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  1. 32 points
    I have been working on this since last year with a failed attempt because of cheap over the big pond rebuild kit. Want to give BIG thanks to @Docwheelhorse. For picking up this engine for me in January. It was a partial 856. Yes it has been that long. I had to switch over parts from the bad engine to this one witch is a vacuum engine being my first. Been a long good day out side in the sun. I hope you enjoy the picks and one Video. IMG_1467.mov
  2. 25 points
    Big Thanks To, @Vinylguy for helping me out with this custom decal. Thank You, Sir! My part doesn’t do this justice…lol. I need to do this more often.
  3. 24 points
    So a buddy that works at the auto parts store asks me last week if I'm still into wheel horse tractors. So naturally I say yea, what ya got? He says I have a raider 12 been sitting in the shed for 6 years and needs to go. He says I'll sell it to you for $200. Well I don't need another tractor but he only lives 4 blocks from me so I literally drug it home.......got it running too! 20240318_205914.mp4
  4. 23 points
    I can’t believe we are knocking on months from driver’s training for my youngest! August (July 29 actually) will mark eligibility for taking classes and getting behind the wheel. My kids have grown up driving, getting dirty, failing and excelling. No surprise there, with their father learning to wrench on Christmas toys long before they were played with, and their mother following in the footsteps of their grandfather, Adam Petty’s ASA teammate and 1994 ASA Rookie of the Year recipient. This 1992 Chevy Short Box C1500 toted Mrs. P’s Hobby Stock circle track dirt car to every race she could afford to get to, when she wasn’t penciled in for a swim meet in high school. It was a 4.3L Automatic bare bones 2wd work truck, no A/C, no power windows, just a good ole’ first set of wheels. It was passed back to her dad, and long before I was involved with this side of my family, it’s been sitting victim of high miles, hard work, and a ventilated V6 block. When we were dating, I pulled a donor engine from a junk yard and wheelbarrow toted that hefty thing about 300 yards to the register. @Lil’ Pullstart’s Great, Great Uncle Steve is a well known hot rodder in the area. He took the engine down to his shop, had it bored .030” over, rebuilt it with all new pistons, cam, timing set, bearings, valve, the whole ball of wax. It’s been on a stand waiting for this project for over 15 years, maybe 17 or so if I can count and recall dates correctly. About a year or two ago, we were camping at Grandpa’s house and Rylee started having a conversation with him about buying the truck back. It has been pushed from the yard, to the barn, filled with stuff, pushed out, pushed around, leaned on a time or two, etc. They settled on $300 as is, with the engine. I picked the engine up about a year ago. Her truck has been loaded on Grandpa’s ramp truck with a dead battery and flat on the bottom tires for even longer. Last weekend, we went over, popped some 5 on 5” wheels and tires from a race car on the back, pushed it off the ramp truck and tugged it home. I have a 5 speed manual swap to go into it, thanks to a local CL ad for the transmission and Tony Angelo from Motor Trend’s Hot Rod Garage and now his own show Stay Tuned. Since anything in the engine bay that is plastic or rubber has been cooking in the sun for a few years with no hood, I am thinking a lot of electronics will go away in favor of a nice carburetor, and an HEI ignition. I have a 2000 K3500 (5.7L 4x4) parts truck for the things like grille and headlights, washer and coolant tanks, any interior parts needed, I found a clean front bumper in my stash, and some things will be needed like good tires, brakes, etc, and we will search for those. There are more parts still at Grandpa’s like the hood, motor mounts, radiator, etc, but it’s nice the truck is home.
  5. 22 points
    I just received the WHCC yearly news letter that included this article on Howard. For those that may not receive the news letter, I felt it should be made available.
  6. 22 points
    Hello everyone, I am an old member here, most will know me as wh1257, but after forgetting my password for a long time, I created a new one.
  7. 21 points
    Watched this 14yo make a perfect 3 pt turn ....all day with his 5Horse hitch.
  8. 20 points
    Well after a couple of years of farting around, cleaning, building, rebuilding and gathering parts I finally finished my little JD horse and a half hit miss engine. It was in sad shape when I got it, but it had all it's pieces. Here's some pictures.
  9. 20 points
    just got word my grandson , graduates from san Diego / to camp Lejeune , to flight status , crew chief / loadmaster , will be flying , Europe / Africa , 3 weeks out of every month , 21 year's old, started out in a class of 54 , 7 finally made it , all going to different theaters / aircraft . be flying a C130J , loadmaster . hope to see him before he heads out , proud GRAMPA
  10. 20 points
    Hi all, any funny signs or picktchas that made you smile or laugh out loud? Post them here to share the smiles. Wife spotted this one on the web and thought it matched my approach to engineering....
  11. 19 points
    Put the new horse to work. The 310-8 ran great but the 42" SD did leave a small streak. May need a new set of blades. I had a little trouble using the clutch and brake pedals. I'm a hydro guy used to pushing one pedal to go forward and releasing the pedal to go backwards. But I didn't run over anyone or thing. Then used the 312H to till the bean patch and put up a rabbit fence.
  12. 18 points
    Was happy to pick up a full set of new tires yesterday off Craigslist for $100. They’ll go on the 312-8 I picked up a couple of months ago.
