C120 evolve to.. C140 Custom

[ineedanother 2,797]

I have a 48" deck that a PO trimmed the chute back square on. I think it was @kpinnc who told me that some do that to help with discharge of the cuttings. I don't mow much so not much of a frame of reference to offer but others might be familiar and have experience with that.

[ineedanother 2,797]

On 8/25/2026 at 8:33 PM, ineedanother said:

I have a 48" deck that a PO trimmed the chute back square on. I think it was @kpinnc who told me that some do that to help with discharge of the cuttings. I don't mow much so not much of a frame of reference to offer but others might be familiar and have experience with that.

Here is how the chute was trimmed. I can say that it discharged cuttings well running on a c-160 but I never tested it on anything like @sgtsampay

[sgtsampay 160]

Update: 
So, I got very lucky and was able use one of our loaner tractors at work for this project. So I started by going dig out the 4 ft bush hog he had out of the brush and trees. I then took it home and greased it, confirmed the gearbox has oil in it and the blades weren't to horrible. I think went to mowing. I'm very happy i ended up using this rig over my poor horse as the growth was super tall in some areas. Like 7 foot tall weeds in places. it was insane! 

I think use the other horse with my hauler to bring over the string trimmer, some help, and get to work trimming around the barn. 

I wrapped everything up with the C140 mowing the bank once again and then the field which was already mowed. All worked find and nothing really to report for breaks. One of the baffles in the old deck got bent so I had to pound it back into place. The blades are keeping there edge well, even after some rocks got wacked. 

 

Overall I'm pleased the project as a whole and I will be in way better shape for next season as it will never get that long again on my watch. 

[kpinnc 18,873]

On 8/26/2026 at 8:43 PM, ineedanother said:

 

On 8/26/2026 at 8:43 PM, ineedanother said:

Here is how the chute was trimmed.

 

Did the same with my 48. I love how much better it distributes clippings. I've been using it for a few months now and I really like it. 

 

 

[sgtsampay 160]

Update:
Here is the latest version of it. I put roller bearings under the front spindles to allow it to turn a little easier (The poor man's steering mod from this site), I gave each front wheel one more washer to keep it tighter on the spindles as it seems to have had to much slop ( it still has some slop but thats the bearings I think going out), I adjusted the hoop a tad to make it perfectly centered on the PTO stub, I turned the muffler down so I would stop smelling exhaust as the sticking up thing didn't work for me as well as I had hoped, and then finally I tweaked the belt guard so it would fit back on the horse. (Yes I know I over trimmed it and got the angles wrong but yeah) Its not perfect but it functions. I currently have about 3.3hours on this build and I hope for many more. Thank you all for taking the time to read about my adventures. 

Side note: The G6 gator blades really shoot out the grass about 2-3 feet. They also seme to cut great! I think its better than the dual blade setup honestly. 

[sgtsampay 160]

Update: So it was another busy weekend. 

Friday/saturday/sunday: I tore apart the whole deck apart. I then replaced the bearings in the spindles, cleaned up the shaft treads, replaced the idler, welded a small patch over the largest of the holes in the deck (still need more practice on the stick welder. Its been a while since i have used anything other than the mig at work.) , tightened some loose nuts and fixed the rear wheel support rod brackets so it doesn't have so much slop in it. I even touched up the blades as I must have hit some rocks with them as they were not the best looking after about 2 hours of use.

 

Monday, the fun day..

I started mowing the fields. About 15min into it, the engine just shut off. Puzzled, I looked it over. Finally, I found on of the original wires on the engine harness going to the coil was broken off. I did the walk of shame to the house, grabbed some tools and the connector, then I repaired the machine in the field. I then started mowing and 1.5 sections of the whole field done. 

 

I then hit a massive rock which caused the center spindle to loose tension on the blade nut and allowing the blades to spin. I figured it out after about 5 mins but the damage was already done, the threads were harmed along with the nut. So, after doing the drive of shame, I got it back to the house. I cleaned up the threads again, swapped nuts around from different spindles and all is good again.  Yes the blades look horrible once more, but it will cut for now. 

 

Then I completed the sections I wanted to mow in the field. Now the whole thing is mowed as I wanted it to be and I have finally completed this project  I have a total of 6 hours on the machine, and every time something breaks or becomes a problem, I correct it and hopefully make it better. Like the spindle shaft, I will machine them over the winter to redo the threads and make it all good again. Right now, it will mow the grass and hopefully I only have one more mowing.

 

Now, back to the story, as I was leaving the fields to head home, I saw a stick on the mower deck and stopped the mower to clean it all off. I got back on and then engine would not start. it didn't spin over nothing. So, tired, I did the second walk of shame to the house, grab my son and the other tractor and towed it back home. Later, after a motorcycle ride, I dug into the issue some more. I have determined its the starter somehow. Its getting 12.5v but not spinning the motor. The starter paw clutch may be slipping as it would engage but just stay stuck and make the engine seemed to be locked up. Its super weird. So, off came the starter and I took it to work so we can see whats wrong with it. 

 

Overall, I'm pleased with the way the horse project came out. It made me feel good to use the old tractor again for some series work. Future plans are for me to replace the front steering rod bearing, front wheel bearings, and then tires. For now, it will work and become a dedicated mower for the field.