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Decided to give the front end a little different look. Although I like the look if the D series, I always thought the grille was just BIG. So I figured I would do an insert using an old D160 grille I had laying around. Took 4” out of the old grille width & 2” heightwise. I also welded the bottom up solid. This gives me 2” of clearance on the sides and 1” clearance on the top and bottom. The inner grille is only 2” wide as viewed from the side so it will clear the mufflers. It may also poke out the front a half inch. May make new slats to make the center or come up with some kind of mesh to stick in there. We’ll see. A simple photo hack showing the idea The beginning

Finished putting the C-125 back together after the exhaust valve replacement. Fired it up and let it warm up then set the carb. Got it running nicely, then I notice oil running down the front of the engine. Valve tappet cover leaking. So off with the carb then the cover. Made a new gasket and refitted everything. Fired it up and let it run for a while and no more leak. Refitted the bonnet/hood. Now ready for grass cutting duty again.

Not sure why this scares you. I have four tractors with this transmission and they all work fine. Some have over 2000 hours mowing and pushing snow. The only repairs I have done are to change a couple axle seals. BTW, $350 is the current price for a good used tiller alone. Just make sure you get all the brackets, pulleys, and lift attachment parts that are required. What does make me cringe is the picture of the poor thing stored outside covered with snow. Make sure you check the engine, transmission, and fuel system for water. Drain, clean, and flush all as required to remove any water before operating.

For the past week I've been picking at my 1257, I took the stack off and put a different muffler on. I also rewired/soldered few things like the lights. Also, I didn't like how the battery looked on the front so I relocated it with new cables under the seat (some cutting and modding required.) Still more to do, i just got a set of wider wheels for the rear so ill be ordering some tires within the next few weeks, along with new fronts/tubes.

Evening all. Right, I've started. First things first, it's a C-141 not a 121 as I said in my intro. A little knowledge is dangerous but I've educated myself. My aim is to get the old crate usable and working for it's keep, as opposed to doing a show quality restoration. The basic plan is to prep & repaint most of the exterior panels but just clean & seal the chassis, axles, inner panels. With this in mind I took the tyres off & dropped the rims to a local blasting/ powder coating firm. I stripped the panels & will drop them off to be blasted and primed when I pick the rims up on Tuesday. What's left is looking a bit sorry for itself.... The deck has got pretty corroded & has some stress crack that have rusted through. I bought it new as a bare shell 20 years ago so I thought I'd contact the suppliers and see if they're still available. "Yes Sir, they are. £ 1187.00 plus tax" ( at 20%). Gulp. 1500 pounds. I asked " I don't suppose you can remember what I paid fr the last one" ? Three hundred pounds. Gotta love inflation. So, I'll get that blasted too & weld up the holes. 1500 quid gets an awful of a lot of MIG wire..... Hopefully next week will bring a more productive update, including tyre ( or tire) choices. Cheers, Dan.

I figure that’s about the only way I could make it usable

Stopped by a buddies house to trouble shoot his GFCI issue in his garage..,afterwards he says “You want this? If not it’s going to the dump,” Of course I hauled it home. Needs both tires replaced. Not sure I got it in me to hook it behind one of my Wheel Horse’s though

@Blackm84 Here’s a few pictures from the brochure in 84.

Took a couple of sideshots today while fixing the the snowblower chute cable...

Fix the tires and hop in. I'll push ya down the hill. It'll be fun, trust me! Bring it to Zags in the spring! Those JD guys like to pay big GREEN for stuff for some reason.

At least the color of the truck is right !

Surprised you didn’t cover it with a tarp on the way home.

@ineedanother Did you say tiller behind a 165 ?!! This tiller (although it’s not a great picture of it) is a 1974 model 1-1251 that I bought in 1985, when I was 15! It’s now on its third set of tines. I also have a newer style tiller like yours that I believe works better because of the end plates and hinged leveling plate on the rear. That one is currently undergoing restoration.

