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Retired today - 41 years... Great run. My boss and colleagues know me well... simple but appropriate gifts...

HA! Today was my last day too. Brought the last of my tools home. Took a gauge off our defunct steam fired Absorption chiller as a souvenir. We had a fire in 2015 and when we went to put the chiller on line the water in the pipes flashed to steam and the needle spun around in circles like in the cartoons. Got well wishes from a Trane Tech who happens to be a Bears fan!

Picked this 312-8 up this morning! Might be the nicest original one I ever bought! Has a bagger and a plow thats just as nice. Got it running after a carb clean and new fuel lines. I was just gonna flip it, but I don't know about that now. It works pretty great! 20260801_170738.mp4

Making good progress on the 420. A LOT of hours into it at this point removing the paint on the sheet metal. If WH had used primer it may have come off a little easier ? on this series tractors.Letting things set up before reassembly. Hoping to have it somewhat ready for the September Meet & Greet. Those chrome mylar decals take some patience to remove.Some before and after pics.

Scored this today at a local auction. I've managed to avoid painting any of my Wheel Horse stuff so far, but I'm pretty sure these didn't come in yellow, but I don't see any traces of red either. Pick it up Saturday so I can take a closer look.

I was on you tube a few weeks ago, and I found this page that had a case dealership in Connecticut I believe.. He had this new tool that I’ve never heard about how to safely clean the top end of the engine and the head. It’s nylon attached to steel that you can put in your drill or whatever. You spray it down with like fantastic or some kind of household cleaner, but let it sit for about 10 minutes. These nylon attachments made the whole head and top of the engine clean within a 10 minutes. I was truly impressed on that. The other bonus it doesn’t leave any scratches or gouging of the material which according to this video it’s the first place where carbon will build up. So here’s a couple pics before and after this was about 10 minutes worth of work. The orange is course this kit came with two others gray, which is a medium grit and I believe the blue is a fine grit. I’m sold on this so far much easier. I used to use steel but at left a lot of scratches.

Couple a pics of C160 with the new to me rear wheel weights.

I aint no sissy but I find myself reaching for a pair of gloves every once in a while, especial the older I get. To my surprise there was a shed snakeskin on top of them today and I had them laying up on a table kinda higher up. I have a pretty good size Black snake that stays around the shop (rodent patrol) but hadn't seen him in a while but now I have proof he's still around at least I hope it was a Black snake. Funny thing was I picked up gloves and shook off snakeskin which fell in front of the fan, and it took off a getting it across the floor must still smelled like a snake cause it had the dog barking which in turn scared the $^it out of me because I was still looking fer a snake. .

The key is to stay busy & have a sense of purpose in your life... Besides, you can only watch so many episodes of Gilligan's Island in one sitting.....

We are not putting down other brands, we are merely expressing out preference. I tell my wife I don't find fault with other women, I just prefer her, . Besides, the phrase is "NOTHING RUNS LIKE A DEERE BEING CHASED BY A WHEEL HORSE."

My neighbor bought a C-121 Automatic that had previously been used as a mule at an airport. The hood has several warning stickers regarding safety checks when hooking to the plane. It has been fitted with some massive rear wheel hubs! At first, I thought they were repair hubs, but once removed the axles are in perfect condition. Anyone seen hubs like these before?

Tire/wheel swaps on the 520 today…B-80 used to haul it all away.

Caught a few minutes and installed led tail light on C -160 to match the new LED headlights I installed yesterday. I got these from the jungle site and like them because they have a black base and the lens closely matches the old WH lens.

I am very saddened to report that my brother Wade David Ralph passed away on Wednesday due to complications from COPD. He was an Army veteran serving in the Army Corps of Engineers as a mechanic, truck driver and operated heavy bulldozers during the Hurst Fires near Fort Ord, California in the 1970’s. He was a very good carpenter, building homes and remodeling in Alabama and other locations and often assisted my father Clifton Ralph in his blacksmith shop. David was also a great Wheel Horse garden tractor fan ! We traveled to many different tractor shows and bought many Wheel Horse tractors across the USA and one in Canada! His COPD prevented him from traveling to shows with me the last 7 years as he was 24/7 on concentrated oxygen. FYI WADE DAVID RALPH 10/08/1953-07/29/2026 Visitation Saturday August 8th 10:30a-12:30p Kuiper Funeral Home 9039 Kleinman Road Highland, IN Internment 1:00p Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens 8178 S Cline Avenue Crown Point, IN

Happy Happy Kev! After a weekend of preaching tractor safety here to a bunch of kids I feel I should say some thing here ... nawww

Congrats to both of you! any big plans Jim @SylvanLakeWH or Mike @squonk ? I’m creeping up on mine. Hard to think I’m getting old enough that it’s even on the radar. Two years ago I felt like I’d never want to retire as I enjoy working way too much. But about that time my company went to a four day workweek and now the taste of freedom beckons. I still put in a ton of hours every week but condensing it into four really long days feels great when the three day weekend comes. CONGRATS Steve

Wednesday is auction day. Picked up this bike for a buck. Thought Mrs. K might be able to use it for PT after her knee replacement. bou Another buck for a USA made unique tackle box. And a like new pair of Gander Mt. Guide series neoprene chest waders for $40. Might keep my rear warm and dry while stocking trout for the kiddies.

