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Hi, My name is Mike. I am in south eastern Pa near Morgantown/Reading area. I just acquired what I believe to be a 1960 suburban 400. I bought it from a guy in Lancaster. It had a average quality restoration done to it years ago and it runs and drives and is in overall nice condition. I plan to fix a few things on it and make it a little more user friendly for my young son to drive. Looking forward to gaining more information about this cool tractor.

Just gotta man up and hold on tight! Or, you could get off and let Trina drive it, shouldn't bother her at all.

Today I cleaned off my $70 seat so Zero (that’s his name) had a fresh bed 🤦🏼‍♂️

Don't forget to clean those chimneys and stove pipes. I took advantage of this warm spell to shut down the stove and clean out some soot today.

1/1/21 will literally make hindsight 2020 Lets hope this next year is better times for ALL Happy New Year!

I got my shopping done for 2021 Christmas. Picked up over $600 worth of toys at a good discount. Now to find a safe place to store for next years Toys for Tots drive.

A Happy New year to all Friends Fellas and Addicted of the Big Wheelhorse Family from this Side of the Big Pond. May the New Year bring us the Freedom, Passion and all the Show‘s back we missed. I wish for us all a better Year and hopefully we be able soon to see us together face to face. May God bless us all.

My son put me onto this company some months ago and I've gotten several orders from them so far including some NOS Craftsman tools. They specialize in U.S.A.-made tools and at the very high quality end but have an amazing assortment of stuff. Speaking to one of their sales reps last week I learned they are buying up 000's of wrenches from Crescent who are closing their US factory and selling off the inventory. My most recent purchase was an excellent set of drill bits. I know that few of us need another tool, but in case you do... https://www.harryepstein.com

Presuming the 312 is an eight speed it will do just fine, put it in low range and have fun.

Lets hope for the Big Show among other things!

Our weather forecast for New Years Day is rain all day. Seems appropriate to wash 2020 down the drain!

This year-end Haiku Daily 5-7-5 missive Will be the last one Morning early thoughts Rhythm forms peaceful cadence Centered on cold steel Twenty twenty gone New Year hope rings eternal Wheel Horse forever

Thanks for the warm welcome. Yes I believe that is the deck drive belt guard as mentioned above. The motor is a tecumson with electric start, but it is not hooked up. I am still learning about these little tractors but I am noticing things that need attention. The gas tank is plastic so I would like to change that out. Also the shifter is very sloppy which I posted about in the transmission section already. The throttle cable and choke cable need to be hooked up and I would like to change the fluids. I’ll take some more pictures this weekend. I’ve only had it a few days and I already want to buy another one! haha

The "Bubble Top King", Darryl Starbird used lever steer on a couple of his Kustom Kars. Push forward to go right, pull back to go left.

I’m guessing easier to make. Nothing round, all straight rods / levers, single pivot points...

71 Wheel Horse 800 special 8hp B&S Decided to take a wire wheel to the rust on the rims and paint them a flat black.Not the original ivory white as it should be ,but wanted to try something a little different. Next up ,tie rods for the steering.

Now that’s just crazy talk... Happy New Year!

Mebbe I'll finish up a project or two.... Let's not be too silly. Happppyy New Year everyone!!!

Finally some progress. Thanks for heading me in the right direction on this. Should work fine now

Best you just let her have it then and save the embarrassment of her beating you.....

No... who’s Burb is it? Up there you said it’s mine, but in July you said it’s Rylee’s Just wondering if we need to arm wrestle for it... (me and Rylee)

I can’t speak Belgian Barely can speak my own tongue great job there Maxwell! My hat’s off to all folks Fluent in many language humble, smart, headstrong.

I got my first horse Got to meet new people online Here on the redsquare Sorry for mistakes Haiku is darn hard for me non native speaker

