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Here is the RJ frame I’m restoring for the big show in June.

What a great idea, you inspired me to do the same. Took one of the C-81's for a nice cruise....

Took my 310-8 out for a little joy ride today just to get a little sunshine

This poor thing hasn’t seen sunlight or been started in 2 months…no snow to plow! Fired up easily enough and I let her run for 20 minutes or so.

Picked up another rider tonight. 3 pt hitch, sickle bar mower and all.

Had a load of gravel delivered today to fill a couple of pot holes in the driveway & smooth it out a little, hope I got enough...

Busy day at MDW airport! FMU (fuel management unit) replacement on LH engine. I got to taxi this beauty out to a runup area to do high power engine runs.

YouTube slapped this up for me and it seemed shareworthy. Perhaps some of you will find this informative and useful: He seems to have accounted for all the variables comparing these four engines. Or has he?

Kevin, I'm sure you are very proud of her, and you are building wonderful memories for both of you. Priceless. I think I may have shared this with some here, but I apologize if I'm repeating myself. My oldest daughter who is now 33 is a mechanic and restoration specialist apprentice at a shop in PA that works on classic Aston Martins. She has been there 2-3 years now I think, and loves it. Some of the cars she works on are worth over $1 million. They have been teaching her a bit of everything: basic mechanics, welding, fabbing, bodywork, wiring, etc. Funny how she got the job - she has a 2006 or 7 Mini Cooper, and had been doing a variety of "light" work on it. The manual transmission started acting up, and she asked me if I thought she should try rebuilding it herself - I said "sure!". I was in town to help her remove it, then she took it in her basement for the rebuild. She took her time and did it right, very meticulously. She had someone else to help her re-install it. Worked great. She was attending some Mini Cooper road rallies/meetups and started chatting with a guy there about doing the repairs, and he asked her if she'd like a job. She had been working as a DJ but wasn't elated with that career choice, so she went for it. She made me this as a gift, welded out of scrap aluminum. She said her welds "weren't too bad", but she was still learning. I say, it's awesome. As you can probably tell, I am very proud of her, and actually a bit envious... When she was young and still at home, I was often working on a car or computer, and she would watch and ask questions. I think she built her first working PC from parts I had lying around, at around age 10 or 12. She was very excited to see it boot up for the first time. Never underestimate what anyone, male or female, can do if they have the desire and are given the opportunity. And also, don't put yourself down because you can't do what someone else can do ( @The Freightliner Guy )- life is not a contest. If you really want to learn, look for opportunities and go after it!

If you have access to a timing light that is the best way to check the points adjustment.

It was a good day. A rock shaft and tiller belt came in the mail so I got to work Went over to the shop and wrenched a bit on the 161. The rock shaft went in fine so I went ahead and got the bracket bolted up and got the tiller in line. It took some fiddling to get the lift and chain adjusted to get enough travel. I cleaned up the tank, got it reinstalled and mounted the PTO and belt. Buttoned it up and it's finally ready to cut some dirt

C-125s tappet cover started leaking again. So took the whole thing apart and gave the mating surfaces a good clean. Refitted with new gaskets and joint sealer. Looks OK now after running it most of the afternoon while trying to get it running better. Had quite a fight until I realised it was flooding a touch. Off with the float bowl which was spotless. Rattled the float a bit and put the bowl back on. That cured the flooding. Maybe a speck of dirt had found it's way past the filters. Still not running as I'd like but much better. I'll maybe have a fiddle with the points. They're set at 20 thou'. I'll try 18 and see what happens.

Thought you all might get a kick out of this!

@The Freightliner Guy Just this morning a memory came back from when I was in the 7th grade (13?). We had to take some form of aptitude test and the part that was seeing shapes and designs I breezed through it. The portion that was more academic (reading and writing) I did well enough, but not like many other students. Somewhere within me I always harbored a feeling that I was not quite as smart. Having an older brother who was all honors and became a lawyer only seemed to reinforce it. Today I look back and realize that this was definitely not the case. My smarts where on the practical side. At 15 I started working maintenance and did that as a summer job and part time in college to become a tech ed teacher. For years I have done my own maintenance on our home (not cars, I hate working on them) and my brothers call me when they are in a pickle. BTW - My first day working maintenance at 15 the boss handed me a broom. I was not happy, but it is part of the job. So if you get stuck with a broom or a shovel sing your heart out for you are taking the first steps. Today I'm 69 and wish I could tell my 15 year old self how smart you really are. Also BTW - Learn to read and write well. Those skills will help you forever.

