C120 strikes again... Setback #5, (I think)

[BPEisenhower 684]

Hello there Horse Family! Another great fall day and time after work to get a few things done. Not so fast! Went to move the C120 and the entire steering pedestal moved enough to the left, the hood opened. No bolts on the right side and the left broke off above the bolts. No problem! Wrong!!! Too thin to weld, ok!  I got a Charger 12!  Started tearing it down and two problems. First, there's no spot for voltage regulator and gauge. Second, Charger 12 has electric PTO and have to drill out holes to run the through shaft and tap holes for the PTO linkages. So, I got the roll pins soaking and steering wheel shafts soaking so hopefully, no broken steering wheels. However, I did notice that the Charger 12 has a cigarette lighter and appears to have not been used. Choke and throttle pull cables still work and looks like plenty of good used parts. I also want opinions on what rims I should use for the AG tires on the rear. Do I use the skinny rims so the tires appear to be bigger or the 12 inch rims? I'll be fluid filling them anyways and painting them before mounting and fluid filling. Tell me what you would do, no wrong answers!!  Thank you all! BTW, I'm not dismounting the original tires from rims, I found an extra set 12 inches wide 😄

[James Wright 2]

Those pedestal bolts snapping above the threads sounds like a fatigue problem more than anything, so I'd check the Charger 12 frame for cracks before drilling for the through-shaft and PTO linkage — tapping into thin cast can go badly fast. On the rims, I'd lean toward the wider 12-inch set for stability with fluid fill, even if the skinny rims make the AG tires look taller. Taller sidewall does look better, though. Given the Michigan fall, at least the soaking is happening indoors.