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Ok that'll be it for tonight . We'll see if we can get some more if not a video. We have Bob's son Robert doing our test driving. Have a good one

Whats up everybody, alot of you guys kind of already know a little bit about this project. There comes a time of when you can do things and finally its has come to life as we know it. It moves, runs fantastic. Kind of like excited if you know what I mean. Anyways I am not computer oriented so if I don't succeed at this I am pretty sure that Bob will get it straightened out. Well here goes.

I am going to start this post then let John post up the pictures. For quite some time John has had the idea of building a Articulated Gt-16, and last fall we started to make his idea a reality. We have spent most of the winter getting it into a working tractor and are currently at the point of testing before we go to paint. We won't be showing step by step build pics - just jumping through it. This tractor is using a new design than all previous builds on the center joint and I wish to keep it under wraps until a latter date. So please just enjoy what we do show you and hopefully in a few weeks we can show the finished project. Also we are hoping we can successfully upload the test drive video I shot today. Hang tight and lets see if John can follow me up with the pics..... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1396517100609436.1073741839.1393219404272539&type=1&l=2c8f30be21 Alternative album to view-at my FB Page Totally Articulated Garden Tractors by Rock and Son Fabrication. Heres the videos!!!! https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nVSDnhrsGoOWFVZ09ONmZyam8/edit?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nVSDnhrsGoMHBtYmV0MFdpMWM/edit?usp=sharing

I always get a bunch of icicles hanging off my house each winter, kinda cool but they are all the same and not picture worthy. But today I went into my portable shed to look around and saw this one. Its small but different so I deemed it picture worthy . Water must be dripping thru the tarp on my portable shed and landing right on the front tire of my C-105. Mike................

ive had a lot of guys on the forum today asking about the plating of hardware and the cost involved. what you see in the pic below cost me $39.90 out the door. this was about 1/3 to 1/2 a 5 gallon bucket full of parts. they told me its a flat rate for up to roughly 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket. now i don't just unbolt the parts, throw them in a bucket and take them in. they told me that anything that has paint on it will take longer in the acid bath, so much so that the cost would be more. most of their business is local industrial, all new stuff, bare metal, never been plated or painted before. so thats what they like. so to keep them happy and in the end myself too by getting a better looking result, i degrease and glass bead blast everything first. they do clear zinc or yellow and black chromate finish. hope that has answered any questions. right now I'm starting to get another batch ready to get plated. when its all ready to take in i will post another pic to show how i take the parts in.....

so I had to revert back to my old standby.... I gotta walk a little bow-legged to use the angle feature though...

All my tractors to date are built on Case Ingersol transaxles. I hear the subject of duals a lot- I had a buyer talk me into putting a set onto a 4x4 tractor before he took it home. Yes they look neat and gnarly- BUT- I will tell you that to start with- these tractors lay down quite a foot print overall and you have to be paying attention when your driving them. This is particularly worse at a tractor show. The duals make them very unenjoyable to drive when in a show setting especially. They also increase the turning radius as the tires will touch each other when turning. That makes putting in steering stops necessary when they are added after the fact. Now- on Chevelletowns 520 4x4 this isn't as bad as he put some thought into it and used some common sense and went with a narrower tire. Running tires the size of Burlys would be in the uncomfortable area for me -John also planned the build on what he is using with no intention of duals. I have played with just a couple of the tractors and have a pretty good feel for whats realistic and whats not. And No- I'm not knocking anyones opinions - just adding some insight!

Getting out of the cab. Way too much time in the basement Mike. Do they put you down there, or do you just go by yourself???

fired up #2 this morning and took it for a run. figured id give it one last run all together before starting to strip it for the rest of #3s build. took some pics of both of them together. easy to see the wide stance of the jd front axle/wheel and tire combination.

