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Thank you for all the prayers today. My wife's spinal injection procedure went according to plan this morning and now that the local anesthesia has worn off she if pain free. Having been using a wheel chair and otherwise sedentary for a couple of months her legs are not steady. They don't want her to return to PT or exert herself until the doctor sees her in March so progress will be slow. She will try walking with a walker tomorrow. We will be quite a pair both being on walkers.

First and foremost I have to thank @Handy Don and @Bill D And say it was great to see Don & meet Bill. The BBT and I took a nice road trip this weekend. Saturday was spent mostly on the road with two primary stops. One was to pick up all the stuff. The other was to visit my mom and help her out with some chores. Here's a few pics of what we got...

I got to play in the snow today!!

My wife has a pinched nerve in her spine due to a herniated disc which has made walking nearly imposable for almost two months. We have been going through the Medicare hoops of Physical Therapy, pain management, and injections which have not been effective. Wednesday morning, she will have an injection into the disc which is supposed to relive the pain and allow her to walk without pain. Please say a little prayer for the medical staff and my wife, Maggie, that the procedure will go well and have the desired outcome. Thanks, Dick Schmidt, 953 nut

Enjoying my Walnut sticky bun and coffee this AM when this guy sailed over the house and landed about 200 yds away in the field. He fed on something for about 15 minutes before leaving. This is one of the largest eagles I have seen.

I’ve driven our FD tanker on hilly, icy roads and it’s not fun. Especially when they are calling for water and you’re trying to get there as fast as you safely can. Perhaps even worse is driving empty to the nearest fire hydrant to reload. With no weight on the drive axles loosing traction while going up hill or braking on a downhill certainly raises the pucker factor!! Any firefighting in sub-freezing temperatures presents a whole new set of challenges. I hope everyone is safe and nobody got hurt. I know you guys like pictures so here’s a picture of our tanker.

USO Day on February 4 is the birthday celebration of the American nonprofit-charitable corporation, the United Service Organizations Inc. Providing live entertainment, care packages, and much more, the USO is the bridge connecting overseas soldiers to their friends, families, and homes. The USO partnered with the War Department, and later with the Department of Defense (DoD), to serve everyone in military life. The troops fighting in WW2 were the first to benefit from this organization’s efforts, and now, almost 4.9 million members are impacted by the USO. Late comedian Bob Hope entertained forces for around 50 years, becoming the first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces in 1997. Every year from 1964 to 1972 Bob Hope spent his Christmas entertaining the troops in Vietnam. The USO website states that overseas there are 20 times more volunteers than USO employees, and the number is much higher inside the country. Flying into war zones meant injuries, or worse: 37 entertainers lost their lives while trying to boost troops' morale during World War Two. The USO-Coca-Cola partnership has been in place ever since the USO was formed, and Coca-Cola even pledged to serve their drinks at only 5 cents to every soldier no matter the cost to the firm. When my father was severely injured while I was in the US Navy my mother called our minister, he called the USO and I was on an airplane headed home within twelve hours. The USO picked up the air fare and my emergency leave had no termination date, just come back when your dad is doing better.

I have seen a few wood stoves on here but not as many as I would have suspected from some of you. So far ours have come in handy this year mostly using the one in the basement and a little on the first floor. We do have a new Boiler as of December of this year. More on that later. With 5 heating zones and 1 for domestic hot water. The electric hot water tank was removed a couple of years ago ,tired of the electric bill. A few pictures of ours, a 1975 Vermont Castings in the basement and a Vermont Castings Intrepid in the living room, first floor. Almost forgot the Jotul 602 in the Cabin. Post them up .

I was chewing my way through pushing the snowbank back and broke through a layer of ice into the leaves. FOOOP! Down she goes. Right to the frame.

Well, these rescued Suburban parts were mine for short time, but I am delighted to see them loaded up and headed off to a home with @Bill G who's anxious to put them to good use! (Note, he brought usable front wheels/tires to swap on instead of the rotted out originals so we could more easily roll it into his van.)

Replaced the throttle and choke cables on the 79 C-101 it’s now officially a C121 Gen start. To do list -front tires ,tie rods, steering wheel seat, and decal set.

Came across this picture last week on the Web. I have a good idea who snapped it unbeknownst to me. That was my boat lift, dock behind it and 1999 Lund Pro Sport with factory cover on the lift. The beach was shared with my neighbor. I bought this wonderful property in 1994 and sold it in 2018. Miss everything but the property tax. Patti and I would motor up the lake in the summer around 6 pm ish into our favorite cove all alone and wait for sunsets sitting next too each other in the bow. Nothing short of amazing. GOOD TIMES. This sunset is looking towards Moosehead lake in Greenville, Maine, another favorite of mine, 45 miles long . Fortunately I am back there with my good friend who ended up with the adjacent property where my C-165-8 now resides. Can't wait to get back there.

