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I just changed my plans… Will now be arriving on Friday…

Don't forget the toga party on Thursday night. That might be a different show

I painted 24 horses today

or a chair.

I went just a little more, the guard isn't needed like on an eight speed.

Worked on a 520H. Needed the carb cleaned. Engine was "hunting" Bottom of the bowl was pretty bad, looks like PO left bad gas in it. Broke out the dremel with wire bush end and got the junk cleaned up. Had a little oil drip at the filter fitting. Used a modified motorcycle lift.

@Handy Don That’s what I was going to say!

Spent the day on Sat. getting the body work done on the sheet metal. @ebinmaine and @giddyap were asking questions about body filler so I thought that I would share a tutorial on my process. First and foremost, fiberglass and polyester filler should only be applied over solid bare metal with a good mechanical scratch in it. It does not adhere well to paint or primer. Our victim for this is my rear fender pan. To get a good mechanical scratch I use a grinder with 24grit paper on it, Because I had some spots that were welded on the rear pan, I used a fiberglass reinforced filler first. The fiberglass reinforced filler is very strong and works well to seal any pin holes that may be left behind after welding and grinding. If you are not filling in over welds this step is not necessary. After the filler hardens then it is sanded down to smooth it out. We are not looking for a finished product with this filler. It is sanded down with 36 grit paper. After blowing the part off so that it is dust free, a coat of polyester filler is applied. Again I use 36 grit paper to sand this down after it hardens. With this coat I am looking to get every thing as smooth & strait as possible. If I should notice any minor imperfections after I have sanded the filler down then I will add a light coat of a filler called Icing. Icing is a thin very smooth polyester filler used for fine imperfection. Again make sure the part is dust free before applying filler. Once this filler is sanded down to near perfection with 36 grit then I spray a guide coat of contrasting color over the filler. In this case I used a flat black out of a spray can. After the guide coat dries then I use 80 grit paper on a sanding block to sand the filler until the guide coat is gone. After a few swipes with the 80 grit. The pic below shows how the guide coat allows you to easily see the imperfection and 36 grit scratches that need to be sanded out. After the part has been block sanded with 80grit until the guide coat is gone, then a light block sanding with 180 grit is the final step to make your part ready for primer. 80 grit paper is fine enough for any bare metal before priming. Fender pan strait smooth & ready for primer. Hope to prime next Sat, then wet sand & paint on Sun.

Added a removable front weight ( 33lbs ) to the front of my 520. She's gonna do some work this year.

I picked up a couple of vintage KD tools recently. One is this oil filter strap wrench. Used that to pop the filter off the transmission so it can sit and drain. Trina used the 4-in side grinder with Scotch-Brite disc to remove most of the paint from the outside of the hood. @8ntruck.

Finally got a chance today to look at a few things that were on the trailer (I didn't load the stuff and just parked it in the garage)

I'm an impulse buyer! LoL Bought an engine one year just for the cardboard sign the guy had tagged on it, because it was funny "Ran at one time" --- A new take on the- Ran when parked Took it out of the hidden spot way back in the vendor barns and put it out on the road in front of our spot. Quite the conversation piece as most people were laughing to. It sold for the same thing I paid for it. It was an old 7hp Kohler but it still had plenty of useful parts on it.

I'd especially remember to think in advance of parts etc. you are are looking to buy and make notes of sizes, model numbers, etc. for compatibility to bring with you. Seeing so many WHs and so many parts can be bewildering, tempting, and overpowering.

Today me and 857 lover ( Dylan ) are gonna take our horses out in the snow and ride around. He’s gonna test out his newly swapped trans and I’m gonna see how my super lugs are in the snow.

Sleep anywhere you want. I remember Paul (Clinton Nut's father) sleeping "dead man" on a flat bed trailer one year and he wasn't even drunk! LoL. Pay for camping but you can park in the field to the left as you enter Get there early as there never seems to be enough time and especially so for a first timer. It's a lot to take in

@Redav72 I've read that it's important to use FULL COPPER wire. NOT CCA. (Copper Clad Aluminum) Are you looking for period correct restoration appearing coatings? Just the right colors? Doesn't matter, just want good wire? We've done enough resto modifications that I decided to buy a full 50' roll. I also buy others in larger rolls. PM me with what you're looking for. I can send what you need. A note about the battery cables on early machines. Wheelhorse used 8 gauge wire which is too thin. Bump up the battery cables to minimum 6 gauge.

