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I thought you all may enjoy this. This is how to spend Easter morning. The tractor is a 1949 John Deere model A. The plow is a Case Centennial 2-14 rope lift. Late 40's I think. Working one of the gardens before it rains. Enjoy.

@WHX24 and @pullstart were posting adds that they were finding for for sale. This type of enabling got me to looking around until I happened upon one that they missed. It was a D160 at a very reasonable price so I decided to give the seller a call and set up a time to go look at it. His schedule and mine dictated an early morning run for me. With trailer in tow, I started my 3hr journey at 4:30am to go have a look see. What I found was a fairly strait tractor that was in need of a little (Ok maybe a lot of love) Seller was at 2 1/2, after looking it over and pointing out some issues I countered with a buck and a half. We met in the middle at 2 Benny's which I thought was a good enough deal. Of course it didn't happen with out pic's, so here's some shots of me new baby. I would have liked to see some more equipment hanging off from the rear end but for the price it was not a deal breaker. If the meter is correct there are not a huge amount of hours on the 'ole girl. Known issues so far. Engine turns over & has compression but no spark. Wiring is a nightmare Steering needs some surgery. Missing throttle linkage. My first plan is to see if the Onan will run and how well it runs. If it has major issues I will most likely look for a K341 to replace it with. The steering pivot arm under the tractor has been broken, repaired, broken, repaired etc a few times. I may look for a new one but will more likely fab one from steel as these are often an issue. Future plans are to build a FEL for this tractor and maybe a back hoe. Back hoe is not in stone though. Currently I have so many iron's in the fire that I won't be able to start on this tractor right away, so don't look for any progress on this right away. She will be put on moth balls for a while until I can give her some attention.

After our Easter dinner my nephews and nieces came up to me with that look in their eye. You know the look that says "We would like something but we're afraid to ask" They never asked but I knew what they were waiting for and being the big softy that I am, I got a tractor out for some cruise time. With one nephew at the wheel and a tub full of great nephews and nieces they spent a good hour or so cruising around the neighborhood.

Surfing the on line auction sites and found this little beauty. I couldnt help myself and had to have it! I know its not a Wheel Horse made attachment but it was sold by Wheel Horse and can be found on the back of an RJ-35 brochure. Now i thought it has fared pretty good for a 70+ piece of equipment. I'll let you be the judge of that! What the interesting part of it all is it was made not to far from the the birth of the Wheel Horse. I think this will look good behind my late 1955 RJ-35. I dont think I've ever seen one of these at any show. ENJOY THE PICS.

I was at a friends house recently and saw a book I was interested in. As I was thumbing through the pages I came across this picture of a Wheel Horse towing a race car! This photo was taken at the once famous Bridgehampton Race Track in the early sixties. The track was located only about five miles from my home and hosted many famous drivers such as AJ Foyt, Don Yenco, Mario Andretti, Roger Penske, Richard Petty and Paul Newman just to name a few. As a kid I remember going to the track to watch some of these driving greats, especially Newman because my mom was in love with him!!These event’s would draw thousands of people. By the late eighties the track was suffering financial hardship(do to noise restrictions from the town, limiting what could be ran there)and there was little to no security at night so we would seek on the track and do a little racing of our own!! Sad to say that in the late nineties the property was purchased and turned into a golf course for the super wealthy. I think initiation fees for it are north of 500k not counting yearly dews! Needless to say that I will not be joining! The last picture is where the Lowenbrau bridge was and you can see the sandy area where the straight away was. I snuck up there in the fall to get a picture! Sorry for the long ramble but I hope you enjoy the pictures!

BBT started her Military Tribute Tractor build this afternoon. The chassis was/is a gift from @Herder Adam maybe 3 years(?) ago. We'll be using the mid 70s Chrysler mil-spec single cylinder engine from @Stepney Spenser. The wheels to be installed are a nice set we picked up from @Sparky last fall at @JCM Jim's North Berwick Maine meet n greet. The Dismantling Department went right to work this afternoon and spent less then 2 hours to get to where she is in the pics. The cleanup crew will be taking over soon. Here's what we'll call the Before section: And here's the current progress:

Got the C120 out for the first time this year, pulled the thatcher behind it first while mowing, then went over the whole yard with my Parker sweeper ( that came in a Toro/Wheel Horse box).

Trina did some more painting and I got the front axle in place. I put roller bearings in with the spindles. I can already feel that those will make for a nice steering rig.

Waiting for kids to arrive.

As requested, and she mowed this slope with no issues! Straight up, straight back!

Sometimes it's the little things. I needed a cig lighter/12v port for the new tractor. I just couldnt stand the little plastic knob so I turned out a stainless one for it. Uch better. It's close enough to an original.

Many hours spent today on placement, fitment, scale and color variations for the new hood ornament... I think it’s perfect!!! Peep...peep...peep...

Thinking it's time to remove the Winter attire and install the Tine rake but that may trigger the usual Maine heavy wet Spring snow storm that we haven't received yet. Anyway last picture of the 417-8 with plow. She did well for my first year trying out this combo for Winter duty.