Finally got some seat time on Ole' Rusty. Note the "down pressure" on the blade.

Long time lurker (and learner), first time poster. So I picked up my first Wheelhorse 520-HC about a year ago after seeing it online for a reasonable price. Knowing nothing about them, when I searched and saw this forum, I thought they must be a good machine if there is an entire sub culture. Like all things, the journey was a rocky start. Stripped down the carbie and gave it a good clean. Then left the keys in the ignition in the ON position and cooked the new batttery. Had to replace all the tyres since they looked like the originals, and then the fuel was all gunked up. Oh and of course the starter motor was clicky! But finally after a year of chipping away at it, its finally starting on the first crank, every time. So I'm pretty pleased with that. But today will be replace and rejuvenate the seat and assembly. Also start scratching back the old seat pan and give it a lick of paint. Might actually get around to using it in 2025!

Progress is limited due to the weather. We've had sub zero lows. The nice 23-10.50's will get a coat of the mixed 'beige' when we get a warm enough day. The wobbles have been eliminated on the engine base. I ran into an oil drain clearance issue involving the steering shaft steering shaft that I'll have to address. I found a local shop with a press and finally got the hub off. But then the problem was the key. I tried every trick in the book and it never budged. I gave up and found a replacement axle. At least the hub was saved. Put the transmission back together and ready to mount. The major tins are primed and ready for Rusty Regal come spring. The hood had a pretty big dent but I did get it out fairly good. Not perfect but from 100 yards it looks fine. The insides of the tins are painted read with a blended paint to match the Regal.

Who say's a 420 -LSE can't lay down a patch. Took her for a trail ride today and when I went to put it away the right rear started spinning so I opened the throttle up and watched it spin. Haven't done that since 1999 when I sold my 70 Chevelle SS big block. Boy did that feel good. Doesn't take much to amuse myself as I get older. Can anyone relate ?

Put new hubs, wheel and tires on my D200. The old 18 x 8.50 x 8 tires had some cracks and made steering very taxing. The odd ball wheel bearings were going to be a future problem. Hardest part was mounting the tires, 6pr trailer type, they have very stiff sidewalls. Other PIA was seating the dust caps on the new hubs. Once it warms up I have to attack a triaxle load of 2B stone...

So I stopped by an estate sale Friday. Last day of the sale so everything was 50% off their marked price. It was pretty well picked over but I was able to make a few good buys. First I spotted this little pump. Was not sure exactly what it was but it was brand new and cheap. Turns out this little pump is kinda expensive. They run off a 12v car or tractor battery. Mine has a cigarette lighter style plug. Most of the ones I see online have the alligator clips. New they go for about 150-225 . Next item I saw was a bag on the floor of the garage. Picked it up to see if anything was inside. It was empty but I noticed it was a backpack or rucksack and I saw how well it was made. Waterproof material and Heavy-duty leather straps. It seamed well worth the few bucks. Turns out it's a Swiss Army Military Engineer or Mountain Rucksack. Made in the 1980s. Apparently they are very sought after in the hiking , camping, community. Online for 80 - 140 bucks. Next I picked up another old vintage cooler. I have about a dozen vintage cooler. Don't know why I like collecting them but I do. This one is from the 1950s. All aluminum in pretty decent shape for its age. Last was an old school metal lunch box from around the same era. I have several of these as well. All in all everything was less then 20 bucks. I love looking through the stuff everyone else overlooks. Glad I stopped. The photos are as found, before I wiped and cleaned the years of dirt off them. Backpack came out beautiful. In the picture it looks brown or tan but it's a really nice olive green with black leather straps and trim.

Gentlemen, Today I added a 1976 C-160 to my stable Running my 1968 Charger 12 for the past few years has been great, but l am glad to have “upgraded” for both the gain in HP and hydraulic lift! It came with 75lb wheel weights, tire chains and a blade all for a fair price. Seller had a snowblower for it but I negotiated the deal without it. It runs great, besides a couple leaky hydraulic fittings that I assume either need a new O ring or replacement altogether. Anyway, I unloaded and put the ‘76 straight to work plowing the fresh snowfall we got here in Maryland.