I second that!

That should clean up real nice, the GT-14 is a great worker, please keep us informed as you work on it.

I installed the front tubes and now she’s able to trot. Then I greased all the fittings while she was still in the air. And thanks to @A-Z Tractor she has a mule drive, too.

Painted the mower deck belt pullies for the spindles. Finished repacking the newly arrived spindle bearings with Lucas Green and began assembling the spindles.

Another VERY busy day! We did a fair amount of experimenting with fluid filling tires. We tried a few ways to connect. We spilled some. We laughed like he**. 😂 We learned a lot. We now have the rear tires filled with just under 7.5 gallons in one, just over that in the other. Here we have the tire hanging from the chain falls. Worked ok. Here we tried to set the wheel on its side over a 5 gallon pail. That's the ticket. I found an exhaust clamp by sheer lucky accident. I wire brushed it and Trina painted it. After drying we installed the hood so I could line up the muffler direction. Here's the nice bright shiny RED hood. My Local Artist and Woodworking Specialist painted the "Kohler" on the engine and used JB Weld to hold the motion control lever extension in place. Here she is digging the paint outta the grease fittings. Tie rods are all adjusted to 1/8" toe/tow in/inn and tightened up. WIIIIIIDE REAR !! Auto measures 41" across the outside of the rear tires.

I got the spindles reassembled, pullies and blades back on. @peter lenaI have no experience / feel for greasing these spindles. I know in HVAC applications you could easily blow the seals on fan bearings if you pump in too much. I repacked the bearings with Lucas Green. On the top bearing of each spindle I left both seals off so that the grease added would travel through the top bearing cage and go down to the bottom bearing. I left the top seal off of the bottom to allow the grease into that cage. I left the bottom seal in to keep the grease from running out. Will the air displaced by the grease escape easily enough but once the air is out the grease builds pressure rather quickly so that you can feel a sudden resistance to going in knowing to stop pumping?

The older WH tractors had 4 1/4" hubs the later had 3 3/4" hubs. Most of the new wheels you find have a shorter hub then 3 3/4". A pack of 3/4" top hitch spacer washers from Tractor Supply will take care of that. The above is measured with the bearings in place.

...And, the rim width is wider for a larger tire on the C series. Years ago, I boght two new mounted front tires on rims at Lowes - they were the replacement parts for the line of Husquvana tractors they were selling at the time. Tires were wider than the skinny 702 OE tires, the hub was a tad shorter. worked fine....

Good video, My pressure washer has a Honda engine which cost me an additional $ 50 when I bought it fifteen or so years ago. On average the washer gets about twenty or so hours of annual operation and in my opinion that is the best $ 50 I ever spent. The Honda always starts on the first or second pull and though I check the spark plug annually I haven't replaced it yet.

From what I see in the 63 brochure the 603 had the funky steering wheel, recoil start and the older style front axle (screams using up leftover parts). The 633 and 653 had the newer front axle with the 653 being electric start and the 633 recoil.

It always treated me good.

Great job Rylee!! That is one thing if I could go back in time I would have learned….. tig welding, especially aluminum. I love welding and fabrication even though as just a hobbyist. I got my son to take interest in welding and he ran with it. Got to go to two competitions with him. He took first in Regional and then got second in state. I have been in awe ever since he grabbed a hold of it. Definitely proud of him. Now he is working at a major power plant as a maintenance worker/ welder. Every day is a learning experience and every experience creates a memory.

Yes it was. Sold to a friend then resold

Careful there those things are holler. I have a couple with holes in them on my 42"deck. I was looking for something else and found two in a box that wasn't that bad. I'll drill them out to 5/8" and add some brass bushings.

Designed another one. Decided to do three together this time.