A photo of different types of Wheel Horse shifters I have.

I had to bend the shifter a bit to get things to work on the plow mule. A 1257 with and HY-2. Might have got a bit too much bend says my 'nads ... just gotta be careful ats all .

Well the Paint Department got the spindles and hubs all done up for the front. They're all greased and installed. Would've had the front wheels on too but the bearing cap on the right side fought the snot out of us. Eventually we prevailed. Much battle was foughted. Messed up the paint just a tad so she resprayed the copper. Likely be able to put the front wheels on tommorow and have a rolling chassis.

I have those thrust bearings and washers on skittles. Makes it nice!

I heard JB Weld is some good stuff.

Nice, I am headed to family lunch shortly. Easter is the greatest day of the year because of what we are celebrating, Jesus our risen savior. Enjoy the family!

Harbor freight trailers are completely out of stock in my area so I bought this 300lb capacity atv rack instead. It's awesome! On it I have a pair of 18 gallon Rubbermaid totes, a 5 gallon gas can, and my Milwaukee M18 chainsaw. I also provisioned it to pull my gorilla cart which will work until I can get the 4x8' trailer I want. This setup was amazing for running around the property today and getting a bunch of branches chipped up. Oh yeah and I really want to find a way to carry a fire extinguisher onboard... It's like they left the perfect sized area in the engine bay to carry one, I just have to find a way to mount it securely.

After making a 6hr round trip run to adopt another horse yesterday, I had enough time left in the day to respray my rims. Second time was the charm , they turned out much better this time. With any luck I will be able to paint the sheet metal next weekend and then it will be assembly time.

I think she's mafia material there....

What does the pup have in its back back...a refreshing malted beverage of just some brandy???

Brute force and a 12in long pipe. I didnt realize that it was hardened steel. The tire tipped in just a bit so I thought I would tweak it back a bit. Ya...no....wrong answer.

DO NOT REMOVE THE PLOW!!!!!

Lawn duty picking up gravel that got blown into the yard from the winter IMG_8366.MOV

Are you saying... now you want to see his butt? Happy Easter!

Lookin at that seat, you have either smooth fields or "Old Man Butt" hasn't caught up to you yet! HAPPY EASTER!

Today I had the opportunity to walk around 10 acres of a mostly Wheel Horse and John Deere tractors. My guess is there was 50 to 70 Wheel Horses with countless numbers of snow plows and mowing decks. There was a 520-8, many 520-H,and quite a few 417’s. Nothing I was told ran and many had been there for years. I bought a few things and was told to come back anytime. Snapped a few photos.

Got a call from a friend last week.They own a small mobile home park and were wanting to clean it up a little.Said they had 4 lawn tractors that they were going to let someone take for scrap.Asked me if I wanted them.I said,of course.I had no idea what I was going to find when I rolled up with my truck and trailer.I was thinking.......420 LSE,520H,maybe a compact diesel 4x4.So much for dreaming.Ended up getting a Scotts 20 HP/50 in. A Honda HT4213,pretty cool tractor.Has a liquid cooled twin cyl. engine.A Honda HT-R 3009.Looks like the Snapper Comet that Forrest Gump mowed his school ball field with.Also got a Craftsman DGS6500.That supposedly ran last year.Has a mower deck issue {spildle falling out}.Also got an Ingersoll snow blower attachment that looks like it was hardly used.Had to come-a-long everything on my trailer by hand.Of course my 9,000 pound Harbor Freight winch isn't installed on my trailer yet.Out of 16 tires on the 4 mowers,2 tires had air.No compressor with me.Sore back today,but pretty neat trailer load for 2 hrs work.Don't know what I'm going to do with them.Probably just let them sit here and de-value my property.

That’s the way to do it...! Now add a few more trailers...!!! The Achto, Wisconsin and Wheel Horse Northern RR!

Okay Eric, I decided to take your advice and leave the 417 set up to plow just in case you are correct. The weather was so nice I decided to bring 4 of the boys out for a trail ride out back. Each one started right up and ran great. Also we do have some snow left and I didn't need you and Oldskool trucking in any more just because. The 2 last remaining piles from the bucket loader for your enjoyment.

Good idea with the roller bearings, like it. Curious about when the whole machine is completed.

Using the Roper tiller the other day on the C121, I managed to break the wire cable on the 3point winch, this was my fault because, when I installed it I didn’t fit a keeper bar across the ends of the lift arm cable pulley mounting lugs. The cable came off the pulley when slack and chafed against the lug. I was going to fit a synthetic cable anyway. I’ve also had problems starting just lately, occasional misfire and lack of power. Cleaning out the gas tank I managed to break the grommet for the gas tap, new one ordered. I then thought, I’ll try the new “Chinese” carburettor while I’m at it. Fitting a priming bulb in the line drawing fuel from a can, the engine fired up immediately, idled and throttled up and down without missing a beat. How long it will last, who knows? The original carb will be reconditioned, the play in the throttle shaft is virtually nonexistent. Anyway, here are the photos of the 3point linkage kit before refitting to the tractor. A couple of photos show how the hydraulic tank etc, would have been fitted, this before deciding upon the “Winch” route.