About 30-35 years ago, a customer walked into our dealership and asked my dad if he'd be interested in buying a Wheel Horse tractor. Dad says lets go take a look. He goes outside and all he sees is a Dodge Caravan in the driveway. The guy opens up the liftgate and proceeds to unload this little guy. Dad asks how much ? He thinks he paid maybe $50.00 bucks for it. Needed a new transmission pulley , a recoil , and all the guards were missing. Pushed it off to the side , and eventually shoved off to a corner of the shed. Last summer I told dad to get it out and get it running. He did , installed the new recoil , new axle seals, rebuilt the carb, new points. And then I took over; the hood needed major surgery ( all the spot welds holding the 2 pieces together were busted, tank straps were cobbled on , bottom hood mount was gone ), we located a NOS belt guard, NOS muffler, NOS deck assembly, NOS air cleaner, new cables, etc...I had to paint the hood and some of the other replacement pieces, so I blended the paint into some of the surrounding areas in an attempt to keep as much of the rest of it original. Just like the Kohler powered equipment of that era , the engine is now a completely different color than the rest of it due to different paint processes.

Pretty much finished up this '89 312-8 today. Took it out for a drive since there's no precipitation and almost 45 F today. This is what it was prior! I've been slowly restoring since the COVID lockdown. Finally decided this winter no more projects until this was done. I'm not sure what the affinity is in my area of painting these metallic maroon, but this is the 2nd tractor that I picked up with this color on it.

When your yard looks like this

Between 5-10” of snow tommorow into Monday morning, this week got the c-145 mechanically ready. Replaced the belt, hydro fluid, hydro filter, pto bell and bearing got fully greased. And got some new tires for it. Also flipped the scraper blade on the 48” plow on my C-121(Which really needed it just see the picture ). Then today hooked the blower to the C-145. Lubed that. Fueled up. Then C-121 fired it up sprayed the blade as well as the blower with silicone lubricant. Fueled that up. And we are ready! Bring it on snow! We will see what we get.

I often have to drag tools all over the place here, and it seems like multiple trips just always happen. I've been looking to make a cart with larger wheels so I can take it out in the yard. Of course my big toolbox is too stinking heavy to move around beyond the garage, so I needed something smaller. I got a horror fright gift card for Christmas, so I used it to get one of thier little carts. Found one that matches my big tool box. And yeah, I like orange... If I figure out a decent decal design, I'll make an orange wheel horse. Haters feel free to say something, but it will be my ugly tractor! So anyway I'm making a subframe that uses flat-free tires that are 9-10 inches in diameter. It will have wheel horse front spindles, but a smaller front axle and pull like a wagon. Got the front axle fabbed up today, and matched the camber so the spindles will work. Tomorrow I'll make the rest of the frame. Hopefully I'll be done with it in a day or two.

A while back @WHX?? & I made a road trip to trade with @Chrishar. I traded him my 753 for his 633. He did an excellent job with the 753, now it's time for me to tackle the 633. The engine runs good, but I will still pull the head to take a look inside. Tranny shifts good and does not seem to leak. The 3/4" bar for the foot rests will need to be replaced, but so far it looks like it will mainly be a paint over haul. Picture of ground zero. A couple of hours later I had it broken down to a pile of parts and a bucket of bolts. Will do my best to keep you all up to date on this journey.

Well, it snowed 2 to 4" of snow last night and the real temp was 15 degrees today. I wanted to get the 876 out and clean the drive way, but I don't handle the cold like I used to. Sun was out but the temperature was not going up. My problem was wether to wear socks or not and what was it going to take to reach my feet to put them on. I considered my issue over a Martini and decided to go for it and not risk a stroke trying to put on socks.. Anyway, the snow was powder, the 876 started right up and 25 minutes later the driveway and sidewalks were clean and I was back inside warming up my feet. I know it is not true without pictures...so !!

I usually by junk, throw a lot of cash at it to make it pretty & right again. Then I try to figure out where I'm going to store it. Never really tried or wanted to sell any of them.

I'm up to these nine now. Collecting and rebuilding is the easy part. Figuring where to store them all is harder.

I’ve been bringing a BD-4263 Doxer blade back to life (1963). It’s almost ready, needing only a centering rod in the front hitch. That said, the heavy usage this plow has seen has put a lot of wear on the quadrant pivot. If the plow proves useful, I’ll go after tightening that up but I the meantime, it’ll do. Here it is so far, ready to be tested with 5-8” of snow forecast for Sunday night into Monday. I’m using a plow mount bracket intended for long frame tractors instead of the original separate bolt-on angle irons. The ¾” rod with pinned spacers through the tangs lets the narrower bracket hold the wide-ended frame. Putting the rod through the original mounting holes, however, positioned the plow too far rearward so that when the plow was angled the skids interfered with the front wheels (or vice versa?). This was made worse by the slop in the quadrant pivot. To move the plow forward to roughly where it would be with the “factory” mount setup, I’ve welded extensions (blue arrow) to the tangs and made new mounting holes 3” aft of the original holes. I left the original holes (red arrow) so the change is reversable. Voila, no tire/skid interference. New ⅝” shaft skids with bushings to fill the ¾” skid mounts and other new hardware. A lever and rod were not with the plow when I got it so I made new. The new angle control lever is a straightened 8-speed shift lever welded to a new base. Rod is Heim-jointed. This model was the last to have the foot-operated quadrant release.