@ebinmaine put me onto this source - 7 conductor trailer wire. Strip the outer covering off of it, and you end up with individual wires of different colours and a nice size for tractor use.

Thanks much for the Birthday wishes and the laughs. Spent most of my day doing the body work on my 867, slinging mud & making dust. Parts finally came in for the engine on this tractor today as well, Happy Birthday me! Heading out the door with the wife now to go to a FFA Alumni banquet/pig roast. Smoked pig & a few drinks sounds like a great way to end out my Birthday. Thanks again!!

I have always been of the opinion that HP wasn't big issue with snow plowing you last traction long before you ran out of HP. My Charger 12 has been my faithful snow mover for many years now. This year she got more weight and a 54 inch blade. We haven't had that much snow but I do get a lot of drifting and drifted snow is dense. She now drags down the engine in the heavy stuff. Think next year I may have to switch her with an Electro 16

I'd like to place an order for one please. You say $5.00???

I made that: old mule drive, some box tubing and plate steel from the scrap yard behind our collision center, and filled with concrete. Total investment $5.00

Oh Wauuuuw! Man I still can't believe you guys are for real. So kind and thoughtful, all of you! I wish I was as good at remembering your B-days, as you always are on mine. Thankyou is only a small word, but I can honestly say that this means a lot to me. Thanks guys! You are the best

Spent some time clearing the dooryard and walkways. Trina plowed with her go-to 867 Pigpen. After that she put together a garden cart for hauling wood and whatever else... Then she put it to good use...

Tuna, I have a carb here I'm not fond of. I'll get you a pic of it and see if you can make use of it

Now that i've got the grill mounted I could start on planning the layout of the hood or bonnet. Unfortunately this resulted in needing to raise the dash/steering console by 40mm (1.5") to end up with a hood that would line up with the grille. Luckily this was a relatively easy fix. Cut the base of the steering console and added said 40mm. This also meant I had to extend the steering shaft. Change one thing and fix ten other things With that done I decided the dash needed some more detail to make it resemble the real world example a little better. The original dash looks to be a casting and has a raised edge on the outside. So after much more cutting, welding and grinding that's what I ended up with.

Or just open the belt guard completely. The bracket that supports the top of the belt guard is restrictive by itself. And little holes make very little difference.

The finished product - I did undercut the middle of the ID on both bushings - gives me the option to pack with green grease or not. The "parts department" yielded two thin steel 1/2" shims to go onto the flanges. Cut .045 off the inside of the cast iron lever - pin hole lines up nicely and there is about .010 clearance gap to the frame when assembled. All in all, about a 3-beer job .... Done.

Your ignition coil will be the heaviest electrical draw and that is less than five amps so sixteen gauge wire that is rated for ten amps of currant will give you a 100% safety factor. Home Depot and all auto parts stores are a good source. For the terminals that you will need to make your connections you will want to buy the best quality you can find. Don't get the "500 piece terminal kit" thinking it is a bargain, buy the best quality terminals and solder the connectors to the wire or use a good crimper like the ones in this thread,

Sorry @Sparky but Craig's been quiet as of late and someone had to fill in for him , I got your back buddy @AMC RULES .Please forgive me Mike.

Didn't actually do anything to my horses today, but I did read an article in April's issue of Hot Rod about prepping for paint. But, since I am planning to paint the C195 hood this year, it was time well spent. Changed my mind about how I was going to strip the paint.

They have a VERY strict entry plan for Thursday setup time. I believe it’s 9am. Nobody is allowed past the staging area until they check in. It seems like a goat screw for about 3 minutes, then you can turn around and look and wonder what all the fiasco was about because it is all good.

I just got a 4x36 stationary belt sander with a 6" disk--an old Craftsman--since I do a fair number of small woodworking projects. One thing to be cautious of with belt sanding is that when heated unevenly through friction with the workpiece, the belt can warp out of flat.This can cause the leading edge of the workpiece to get "eased" a bit as it forces the belt down flat so it can travel underneath. Also, it is very easy to overheat a belt by pressing the workpiece down too firmly--the glue on inexpensive belts melts and they separate.