Me thinks @pullstart is gonna have something else besides chocolate in his Easter basket...

but anyone famous ? we were planning to join that golf club - but we heard they were serving snails on the dinner plates so I put a stop to that plan !

After some rework, the Horse did make yesterday it‘s first Mowjob.😎 it run‘s like a charme, the predator has plenty of power overhalf the 1800RPM. below it seems it rapidly looses some power, but it works for me. i only disagree with the church pipe sounding Exhaust, so i calculated a lot arround and try the equations to bring into a solution. I made a Silencer as precalculated and give it a Try. to be honest i made 4 different, and chooses the best for my preferred RPM‘s or better Frequency range. from idle to full throttle i have a spread of 3000 Hz, that is the goal to silence. At the beginning i started with a 97dB on the driver Seat, a Value, the Motor manufacturer have fixed. i tried it more silence but with the same or even better Power. the Testride while mowing yesterday was a completely Success. at Full throttle i only reached 86 dB on driverseat, more than 10dB less than Factory and a more mellow Sound. 73A01983-DE44-46D7-9F4A-DBCB3AD299AA.MOV Here is a view to the silencer in the Exhaust. while looking for some material in the Shed, i found an older Piece from a past Project and get some stupid ideas... It‘s a Smart Turbocharger from a 3 cyl. engine a little reworked what i put on my Quadbikes Engine some moons ago. With racing fuel 100 octane and some mods there where several funny rides, not the safest, but who cares.. 😂 Found also the old electric Oilpump and few other things are laying arround. Ughhhhh - some stupid ideas hit my mind... So i ordered a set of stronger Valvesprings - just in case.... it‘s allway‘s better to have, than to need - ya know 😎

Here the promised Soundcheck.

Looks to be a bit of a Franken Horse. If it was a "C" model it would have throttle & choke levers instead push pull knobs. With a little love it should be a good worker though. As for a wiring diagram, I would use one for a Raider 9 or 10 with a Tecumseh engine.

I renovated a C-125 and its a real beauty. Whenever I take her out on the road people love to look round at how well it has been done. Most have never seen a mini sized tractor as we don't have a lot of huge properties over here.

If it snows we know who to blame

I’ve been wanting a gas powered air compressor to mount on the service truck for a while now. Finally decided to pull the trigger on one today. I’ve been looking at an Ingersoll Rand from Tractor Supply as well as the Central Pneumatic from Harbor Freight. Went to Tractor Supply first thing this morning and this particular unit was sitting on the floor, marked down from $1100 to $750 with a tag that said as is no returns. Asked about the story on it, guy said it was sold a couple weeks ago, ran for about a day, and the motor locked up. Gave him $350 for it, loaded it up and headed out on the 150 mile journey to Harbor Freight to pick up a Predator 212 to put on it. $350 for the compressor and $140 for a motor, $500 bucks in an $1100 unit...not bad. Get home tonight only to find that the motor is perfectly fine, but one connecting rod in the compressor had seized itself to the crank. So now I can spend $380 on a new crank, rod, and gaskets...or $450 on a whole new pump. Either way I’m still in it for way less than a new one, so it was still a fairly good deal. As a bonus though, I do have in the back seat of the truck a brand new Predator 212 that will probably find its way onto the 2 seater Wheel Horse and get me going on that project again

62-02856 - Trivia - 1962 serial 62-2856 and on have a bent shifter to clear the hydraulic pump Dated November 12, 1963 Models 5025 and 5046 are the same transmissions except for the shifters. All replacement transmissions now shipped less shifter and boot including 5047 Garry

Started out today blowing the winter's accumulation of oak leads away from the base of the chain link fence. Blew the leaves out of the adjacent flower beds as well. Then planted 60 or 70 surprise lily bulbs along the bottom of the fence. Next up was wakeing the Horse up to run the sweeper around to pick up the leads the blower dislodged. Open the shed and the right rear tire is flat. OK, add air. Roll it out and check the oil. Reads at add on the dip stick, so add oil. Grab the gas can. It is empty, so off for a gas run for nob-ethanol fuel. Add Sea Foam. Remembered to open the gas shutoff valve (!). Normal amount of cranking, and it fires right up. Cruse around the yard at 3/4 throttle and 3rd gear for about 20 minutes,, no issues. I did notice some gear oil on the floor under the right axle, maybe an ounce or two. Must have leaked past the seal when the tractor was leaning that way due to the flat tire. Guess I'm going to have to put hub removal and axle seals on the work list.

I cannot believe Dan scored a D and you turks did not but give it a couple of "likes" .... do you not remember what magic he has?!?! Word on the gossip channel he wants to build a FEL.. are you kiddin me who's up for that! Just to be a bastage I ain't gonna tell yous what he paid..... Truth be told Dan kinda pèein me off you didn't want a navigator.

UHM... Trina's spending time on her own stuff? Who's gonna finish building Colossus? Looking forward to this QUICK build!!!

Sorry to horn in but couldn't resist. Have 4 rabbits in the back yard this evening. Since tomorrow is Easter the word is Fluffle