If you keep your maintenance up, then you're allowed an occasional slip up. That's the point.

I try to use allen head bolts when i remember to get them, i can spin them out faster and the driver doesn't slip off like flathead or phillips

Thinking a repo here of sorts here Dan ... don't think any AL jug was meant to be saved. Although I saved my first mini bike 5 hp Briggs?!? .. 40 years ago...

Im 99% sure kohler and onan are both 10-32x3/8. if you have a known 10-32 you can try it and see.

I kid you not.... Drop it off next time you're up around. She'll "fix" that wagon.

I've had up to a 1977 chassis as is your own. That's what Cinnamon Horse is from the frame down. That has tapped ends along all the 60s and 70s machines we've done. The C-clip style and cotter pin through style would work fine but I do prefer the heavier end bolt for my own usage. No worries there. USPS has everything you need right at the Post office. The ONLY way to go.

Can I drop it off with the paint department up there????!

Mike, I just showed the pictures to Trina. Her words, after 10 seconds of blank stare, "Why hasn't he painted it yet?"

The only reason I brought it up Mike is because my 312H that is stored in a heated 60F shop shows some moisture on the dip stik and sides of the fill tube. The tractor is only used once/week to haul in a load of firewood. I do leave it run at high idle while loading the wood, but is still only running maybe 30 minutes total. I do use a shotgun cleaning swab to clean out the fill tube and never see any discoloration in the actual oil. I just wondered if a tractor that is normally stored in an unheated building shows any signs of moisture.

I think the only thing its missing is the cover for the hydraulic hoses. But yes sitting in the snow i want to get it dried off and cleaned then brought into my garage where i can start inspecting im a paranoid nut so when i see leaks i want to know why. I will more then likley replace hydralic hoses and drain fluids and then start cleanin up and painting. Make sure theres no water and things move freely and function.

One great memory of using the inside pitwall was done by Rusty Wallace, probably back in the late 80's. It was on a short track, he tangled with another car and bent the left tierod - the car had like a 3 inch toe out condition. He was in the top 5 - radioed ahead saying he was coming in - make it look like a normal pitstop, but wanted all the crew to jump BACK behind the wall - he rammed the pitstall wall hard - hard enough to partially straighten the toe - out problem to less than half. He went back on the track, checked the steering - good enough!! Came back in for tires and fuel next lap... NASCAR Officials were not too amused at his bash-fix. He told them the car hooked a hard left trying to stop.....

Do you know for sure that the 312-8 transmission is good? It should a reasonably easy swap though it won't bolt right up. You will be going from a six speed to an eight speed so the clutch/brake rod setup will need modification. You may want to use the rear fender/seat support with gas tank from the 312 or could stick with the tool box, seat support, your choice. The shift lever may need to be swapped out. It has been done many times and there are several threads on here about it.

What kind of rookie doesn’t check the oil …….. 🙄

Most of my tractors take long naps fairly often over the winter months, but I do wake them occasionally for a good wam up .

Dedication. Most impressive. Makes me feel like a bum. My machines need attention!

It’s good to be volunteering at the Christian Youth Conference1700+ Youth this weekend. Back in February 2020 before COVID it was 2500+. I’m just a helper with a Security T shirt on. We help herd kids around. IMG_8932.MOV IMG_8932.MOV

Thanks for the info, does anyone know if the trans in this pictured 312-8 speed is the same as the one in my 1973? Would it be a direct bolt up?

We's got our best watchin' the southern border...

Went to the dump… where most JD’s wind up…

This was just perused in another thread about those on a Onan ... 10-32 and green locktite...

You guy's are knocking the build out of the park !!! I like your control handle !!

hmm, first I've heard about the oil filter to tins rubber. I don't think it was even mentioned in the onan p220g pdf but did see it after checking the 520h pdf - looks like toro# 82-0680. Guess it's time to get one since mine didn't come with it.

She says: Ooohhhh absolutely!! He might wanna wait til snow's gone. We can take him for a trail ride.

