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May 21, 1980 The Empire Strikes Back premiered in the USA with a special showing at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on May 17, 1980, followed by its wide theatrical release across the United States on May 21, 1980, becoming the highest-grossing film of that year.

Put some black tape over the holes in the instrument panel and forget it. Never understood why I need a light to tell me I have my foot on the brake or stood up. That is why I only have one modern horse and much prefer old simple designs.

That's what I do for a living. Mass RADON You can find information online and at massradon.com about radon mitigation. Most states would have someone in their Dept of Health which can answer local specific questions. Look through some stuff and give me a call with your questions. Happy to answer them

$450-$600 I would think. That gray motor is a replacement, so that’s actually a plus in my book.

Yep. Burning brush when it is safe to do it is legal outside any town or city limits. That is where I live. Trimming bushes and trees around my property accumulates a fair amount of brush that I burn once every couple years. For the past several months it has been far too dry, so the current pile has to wait until wetter weather comes. I should have done it over the winter but I knew that several different members of the local wild life had taken up residency until spring. By the time it was warmer it had also been dry for a very long time. I had a neighbor once who liked to build a fire in his back yard occasionally. We lived in town at that time. He would always bring out a pack of hot dogs, and place them beside his chair. If the police showed up he would claim he was cooking his dinner. Not my choice but it worked for him on more than one occasion.

I have been behind a few days just due to the yard work around here. The (I really need to pick a model name/ number for this machine) best worker got some mowing in. The Vanguard and the modified 48SD really work well together.

Happy Birthday @Wishin4a416, we are glad you were born.

Haven't had time for posting for the last couple of weeks. Lots of things keeping me occupied. For example: Wife and I took the train from here in Brunswick to NYC and spent a few days there. I haven't been there for years. Food and museum trip mostly. It was fun, but a bit tiring. Did some more work on my 1954 Dodge M37. Took the block to a machine shop for magnafluxing and some measurements. Made some more custom etched-aluminum dashboard plates, Ordered more parts. I'm expecting a reproduction bed floor and stainless steel fuel tank to be delivered tomorrow. I hope they made it through shipping in one piece. Arranged to have a set of three double-hung windows replaced with a combination sliding/fixed set that improved the view of our backyard (and the windows have a better e-rating, too. I'm currently trying to create some illustrations of a wood-lined 'graving dock' for use in new signage at the site of an historic mid-19th-century shipyard in a new park that the town has created. I'm using a combination of photos, AI, and manual drawing. It will probably take me another week to finish those. If they turn out OK, I'll post them here. It took longer than usual to get set up for putting our dock back in the water for the season. It's always a lot of work, which is my own fault for making it more complex than most peoples' docks. However, once installed, it works great, so I guess it's worth it. Here I'm backing the dock into the water at a neighbor's place a few lots up the street from us: A few neighbors pushing our dock off of my trailer. And motoring it up the river like modern-day Huck Finns. I just clamp on my 6 hp outboard, which is adequate to move it upstream to our place, although you can't water ski behind it. Dock is in. Pictures below were taken at low tide. It turned out to be 'dock day' in the neighborhood, as we put in two more docks for neighbors down the street. 17 people showed up for the impromptu event. I mowed the front lawn today for the first time this season. The grass was a foot tall in places and there was a ton of damp grass glop under the mowing deck. After mowing, I used the water hose clean-out on the deck for the first time, as I was curious to see how well it worked. After running the deck at full speed for about three minutes with the hose attached, I reached underneath to probe around for the results. It got rid of almost all of the grass except for a little around the spindles and a little next to the exit chute. I then ran it at full speed for a couple more minutes with the hose disconnected to help dry it, and then parked it in the sun to dry the rest of the way. I'll try it again for the next couple of mowings and then jack up the mower and have a closer look underneath to see how clean it is and how the paint is holding up. If I see any damage from the water cleaning, I'll pressure-wash and recoat the underside and forego the use of the hose clean-out.