Ok here's one for you guys ... and it involves a . This was a box that I put in service vans between the seats. It had channels for hanging file folders like a filing cabinet. A clip on the underside of the lid. Was meant to be a mobile desk for work orders and such. All the techs did was fill it full of junk tho. Turned it into a ballast box for the FEL I got from @cschannuth. Wanted to mount it in a fashion to use the suitcases he let go with the tractor but @Achto says do this and use the weights for the front of a plow mule or something. Glad I listen to him and not my wife. Will be filling with concrete leaving 6 inches or so on the top for lifting chains, tools or whatnot.

worked on this some this afternoon got the engine tins back on and fuel line ran and hooked up . started draining the oil in trans and engine will be setting now till latter this week till i can get back on it need to get the headlights back in the hood I fabed a bracket up to hold the headlights in the bucket tight will get a pic of it when they are installed . i just have the seat pan setting on it have to adjust the trans it creeps a little when idling in neutral they don't have much room thru the hole in seat pan to adjust it . need to get some of that weather strip to put between hood and steering stand to close the gap there in second pic need to order the hood decals also i haven't done that yet

Propane definitely creates moisture in the form of humidity. Something to consider. Found this on the net . Moisture buildup can be a big problem in tiny spaces during the Winter. If you're using an un-vented or "vent-free" propane appliance like a catalytic heater, "blue flame" heater, or certain instant water heaters, your appliance is adding 1.6 pounds of moisture into your space for every pound of propane burned.

It actually didn't change the temp in the cab, so it joined the other pile of bad ideas in the junk corner of the barn. The right side collector keeps the cab a toasty 30F higher than outside temp.

Choosing between two tractors was hard, but not as hard as choosing best photo. So I leave the choice of eye candy up to you. Still much work ahead but I can no longer ignore finding a replacement gas tank. I can now pin the quick release steering wheel and later try JB weld to make it tight and secure. I gotta get this done with carpal tunnel surgery in the near future. So without further ado I present my yet to be finished #5

I didn't replace any parts on mine when I did it. Had spray and bottled carb cleaner in hand, pulled the top off and cleaned away. I used Q-tips and paper towels rather than the Dremel. Even reused the gasket. Had a kit on hand just in case it didn't go that way.

I have an appreciation for the fact that you're doing your best and in fact a LOT more than most folks would consider reasonable to save a good carb body. Me and the new replacement carbs are just not friendly. See the bold above. I don't think soldering is the way to go. You can't really get the metal hot enough to make it work right. Brazing... Is a possibility. I do believe J. B. Weld would be fine. That said, Lincoln at A to Z Tractor in PA would very likely have the parts you need. Well done.

When your are working on an older machine that runs eh full starter current through the ignition switch trying to shape the stiffer wire into the small space behind the gas tank can put a lot of stress on the small ignition switch terminals and those switches are expensive if you break or damage the terminal

That's good information and worth repeating. If it's a bargain it's likely too good to be true. I was VERY careful when shopping for wire to make sure I got 14 gauge FULL COPPER.

I've seen a few of the threads about adding vent holes and I'm considering it. As for the early and late season storms, I've lived them. Trying to forget, but I was in SE New Hampshire for the April fool's storm. More vivid memories of the more recent trick or treat storm. Parts for the snowblower are due Monday and the repair won't wait. Just concerned about tearing up a muddy lawn to get to the drive and walkway if we get a late storm.

For battery cables you want 6ga and having it very flexible makes installation and routing easier. Strand count is key yu want a big number lots of very fine wires make it flexible.

Jim @JCM …your on very thin ice buddy ! Getting this one back on topic…

What exactly do you consider 'thin' ? Personally, I wouldn't use anything less than 14 gauge and that's not exactly 'thin' !

When I installed our wood stove I got the suggestions from the manufacturer, the village code, the state code, and the industry association recommendations--then went ahead and exceeded all of them. I wanted to be able to sleep at night without worry. And I do.

Mine will only go just to make sure I don't have a good time! LoL