Scored a swath of original manuals for the ‘76 C-160 on Nice to have a paper reference in a digital world.

Well, I guess that puts me back on topic as well! (albeit a temporary mount) 

What's next ? Gigbrs & Nattorts

Very fuel efficient and quiet

Winter trail ride. Right now there is ZERO snow, which is okay. This was back some years. The 1986 417-8 goes nice on the trails once it packs down without having to chain up. Kwik-Way weight box is nice to have.

520-8 … Kerosene flush and drain of the transmission and two qts of 80/90 back in. Will most likely do a better flush when it’s not so darn cold here. Removed the garage door spring and installed the proper clutch return spring. Speaking of cold, it was 5 degrees over freezing this afternoon so I gave it a quick pressure wash.

I really wanted something bigger for moving my boat around and more comfortable at plow days. This popped up on fb in a WH group. I grabbed it up. Just purrs but dies after about 30 min of running. Most likely the coil is giving up. I will deal with that once warmer weather arrives. A worker cosmetic refresh is in order once spring arrives. Seeing if Terry can come up with a special Austim Awareness variation to the standard WH Automatic 18 decal set. Give it a tiny bit of flair, maybe puzzle pieces in the red background or lets see what he comes up with. Definatly a beast, my first time driving one of the big Horses. She has the 3pt and rear pto on it. Looking forward to refreshing her a bit.

Removed the old worn out hood hinge brackets on the 520-H. Installed the @Steve Janninck designed and modified hood hinge brackets. Will definitely last longer than the original '89 set!

I had regular work today. Trina and our friend got to play snowplow duty on the Horses. The friend driving my '75 C160 Automatic.

@ebinmaine Yes I swapped out the shifter boot even though the one on it still had life left in it I felt

Some interesting facts I learned when I approached retirement. According to the USB of statistics, I would die at age 77. If I stayed on schedule, regardless if I took full SS at 67 or partial at 62, In total I would receive within $100 the total amount I had paid into SS for 50 years. I actually took SS at 65 when I enrolled in medicare. So, being one of the lucky retirees that lived longer than expected, I have profited from the $300,000+ I have paid into the SS system. Then here is my 100 yo MIL beside me...she really beat the system.

Still no engine on my project tractor …but I still picked up this complete kit today.

I started my first week in 2025 by falling into a N.O.S brand new 315-8 60th anniversary. (Last year made ) Today picking up parts to another local dealer 15 minutes from work I walk in for parts and come out with nos Xi series 36” Tiller - 48” deck - grader —300/400/500 grader . Pure luck right in my own backyard. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the XI stuff as I’m not a Xi collector ….

The 520HC is my favorite plow tractor mainly due to the faster ground speed and quick steering. The old first gen 520 with straight axle and fast steering is my favorite mowing tractor. I think the Work Horse is the best looking tractor.

Still waiting for a couple transmission seals to show up. Got bored so I bolted up one ag tire..yeah, I’m that bored

I feel like I'm behind the times, but I put LED's on my horse since one of the old lights had burnt out. Testing in my shed with the lights out it seems better, I guess the first early morning snow plow job will tell me how they do.

We’ve had over 11” of snow here within the past week or so. I pushed out around 16 neighbors driveways for extra seat time. Normally use the 520-H which is easy and fun to drive. I had to switch out my ag tires this year to a set of turf tires with chains and weights. I keep this set ready every year and glad I had them for this year. The ag tires were just spinning. here are a couple of videos on my YouTube channel for recent plowing Wheel Horse GT16 4x4 Wheel Horse 520-H

Pullstart will be happy it's a pull start. Get that pot metal pully off that tranny too I'm sure I have one. The score ... nuthin like parking lot wrenching ...

Got my tires mounted up. One side painted and mounted. They look good, but they are very small. I had read they ran a little on the small side, but I didn't realize just how small they are. No complaints other than how hard they are to put on. They won't come off the wheels for a long time, that is for certain. At least not by me doing it.