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I may wake up in time. The old TV sign off used to wake me.

Anyone ringing in the new year?? Not me! Haven’t been to work in 9 days and even though I’ve been sleeping later I’m only making it till 10:30-11:00pm each night. Tonight won’t be any different … Wife brought home a BBQ chicken/bacon/onion pizza (I gobbled a couple lactose pills) and we chowed down. She worked all day today and works all day tomorrow so I expect she’ll hit the sheets at 8:30…I’ll find a good movie and be asleep at my usual time. See ya next year!!

About a year ago I bought a C-121 auto with the intention of using it as my go-to mower. Shortly thereafter I got a great deal on a low hour 314-8. It ran perfect and had several attachments - it became my new go-to mower. So, I decided to repurpose the 121 to be a front end loader. After purchasing the build plans from P.F Engineering (which are excellent), I realized I couldn’t build it for less than $2k in material. I decided to look for a used one and found a Thompson TC10 local to me, mounted on an “end of life” 1077, for $1,000. The loader swap itself was pretty straight forward. The only modifications needed were drilling a couple of mounting holes in the tractor frame, grinding away a little of the loader top frame so the hood opened/closed and welding in a new hydraulic pump mount. I have a few things to button up still and the bucket itself needs attention but it’s fully functional. I also bought a pair of clamp-on pallet forks. I also did a “refresh” of the 121. The total project cost is shown below. Roughly $2,300, with just the FEL itself being around $1,300. Tractor C-121 Auto $500 Solid engine mounts $50 Front End Loader Johnson 10TC $1,000 Hydraulic fluid $35 Spare hydraulic hose $40 Ignition Battery $35 Battery cables $20 Points & Condenser $20 Fuel Carb & Gasket $65 Electric fuel pump $60 (later removed) Air filter $10 Fuel filter $15 Fuel line $10 Spark plug $5 Decals and Paint Decals $115 Paint $30 Lights Headlight Lens $45 LED Headlights $25 Rear lights $25 Misc $200

Picked up this 856 it runs drives and mows suprisingly it mowed every season since it was new , the brake works on a flat surface but not on hills planning to flip the chassis and make it a low rider since this also has the first year of the rigid frames, was on market place for $700 got it for $500 it was worth it and it’s name is Winnie to match my other wheel horse Wonda the 1276, if anyone can help me on the brake issue that would be nice and I don’t know where the parking brake is too I couldn’t find one , but she’s in good hands and will be just fine, also here’s some pics kinds of eager of getting it so I rented a uhual and got it since my trailer was iced in from the last storm.

Better start now and get a head start!

Going out for dinner, then to a birthday party, then???. Might make it till midnight maybe. Have a Happy New year everyone !!

Well deer season ends tomorrow and after archery season closed a month ago I kind of lost interest. But the one thing I didn’t lose interest in is ice fishing. Every weekend from here til March I will be somewhere in New England ice fishing. The boys enjoy it just as much as I do. I have already been twice in the last week. I have a place that freezes well before everywhere else. It already has 9inches of ice on it while most places are unsafe. We are headed back there tomorrow to see if the boys can have another good day. Funny story that actual is Wheel Horse related. My dad used to tow all his ice fishing gear out onto the ice with his 12 Automatic equipped with chains. I don’t ever remember him doing that but he did. He said it worked really good unless the snow was deep then he left it home. Some of the places he used to go was half mile or more from the parking area so the tractor beat walking he said. anyone else in western mass ice fish?

Certainly not this old girl.

There is no way I'm going to stay up to watch a stupid ball drop when I have a DVR. Have a good nights sleep everyone and we will taslk to you next year.

I figured my quote would result in a comment from the P nut gallery.

Trying to hypnotize us are ya!! It’s not gonna work But it’s nice to watch this project motoring along and a nice pace.

I'll be lucky to make it to 10. Made a nice standing rib roast for dinner. Had a couple of maple bacon bourbons. Hoping 2023 will be better year. Happy New Year folks !