I’m posting this in the hope it may be useful to somebody somewhere, if not to RS members who seem to be generally able to turn their hand to pretty much anything, perhaps for the many out there that trawl the net looking for basic information to give them the confidence to do a job. After all, it’s from the ‘guests’ that a forum’s membership often grows. Having just finished overhauling my 216-5 ready for the new season which included fixing the brake it was time to overhaul the 227-5. The 200 series rarely seem to feature on RS, possibly because they are vertical shaft and considered to be ‘lawn’ rather than ‘garden’ tractors. Anyway, on with the job in hand – sorting out the brake which was poor in that it just about operated with the pedal fully down and the parking brake lever ratchet wouldn’t stay locked in the ‘on’ position. The 200 series are fitted with the ubiquitous Peerless transaxle found on many makes of garden tractor from the 80s era and which have with a transmission disc brake. The rod from the brake pedal applies force to the calliper operating lever via the larger strong spring with the result that you can control the degree of braking action by the amount the pedal is depressed. Adjustment to compensate for the brake pads wearing down is made by tightening locking nut securing the lever to the calliper. If this adjustment is not maintained then eventually the brake only just works at full pedal depression and there isn’t enough tension in the big spring to hold the parking brake ratchet engaged. So it’s simple, just adjust the nut eh? Well, having just overhauled the brake on my 216-5, I would say that having got this far always take the whole assembly apart unless you are certain it’s in good order as you’ve done it in fairly recent years. Removing the lever revealed the first sign that dismantling was indeed required. The disc must be able to move on the shaft and those splines looked ominously rusty to me so continue on. The two ‘plungers’ (for want of a better word) that transfer force through to the pad can be removed at this point. These were clean and still shiny; those on the 216 were a bit rusty but still came out and cleaned up ok. On removing the housing, the brake pad it retains dropped out in two pieces! Be careful to locate and put aside the metal plate that sits between the pad and housing to take the force of the ‘plungers’. So now to the brake disc which when new would have simply slid off the splined shaft. A bit of wiggling and it came off (just) by hand. The problem here is that the disc sits very close to the transaxle casing making the use of a proprietary puller difficult if not impossible. With the 216 it was stuck firm and even penetrating fluid left overnight didn’t help so I had to resort to some tapping. There’s a bit of end float in the shaft so I made wedges from scrap steel sheet of various thicknesses that would just fit either side of the shaft between the disc and casing. A few taps with a copper mallet and it moved a bit allowing a couple more thin ‘wedges’ to be inserted and so on. The idea was to bring it far enough forward to use a puller but by the time it had moved that far I managed to pull it by hand. The second brake pad sits in a recess in the transaxle casing and was part worn but intact. There appears to be a thin fibre shim between the casing and the pad, possibly it was used to hold the pad in place during assembly or possibly it provides a smooth surface. On the 216 it had pretty much disintegrated so I cleaned what remained of it out. It was time now to remove the grass debris, and clean the splines on the shaft and the disc. When the splines on each are clean of the rust and solidified grease mix the disc should move easily on the shaft – almost a tad loose in fact. The disc on the 216 cleaned up well and was pretty much perfect but this one was pitted. Looking at the pad surfaces they seem to have broken up a bit and developed pockets that held moisture causing the pits during winter storage year on year but hey, ho – it’s a tractor not an automobile so it’s going back for now and I’ll keep my eye open for a better one. The pads however, needed replacing. Re-assembly, as they so often say, is pretty much the reverse of disassembly but here are a few points: Grease the splines and wipe off any excess. Remember to install the rear pad before putting on the disc. Remember the metal plate that sits behind the outer pad in the calliper housing. Remember also that the bolts securing the calliper casting go into ally – don’t over tighten! Some Peerless diagrams show a coil spring that sits on the adjuster thread before the lever is installed but I didn’t find one of these on either tractor. I think it must have been an anti-rattle device so I’ve added one to each tractor but I guess it’s not that important. I greased the surface of the lever that actuates the plungers and the reverse face that moves against the washer. Now it’s time to adjust the brake calliper by tightening the lock nut. I’m not sure what the OEM guide for this is but I tightened it till there was just a little forwards / backwards movement left i.e. in the ‘off’ position the lever isn’t touching the ‘plungers’ but starts exerting pressure through to the pads as soon as it is pulled forward slightly. Having reconnected the brake rod to the lever and also attached the return spring to it one can check the operation of the brake and the parking brake ratchet – they both worked well. I’m sure someone will chip in and correct me if I’ve done something drastically wrong here but it seems to have worked ok on both tractors now. I've used tags for this post and images uploaded to the forum gallery! As I said, hope this is useful to someone out there. Andy

I think it's official. I have had the C-175 hooked to or alternating with my snowblower for the better part of 7 years. I have used the blower more this year than I have in all the previous years combined. I believe I have moved snow with it 8 times so far this year. There were two years since 2008 that I never fired it up during a winter. Made me begin to wonder why I took it off and put it on each year and it's why it stays on that tractor now. Looks like it may be back out again on Tuesday morning before we get an inch of rain and mid-50's later in the week. (Followed by frogs and locusts).

