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Hey all. So I've been away from this forum and the great people on it for quite a while now. Still snoopin' around from time to time though but not posting (much) and I miss the interactions that come from that. Reason being, life happened and about one and a half year ago, after a VERY stressfull period ,my better half and I were able to purchase our dream house, to be turned into a dream home. I cannot overstate how blessed we are this worked out since times are challenging, housing prices are up, economics not great, politics.. I won't mention. The dream was to have no (direct) neighbours, a good sized barn/garage/workshop and room for a horse/horses. I'll let you guess who came up with which dream On the same street we lived on we purchased this house which is basically a farm as we know it from the 50's, so built right after the second world war. Solid base, room for improvements. It sits on 2.5 acre land which is spacious by Dutch standards. Not to brag but we calculated that the property of my SIL could fit 28 times on our lot. Some work has been done, a lot still awaits. Here are some pictures of when we bought the farm and over the course of I don't know how many days/months/years 'll take you along to current state, and beyond. TLDR: bought farm, no time for hobbies, I show pictures of what I'm doing in the meantime Greetings from the Netherlands, Mark

Did some maintenance on the 42" SD that I replaced with the 48" SD. New blades New idler pulley Scraped and wire brushed Oil soak then store till next spring

Got the Bervac swapped onto 416. Also swapped rear hitch, larger wheels/tires from Workhorse. Still have a few more preventive maint items to get done. Got lift assist springs installed/adjusted & 150lbs of weight on hitch. Now I gotta figure out what to do with the Workhorse. Be nice to have it for parts but dont really want it sitting around...... 20260814_133023.mp4

Did a diesel fuel flush and gear oil change on the 161 before installing the ARK for the first time. Lessons learned...black hoods are too wide to clear the hydraulic pump and a shaker plate calls for an inch or so shorter belt It's always something.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes fellas. i don't know how to act my age I've never been this old ... Was a good day spending it up here in northern WI. worked on getting a outboard running for my sister then went fishing on a private pond but got skunked. Went out to a cool place called Lost Land Lodge for Friday fish fry and old fashions which is a Wisconsin staple. Finished with white Russians and a fire pit.

Thanks guys! I'm pretty overwhelmed with all your kind messages! We feel very blessed to be able to live here. Yes! ..and yes! Might aswell give a full tour while we're at it View from the back at the front-barn-door. And the other way round. The white wall is where my workshop will be located. And the view from the first floor looking at the back wall of the garage/barn. I absolutely love the big wooden beams in here. Upstairs. Lots of potential. Doesn't look like much but the walls here are about 2.5m (8ft.) high. Living room with two bedrooms attached. One of the small bedrooms. Cosy dining room. Equally 'cosy' kitchen. Bathroom. Toilet. This is looking at the white door leading to the kitchen. This used to be where some livestock was kept. Few cows on the left with a manure gutter, they filled it but can still see the outlines in front of the 'step'. Few pigs on the front-right, behind the blue doors. This is on the other side, likely a horse stable. And even more stables. This is on the left side of the big barn. We were told this was were some sheep were kept. The part with the 'lid' I guess you could call it can be closed so that there's some extra shelter against the elements. That where sheep had their young. Below a map of the building, might help visualize things a bit. Greetings from the Netherlands, Mark

Installed front wheel weights on my 312-8

#32 is running took a new fuel pump, carb, and spark plugs. The dealer put a new hydraulic hose on it $360. I put a new seat on it for now. they quoted $500 to fix the original. I am doing the best I can with spray bombs for now, while I look for and put on correct parts. It is looking much better than the heap I bought, and fun to drive. The rear fender decal is actually 2 parts. A replacement decal with the lower gray cut off. and a new chrome tape stripe cut to fit. When I found out how bad this tractor actually was I asked for some $ back. the seller never responded. It still has a miss but starts real easy.

August 15, 1979, Apocalypse Now, the acclaimed Vietnam War film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, opens in theaters around the United States. The film, inspired in part by Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, among other sources, told the story of an Army captain (played by Martin Sheen) and crew of men who are sent into the Cambodian jungle to kill a U.S. Special Forces colonel (Marlon Brando) who has gone AWOL and is thought to be crazy.

Finally got to mount up my JD brand front wheel weights. I painted these twice the first time just made a gooey mess, I dont know what kinda yellow paint they use but think that may be where the slogan ”nothing runs like deere” came from . FYI This style weight will NOT work without drilling new holes and are to wide/thick to work on the regular style wheels ie c series, older square or round hoods.

It’s kind of fitting that my niece’s animal horse trailer is behind the mechanical horses. And unintentionally they are in order of year too. Starting from right to left with the 78 and ending with the 92.

I have this B 60 I picked up last weekend. I may have an original engine for it this week end? Will know buy the end of the weekend. It currently has a 8 hp start /gen motor in it now. It runs good. But it is in a tight space. But looking for options. I have seen people use Harbor freight engines in them. With good results I guess? Any other options? I have always like these little B-60’S. Cool and very functional. Reason I picked this up I am try to preserve the 856 I have.It is the best one I currently have. I am restoring an B-100 correctly. Any thoughts are welcome.