@Newbie only a suggestion , would add rislone zinc oil additive to your oil change , ? reason , is its varnish cutting ability, add 4 oz to my 2 plus quarts of 10-30 valvoline oil , bottle specs , as soon as it heats up its cleaning ring glands and valve stem sealant areas , helping ensure solid engine function . this and a carb bowl clean , will help you off to a good start . would also get a penetrating oil spray down going / soaking on that paint ? let it sit a few days in the hot sun ? retaining original PATINA , wipe it down , with a clean oiled cloth , NO SCRATCH PADS OR PAINT REMOVAL , buffed mine out with a 6" electric palm buffer , cleaner wax , amazing paint depth , also do a trans oil . front elevated , drainage , new shift boot , this is basic recovery stuff , grease every fitting , would also get after the deck , service , hot sun oil soak , cleaning , done a lot of this , thanks for a reply , pete

Replaced seal behind brake drum(I just noticed when I posted pics I put brake drum on backwards ), and changed oil in rear of the 312-8 I been working. Also got to try out my new headlight, and before anyone ask, no thats not a professional model in last pic just me.

No lube is best. Clean it up with brake clean or solvent then lightly dust with graphite powder

What's your point?

Brings back memories of my spring bear hunts in Northern Quebec. The flys were deadly. I spent many nights in the woods with several cans of DEET in my sleeping bag and with a head net over my face. Before leaving the sleeping bag, you had to lay down a cloud of DEET to clear the flys long enough to jump in your cloths. One year we had a new hunter that failed to keep covered and was bitten around his neck so badly he had difficulty breathing. We had to rush him South to the Maniwaki Hospital. The strange thing was, the little Indian school children stood by the road every morning in shorts and T shirts waiting for the school bus. Seemed they were not bothered by the flys???

In North Carolina, the golden rule is "if it doesn’t grow, don’t burn it." State law strictly forbids burning man-made materials like trash, plastics, and construction debris. Yard waste can only be burned where local laws permit it, and open burning is entirely prohibited during statewide burn bans or Code Orange/Red air quality days. When we built our house in the forest nothing was burned. The larger logs went to a saw mill and the smaller pieces went to a mulch company.

Good point, I question even the cardboard and it's coatings not to mention plastics now. Our trash now goes through a transfer station, from what I understand it is the first step in sorting and recycling of trash before it goes to the dump. And I see the local dump siphons off methane as a byproduct. No issue with burning brush. Made me think about when my next door neighbors were at their other house in FLA and the smoke detectors went off. It triggered an automatic call to the VFD. They showed up, (I had the keys to let them in) and I must say they did not have axes but some sophisticated air sampling detectors. All donned air bottles and was very gentle on the house. Very impressive.

I sold mine for $50. It was in pretty good condition. Probably could have gotten more but the guy that made the offers was likeable enough, so I hooked him up.

@Ed Kennell I’m glad to hear that you made a good stop on the fire, but I agree with Mrs. K and you should have called the FD. Never in my 38 years as an active volunteer fireman have I gone to a call and heard “You shouldn’t have called the fire department” We as firefighters are there to help our community in a time of need no questions asked. Thermo cameras help us find hidden hot spots to prevent rekindling of fire. Also happy to hear that you didn’t get hurt and have no major damage.

Hi Joe! The Chucker is` doing great... we use it all the time, we'd be lost without that thing. Those forks you fabbed up for me worked out perfect. We should rebrand it a "manure horse". So, heres a good example. That 312A I got at the auction that somebody puled the steering wheel and shaft out of the dash (another thread) I took apart and beat it back into shape, reset the shaft and now it steers fine, but its not "perfect". Its useable. I know, I'm gonna be hard pressed to find anyone to buy this one, I'll be lucky to get $300 out if it, probably less. It fires right up and drives real nice, it has a mule drive on it, but no rear hitch and no deck. I might be able to put a hitch on it off one of the rollers. Even so, my point being.... this engine is perfectly intact, no smoke, looks unmolested. The engine is probably worth $300 then add on all the other fiddly bits that can be sold off. Its worth more in pieces. But... there aint nothing wrong with it. Why chop it? But if it wont sell, then it sits and sits does no machine any good. And as ya say Joe, selling parts only a niche market wants is a pain. Maybe I can trade it whole for something useful. Another option is, find a deck that fits it. Mowers here sell in the spring easy. Drawback is, thats going to cost @ $100 bucks, and it still wont be worth more than 400 so, factor in time lost in labor and..... well you see why selling the engine and a few choice bits is the quick easy dirty way to make it pay. These things are made like tanks, you'd think theyd be worth more.

Exactly my point. Controlled burns prevent forest fires from getting out of hand. No underbrush, nothing to burn.