Been there, done that with the thought of duals. Sounds great, would look cool but not sure if I could see the functionality behind that. Tires weren't cheap if somebody wants to I'll buy the wheels. Like I say it would be awesome.

I could see you with a cab. You would have to sit on the tractor and have some one lower the cab over you and bolt it on !!

I'll throw my guess in..... 1968 Commando 6. (1-4631) @Steve - the right foot pedal is the PTO. edited to add: It could also be a '68 500 Special. (1-3631) The reasons behind my "guess": It has the wider rear fender, headlight opening in the hood, three spoke steering wheel, and the drive belt guard has a Tecumseh tab configuration and no decal indentation.

Will you be putting her carcass on ice for a reanimation in the future?

No socks...

Van...would that tool box hold a bottle of Rock & Rye???

I want a video of guys getting in and out of the CABS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BURGER KING !!!!!! BURGER KING!!!!!! Did someone say BURGER KING ???? Grab me a Double dollar cheese burger, onion rings( don't forget the sauce) & a Hersey Pie. I have Oh yea I know it's , we got snow too, But it's BURGER KING ????

'88...first year for the model 520-H. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX4qUILtQ1Y&feature=youtu.be

Invite him on down. He can ride shotgun for ballast!!

Awesome work Bob... And John! Looks like great fun, you are making me want to runout to the workshop... Expect updates on my 4x4 Raider 16 anytime soon

Yes, guys it will be at the show. It will also have a New coat if Red paint along with the New Decals that Yes, (wait for it) Terry Dennis has already produced for us. I'm hoping to bring the newly painted GT16 tricycle along with it.

I love all of Bobs creations, but I gotta say that that one (with the big wheels) gets me all hot and bothered,,,

Screw the furnace... tractors occupy that space now.

Hey Bill, I enjoyed your story. For me here in Orange County NC, we got about 7-8 inches of mostly snow mixed with a little ice that really caught most folks here off guard. There were more cars and trucks and buses (both school and city) stranded and stuck and down embankments than I could count. Out in the county where I live it was more of the same. There were three cars stuck at the 3-way intersection right in front of my house, another SUV nose first in the ditch just within sight of my driveway, and a full size school bus off in the ditch no more than a half mile from the end of my driveway. Right away this morning I made the decision that clearing my driveway and my daughters driveway and my son's driveway, and the intersection, and pulling two of the cars back on the road was more than I wanted to hit head on with a Wheel Horse. The logical choice was the Mahindra 4025 diesel with a 6foot scrape blade on the rear of the 3point hitch. It took about three hours to clean up most of this mess, then I stopped and went to Burger King with my Son (who had helped me pull the two vehicles back up on the road). After getting back from Burger King I loaded up the Mahindra tool box with BK chicken strips (no need for tools in the tool box as red tractors don't break down) and resumed moving more snow. About two hours later all the snow was moved and it was time to call it a day. It was fun, but now I'm ready for Spring. Happy Valentines Day Everybody! I'll add in some pics next week.

They are pretty good cheap tires, are they Duro brand ?? going by the colored strips on them, these tires were about like yours when I got them. they turned out ok.

Guess I should add the two youtube videos I made with my new snow blower here also... Part 1 Part 2 RJMcEachern

Yes with out the slight bend about 15-18" from the end the lift tube hits the tie rods/lower steering, ask me I know, pretty sure the tubes are the same size just some have the bend, and with a little heat you could bend one that is not bent.