  13. 18 points
    Made progress but not much to show in pictures. Kohler #30 carb rebuilt and installed. Wiring and fuel plumbing took up most of my day today. Took a little extra time to find a place to mount the fuel pump and rectifier / regulator. Ended up tucking the fuel pump inside the dash tower and mounting the rec/reg to the frame rail just behind the battery.. Dash looks nice & clean. In the home stretch now. Work & holiday will shut down any progress next weekend. Hope to hear it run soon though.
  14. 18 points
    It has been about used up,think this one will have to be a parts machine. But lookee what was on it !!!
  15. 18 points
    A week of 50F temps and an inch of rain yesterday = a roll down the frost lumps day. Put the "new" $175 310-8 to work for the first time. He did good, but could use a couple new sneakers and some weight on his rear. I'm a hydro guy, but the gear drive was OK for this job. It ran for 2 hours non-stop in H2nd. I only had to push the clutch one time to back it in the shed.
  16. 17 points
    I think you have the wrong band. Hole should be on the left. A double hole band is needed, or try drilling another hole.
  17. 17 points
    My wife went with our daughter and granddaughter to a one day dance competition in Fort Wayne yesterday. As a team (6 girls) they did great with a Platinum award. Our 7 year old granddaughter, Ilyssa, performed a solo routine called the Stray Cat Strut. The results The entire team is now eligible for a national competition in New Jersey later this summer. Fortunately I was able to watch it live via an app called DanceBug.
  18. 17 points
    The Thrifty Farmer Tractor Conversion Kit The Thrifty Farmer kits sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co. in the 1930s promised to make your old Ford Model T or Model A into a tractor for less than $100. Later, kits became available for the 1929-31 Chevrolets. The kits were listed in Sears spring and fall catalogs from 1932 to 1941. By 1935, Sears had added kits for newer Ford V-8 powered cars along with Plymouth, Dodge, and Chevrolet autos with 6-cylinder engines. The kits were produced by Peru (Illinois) Wheel Co., A 1932 Sears Thrifty Farmer booklet notes that, “With the Ford body removed, and without drilling a single hole, you can in a few hours convert the old Ford into a tractor that has the pulling power of two to four horses, depending on the condition of the motor.” The working speed of the engine after the tractor conversion was 1,200rpm. The motor in a new 1928 Model A was rated at 40 brake horsepower at 2,200rpm. The final drive system on the early kits was somewhat complex, employing a jackshaft and a series of four gears on each rear wheel. The gears are mounted “high off the ground away from loose soil and trash” and are “covered on top and sides by a strong steel hood to keep out mud and protect the operator.” Within two years, Sears released a less complicated version of the kit. Transferring power to the rear wheels now employed nine-tooth pinion gears, attached to each rear axle, which engaged large diameter ring (bull) gears mounted on each wheel. The rear end (differential) of the car had to be flipped, end for end, as part of the assembly process. If it weren’t flipped, there would be three reverse speeds and one very slow forward. Peru Wheel Co. also supplied kits to Montgomery Ward & Co., called a Utility Tractor Unit, a few years before they began supplying a very similar kit to Sears. The main differences in the two kits were the diameters of the bull gears and rear wheels. The Sears gear measured 37 inches in diameter with 108 teeth, while the Wards gear was 40 inches and 120 teeth, mounted on 45-inch and 50-1/2-inch wheels respectively. Since Montgomery Ward part numbers were cast into the bull gears and the axle clamps used by both large retailers, people were often misled as to which kit was used to build a particular tractor. Early conversion kits were sold before 1920. Ultimately, more than 100 kit manufacturers operated coast to coast. Some of the brands available in the U.S. and Canada included Staude, Knickerbocker, Shaw, and OTACO. The front wheels, supplied in the kit, had non-skid attachments. The two attachments were formed of arc-shaped sections of 1-3/4-inch angle iron, each covering half the wheel. When bolted on, they formed a narrow steel rib in the center of the wheel. That made steering easier, especially in loose soil.
  19. 17 points
    Added a big sticker on the 523-H hood. Tried to talk the wife into putting one on her truck window, but she said "no thank you". ...Or might have been "I'll kill you"? I wasn't really paying attention.
  20. 16 points
    The Threshing Bee Wheat and oat plants have a head of edible grain at the top of a long stem. After the grain is cut and dried, the seed heads must be removed from the stems. This is called threshing. Threshing on farms with small amounts of grain was done using a tool called a flail. A flail has a long handle connected to a short heavy club with a flexible joint. It is used to break the seed heads apart. Bundles of grain are laid on a tarp or a tight fitted floor and the heads are beaten with the flail. A man with a flail could thresh about 7 bushels (420 pounds) of wheat a day. When the threshing was completed, the straw was raked away and used as bedding. As farmers put more land into production and the size of wheat fields grew, cutting, binding, and threshing grains by hand was too slow. Between 1850 and 1900, harvesting equipment and methods changed and became more efficient. The grain cradle was replaced with the mechanical reaper–a horse-drawn machine that could harvest 10-12 acres a day! The threshing machine didn’t seem to take off after one core design breakthrough. There isn’t a single individual who is always called out as “the inventor of the threshing machine,” nor a single date, Instead it was a series of inventions across decades: Andrew Meikle built the first successful machine in Scotland in 1786, but Joseph Pope invented a popular one in the US in 1820. Joseph Pope contracted with an engine maker to be his manufacturer. From May through October 1823, the Philadelphia National Gazette ran advertisements stating that “Messrs. S. V. Merrick & Co. Engine Manufacturers, Philadelphia,” had been invested with the privilege of making and selling his machine; prospective customers were encouraged to “apply” to them to obtain one. The days of the standalone thrasher were short-lived. Larger thrashing machines incorporating fanning mills were soon gaining popularity. By 1900, threshing machines had increased in size and were powered by steam engines instead of horses. Neighbors often went together to buy a thrasher and held trashing Bees where everyone helped out or they would hire engine crews and threshing machines to share costs. Because of these changes, the labor required to harvest of grain dropped from 23 hours per acre in 1850 to 8 hours in 1900. Modern combines thrash grains in minutes.