Burning trash might be a problem since we have no idea what chemicals are in our garbage. I will defer only due to that. But until the Forestry Service stops doing controlled burns all over my state, I'm still gonna burn brush as long as it's safe to do so. Right now it's too dry, but that will eventually change.

Here’s what I did WITH my WH today. Put down some lawn stripes! “ 414-8 with a 42” RD “

I do like how you didn't cut up the hood for the diesel engine

There were a couple of important variations on the gear decks to consider when parts swapping. On the ’68 deck, the cast iron bearing holder had raised shoulders around the eight holes where the gear holders attached through slightly larger holes in the shell to ensure proper alignment of shell to bearings/blades. On later models (’66 onward?) the spindles were ⅛” longer to accommodate thrust bearings (instead of only thrust washers) below the spindle gear increasing the longevity and smoothness of the deck. Hardest bits to find in good condition are the gears so if you have a decent set, hang onto them Keeping them excessively greased is the best practice (it needn’t be expensive grease). If you DO choose to dismantle the deck for parts, be sure to mark both face and spindle gears with the side of the deck they came from and the spindle gears with which side was up. When putting them on another deck, put each gear set on the OTHER SIDE since they will be less worn in that direction!

Swapped decks on the Commando... the old one is pretty beat and as luck would have it, I had the same exact deck in stock that I had purchased last year just because. Mounted up in a few minutes, replaced the broken PTO spring and went mowing. Mows like a dream. In case any one is interested, this is a 36" deck, model 5-2362, and the wheels are 5.5" in diameter on both decks. Not sure if ether set is original, but it works great.

They probably don't want to work on it, or they don't know how, or its just a shop that does that to everyone. Its not a rocket ship, you can fix it.

Why? If they haven't done anything in nine months and haven't kept you informed then I don't think YOU should feel any obligation to that shop. Bring it home and let us diagnose the problem with you. Even if you need to rent or buy a tool or two it will be less expensive and quicker than having those keep it.

My suggestion would be to get that thing home and away from that abuse. An easy check of the ignition timing is described in the service manual.

Yeah I'd say about what @Sparky suggested

Yes, u shaped flat springs that seat tracks are bolted to.

Similar no-burn regulations in my vicinity. Our trash goes to waste-to-energy facility a few miles away (the residue from it is slowly filling a nearby quarry pit 😉).

I sold plenty of well worn but running and driving with deck for $700. Can't find them cheap enough to fix up and make it worth it anymore.

I agree to that Eric. I have seen your vid,s. You have a lot of clearing to do.

Keep the deck clean and it likely won't rot like the old one.

Sounds like a wkrp thanksgiving....

No they call me and I tell them what to do. I can control the main bldg and Surg ctr. from home but they gotta get off their butts for the others.

If you have something I need-- Part it out If not, sell as whole LOL

I'm thinking the flywheel key sheared and threw the ignition rotor out of time.

There you go!

Started clearing out some brush and growth for a new shed location today. Used my nastiest bent up ground-down 42” plow.

No better response than that Uncle Jim!

I'll have to be careful not to end up like this guy

Absolutely agreed. Here at We will not likely ever build another tractor later than 1977 for that very reason alone.

Do you remember what your user name was? Or close to what it was? If so I can help, don’t need your password as I’ll assist you with that as well.

@Slampig I needed 2 sets of these for some Suburban projects. I was having a water jet company make me some other parts, so I had 25 sets of the main parts for the Suburban Control Assembly Direct copies of original parts. They are carbon steel, so they will need to be painted silver or color of your choice. The levers do not have the little dimple at the top that helps hold the knob on, so just like on the original I reccomment a dab of silicone or adhesive inside the knob slot. I just got these. I'll try to get together a list of the misc. bolts, screws, washers and clamps that complete the assembly You should be able to get those misc hardware items in all those drawers at you local hardware store. If your not in a hurry I may try to see what buying the hardware in bulk to see it it would help with total cost. My cost was $35 for a set of what's shown in the picture, plus postage . When you get you decals from Redo You Horse (Terry) you can get a chrome decal for the cover plate. https://www.redoyourhorse.com/1960-400-suburban-decals/ You can get the plastic triangle knobs that go on top the levers at https://wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/product/early-60s-triangle-knob/ $7 ea. If your interested let me know.