Pretty much everyone here on Red Square’s dream!

All of mine were rubber band powered and made of thin balsa wood.

Recycle belts by bringing to the show with a free sign. If you don't go to the show, sneak them into a neighbor's garage!

Nice! Looks to be a Garage with attached eating and sleeping quarters....

Had the Snapper RER I sold to my neighbor come visit today. He’d grown tired of pull-starting 12.5 HP (he acknowledged I’d warned him) and was ready to take me up on my promise to install his new battery. Did a full cleanup of the starting and charging electrical connections to forestall any issues and they tested to spec. Dropped in the battery and it started right up. Waved a smiling neighbor back across the street.

A hoarder that has 5 spare 8 speeds and 30+ spare tires should have a couple hundred spare belts. Store em forever.

Many probables here. I would check the fuel delivery system from the fuel cap vent, to the screen in the tank shutoff valve, to old deteriorating fuel lines to a weak fuel pump, to a dirty or maladjusted carburetor. I would clean and re-gap the points, and replace the condenser. Replace the spark plug and ignition wire. It could be any of the above. I don't think that the weight would be the issue. I have pulled me (235lb) and trailers full of stone with an 8 hp.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning... it smells like my shed after a fuel line / carb cleanup...

Yep, some cheap hoarder will scarf em up.

Love it! Any pictures of inside that barn-workshop?

I go 4 of those too. 2 Sundstrand and 2 Eatons.

It's also good to have a long belt around to use for measuring for a new belt. Mostly custom stuff. But it's also a lot faster than looking stuff up online too. I have a cut deck belt that is wrapped around the pulleys and just marked. Measure that length and there's the new belt length.

I have a float kit to put on for winter time use. Not sure I want to mix inexperience and water right now 🙄

Ok Ed, you asked for it! 🤣 IMG_4058.mov

Looks good...now for a blizzard and a video!

bite your tongue! I have one tote for A belts and one for B belts.

Same here but building those planes was a lot of fun too. Smashed so many I converted the parts into flat bottom air boat style rigs which could slide on the ground. Wet grass and snow were the best but they could run on anything plus on the water. That was some trial and error too because in the beginning I got just as much fly time on them as I did with the planes! LOL Then I added an air foil by turning parts of the plane wings upside down to keep them on the ground at high speeds.

Beautiful! Looks to potentially be a drive-thru barn which can be especially functional.

Don't get me wrong I have one predator swap that I done several years ago in a 550 Suburban and have had good luck with it, but if I had it to do over I would have waited and found the proper Tecky or Kohler. There is also a big aftermarket support for the Predators. Pic of 550 with Predator.

I will be there in my dreams. Can't wait for all the YouTube videos of it. I just love Customs and Street Rods, sad to say it will be mostly late model (1970 and newer is late model to me) cars. If the owners are proud of them that is fine, it keeps the hobby going and makes me appreciate the real Kustom Kruisers that much more.

Fantastic, you seem to have everything on the wish list there.

The yank start B-60 has been a desire of mine. Not like I need another worker, but if one landed in my lap I’d probably enjoy it for a while!

B-60s came factory with a 7hp pull start Kohler not sure if the model.

Agreed. I have them on my 416H w/Bervac. I definitely noticed an improvement with the springs installed

I have my dad's old Snapper. I usually use it a couple time a year, just jump it off the first start with one of my Wheel Horses. After that it's easy to pull start.

I keep all mine ifn that aint damaged like yous say may need a 1/2"-1" longer belt fer sumin. if they are damaged in any way they go straight to the trashy can, got to much junk laying around all ready

I have always heard that belts don't stretch, they just wear down. I hang on to a few long belts of both 1/2 and 5/8 in the event I'm doing a project where the factory belt isn't going to work. Cut the old belt, put it on and pull up the slack, once you figure the length is right use some tie wire to join the two ends and give it a try. Now you have a proper belt to take to Tractor Supply to measure and match up

I'll take any good ones. Don't toss them out and bring'm to Zags I do all kinds of nonsense things around here and prefer to just grab one off the shelf vs going out to buy them. It's good to have one of those long belts around to start other engines from a tractor PTO.

More shed organizing..what kind of idiot has four spare 8 speeds “in-stock” (plus a 4 speed)

Sleepy resting puppy. For the first time in nearly 3 weeks, Meeha was able to lay down outside in the sun and be a dog for a few minutes. Trina has tried twice to take the dog off pain meds but each time she shows signs of serious discomfort or even quiet yelping. We'll keep Meeha on those meds for another week and retry.

Trying to organize my spare tires/wheels, moved some into the new shed this evening. Left all my crummy tires and wheels in my old tarp shed.

Definitely

Same here.

I wouldn't knock yourself out looking for VR1 oil over Rotella. These are lawn mowers. Not Indy cars or space ships!