  21. 16 points
  22. 16 points
    The grain Reaper/Binder Harvesting grain crops by hand was an extremely labor-intensive operation. Men with a grain cradle, a type of scythe with long fingers attached on one side, would cut, gather, and bundle the grain stems by hand. This is the first function performed by modern combines. The grain reaper/binder was invented in 1872 by Charles Baxter Withington, a jeweler from Janesville, Wisconsin. In addition to cutting the small-grain crop, a binder also 'binds' the stems into bundles or sheaves. These sheaves are usually then 'shocked' into A-shaped conical stooks, resembling small tipis, to allow the grain to dry for several days before being picked up and threshed. This was a vast improvement over the McCormic reaper of 1834 which only cut the stems and deposited them in a windrow. Workers would have to gather enough stems to form a sheave and tie them by hand. Withington's original binder used wire to tie the bundles. There were problems with using wire and it was not long before William Deering invented a binder that successfully used twine and a knotter (invented in 1858 by John Appleby). Early binders were horse-drawn, their cutting and tying-mechanisms powered by a bull-wheel, that through the traction of being pulled forward creates rotational forces to operate the mechanical components of the machine. Later models were tractor-drawn and some were tractor-powered. Binders have a reel and a sickle bar, like a modern grain head for a combine harvester. The cut stems fall onto a canvas bed which conveys the cut stems to the binding mechanism. This mechanism bundles the stems of grain and ties the bundle with string to form a sheaf. Once tied, the sheaf is discharged from the side of the binder, to be picked up after drying. Prior to meccanization it took around 300 manhours to produce 100 bushels of wheat. The grain binder and thrashing machine cut this time of back breaking labor to less than 20 hours. With today’s combines it takes about three manhours to harvest 100 bushels of wheat.
  23. 16 points
    Spent yesterday afternoon and evening laying some red paint, always an exciting day! This is the 702 project I've been helping a friend with. There's been a lot of sheetmetal work In this, but seeing the outcome makes it all worth it
  24. 16 points
  25. 15 points
    I haven’t been here often and only for very short visits and some of you asked if everything is ok. Thank you very much for your concerns. I am feeling fine physically, just exhausted with all the testing and concerns this has cause specifically to my family. I went last week to the Hackensack Cancer Center where they are the so called authority on Multiple Myeloma, at least in this area. They pretty much confirmed what the other doctors had already confirmed only with much more detail and information. Or perhaps it’s just that now that I know more about it I am asking more questions. They state that I am at the “smoldering “ stage, meaning that it is pre cancer. Although they say that it is inevitable that I will eventually have it, it could take many years for it to happen. However since there is always a rather substantial increase in the adverse readings of the blood tests, I will have to continue to be tested every three months. In addition to all the tests I have been doing they also now want me to do a bone marrow MRI which is only available in two facilities in the state , luckily they being one of them. It’s not warranted nor recommended at this point to start any treatment or and medication, only when tests reach a certain threshold. So essentially summarizing this ordeal I am a ticking time bomb that inevitably will blow up. I don’t know if it’s better than actually having it now and dealing with it, since it is now a constant burden on everyone’s minds always worrying and watching me for any signs of distress. Essentially peace of mind is now for the family a thing of the past. I am not a worrying person but I don’t like to see the other’s constantly concerned over me specially my wife who totally depends on me. One of tests done was a PET scan which detects any thing abnormal going on in your body. Well, that was also the opening of Pandora’s box. Some things found I already knew but ignored, and others I didn’t know. So now on top of everything else I also am going to see a Vascular Surgeon to deal with all the bad veins on my leg, and do other tests to see why I am now anemic which they ruled out being related to the Myeloma at this stage. So as you all can see this is been the bulk of my activities. I think I know glow in the dark and will gave a permanent faucet attached to my left arm to withdraw blood.
  26. 15 points
    nothing eats a rj front axle weight with added bonus of being nos .
  27. 15 points
    Brought home a real nice 48” plow a couple weekends back for cheap $$… brought it in and lubed up all the pivot and moving points. Ready for next season!