Happy Birthday Ryan @Rp.wh! I bet your dad was glad you came on the 31st… a whole year’s tax deduction!

New yrs Eve... in the garage !

Little JB Weld and it will be good as new.

It's not about the fire on the ice and melting through...it is about the pollution when the ice melts. It may not be a big deal in the middle of nowhere, but around here (where it is hard to even find a place that will let you on their lake) believe me, the "Leave only footprints and Take only Pictures", makes a difference. It will not be long before it makes a difference where you fish also. We will cook on the ice, when we go out...nothing better then Deer Brots on the ice, but we take everything off the ice we bring on...except the drilled holes. I've seen where those leave their charcoal and junk on the ice (and we will clean up after those)...disgusting to treat a resource that way. Besides, it looks like hell going out there after somebody dirties it up like that.

Wall art? Someone would love to hang it in their man cave!

Got up early this morning to meet up with @Shynon....So I'll be lucky to make it to 9:00-9:30...

Midnight is my usual bedtime, I don't have to work anymore 😂

Watching Top Gun, eating chicken enchiladas and probably fall asleep before the end of the movie.

Maybe. I’ll let all y’all know next year.

Nice find The adjustment for the brake band is right behind the left rear tire. You can get to it without removing the tire but best to get a good look at it. It's common for the brake drum shaft seal to leak putting oil on the brake band. Not sure what you mean by "it has the first year of the rigid frames". It's a common frame set up on those

Looks like a GREAT catch day!! I tried ice fishing... Once... On a VERY cold day when the wind was also a HUGE factor. I was maybe 14, 15 years old. Tully Pond in Orange Mass. (not Tully Lake, yes there's 2) On this cove. 3 of us there so we set 15 tip ups. Cold as .... Well it was cold. 🥶 We had a wood fire going onshore in the bunkhouse. One of us would go out and run around like a mad man for 30 to 45 minutes until frozen well solid then switch out with the next guy. Pickerel !!! Just bunches of pickerel.... We'd set a tip up after releasing one and stand up to see 2 or 3 more flags up!! None of us had skates so we were run/slide/boot slipping and having a blast! I don't recall keeping any fish that day or catching anything else. Awesome memories of the day.......

Don't know how I missed this post last year but here are a couple of my favorites.

December 31st, 2022. 7 am. 38⁰ in Southern Maine!!! Under the shed roof is Trina's 867 go-to worker Pigpen and as she called it yesterday, "Newbie". An 857 we recently bought from @AHS at his much appreciated first offer.

Looks real nice! I've painted Kohler heads many times before. One light coat to to "slick" it and prevent it corroding won't hurt anything.

It's in the woods on my sister and her husband's property they just settled on last week in South Carolina. It has no engine or back tire. I can have it if I want it but it's too far gone for me to do anything with it.

No, it’s for the wife to beat me out of my stupor during one of the most creative sessions.

I am finally getting around to swapping out the 8 hp K181 on my 877 and decided to start a new thread about it. I just haven't had the time to document everything, but am figuring I might need some help from all of you to get everything back up and running. Fortunately, my dad grew up with wheel horses and is able to help me some. Here is a link to a previous thread of how I got here. I picked up the replacement motor from Squonk this summer. https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/97285-k181-rebuild-or-replace/?tab=comments#comment-1041647

Hi guys, It has been quite a while since I have logged in. Every once in a while life kicks you in the a** and it takes a while to get up again. I am looking for a machine shop / engine rebuilder in my area. I live about 19 miles NW of Ann Arbor Michigan. I have 2 that need rebuilding, 12 hp in my C120 and 16 hp from my C160. That is what I need done, but since I have no Idea what a rebuild costs it is possible I may do them one at a time and stretch out the time in between. Both are K series Kohler engines of course. I wonder if they can be left in the tractor? I watched a friend rebuild his engine and he left it in the tractor. Just wondering. Anyway, it's nice to be back and if you know of a good rebuilder I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks, Bob

