker None of the pumps draw more than 4-5 amps most less. Fuse size should be based on wire gauge. If you use 16ga i would use 10 amp fuse make your connection to the "+" terminal on the coil

We have been having some awesome sunrises and sunsets in Indiana too! But the moons the last three months have also been very bright and beautiful!

the left handle and the clutch pedal are on and add rubber pieces were your feet set next thing is getting the engine together and on the frame and the fenders and the pan painted gas tank mounted on the hood and both of them painted too a lot of work to go still

I actually made the pin hole a bit bigger with a dental pick. Then just shook the gas out and set it in a warm place to evaporate out. Soldered up good to go. Edit: I thought it was the 702 ... be dammed if I can find those pics ...

We had names for vehicles in the army.. It was a two part name ending in truck. The first word was dependent on the trucks situation, stuck, or broke down, needing a lot of maintenance, cleanliness, etc. Unfortunately none of the first words are allowed here If the truck was broke down and stuck at the same time additional lead in names would be applied.

Engine oil used. I added 1.6 liters of oil. I have already installed a Motorcraft FL-400S filter on the engine. This filter seems to meet all the required specs and should be decent quality. Also cheaper than the NAPA gold filter. Ready to add fluid to hydro. There is around 3.5 liters of oil in this jug. Funnel used to add fluid to hydro. Funnel installed into hydro dipstick tube. Note that the filter not installed yet so air can escape to aid in fluid flow into hydro. After I added the 3.5 liters of oil I am now ready to install the filter. Hydro filter ready to install. Hydro filter gasket lightly oiled. Hydro filter installed. I then cranked over the engine with the choke and throttle wide open and spark plugs not installed so it cranks as easy as possible I cranked the engine until the oil light went out indicating oil filter was filled and engine was getting oil pressure. Also while cranking I activated the hydraulic lift up and down to purge air out of that system I then pushed the foot pedal forward and reverse to bleed air out of the hydro motor while cranking. Seems like a lot of cranking but this went quickly and starter never got hot. After this I checked fluid levels and just had to add maybe 1/4 liter of oil to hydro and engine oil is perfect.

29* @ 7:15 this AM

Eric @ebinmaine made me do it... He has another thread adding reduction steering to his C series, and it reminded me that I had all the parts to add reduction steering but didn't when I originally built the 523-H. I have 3 tractors with the 520 front axle, but none had reduction steering. This tractor has 18 inch front wheels, and though it steers pretty easily, it's the best candidate for the upgrade. I also had an issue with my hydro foot pedal. It binds up with about 1/8 inch of the last travel in the cam, which is quite a bit of the top end speed. I thought maybe this transmission was just a little slow, but now I'm not so sure. Regardless, I've got some tweaking to do on the rear end as well. So now I've taken this tractor almost back to the frame. No chance of getting that lower steering shaft swapped without removing the engine. That and the hydro linkage work mean almost a full tear down. It looks sad! First thing I noticed is that although the upper steering shaft is shorter than the original, it is still 1.5 inches taller are the steering wheel. I had planned to add about 3 inches anyway, because the wheel is just too low. I assumed it being shorter meant the wheel would be in the same place... Also, the bellcrank for the belly hitch comes very close the the back of the gear reduction base. It almost touches it at full down. Anybody else seen this with reduction steering 520-H tractors? Anyway. It'll be a few days before I get this back together. I'm gonna add a bearing at the top below the steering wheel and a few other tweaks, but it's nice to be tinkering again!

Na na Nana na na na na Batman!

THE WHEELINATOR

Here are the two. Shorter with reduction steering. Regular steering.

Holy Anniversary Batman!!!

Now just wait a bat minute. Same bat time, same bat channel.

I did that as well on a couple of my 520's Drill out to 1-3/8 then you can use a regular wheel horse front wheel bearing as the steering bearing. Works very smooth with no play.

Yes, the lift bellcrank is slightly shorter on the reduction steering models. I found that out the hard way also.

IT&T International Telegraph and Telephone also owned this company, Mackay Radio. From this location not far from where I live was a major communications station sending many telegraph messages during World War Two and operating until sometime in the late seventies. I remember the many super tall telephone poles that were still standing up until the early nineties on this property that was a couple hundred acres. The buildings were torn down in the early eighties. As kids we would climb up onto the roof of one of the buildings to see the ocean approximately 5 miles away. It was before my time but as a kid I remember the old timers talking about the important roll it played in its heyday. Now because of its high elevation and water views it is mostly high end homes. I’m not sure that date of this photo, it belonged to my cousin and I thought it was so cool that I took a picture of it!