  28. 15 points
    Pacific H6 Garden Tractor There is very little information on the internet concerning the Pacific H6 but it is so unique that I want to share what little I could find. The Pacific H6 was built by THE PACIFIC IRON AND MACHINE CO. of San Diego, California. It was an unusual riding Garden Tractor with the drive wheels located at the front and an articulated rear tool bar which could be raised or lowered by a manually powered hydraulic lift system. Steering was accomplished using a steering wheel connected to a spur gear and sector unit on the articulated section of the chassis. Turning brakes on each drive wheel could be used for tighter rotation of the tractor. The steering sector gear can be seen in this photo. Power for the tractor came from a Wisconsin AEH, 5.4 horse power, engine which sat atop the transmission. The engine and transmission were coupled via a wet multiple disc clutch to a gear reduction driven three speed transmission from an early Ford automobile. The clutch was hand operated with an “over center” locking mechanism similar to the PTO lever on a Wheel Horse. The final drive to the wheels was via chains and sprockets. Each drive wheel was equipped with a manually operated brake which was also a Ford automobile. The engine is said to be crank started which could be a bit of a contortionist’s nightmare since the flywheel end of the engine faces the operator and is between the two 7.50-16 drive wheels and fenders. Perhaps as many as 100 Pacific H6s may have been manufactured but no records are known to exist. An optional flat belt pulley could be added and they offered a few basic attachments including a Dozer Blade, Single 14 inch turning plow, and a front Sickle Mower.
  29. 15 points
    The most ingenious name in tractor design you probably never heard of: Wallis Tractors The Wallis “Bear” tractor was a bit larger than your average bear, the 16,000-pound tractor rolled onto the western prairielands in 1902 with a 1062 cubic inch gasoline/kerosine engine, three speed enclosed transmission and power assist steering. Later models came with a 1480 cubic inch inline, upright 4-cylinder engine with a 7-1/2-by-9-inch bore and stroke capable of pulling a ten-bottom plow. The mechanical power steering unit is driven off the engine and provides an assist in turning the front wheels by a system of clutches, pulleys, and belts. A lever near the steering wheel is used to engage or disengage the power steering. Only nine Bears were built between 1902 and 1910. The Wallis Tractor Co., Cleveland, OH, began with H.M. Wallis as the company’s president; he was also a son-in-law of J.I. Case and later became president of the J.I. Case Plow Works, Racine, WI. Wallis saw the fast-growing trend for smaller, more nimble tractors and as a result the Bear was followed in 1913 by the Wallis Cub, the Cub Junior in 1915 and the Model K in 1919. All were produced at the J.I. Case Plow Works in Racine. Only 660 Cubs were built during its six-year production run but the Cub’s unique patented one piece curved “U” Frame construction was revolutionary. The “U” Frame serves as the engine oil pan and tractor frame attaching to the steering at the front and transmission and final drive at the rear, it is the backbone of the tractor. The elimination of a separate frame allowed the Wallis Cub and its successors to be lighter weight per horse power. Virtually every full-size tractor built today traces its DNA back to the Wallis Cub and its revolutionary “U” Frame. In 1927 the company arranged an agreement to sell Wallis tractors in Canada through Massey-Harris. One year later, Massey-Harris bought J.I. Case Plow Works and continued to build Wallis tractors, including the 20-30 and the 12-20. Though Wallis Tractor Company is no longer with us the legacy of their “U” Frame lives on throughout the world.
  30. 15 points
    Pretty much done! ...a few things to touch up, but the belt guard turned out sorta ok- got some dimples, but not terrible. The first pic below is what I started out to mimic. This machine actually started as a L157, so everything from the steering wheel back was made to look like 62-64 model as best I could. Anyway- this is the final look. Little rascal drives great. Low range with 8 inch wheels is like time stands still! Of course, before my son can drive it- it'll get safety switches in the pedals, or some form of bolt-on running boards. His legs are shorter than I thought, so he barely reaches the pedals anyway.
  31. 14 points
    Why Georga went nuts? For several generations cotton had been king in the south. In 1915, the boll weevil reached Georga. Many cotton crops were destroyed, and the local farmers struggled financially. The whole area fell into a slump. H.M. Sessions, an Enterprise, GA businessman, decided something needed to be done about the boll weevil problem. He felt that peanuts would fare well in the region. Enterprise farmer, C.W. Baston, planted peanuts for one year at the request of Mr. Sessions. Mr. Sessions offered Mr. Baston the peanuts to plant, someone to harvest them, and $1 per bushel. Mr. Baston, whose cotton had been severely damaged by the boll weevil, took him up on his offer. Mr. Baston's crop of peanuts did well in its first year. He was able to pay off his debts and still have some money in the bank. He produced 8,000 bushels of peanuts in his first year. His great success caused many other struggling farmers to become interested in peanuts. Mr. Baston's harvest was used as seed for other local farmers who were eager to get into the peanut business. Many farmers grew nothing except peanuts. The great success of the peanuts proved beneficial to the state. Many farmers diversified even further and planted other crops. Cotton was still planted, but was not the sole focus of Georga’s farming efforts. According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the U.S. peanut crop in 2022 was estimated at 5.57 billion pounds. Georga accounting for more than 50 percent of all U.S. peanut production. Once viewed primarily as a cotton state, Georgia now consistently ranks first in the nation’s production of poultry and eggs and is also a top producer of peanuts, pecans, tobacco, blueberries, and peaches. Overall, the state accounts for 2 percent of total U.S. agricultural sales.
  32. 14 points
    Now, I’ve been laying out, organizing, prioritizing tools, etc. I have a top/bench top tool box that I’m contemplating using. Many of the drawers in my current tool boxes are broken or bent. I’m emptying my boxes, hoping to downsize those and maybe I’ll part a box out to repair the damaged ones. This. Feels. Great!
