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May 23, 1785, Benjamin Franklin reveals his design for what would later be called bifocal glasses. The Pennsylvania inventor, printer, author, diplomat and American Founding Father had grown tired of alternating between two different pairs of glasses to help his near or far vision. So, he came up with an idea to, quite literally, split the difference. Franklin is widely credited as the inventor of bifocals.

Nah, he probably just went straight to “progressives”.

Went to a garage sale and came home with a 1988 wheel horse 520 H. Included a 42 inch snow blade that has been widen out to 57 1/2 inches, a new set of four link chains and tensioners. 48 inch mower deck, and IH weights on the rear. Previous owner was experiencing intermittent problems with starting and running. Got it home and discovered that a plug wire was shorting out. The Hydro lever was converted to foot control. Also included a replacement dash.

I have this deck and just sharpened the blades. The spring must adjust out the slack in the belt otherwise the belt is TOO LONG.

I'm getting very close to being in trouble, but I managed to sneak another one home. Pretty sure it is a 701. Hard to see in the photo but the sticker under the "K" in Kohler still faintly reads 7hp. Not entirely sure where the seat came from... There is a funky back rest, not sure if this was ever an option or accessory?

Having reliable brakes and a good parking brake were my goals in doing the swap.

That hefty spring provides all of the tension. If your belt is loose, it's too long or worn out.

Field mowing was not envisioned for a WH belly-mount finish mower--a neat and smooth 2.5-3.0 grass lawn was the aim! I strongly suggest a towed flail mower. Flails are widely used on highway verges. You might also consider acquiring, and potentially modifying, a WH front-mounted mower deck carrier frame. No tractor mods needed.

@MainelyWheelhorse added this years ago to my decks , almost hiding in plane site ? long unsupported belt , combined with unknown spindle bearing grease ? bakes for a buzzing wreck , experimented with one deck , all 3 run the same trouble free quiet , also regreased my mule drive bearings , improved that gold mine of issues . pete

It is ... and a nice survivor at that. Dealer add on. That one is a but not the original back rest.

If you’re going for the original look and are staying with the steel wheels, I have period correct hub caps for your truck that came off my F-350 SRW they are basically like new.

89"x 1/2" belt. Please take a picture with the belt guards off.

Should be 1/2" by 89" belt. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/huskee-v-belt-1-2-in-x-89-in-oc-1012571?store=219&crmid=6663814901&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pmax&utm_campaign=tsc0_sea_tsc_cat_search_sch_us_cvr&utm_content=sku_na&adtype=pla&campaignid=22258948701&device=c&product_channel=local&product_id=1012571&store_code=219&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22269431188&gbraid=0AAAAADnTm20RvsdRIUAIoaUKG5VZVFJy7&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoMXQBhDcARIsAH-eEtsuJ7oBLhKKwvF0vx6VpZW98MCuEDEXLPcfJOMBlfOmbo-g1vlI9qwaArkZEALw_wcB

The whole mess in the end. How can something this simple take an entire afternoon and $50? I won’t be sure it works until tomorrow. I have a deed restriction on my property that prohibits ever having the correct size hardware or clamps on hand, so I’ll have to run to town & look for a 1- 5/8” muffler clamp. Will advise. Everybody have a great holiday weekend!

Found 1-1/4” pipe to have about same ID as the OD of the elbow (1-3/8”). Cut a piece to length, and split the end a bit to hopefully allow enough springery action for a muffler clamp to work.

Yeah I have to defer to this line of thought. Some folks love thier Tecchy engines. To each his own. I guess a human being can get used to most anything. Bad food, lousy job, ugly women, and Techumseh engines... Go with the K321. Time and money in this engine is a far better bet and it might actually last. It absolutely will be more dependable.

And...the oil pan gasket made it safely and fit in the mail box without getting bent . Got the pan on so things should move along now. I tidied up some wiring on the brake switch and verified its operation. Drained the lift cylinder since I'm changing from ATF and got it back in place. If the weather allows I'll get the welder out to do some repairs on the battery box and belt guard. Things should move along quickly if that happens. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

I've never owned that deck but your routing looks correct. Are you sure you're using the correct belt and that it's riding in the pulleys under the guards correctly?

I had a Rambler station wagon with vacuum wipers, they were assisted by the fuel pump with a diaphragm vacuum pump incorporated in it.

A little patch work on hieght adjustment on the 42” deck off of 312-8 I been working on. Its on discharge side of deck all the other decks I have seen where on the other side?

3d printed and aluminum.

I finally finished taking the other donor machine apart today. It was a C-125 8 speed black hood. And it was one of the rustiest hunks of junk I've ever tackled. Everything on it is frozen, even the differential. No pedals or steering parts would move. After getting the tranny removed I poured a gallon of kerosene in it and set it aside for later. The differential did finally free up but the shifters are stuck. That is a project for a later date... The biggest thing I was after was the center console and steering support thingy. None of the side or belt covers will work because I'm building a hydro. Maybe I'll use the footrests. They look shorter than usual... maybe it's my uncalibrated eyes. I had to cut the steering shaft. Didn't want to risk breaking the aluminum supports up top. I'll e-tank the wheel and see if it the rest of the shaft can be safely removed later. Probably gonna use a larger wheel anyway. But- everything will line up and bolt onto this newer chassis. At least there's no mods to do there.