Ever hear of the 'Baking Soda and Super Glue' trick? I'm sorry I didn't take any pics of the process but with Super Glue and Gloves I didn't dare touch the camera, and I didn't even think of taking 'before' pics. I honestly didn't think it would work and there would be nothing to write about. Here's a pic of the hydro knob. You can just make out the repair and I've outlined the area on the right side that was missing. In actual light without the camera flash, the difference is even less noticeable. You could paint the knob I suppose but that would look 'too new' for my taste so I went with the black sharpie method described below. The knob on my hydro lever and on the mule drive both had big chunks out of them. I had some time on my hands so I decided to try the trick... and was EXTREMELY happy with the results! Basically what you do is clean the surfaces very well however you like. I used soft scrub and a teeth brush. Rinse and dry. I used the 'runny' super glue but I suspect that the medium would work better and not run all over the place. Apply the super glue to the area and with a 'coke spoon' or something similar, dump some baking powder on (QUICKLY!). I used a popsicle stick as a shovel. The super glue INSTANTLY sets ROCK HARD! and gives off copious NASTY FUMES! (see warnings below) Do a little at a time, take your time, and keep repeating the process until the missing area is built up past where it needs to be so that you can 'machine' it back down. For the hydro knob I found that a 'Sharpie' pen barrel was just the right size to stick in the hole and give a form to keep from having to do excess shaping afterward. BUT!!!! I didn't think it would... the glue stuck to that pen barrel. I suggest finding something that it wont stick to or possibly a thin layer of vaseline on the pen barrel. After I got the knob built back up I rough shaped it with SHARP files. When I say this stuff dries ROCK hard, I mean it! It's harder than the phenolic material. I don't know why I didn't think of using my Dremel tool with a sanding drum but I bet that would work dandy. After the rough shaping I put it in my benchtop lathe and used a strip of fine sandpaper to finish it off. Finally, I found that Black Sharpie bonds to the super glue extremely well. Paint only the white part of the repair with the sharpie and immediately wipe it down with a paper towel. The end product is nearly indistinguishable from the phenolic. You have to know where the repair was in order to see it! The mule drive knob was more challenging due to the flutes, etc... I felt like Michael Angelo sculpting a statue. I used a combination of flat, round, and jewelers files to shape it. It came out perfect... again, almost indistinguishable from the original. I intentionally left a few gouges and stuff so it looked like the rest of the knob. The scratches you see are on the original part of the knob, repair is just below that, looking close at the pic I could probably smooth it out a bit more. The repair starts at about 0530 and ends at about 0800. I used three of the small tubes of super glue from the dollar store (2 tubes in a package) and a couple tablespoons of baking soda. So material cost was nil. I did spend about 6 hours total, it's a pretty slow process but IMHO well worth the effort. Very pleased... now for the WARNINGS!!!!! WEAR GLOVES AND SAFETY GOGGLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WORK IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA, OUTSIDE IF POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The FUMES are VERY NASTY and if they get in your nose or your eyes you will be in a world of hurt. You may end up in the emergency room. I imagine they could permanently damage your sinuses, lungs, and eyes. They may even be POISONOUS. (cyanide? Dunno... maybe) If you try this, do not take these cautions lightly PLEASE!

@Rp.wh Happy Birthday! See ya next year!

I've heard that about me too.

All the best from Wishing everyone a much better 2021.

Yes indeed! I used to scrub the chimney once a month at the old place, for the sake of doing so. We heated almost exclusively with wood and occasionally got some that was wetter than it should have been. Now we have the outdoor wood boiler, it stays hot enough to clean itself

I realize it helps to come out of a corner or to hold straight, but would caster help to prevent bump steer, say, in a corner and crossing a creek and chasing down a (different) bear, while pulling a ton and a half of wood split by a lady and her mother?

Be warned, they accumulate quickly!

Endeavored to perservere... and fix this 552 Lauson's PITA broken recoil today. If you've never been inside one of these things, here are a couple picts to illustrate what's going on in there.

No need to end it Open source Haiku for all Feel free to do it

Mike Appears you have a 1960 550 there. and a nice restoed one at that. Yes there should be a dog point set screw under the shifter boot. Put it in neutral and remove it. 1/8 inch allen wrench and a 7/16. Remove the shifter and inspect the hole in the upper shifter ball for wear. Inspect the dog point for wear and replace if required. Check the lower shifter ball for wear. When reinstalling tighten the dog point till snug. Do not overtighten then back off on it abit and snug the lock nut. You need a new dog point I sell them for a buck. Garry is quicker but if the roll pin is not present the shifter has been most likely been replaced with a later one. Later ones the ball is welded on with just a hole for the dog point. There is a fix if the hole is wallowed out

I don't think Trina would approve... If my memory serves me, she was in the first edition, censored in the second, and again in all her glory in the third edition. I don't know why, but I bought three signed copies of the third edition from Mike Martino at the Wheel Horse show. Two remain untouched, and the other has a bit of wear and tear between pages 102 and 104.

Happy Happy Ryan! Check it out Kev he's plowing with your 'Burb!

I never thought of holes or slots in the belt guard. My guard was ugly, and it didn't look right. I thought only a smaller one in a shape to complement my custom would satisfy me, so I built it. But a second piece was needed for more protection. I made this one "disappear" by painting it the same as the footrests and I got the result I wanted.

I told the person to keep me in mind if it doesn't find a good home.

Why end a good thing ? Good to keep the brain engaged ! Keep Haiku ALIVE...……………...

Got it Zeek. I just buy...I don't distribute. You'll have to send a letter to the man and try to get on his "nice" list.

I am willing to accept "Sucks slightly less".

BURN!!!

I think Mike said it was printed again for historical value. Right!?!

We need to use brain.... Be creative and the like Haiku keeps us FRESH

Never drove a tractor with lever steer,but I do like running this.My John Deere 490D excavator.Kinda like running my Caterpillar D3C bulldozer too.Both have lever steer

Do any of you guys have this issue with serious overthinking? Like that dash panel- I stared at it and drew on it for a good 15 minutes with sharpie in hand, trying to figure out which switch should go where. There have been multiple cases where "Dude, stop. It is a tractor." pops into my head. To many, our beloved Horses ARE 'just a tractor', but to us they are much more. At the same time, this will see a life of work, not a glass box on a museum turntable Anyone else have to turn the brain down a notch at times?

Details please!