  33. 14 points
    This round nose showed up on my door step around 9:30 last night. According to the belt guard it may be an 854, not sure though. The engine that is in it is a K161, not a K181. The realest in me says "Part it out". The dreamer in me says "You don't have an 854" A P.O. smashed the crap out of the carb & air cleaner. Fuel pump and the hood are missing. Either way, I think that the HY pump was worth the price of admission & the rear tires are not in bad shape either.
  34. 14 points
    Big Red and O'l Rusty Red's dedicated to winter. Rusty mows, hauls the trailer(s), the splitter as well as skidding logs out of the woods.
  35. 14 points
    They were in the back, in cold storage. This will keep them away from mice, keep them in the warmer shop, and be appreciated rather than ignored. Like I mentioned in the video, the RJ35 is quite slow and slightly impractical. It is however a wonderful piece of history and a crucial part of Wheel Horse’s legacy. I’ve brought it on the show circuit. Though I don’t mind those who do, I prefer to mix up my show tractors. It’s not worth putting cash in my pocket, but it’s better than a dark barn. At the end of the day, it makes me happy
  36. 14 points
    Cityscapes with tall buildings are attractive but I will stick with the mountains.
  37. 14 points
    Engine parts arrived !! Before throwing parts at the engine I figured that I better check the valves for leakage. Filled the valve depressions with some some WD-40 & then applied low pressure to the intake. This resulted in all kinds of bubbles around the valve. Pulled the valves out & gave them a good lapping, after that the second test resulted in no bubbles around the valve. Because I am untrusting of aftermarket parts, I always check them. First check was the rod to crank clearance with some plasti gauge, .0015 as it should be. Piston to cylinder clearance checked out at .008" clearance. Remember the cylinder head? What it looks like now. To make sure that there is no clearance issues, I got to play with Play Doh today. Some strategically placed gobs, bolt the head on, spin the engine over, take it back apart, and measure the thickness of the Play Doh. Finished up the day with a mostly complete engine. Switched out the quiet line tins for the older tins as well. Fuel, wiring, plus a few odds & ends left.
  38. 14 points
    Bates Steel Mule Many early tractors were a bit strange looking by today’s standards and the Bates Steel Mule was no exception. The Steel Mule Tractor was designed at the dawn of the industrial age and tractors were designed to pull any horse-drawn implement the farmer owned. In 1913 the Joliet Oil Tractor Company began production of their first tractor, The Steel Mule. The tractor was powered by a four-cylinder 13-30 gasoline engine coupled to a transmission with two forward speeds and one reverse. Sounds rather conventional so far, but rather than driving large steel wheels the Steel Mule had a single centered crawler track at the rear to move the tractor and two front wheels for steering and stability. One very unconventional but useful feature was the front wheels that could be adjusted up or down to keep the tractor level while working on a hillside. The driver could sit on the installed seat or utilize the telescopic steering shaft to operate the “Mule” from the seat of the implement being towed. Steel Mules were exported to England and Ireland by 1916 priced at £500, ($ 36,740 in US dollars today) and were shown at the Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland's tractor trials in October 1917 A half-century later a somewhat similar propulsion design was used on the 1953 Endless Tread Garden Tractor. In 1919 the Bates Machine & Tractor Company introduced a more conventional half-track design known as the Model D with two rear tracks, it sold for $ 1,500. Three different engine manufacturers were used, Midwest Engine from 1921 to 1925; Beaver Engine from 1926 to 1928; and LeRoi engine was used from 1929 to 1937. Bates also produced a kit to convert a Fordson tractor to a half-track tractor to increase traction and reduce soil compaction.
  39. 14 points
    For those of us old enough to remember when car magazines were the only place to see photos of upcoming models and / or parts......these were spotted recently at the K & B proving grounds :
  40. 14 points
    Mergers and acquisitions built the Massey brand The namesakes of the future Massey-Harris company would operate farm equipment and harvester manufacturing businesses independently for much of the later part of the 19th century before their paths merged. Daniel Massey started out in business during the 1840s, while Alanson Harris followed about 10 years later. Both men were in the same industry, manufacturing their own designs of reapers and implements. When one brought out an improved model the competitor would then matched or exceed it shortly thereafter. In 1891 the two companies came together in a merger of the Massey Manufacturing company of Toronto and the A. Harris, Son, & Co. of Brantford, Ontario—two of Canada’s brightest agricultural companies joining forces for what would be a bountiful future as the Massey-Harris Company. As is the case with so many agricultural manufacturing companies of the 1800s and early twentieth century, the order of the day was acquisition. “Acquire, acquire, acquire,” was the secret to adding capacity, outlets, and variety to their line. The Massey-Harris Company added company after company during this time. By adding the Deyo-Macey company of Binghamton, New York, to its line, Massy Harris entered a new arena with gas engine manufacturing capacity. The company entered the U.S. market in 1910 by taking a controlling interest in the Johnson Harvester Company, but it would be more than 10 years before it would acquire an additional large U.S.