Hi everyone. Thanks for the add. I'm Dan from England. I have a 1979-ish C-121 8 speed. My Dad bought it second hand in about 1984. It's had a tough life living in a damp valley in Wales. He used it to cut about 2 acres of lawn but as he got older I took over the grass cutting/maintenance duties. Over the years I got a new deck for it as the old one rusted through. I fitted Hoselock connectors so it gets a good wash after working. I also put a new short motor in after it spat the rod off the crank for no apparent reason. I managed to save the head at least. It got retired about 4 years ago as it was taking longer to fix it than to cut the grass each time. It then sat in his barn until he passed away in 2021. I've brought it home and have started getting it back to a usable state. It's got a pretty funky paint job at the moment, it got stolen in about 1990 but thankfully a mate found it in the forest and we dragged it back. I painted it like this to make it a little less easy to sell on. 32 years later I feel it was a good move. Brace yourselves..... So far I've fitted new points, condenser, etc & got it fired up again. I've removed the rims & I'll get them blasted & painted once I've taken the tyres off. My plan is to do a basic resto on it. It's not going to be show standard as it will have grass cutting & trailer duties on our little spread. I'll still try & make it look half decent though. Video of its first start up in about 4 years. No problem Kohler Startup - YouTube Thanks folks. Looking forward to learning & contributing Dan.

Found some time to put a old antique light I bartered for on the 12 auto hydro.I had to modify the bracket a bit but I think it looks decent and it just may keep me from getting run over by lackadaisical drivers wile I push snow…If we ever get any that is !

I’m still up, watching Queen, live in Rio!🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 Happy New Year everybody 🎉🎉🎉🎉

Hmmm. I KNEW it. So this is where you’ve been hiding it! The old fake gas can, hide it in plain sight trick.

I’ll try to stay up! That pizza is amazing

I work nights so no problem here.

Will be watching the ball drop, then heading to bed

Not so much dad but mom she had the choice of either having a tax deduction or the first baby of the year and she said f that I want a tax deduction haha!!! Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, things should be calming down on the farm of this next year hopefully and I can play with little tractors more but my birthday present was a real nice one this year sense you know it is my golden birthday today haha

The new B-80/ 8 speed….

It ain't gonna make 1 iota of difference whatever color is on that head. Paint away in my opinion as will not cause any problems with cooling on a small engine. The convection heat will still easily dissipate. What could the "r-value" of paint be? 1 millionth of 1 degree? Here's an interesting article from the aircraft industry which would definitely be interested in ANY tiny degree of cooling or heating properties of anything on their engines. https://www.avweb.com/ownership/improving-engine-cooling-by-painting/

oh boy oh boy oh boy! This ‘64 GMC 7000 dump (6-71 Detroit Diesel powered) is mine for the taking if I can get it from about 40 miles away…

WHY. IS. THAT. WHEEL. HORSE. BLUE!

You ever find one @Evguy I did spy one in the parts shed if interested.

'62 swing axle & half way through a Baja conversion. Wheelhorse is next though. Also a '42 Chevy G506 dump truck, you can barely see the star on the door. Hah ! I posted before you added the videos. That rail is sweet.! I'm staying VW powered with my bug. It'll be pretty tame to be honest, just a nice paint job & some big steels. I already did the roof flake & lace a few years back but the rest needs a paint.

I'll have a dig around, they may be on my old laptop. One was a '74 Ford Granada & the other was a Toyota Starlet race car in Germany. I've got a couple of vehicles you would be more familiar with in the background of the video. * internet points are available if you get both.

Sorry Jim, not the best , but it's all I got.

Many of us here like hard water Wh guy... @stevasaurus gotta like the smiles on those boys...

Always like to hear of a family being shown some love by a second generation. Glad you found us and we are glad to have you here. We have several members from Great Britten who can help locate parts as you go along.

The Paint Department has been working on this hood off and on. Several coats of filler primer after the body filler was put on. Maybe three coats? Of the white primer. A little sanding with 400 to 600 grit paper in between a bunch of that. For her first attempt ever at body work I'd say this borders on stellar. She's a super happy girl.