I figured I should get in a ride while the getting is good because of the uncertain weather conditions nowadays. I used the Side x Side to pack roughly 6 '' of snow on the ground. The 418-A is my mowing tractor and it's nice to get behind the wheel with no mower deck and wind it up some. This was on Thursday after lunch.

Since it’s got a Vanguard, and you’re piecing it together, I vote for Vanderbilt.

Ship one to @kpinnc.

My favorite Batman item.

Battery tray and drain tube ready to install. Battery drain tube sat into place and slid into clip under tractor. Battery tray sat into place. Battery drain tube connected to battery tray. I heated it a bit with a hair dryer to help it slide on easier. Battery drain tube clipped into place under tractor. Battery hold down assembly ready to install. Battery hold down rods have rubber sleeves installed so the rods don't slip down out of place when not connected to the battery hold down. These are just pieces of rubber vacuum tubing. Battery hold down rods hooked into place on each side of battery tray. Battery ready to install. Battery clamped into place. Battery terminal hardware ready to install. Battery installed.

The ambulance in the picture is a 1960 Impala wagon, so I would guess 1960 to maybe '65

Pullstart reminds me of a certain girl in HS, he really gets around! I'm already looking forward to the Wed night tailgate of knowledge get together. Those little friendship type things are why the BS is important to many of us.

I don’t know much about the hoods, I would have thought your’s would have had one. I have a ‘51 Economy with the Husco hydraulic lift.

Ya know we really shouldn't talk about Wallfish like that in front of him ...

I have a pile of floats. I could send you one.

Could it be called the first ever “text message”?

Throttle knob ready to install. I like the T style knobs the best. Hair dryer used to heat knob for easier installation and so knob does not crack. This little hair dryer is used a lot in the shop whenever I feel the heat gun might cause damage. Block of wood and dead blow hammer used to tap knob into position. Throttle knob installed.

He'd be welcome.

Man I hope so...

How about Belgaum Draft If they do not like it for a puller they can like it as a drink

I was considering giving you some grief and perhaps even a snide remark about memory... then I recalled I hadn't posted this yet.

The risk you might have is water getting between the mat and the foot rest during use or when washed. If the mat is your decision, I’d consider rubber cement. I went with the skateboard stuff (in boring black) and am pleased.

Not too far Thought you might enjoy some pics of your 1257 when new to me Squirelly ... 9/24/2016

Really whoda ever thought years later ... 'Course whoda ever thought weda be running smoker grills and charging phones off our horses ...

Yep. Now there's some interesting information 🤔 On my 1974 C160-8 the gear ⚙️ has strong contact with the lift lever. I haven't decided how to solve that just yet.

You need to look at that engine before purchasing. I don't think it is compatible with a Wheel Horse without some modifications make to the tractor. May work with tractors that used a Shaker cradle, but not with direct to frame bolt ups.

A "Brass Flotilla??", Mike?

Just now as the sun sets

Added my own tweak on the park brake. Modified a thumb throttle lever from an ATV... Pressed in a steel bushing for a little more strength. Works great. Brake is set in the pic, hence the nose up position.

Almost ashamed to post this... I completely missed something on this build. Nearly every nut, bolt, and seal has been replaced on this tractor. I always do an OSI (obvious, um stuff inspection) before any project. And I did with this one. I checked the axle spindles, and they were nice and snug. What never occurred to my tiny mind was big tires + 500lbs of tractor will multiply "snug" considerably. This thing had the heaviest steering I've ever seen. So today I fixed it. The thrust bearings in the axle were so gunked up that they were almost unrecognizable. The grease had dried out, so no amount of lube could reach them. And they were worn to the point that the axle rubbed the knuckle on top. So I picked up a new set, cleaned everything and installed them. I picked the two best "old" races and put them in the bottom as .030 shims. Gap created is just large enough to have no contact now. Pumped full of grease and installed top caps. It steers so much better! Doesn't feel heavy at all now. I may still add reduction steering. Not sure yet. Of course I feel like a dummy for missing something like that, but fixed is fixed!

Found I had a leaky o-ring on the rear lift cylinder hose, spent a few minutes replacing it. Really I just wanted an excuse to put up another picture of this thing because I like it so much... It's a bleeping beast! Forgive the dumb thumb in the corner.