-based company. Massey Harris wanted to get into the growing tractor market. The first tractor to carry the Massey-Harris name was made by the Parrott Tractor Company of Chicago (see Tractor Trivia and other interesting stuff 1/21/2024). The model was known as the No. 1 or No. 2 there and was based off the Parrett 12-25. This wasn’t quite the answer Massey-Harris was looking for, but its destiny with tractors was soon to be realized. In 1927 the company agreed to sell Wallis Tractors in Canada through the Massey-Harris dealer network. One year later, Massey-Harris bought J.I. Case Plow Works, the maker of the Wallis Tractor, and continued to build Wallis Tractors, including the 20-30 and in 1929 the smaller 12-20. (We will learn a lot more about the Wallis Tractor Company tomorrow). Massey-Harris then rebranded the Wallis with the name of the Massey-Harris Company of Racine. It finally had a viable tractor line under its ownership, control, and design. The following decades were fruitful times for the Massey-Harris Company. During World War II, Massey-Harris produced and fulfilled war department orders for a variety of vehicles and needs to support the war effort. Meanwhile, a man across the Atlantic Ocean was beginning to make some waves and eventually would join with the Massey-Harris Company. His name was Harry Ferguson from Northern Ireland, he was about to revolutionize the tractor industry. Ferguson met Henry Ford when he came stateside to demonstrate his revolutionary 3-point hitch system. Ferguson and Ford came up with handshake agreement, Ford would manufacture the 9N model incorporating the Furgeson System and Ferguson would distribute and sell them in Europe. The arrangement worked until just after World War Two. Formal negotiations were pursued but in the end Harry Ferguson and Henry Ford went their own ways. Both Massey-Harris and Ferguson needed help to remain competitive so in 1953 they began negotiations and Massey-Harris made an offer to acquire Ferguson’s company, Harry Ferguson accepted. In the five years after the merger the company was offering Ferguson branded tractors, Massey-Harris tractors, and Massey-Ferguson branded tractors under three different dealer networks. This led to confusion for customers and the dealer network alike. In 1958, the name change to Massey-Ferguson was finalized. Soon the company was again in acquisition mode, and through the 1970s it bought such companies as Perkins, a leader in diesel engine design, Italian tractor company Landini and numerous other worldwide brands. The Massey-Ferguson footprint was truly multinational, and its reach was immense. It became the largest agricultural machinery manufacturer in the world. AGCO Corporation came into the picture in the mid-1990s. Massey-Ferguson had a 20% market share of worldwide agricultural machinery sales, but nearly 90% of its sales were derived from non-domestic locations. AGCO had a domestic base but no international manufacturing or dealer network. AGCO acquired Massey-Ferguson in 1994 for cash and stock. What followed was a resurgence in the brand and an even further expansion in market share, estimated currently to hover near 40% of farm machinery sold worldwide today—a wonderful testament to the power of a strong and reputable brand name
  41. 14 points
    Finished painting weights this morning and then pulled the engine back out of the frame. When I pulled the tins off I discovered an issue with the starter. The way it was mounted it would have never engaged with the fly wheel as it was too close. To remedy this I made a .215" thick shim to put behind the mounting bracket. With this installed I ran the starter gear out by hand and turned the engine over with the gears engaged. The teeth look to mesh together well so I believe this should solve the issue. Next I pulled the rod & piston assembly out so that I could measure the crank pin. The pin measures out within specs so there will be no need to have it turned. Finished up the day by scuffing the cylinder in preparation for a new set of rings.
  42. 14 points
    Roths Garden Tractor Immediately after World War Two there was a strong demand for motorized lawn and garden equipment and Herbert Roths was eager to meet the need. Roths Industries began manufacturing two wheeled walk-behind garden tractors in 1945 known as the Garden King. Roths Industries first patent was for the design of an ornamental tractor. (An ornamental design patent only protects the design of a manufactured object, unlike a utility patent which protects the function and operation of an item.) This patent was awarded on June 17, 1947. Their second patent awarded on February 21, 1950 for a garden tractor design which would later become the Roths Garden King walking tractor which went into production in 1945. The drivetrain known as Steeromatic Control transferred power from a gear reduction gasoline engine to a worm gear drive with Forward/Reverse, Ratchet type differential to a chain drive to each drive wheel. Roths Model-G and BesRo utilized transmissions and other parts from the Garden King. The BesRo W riding tractor was basically a Garden King Model G walk-behind tractor with the handlebars replaced by a steerable sulky added to the rear. A four wheel BesRo R riding model with the operator forward of the engine was also offered. Roths went into the four-wheel riding garden tractor business in 1958 with two models, the “Country Boy” and the “Little Jef.” No production records are available but it is believed that production ended in 1960 According to the sales flyer below the Roth Country Boy and its baby brother the Little Jeff, both have “STEEROMATIC CONTROL” which means attachments move exactly as you want them to – with no wide arcs – no removal of plants in cultivating. Complete control over rear working tools at all times! Roth had an optional lift system referred to as “PARALLELING REAR TOOL LIFT” that was similar to a three-point lift. They also boasted that the Country Boy and Little Jeff were engineered as close to the ground as it’s feasible for a tractor to get which gives you the greatest possible security. Won’t tip under load since exclusive construction places pulling load ahead of rear axle instead of behind. Keeps front end firmly on ground.