I make my own harnesses, all new wire & individual weatherproof female spade terminals to the switch.

Thanks @ineedanother, I’ll post some more detailed pics with measurements on this thread as soon as I get a chance. If it works out that I get spindles from you I will PM you .

It warmed up to 40 degrees today which prompted me to go out in the shop & DO SOMETHING. My chute cable came undone the last time I did the driveway just as I finished. Not my most productive day in the shop I'll admit, but was nice to get out of the house & spend some time with the 's.

Thanks @ineedanother, I noticed the spindles in your pic has a threaded hole in the ends. Do you know if the C-160’s came that way, or not? Right now my spindle ends have a hole for a cotter pin. Does anybody else know ?… @ebinmaine As long as they would work, that really doesn’t matter that much to me… @ineedanother, probably would be cheaper than gas for you to mail the spindles to me… naturally I will be paying the cost of shipping if I wind up taking them.

My dads 1964 Ford pickup driving it you would never know it had a locking differential. If it started to spin you would hear a clunk and it would go on just like there was nothing on the road. We ordered everything heavy duty that didn't cost a lot more.

Agreed on both. It'll be interesting to see....

@Blackm84 good luck with that , would go step by step on that recovery , being a newbie , easily excited , into over your head in problems , hope you have warm dry spot to do this , as far as rebuilding , how about just a verification of what you have ? maybe just a thorough grease job to every needed area , obvious lubricant drain / change / refresh , save your intended paint time , and use a penetrating oil spray down and soak , to feed that paint , and possibly wipe it down to dry next day , could easily look pretty good . would also shout out to any local w/h owners for help / ideas , brought back a few , pete

To Good luck with your project.

As my local Stihl guy assured me once after a similar incident, "Don't worry, it's still there".

I focused more time on the 312 than any of the others today. It hasn't run in several years but it has to be a roller so that's where I started. I had some NOS front shoes that needed to be mounted so Discount Tire is gonna wrestle those onto the 6" rims. They'll be ready Monday. I got a box of lug nuts from the jungle the other day and went by Ace this morning to pick up ten 1 1/2" grade 8 fine thread bolts. I figured while I pull the rears I might just as well get those installed since this will be used for something even if the motor has to be swapped out. I had picked up two pairs of these Duro Ags last year in SC figuring they would be good for something at some point, especially at $50 a pair They look pretty good but I definitely need to get better a getting pics.

It was kind of an up an down day but that's the way it goes sometimes. Had some tires mounted and I'm getting some paint on the rears now. One of the new tubes for the rear had a pin hole when they checked it and since they don't patch tubes or stock that size, it took an extra day of back and forth. They also did a poor job with the tubes on the fronts and I'm just not going to deal with the valve stems the way they are. They'll be tubeless come Monday which is no big deal since ballast in the front doesn't amount to much anyway. I still think $22 a corner beats wrestling those things on my HF tire changers.

Looks familiar to a lot of us... Rusty gold you got there...

Those insulator pins where usually made out of locust wood for its rot resistance, or other hard wood.We actually called them Locust pins.I have seen them supplied so that they could be replaced in an arm without replacing the hole arm. I have a nice collection of old telephone and power insulators that I have saved from the garbage bin over the years.The pin was installed into the cross arm in a round hole and then a nail was driven through the arm and pin to secure it to the arm. Bob

You got that right, Mike... I have sat in on way too many meetings and conference calls with customers back in my Automotive OE days listening to the 2 way arguement over a TENTH of a penny cost savings on using a lesser material or a cheaper colorant in a molded plastic part!!! All these partial pennies add up when you are producing 2+ million widgets a year.... My favorite was listening to the bickering as to how that $0.001 cent savings was going to be SPLIT percentage wise between us and the customer !!!! This would drag on for a while - my Department Manager was a real cut-up, had an irreverent comment for just about everything... He nudges my elbow and tells me "Gee, you'd think they were trying to hammer out the "Recipe for Whirled Peas" or something !!