Looks like a beast with those huge front tires

@The Freightliner Guy i cant believe it im almost 14 and i cant even weld. You never know when an opportunity will come your way. I had the good fortune to be mentored by the owner of a metal fabrication shop when I was 14. His shop was about a half mile up the road and he had seen me out in the barn working on a '31 Chrysler I was attempting to install a '53 Chrysler Hemi. He stopped by to check on it one day and told me I had good intentions but it was never going to last being bolted together with 1/4"-20s. The only power tool I owned was a 1/4" drill motor. Long story short he called my parents that evening and offered to let me help out in his fab. shop on Saturdays. I was too young to get a work permit but could learn a lot and he figured I would be helpful to have around. When he got finished with the day's work we would take some scrap pieces of steel and he began teaching me to weld. Over the next few months my ability with arc welding improved and he let me use the MIG welder too, wow, what a game changer. He would find some scrap with holes drilled in it and have me fill the holes using 6011. What I didn't know at first was the he was changing the setting on the welder before I started and I had to figure out what amperage was going to work best. Within a few months he had me running overhead beads and and figuring out how to run a bead where you couldn't see the joint. Then came the payoff. He was repairing a tow truck and when he finished it he went down to my house and towed the '31 to his shop. We began prepping it for motor mounts and fabricated a cross member with very sturdy motor mounts and a removable transmission mount. Wow, that was a big day for me. Being fifteen I didn't have the finances to complete the '31 but did change out the rear end and we fabricated a drive shaft, got it running and drove it in the fields a bit, no brakes, loose steering but at 15 those are unimportant. Once I turned 16 and got a driver's license I worked in a gas station week nights and continued working Saturdays at the fab shop but now I was getting paid and working on customer equipment.

I used to have a tool that was about a foot long and curved. Had a cable inside with an Allen wrench on one end and a knob on the other. Open the window and insert the Allen end into the points. Turn the knob with the engine running and watch the dwell meter.

Goat milk products are all the rage right now. Goat cheese is also very popular, love the Gouda though the price is a bit high, well worth it. One side benefit for you is goat poop isn't near as objectional as cow patties.

A good well rounded education (formal or not) will open doors for you in the future. During my working life I was selected for positions I was technical unqualified for based on my experience and ability to communicate. Though I only have an Associates (two year) Degree I have held positions that required a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree. What you learn today may not seem relevant to your goals but once learned nobody can take your education away from you. Keep an open mind, remain inquisitive and take advantage of every learning opportunity that comes your way. Kollin, @The Freightliner Guy and many of our other youth members are very impressive communicators. They use proper grammar and punctuation and ask questions or offer information in a very adult manner. If we didn't know their age it would be difficult to distinguish their posts from any others.

I'm a B&S fan, so I hate to see them run down Of course a B&S aluminum engine usually didn't compare to the Kohler cast iron ones (I'm writing about the ones I dealt with during the 60s - 80s). I did like the few B&S cast iron engines that they used to make. My main comparison would be between B&S and Tecumseh aluminum engines. I've always thought that B&S engines were designed simpler and just seemed to run very well, even often with terrible maintenance. Tecumseh engines were okay, but seem more finicky and less tolerant to abuse. So this is why I've liked B&S engines. I also attended Tecumseh/Peerless factory school in Grafton WI and enjoyed that too. I'm hearing that there may not be many if any made here any more, which is disturbing! When I went to a B&S service school years and years ago they discussed their warranty policies. Back then they told us that no matter how old the B&S engine, if it failed due to an un-denying manufacturing defect, they'd cover it, and I really appreciated this! I don't know if they would do that now, but they did then, but I can't think of any time that we asked for it. C-85

Get one with the same power mirror! My car’s outside mirrors are power adjust, power retract, and have down-facing lights (key fob activated) to illuminate the ground near the door. They were only on a couple of models in a pricey option package (it was a certified pre-owned to me, otherwise way outa my budget). When one started being a bit balky, I priced replacements--new, $900 each; salvage yard, $250 each. I’m living with the balky!

Hmmmm... the 3/4" spindle diameter is the same, but I think the distance thru the hub is too great... C series wheels are pretty deep...

Perhaps you could try a double dose of dishwasher detergent, it cuts cooking grease fine.

What a machine! @Oldskool was that yours?

A whole bunch of them on the jungle site. They dang near give them away. Commonly used on trucker rigs for clearance lights but plug n play for us as well. The bulb sockets give out on the orginals.

Eric still 5 years old he has learned how to share.

My jackshaft came today, it wasn’t supposed to arrive until Monday! Woo hoo!

This found its way on the back of my truck today.

It has been said before - "Once the dream dies, the game is over.... for good"" Don't allow anyone to stomp on your dreams....

My newest to-do list on the Snowmotractor: Last jackshaft installed, pulleys installed/moved. Belts sized and installed. Tensioners or idlers. Remove clutch cross shaft. Transmission cleaned, assembled, extra holes plugged. Install transmission. Any room to lower it 1/2” or more? Build a brake system. Test run again.

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

this kid!