  43. 14 points
    Back at it again this weekend. Stacked my dumb bell weights on the mid mount weight bar to see how many I could fit. @ebinmaine might recognize these dumb bell weights. Any way, I can only fit 4 in between the frame rails due to a clearance issue when I slide the front weight bar all the way in. I can how ever fit 10 on each side on the out side of the frame. Grand total of 168lbs. Made a cover plate for the opening on the block for the fuel pump. Then it was time to make some paint fly. No, I'm not prepping sheet metal for a flawless paint job. Just some fizz bomb paint squirted on the pieces that I had to fab. Some silver squirted on the wheelie bars. Why silver? Just wanted to show off the fab work on them. Also added a center brace to stiffen the wheelie bars up. One coat of self etching primer and two coats of flat black on the front weights. Dumb bell weights received the same treatment, got 18 of them painted today. 6 more to paint tomorrow. OK.... I did spray some sheet metal too. The fender pan did get a top notch paint job to protect the add on pieces and the spots where the welds burned the paint off. Yep a little red oxide primer to help keep the rust at bay. Blends right in with the faded red & rust finish.
  44. 14 points
    Installed some brand new LED headlights that I got for my birthday from my Grandma on my C-145 today way brighter and way more distance. No DIY I did it just about all by myself it was just plug and play. I can post the link if you guys want they were on scamazon
  45. 14 points
    One Wheel is enough In addition to the Choremaster and Kinkade one wheel garden tractors dozens of others were offered to people who were tired of hoeing by hand or pushing human powered cultivators. Some were so outlandish that it is obvious they would not be successful yet others were the beginnings of successful garden tractor companies. There are so many I will present them in two instalments. Victor Tractor The largest and probably the least practical one wheeled tractor was the Victor Tractor built in 1919 with a Climax four cylinder engine. This may have been a prototype attempting to attract investors or perhaps it was just someone’s dream come true. No other information could be found on it. Spry Wheel Very little coverage could be found concerning the Spry Wheel walking tractor. I did find out it had no clutch and battery ignition. This review appeared in the June 22, 1922 The Florists, Review #23 A light power cultivator is made by H. C. Dodge, Inc., Boston, Mass., and is known as the Sprywheel. This one- wheel tractor is found to work well in cultivating plants set out in narrow rows. An eastern nurseryman finds it particularly useful for cultivating young evergreens and azaleas, which are bedded out, five rows to a bed, with ten inches between the rows, in a heavy clay soil that packs hard, but has no stones in it. In this soil the machine goes from two and one-half to three inches deep; in light soil it will cultivate five inches deep. This nursery- man says: "In previous years this work has always been done by hand hoeing, as the rows are too close together and the stock too valuable to permit the horse cultivator. The trouble with the machine is to find a man who will keep up with it all day. By paying a little extra, however, we are able to save more than the cost of the machine in one week, over the expense of hand work, as it will do more and better work than ten men with hoes. Bolins Handi-Ho The Handi-Ho came with an air cooled single cylinder one and a half or a two and three quarter horsepower model of single wheeled walk behind garden tractor. Attachments included cultivators, lawn mowers, sickle bar mowers snow plows and tillers. Gravely Model “D” Benjamin Franklin Gravely Dunbar, West Virginia, devised a hand-pushed plow fitted with an auxiliary Indian motorcycle engine and driven by belts in 1916. His goal was to build a tractor which would revolutionize gardening and lawn maintenance for the homeowner. This innovative approach to garden cultivation became the Model “D” all-gear single wheeled walk-behind units were powered by a single-cylinder four-stroke engine built from 1916 to 1952. Unitractor The Unitractor manufactured by R.D. Eaglesfield Manufacturing in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has Briggs Model N engine mounted inside the drive wheel and a sickle bar mower attachment. R. D. Eaglesfield of Indianapolis, Indiana, made the "Unitractor" which sold for $98.50 in 1939. The Unitractor weighed 105 pounds and was powered by a 1.5 horse Briggs and Stratton model NR-6. Colwood Motor Hoe The Colwood Motor Hoe was made by Dashwood Engineering of London who produced these machines from 1945 to 1949 The first cultivator was the Model A which first appeared in 1945 with a JAP 2A engine, later models were the model B with a JAP or Villiers power, also the model RA with a Villiers engine. Perhaps @ranger, @meadowfield or @Mickwhitt can tell us more about this one wheeled tractor Endless Tread Garden Tractor The story behind the inspiration for the Endless Tread Garden Tractor is priceless. Sam Beachy, the inweave gentleman who started building the Endless Tread in 1953 recalls that as a young boy his mother would hitch him to the front of a hand pushed cultivator and he would pull it through the family’s rather large garden. His first experimental powered cultivator was a single wheeled unit with a Maytag engine. The gearing was not proper and on the first test he could barely hang on. It was built while Beachy was employed at a machine shop. The first Endless Tread Garden Tractor was built in 1942 powered by a AU7R Continental engine. At some point in the 1950s the engine of choice was changed to Briggs and Stratton. Great Lakes Junior Chief walk behind cultivator The Junior Chief tractor was a single wheel walk behind built by the Great Lakes company in Rock Creek Ohio. It was powered by a 6R6 Briggs and Stratton Engine and was made between 1949 & 1961. Will-Burt Little Farmer The Will-Burt Little Farmer Power Cultivator came to market in 1949 along with several optional accessory implements. This self-propelled cultivator was powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine and sold via catalog for $89.95 George Garden Tractor The George Garden Tractor has a story unlike any you are likely to come acrost. Members the Church of Jesus Christ in Sullivan were conscientious objectors and had a difficult time finding work during World War II, they founded Community Industries to provide employment for church members. The George Division of Community Industries used the phrase “Let George Do It.” The company started out designing and manufacturing a two-wheel garden tractor, then progressed to a one-wheel model. The tractor division continued to thrive. An ad in Popular Mechanics in April 1951 advertised a George Tractor for $107.50: “All equipment for little cost.”