July 29, 2015 Zion Harvey becomes the first pediatric patient to receive a double hand transplant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

August 4, 1958 Billboard Hot 100 is published for the first time with "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson at #1.

OK Kevin, here is "The List" An Equal Opportunity List of Offensive but Funny names for cars Acura – Asia’s Curse Upon Rural America Audi – Accelerates Under Demonic Influence Bmw – Bring More Women Buick – Big Ugly Indestructible Cat Killer Cadillac – Company Always Denies Its Lawful Liability After Collisions or Crazy And Dumbass Idiots Like Large American Cars Chevrolet – Cheap, Hardly Efficient, Virtually Runs On Luck Every Time Chrysler – Company Has Recommended You Start Learning Engine Repair Daewoo – Damn Asian Engineering Works Only Occasionally Dodge – Darn Old Dudes Go Everywhere Ferrari – Ferociously Elegant Racer Ravages All Roads Intuitively Fiat – Failed Italian Automotive Technology (they build Ferrari but why can’t they make a proper car?) Ford – First On Rust and Deterioration GMC – Got Mechanic Coming Honda – Had One Never Did Again Hummer – Huge Ugly Mother, Mostly Eats Resources Hyundai – Here’s Y U Never Drive An Import Isuzu – It Sucks, Unless Zero Used Jaguar – Just A Guess U Are Rich Jeep – Just Eats Every Penny Kia – Keep Inside Asia Lotus – Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious Lamborghini – Loser Always Maintains Big Old Rotten Gunk; Hardly Inflates Nobody’s Image Maserati – Must Also Suggest Extra Rope And Towing Implements Mazda – Made After Zero Design Analysis Mercedes – Most Expensive Road Car Everyone Drives Except Stig Mitsubishi – May Involve Turbos, Suck Unless Boost Is Seriously High Inside Mini – Moron Inside Notably Insane Nissan – Need I Say Something About Nothing Porsche – Proof Of Rich Spoiled Children Having Everything Rolls – Regal Opulent Lovely Luxury Sedan Saab – Swedish Automobiles Always Breakdown Subaru -Screwed Up Beyond All Repair Usually Toyota – Too Often Yankees Overprice This Auto Volvo – Very Old Lazy Vehicle Owner Volkswagen – Vehicle Owners – Losers Knowingly Suffering With All German Engineered Nonsense

Everything that was mobile got taken outside, and the shop got swept out. 520H C141 Elec-Trak E-14 Roper tow vehicle J. D. 110 Speedex S18 Sulky, and wagon with seat. Everything else got pushed aside and swept around. Then it was all put bak and covered.

Mowed some hay getting the site ready at the NYSEA Pageant of Steam with the 875 Wheel a Matic!

I couldn’t decide so, a two fer….for SSS.

August 2, 1943, a Japanese destroyer rams an American PT (patrol torpedo) boat, No. 109, slicing it in two. The destruction is so massive other American PT boats in the area assume the crew is dead. Two crewmen were, in fact, killed, but 11 survived, including Lt. John F. Kennedy.

Nope!! Haha! I’m working in Australia in a few weeks, be there almost a month. Then back again for another month in December (home for Christmas) Once I retire I’ll use all the United Air miles and Marriott points for a few “free” vacations though!

Man, I can barely run for 41 seconds. Congratulashuns

Congratulations. I retired 3 years ago. I was a commercial hvac service tech for over 40 years. Don't miss the work, just the income.

Welcome to an ever-growing group of happy campers. I have been retired over twenty years, best vocational choice I ever made, highly recommend it. It will take some time to adjust but I'm confident you can work it out.

Tonight I finished up the C-141 headlight project. Sometimes it pays to have different hobbies as I had a bunch of 1/4 20 bolts to mount the bucket back in after a spruce up with some semi reflective silver paint. This was a test to see if everything was hooked up right. I scuffed up,where the bulbs mounted to give them a good ground. It still needed tweaking. . The final product. I put some of the fuzzy side of some stick on Velcro to act as a cushion. Now, the paint I spent a significant amount of time on shouldn't get rubbed off the lens. Don’t mind the stuff in the background 😁 This is the paint I used. It’s reflective but not overkill. The overall end result was definitely an improvement.

Picture in me head.