This is becoming quite a serious collection you're building Mike, I can see I'll have to up my game. How about the Holy Grail - an iluminated sign next? Andy

My other passion is 4 wheelers & sleds : And some things we've found while riding :

I think 2 sets of duals would make it look unstoppable!! ;-)

You wont get to many answers if you dont give us some pictures of the Bolens plow attached to the Wheel Horse. I have no idea what a Bolens plow looks like and I bet thats the same for most guys here. Have you considered finding a WH plow and selling off the Bolens plow to recoup some of the money spent? Thats the route I would take anyway. Mike......

I took your advice after finding out that new skids would cost $37.50/each before tax. Went to Walmat- found a nice 1/2" thick cutting board...... Took it home, made several molds for each skid. It takes about 15 minutes to remove the worn out ones and have the new ones on..... Nice info Fun! Sure came in hand for me. I have went through 1 set of original skids and 2 sets of the HDPE skids........ Course I clear anywhere from 8 to 12 driveways each time it snows, so, it is getting a lot of use.

John- Looks great !! I am looking forward to seeing that bad boy at the show.

OH MY GOD, John , that it such a joy to see . I can only imagine how excited you must be with this project . I really hope that i am going to see this work of art at the big show in June , it will make the trip worthwhile just to see this . Will you be applying a new coat of shiney red stuff to it ?

?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent> ?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent> Pic of my 1277 it to had a noise in the motor so i put a 12 HP in it and a set of 26x12x12 tires on the back had to lift the seat pan up a couple on inches

Steve I don't think there is gear grinding involved -- I never have any trouble getting to the gear I want; it has just become 2nd nature for me -- And this does not happen a lot -- Truth be told there has been zero; nothing; 'nada' maintainence done on my Unidrive in the 23 years that I have owned it -- I check the fluid level and I have never needed to add any -- So in that vain I have not been a good Wheel Horse owner

I THINK THE GT-14 IS BEING PUSHED AT THE END OF A STIFF ROPE.......

Just waiting for the tail of the storm with a few more inches to fall. I used the Ariens to clear most of it and cleaned up with the 518xi. I even had the C-105 out for a little exercise as well. Notice the sidewalk superintendent checking my work.

That 417A looks good! Van, I completely forgot about Evap-o-rust. We used that stuff at work. In fact, I made this fun little picture to send to some people here at the office using my avatar picture. I can't believe I forgot about evaporust.

Hey James. I knew you were a member here, so I was glad to see you tag in. Your cars look great! Do you still have a good number of reds there? Hey rydogg, Plenty of collectors went from the newer stuff over to the redline side. Again, Thanks!

Finally figured it out. It's a magic carpet.

well its been a few days, I've been busy.... got a bunch of plated parts back........ so it was time to swap out some of the temporary stuff and start assembling parts. kept painting more black parts and also repainted the hood stand as i wasn't happy with it (to tell the truth here- the hood stand has been painted 4 times now since i started this build) i just wasn't happy with the shade of black and i also had an issue with some old powder that i had in storage for a few years. junk started appearing in some parts, so i ditched the box and started using our production supply at work. some of us guys that do a lot of personal work keep old inventory when its purged. sometimes it bites you using old stuff........ anyway, heres some more pics, its starting to go together slowly and I'm happy how its turning out so far..... steering all together... front tach-a-matic together with painted and plated parts. mid tach-a-matic together.... shifters painted and installed...... with new boot (part #3357) hood stand going on with replated hardware...... front axle and steering from above..... upper hoodstand on to check fit, needs to come off so upper steering shaft can be installed. i got it bolted on as it leaves less parts for me to kick around on the garage floor.....

That is why I use the truck key for my ears!

I remember reading somewhere, back in the day... one of the Hotwheels designers pulled into the employee parking lot with a set of these bolted onto the hood of his daily driver El Camino. Ultimately became the Hotwheels Fleetside Custom model...always loved that model too.

Car in the background is my baby. It is a 1986 Mustang GT convertible. It currently has around 63,000Km on it and is all original except tires and battery. Cleat

Here's one of my prized possessions. It's the "Heavy Chevy" you got for joining the Hot Wheels club. I had 2 of them but 1 is lost. This car got the snot beat out of it racing on the "road runner" track as you can tell. I also had a drag racing set with a working Christmas tree!

I have a C 160 which I am slowly dismantling with a view to repainting, currently on hold pending warmer weather and I am trying to figure out how the brake cluth untit comes apart.