  46. 14 points
    20240131_131823_1_1.mp4 Here's a video of it running for a few seconds. Not much bandwidth for video.
  47. 14 points
    Crushed it, and no trips to the Bumps and Bruises thread!
  48. 14 points
    Kinkade garden tractors The Kinkade one wheel cultivating tractor was manufactured from 1921 to 1952 in Minneapolis, MN., by American Farm Machinery Co., After World War One the industrial revolution saw the migration of young people from the farm to the city, there was a shortage of affordable manpower on the farm. Mechanization was the answer whether it was a big job or small. The Kinkade garden tractor made cultivation of gardens faster and less laborious. All Kinkade garden tractors were one-wheeled, one-cylinder, air-cooled cultivating tractors. What distinguished them from other one wheel garden tractors was the engine’s location, it was mounted inside a hollow steel wheel. Having the engine inside the wheel lowers the center of gravity giving the Kinkade great balance and traction but it also subjected the engine to a lot of dirt. From its beginning in 1921 there was continuous improvement in the design of the engine, frame, and controls. The engine on the 1921 and 1922 models had overhead valves, brass push rod tubes, an external sight-glass for oil level, and brass tubes to the air cleaner and crankcase vent. A brass Schebler carburetor and Danco air cleaner were used. The handles were wood and the operating controls were brass. The 1923 to 1927 Kinkade models featured an improved engine crankcase, a Zenith carburetor, F Head engine and an improved engine cooling fan. The 1921 to 1927 engines had a gear driven magneto or battery ignition offered. The model “K” Kinkade from 1928 to 1935 was a vast improvement over its predecessors. Engine flywheel cooling rather than a separate fan was used, a shaft driven magneto, a Tillotson carburetor and a one piece crankcase were used. The Model “L” from 1936 to 1952 saw the end of the wooden handles, new steel tubular handles replaced them. The drive wheel was wider with pyramid lugs instead of the straight cross bars. The greatly improved L Head engine had an enclosed cooling shroud, valve lifters and improved lubrication system. Yalding to market pressures the Kinkade Suburbanite was produced from 1950 to 1952. It was a smaller inexpensive homeowner one wheel tractor operated by a two-cycle engine and had rubber lugs rather than cast iron. This model was a failure and hurt the reputation of the company. The Kinkade filled a need at the time but their thirty year run was over. This testimonial appeared in June 22, 1922 in the Florists’ Review #23 A small tractor and power cultivator, which has a clutch control and carries the engine inside the large bull or traction wheel, is found in the Kinkade, manufactured by the American Farm Machinery Co., Minneapolis, Minn. "It is a wonderful machine for its size and easily does the work of three men operating hand machines," says C. A. Brazee, wholesale florist and bulb grower, of Wilmington. Cal. "It hoes and cultivates much deeper than a hand machine and makes work a pleasure. I can easily operate it in rows one foot apart, and it is so simple that a boy can operate it. It is strongly con- structed, requiring little or no adjustment, and is always ready for work. Above all, it really does the work."
  49. 14 points
    Not much to show for todays effort. Spent some time making a bracket and positioning a couple safety switches. The one attached to the brake/clutch lever is the neutral safety switch. I used a motorcycle brake light switch for this purpose. This will prohibit the starter from working unless the clutch/brake peddle is depressed. Towards the rear of the tractor is the break away switch, same break away switch used on trailers with electric brakes. This switch will get tethered to the eliminator. If the tractor comes unhooked from the eliminator, the plunger will get pulled out of the switch. This intern will shut down the ignition and the fuel pump. Along with these switches I also made the brakes functional. Glad that did not change the clutch/brake lever when they switched to using separate clutch & brake peddles on the C series tractors. I set out to bolt the hubs on permanently but was met with a set back. Who ever rebuilt this transmission also cut full length key ways into the axles. Bonus - as I think this is a much stronger & better idea. Issue - they cut the key way for a 5/16" key instead of a 1/4" key. Good news is that they did cut the keyway 5/32" deep so it is in fact cut for a 5/16" key. Given this fact I guess I will have to cut the keyway in the hubs out to 5/16" to remedy the issue. I also pulled the head off from the engine & blasted it. This will be going to a machine shop this week to have about .050" shaved off to gain some more compression. This engine has a series 4 head witch is good for a stock puller, not as good as a series 1 (LP head) but it should serve my purpose well. As long as the head was off I measured the cylinder bore as well. The bore measures out well with in specs but there is very little cross hatch showing, so I'm thinking a good scuff and a new set of rings will be in order. Will not order parts until I measure the crank though. Want to make sure it is with in specs as well.
  50. 13 points
    This afternoon I got the new Carlisle's mounted on the 854, I'm really happy with this tire choice, now to give the fronts a sandblast and paint.
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