August 5, 1957 “American Bandstand,” with 26-year-old host Dick Clark, premiered on the ABC television network. The first record Clark played on the network debut show was "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly, and his first guests were The Chordettes. America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark, hosted the show until 1989.

Why can’t our tractor hobbies have schedules like these remodel jobs So my middle son and family went to his in-laws in New Jersey. They stay at the family beach house 2 blocks from the “shore”. In Texas we call it beach, but north it’s the shore. He rents this house from me that I added on to\remodeled 5 years ago. At the time I didn’t replace the cultured marble shower in the original bathroom, but added a new master bath. So the day after they leave my wife says NOW sure would be a good time to replace that shower with a tub for the grandkids. As some of you know when grandma says it’s for the grandkids kids there is NO negotiating. I knew getting a 60” long tub in a 60” wide room was going to be fun. So here’s the old to be removed. the shower pan came up and slid over the old drain pipe Chiseling the concrete out of that original box out was a 1/2 day job, but I was done for the day. No pictures but the original drain needed to move 1” right and roughly 5” forward. It was a pain to get perfect for the new tub to fit. Pex B and valves roughed in Hardied Backer installed ready for Redcote to seal it and seams. I love the new style tile spacers that level the face of the tile. I need a 1/2” by 2 chrome nipple for a hand shower and final cleaning.

Put down some stripes this afternoon with my ‘02 - 315-8. Wish all my mowing machines had cup holders

I found a spare at the local Tractor Supply, and cleaned out the hauler. Job complete, until I decide on a winch and any counter or storage compartments up front!

No lack of tie downs! I need to finish the PVC trim. Then clean it up inside!

Used a WH, a trailer my father and I built in the 60s and sewer auger (about 170 lbs) to clean a turtle out off the pond outlet pipe

A little more progress…. drive flange complete - I made it the same PCD as my sons 4x4. (only tacked at the moment - just in case something needs to change) one side done

Well, my wonderful Granddaughters decided to pitch in!!!

This morning

I consider it ribbing just like hot rods. I’m a Chevy guy. We need the competition to be competitive, and I appreciate them all, but I can’t see myself driving a truck where they circle the problem on the grille!

I really wish you guys would stop putting down other brands, they will all break down eventually. The truth is, that slogan started with Deere's snowmobile line in the early 1970s. And it stuck. And the truth is that Deere makes probably the best line of lawn and garden tractors today with their X series line, made in Horicon, Wisconsin. Their 7 gauge deck, known as the 7 Iron, is the only 7 gauge deck that is stamped from a single piece of steel. The other manufacturers have to fabricated their commercial decks, using 7 gauge for the sides and 10 gauge for the top section and welding them together to make a deck. Only Deere has a press large enough to stamp 7 gauge metal. Rounded corners means less material buildup to corrode and rust a deck. It's also sad, though, that Deere choses to penalize their ag buyers with their policy for repairs. I know the auto industry wants to do this as well. Sad.

August 3, 1492 Christopher Columbus, with Juan de la Cosa as second-in-command, sets sail on his first voyage with three ships: Santa María, Pinta, and Niña from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, for the "Indies".

Spent the last few days making my tractor more Wisconsin. Now I need to get it some cheese curds. I put the wheelweights I bought from @WHX?? at the show on and went through the RM-425 deck I got from @Achto and put it on too. This deck was the nicest deck I've ever gone though so far. None of the bearings were seized and all of the grease looked good but I still cleaned it up and put some fresh Lucas green in it. The nla double-d blades looked like they had either never been sharpened or sharpened very little.

Today I finally made a hold down for the battery. It’s a little overkill as I used 3/8 threaded rod and thicker steel for the bracket side, but it’ll do the job. Battery doesn’t bounce around anymore.

Congratulations on your retirement. You will be suprised to see how busy you will be. I retired 8 years ago. Spent the first month reading a stack of books I had collected before I got board enough to start in on other projects. Stay active and try to have a bit of fun every day. My wife and I play a game of cribbage just about every day. She is currently on a winning streak, so the fun factor for me is currently dimished.....

Thank you! I didn’t realize this thread existed. I may have just gotten lucky. Looking at a 1991 312-8 tomorrow with a deck and 500 hours for $750. Won’t need a trailer since it’s closer and there’s no snow thrower. Wish me luck!

Painted the FMC weights RegalRed today. Had every intention of putting the Wheel Horse weights on the C160 but the rims have the valve stem on outside so they want work on it (came off a Craftsman mower). The FMC has a cut out for valve stem so they got the call.

Not at auction - but I also picked up a nice pair of Carlisle Tru Power Ags on rims for $125 off of Marketplace

Got in a nice leisurely bike ride yesterday while visiting my daughter, SIL, and two grands during their vacation. The Cape Cod Rail Trail is a very low key and relaxed (but quite heavily used) amenity. I chased my six year old grandson for the first six miles until he ran out of gas 😉.