So... Ben was in his late 70's when he did this. Don't know if a bit later he made trifocals - probably.

When I was in high school my mom drove a 1960 T-Bird. I remember it having a reservoir on the vac wipers. It looked like a sealed coffee can with two vacuum hose fittings and was painted Ford engine blue. I just looked at a bunch of engine compartment pictures and couldn't find one. I wonder if it was aftermarket or homemade. It must of helped but I remember countless times when I needed to nail the gas in the rain. Not good.

Bought this 312 new in 89. Same exhaust, garage kept.

Simple things are the worst. I've had jobs that would take me 20 minutes at work take all day at home. And $50 just isn't that much anymore.

Might be. I know tip speed is a big contributor to quality of cut. I modded my 48SD with the smaller pulleys from a 42 and I cut the chute back to just outside the track of the right side blade. That deck mows like none of my other 42 or 48 decks. It is a beast! I mow at about 3/4 throttle and it never bogs down. And it slings clippings much better as well.

Looks like a great low-hour machine. I would be interested to know if that's what the dozer blade was used on and how, and what the hours are on the unit but it looks great!

So I’m 95% sure it was in fact the spark plug. Replaced the plug this morning and mowed this afternoon with no issue. I say 95% sure because it was cooler today than the last time I mowed so it not an exact test. However I did stop multiple times and idle it down for a minute and throttle back up and it had no problems going back to full throttle unlike the last time. I’ve never had a spark plug only fail sometimes so this was a new one for me. So thank you all for your help I really appreciate it.

If there is an advantage going from a sundstrand to and eaton, it would probably be that an eaton can be modified to have a foot control and not so much for a sundstrand. Lots of work and mods to make that happen.

Fuel. Follow it from the source. Check to see that it's exiting the bottom of the fuel tank. Then see if it is getting through the fuel line to the pump. Then see if the pump is pumping to the carburetor. If that checks out, your carb is the issue. I say it this way because you will likely find issues worth addressing. The shortcut is to pull the fuel line from the carb and turn the motor over to see if the upstream components (tank, line, filter, etc.) are doing what they're supposed to getting fuel to the carb.

I just ordered a free test kit from Tennessee Radon Program @sqrlgtr Grok AI says this is a high risk area. https://secure.airchek.com/cgi-bin/tn-free-test.cgi

Dig a big enough hole to burry them so you don't trip over them.

These big bars I have must have been a bear to mount then. 10.5"

Got some great scrubbing done on the doors, dash, roof and seat. Didn't do the floor because I'll likely replace it.

I always blame things on the previous owner too.

It could be done with the deck on the tractor, that way you can inspect it as used. If the gage Wheel support rod is bent or tweaked it could hold one side up higher than the other. if that is the case you could put one end in a vise and use a long pipe wrench to twist the other end to match it. If you don't have these tools available make friends with someone who does.

Did the deck ride properly on the 314? With the deck supported by scrap pieces of 4X4 on both sides are the gauge wheels and anti-scalp rollers an equal distance from the ground? My guess would be the assembly the gauge wheels are attached to is bent.

Class act... Nothing like it anymore

Although I have pictures of Zach in and on this wagon they are from about 6 years ago and he has no recollection of it. We were doing some massive garage cleaning/organizing tonight and he was super excited about the wagon…so I let him hook up Blackbeard and haul burnables to the fire pit! He was in his element!

The oil pan gasket finally shipped this morning but...USPS I suspect it will be creased right between the "O" and "T" in "DO NOT BEND" but we'll see. Installed in-line fuses for the clutch and ammeter. Not much else to do until I get the block bolted down.

Like beef up the drivers seat springs

That is correct KP. The starter button grounds out the solenoid operating it. The the other end of the solenoid coil is internally connected to 12v positive large post. You do have to have the 12v from the battery on the correct large post. I forget if they are labeled or not. If not one way to tell is read through the small post to one of the large posts. You should see the resistance of the coil on one of the large posts. That's the large post that gets connected to the battery. Should be open on the other large post. I have no idea why went this route. It's been said this same solenoid was used on some truck sno plow set ups.

Handy to have the right tools!!

So anyone who actually owns a black hood can see that as with most of my machines, I end up adapting different parts for some things. That being said, I prefer the look of the older rear fenders on a black hood. I found one in my parts but it had several cracks and dents to fix. Not to mention the rear of the fender was badly rusted. In addition I was going to have to add the square hole over the eccentric to use on an Eaton. I had a fairly decent fender from a Charger, so I just copied the bolt pattern, square cutout for the hydro, and the dipstic and fuel holes. Turned out great and will need far less repair that the newer one. I also got the tie rods made up. Heim joints on both ends.

Second Wheel turned out much better. Painting wide wheels is a different animal than regular ones. Getting way inside the dish produces alot of overspray. But I found a better method on the second wheel by standing it up, placing a bag on the backside and painting about 1/3 of the way round and using a heat gun to firm it up before moving to the next third. Sounds strange but it works. First one might need some touch up, but I'm done for today.

My wife says this too, but she's usually trying to get me to shut up! Yeah I really think my welds are free of any pinhole, but tubes make new tires so much easier to install. I didn't use them up front and it was much more work on such wide tires.

Terry's decals are freaking awesome...

Nice job Steve. So can we all send our starters to you for repair, since you are retired and all that. Dan