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Took a ride on this RJ I have with the battery and 12 volt coil as a recoil boost starter! Previous owner could not find the correct magneto for the Kohler motor! The frost was on the grass this am too!

No dog in this fight, just observing... I live in Big Three Land aka Southeast Michigan - higher than average brand new vehicles all over the place due to auto employees and their employee lease deals... No one in the industry who designs these trucks drives one for more than 1 year max. They all drive brand new vehicles... Therein lies the problem... other than the squeak rattle and whistle QA/QC guys, they never experience the crap that happens after a few years. Proposal: All big three engineers and executives drive 5+ year old vehicles... out of warranty and rusting out... perhaps they will look at their products differently...

My baby picture Me on my brother's motorcycle Me and my brother on our minibikes

I'm pretty sure that's a large 'possum.

Hi all. Just wanted to post a pic of my senior with its attachments.the second one to get here in the UK.

Yeah, The more I research the more I want to find and restore something older that will be buried with me I looked at a few older rehabs. Nice Studebaker and an quad cab IH truck. The crotchety Midwestern me still wants a decent bed and 4x4. Not necessary here...until it is. New is what my bride would prefer. I have purchased several brand new 2 wheedlers in my time. I have never purchased a new truck. I did not grow up buying new vehicles from the dealer and allowing them to service them like her family. I am going to pretend that it is going to work out. The right rig will come along like a 1956 power wagon If only I could chat with young me I probably wouldn't listen anyway but... So many vehicles and equipment I would have kept!

I bought my 1998 Chevy K1500 Silverado Z71 in 2000 with around 37,000 m for 20k. The mileage was a tad high for two years old, but the truck was CLEAN and had never been used as a truck. I did have the sun gear/ shell problem that Pullstart mentioned, but the transmission guy said once I had it fixed with a decently manufactured aftermarket part there would be no more trans problems and he was right. Only other issues I’ve had are mostly AC related, water pumps, alternator, etc… Knock on wood… The .5.7 liter/ 350 small block engine, I’ve heard, is in the LS family, and according to mechanics are indeed bulletproof. It does leak a little oil. It has 276,000 miles on it now and is suffering some old age issues like paint failing, plastic dash cracking, some instrument panel bulbs burned out. But… the truck has no rust, and the interior still looks almost new, as I have always kept towels on the seats and carpets. Oh, and it does have a cracked windshield and a “loose nut behind the wheel”. If I had to replace it, I would try to find another one from this era, or a nice square body… good luck…

Yep I still do them. Much less expensive. PM me if interested with your number and I’ll give you a call

Colossi? Collussum?

Lookey lookey at what I found! This is two Horse frames mated together, then Z notched up front for a level frame. The plan was to add a whole angle iron subframe. After the build got this far, I obtained a good handful of GT14 frames, much thicker in every dimension, and then it got ticked away for a thinking moment (ahem decade).

Me on the right, probably around 1967-68, with my brothers on a family road trip. Brother in the middle passed away in 1999. I have some earlier ones around but having trouble finding them right now. Oh wait, found one. I'm about 3 in this one, on the bike with Dad, sister on back. This would be about 1961.

Yep ...about top speed for a Dodge...

Best one I heard today.

So... What you're saying is, basically, now we gots two Colossuses...

Two of my brothers worked for one of the Big Three. Both got “evaluation” vehicles every few months that never had more than 20k miles. There was a nominal monthly cost to them and gas, insurance, and maintenance were all covered. They did have to provide weekly reports of usage and experience with the vehicles. Only downsides were they couldn’t choose the vehicle--each time it could be a luxury car, an econobox, or a truck and only they could drive it. Cars leaving the program could be purchased by employees at extremely good pricing so for their “second” car they would typically flip one of these every year or two. I’ve never owned a vehicle made by their company for the reasons @SylvanLakeWH notes--none of the execs were driving cars they had to pay to own and maintain over the years that most of us would and the “planned obsolescence” showed. My Dad was loyal to their company’s vehicles (family discount!) but to preserve family relations, the subject of automobiles was (and still is) avoided at most gatherings!

Caberfae ski area in northern Michigan with my Dad circa 1968. 5 years old (started skiing at 3). To paraphrase the famous line from the movie "A River Runs Through It": In our family there was a fine line between skiing and religion...

Check me out looking dapper at Christmas 1973! 😂 Wearing my grandpa's hat at their house

Went back & fixed it.

I recently was on the search for a newer truck. Being a Mopar fan I am a bit bias toward brand. There were 2 big criteria's in my search. 1 - The number on the odometer had to be less than the number on the price tag. 2 - It had to have a minimum of a 6.5 foot box, really would have liked an 8 foot box. 5.5 foot boxes seem to be the most common now days. With these 2 must have's, I was really close to ordering a brand new truck. The truck that I ended up buying is a 2018 Ram 1500. 5.7L, 395hp, 12k lb. towing capacity, 20mpg empty, around 15mpg with 6 garden tractors in tow & tons of creature features. So far I really like this truck.

Today was deer processing day. I took all the rough cuts, about 30 lbs of lower leg, rib, and trimmings to the butcher for bologna processing. Along with one rear quarter for dried chipped venison. That should make about 12 lbs of meat for chipped beef gravy. We shrink wrap all the back strap, steak, and tenderloin. For the ground meat, I had 25 lb of well trimmed meat and mixed in 4 lb of chopped bacon. I found it is better to keep the bacon frozen. Makes it easier to chop and grind. We found a standard zip lock sandwich bag holds 1 lb of burger. After closing. we flatten the bag into a flat square before freezing and when we are ready to use it, before thawing, just peel away the baggie and two cuts make four perfect 1/4 pounders.

Buford T. Justice sets his own english and latin rules...

Go to the search icon, top right, and put in the phrase "hub puller". Use the quote marks. That will narrow your search. This will show you many of the ways we get our hubs off. Remember, no hammers, and no 3-jaw pullers. A lot of PB Blaster and patience. Good luck.

Found a couple more noteworthy pictures from my past. There was a low spot in our side yard and each spring Dad would have a load of sand delivered. Over the summer my friends my brother and I would play with out toy trucks and tractors and by the end of summer we had it spread our for Dad. We also built some one of a kind projects, guess this was our attempt at a covored wagon.

I've been playing with tractors or anything with wheels all my life.

Yes good luck on your search Tree. Just have patience and don't marry the first one you date. I know Dan looked for a long time and finally found one that fits the bill. I am cursed with three trucks. A 95 like Newbies but very rusted out. A 2017 Dodge big horn that only sees shows/camper duty. Has never been on a salted road. A 2018 Chev WT daily driver that so far treating me good but starting to rust. My consensus is with anything new they are all junk ... just some better junk than others...

$1200 is ludicrous for a single Magnum (same internals a K-series and widely available parts) I had a 2 cylinder Magnum 18 done (hard to find parts) and with all the parts was less than 900. Check with @richmondred01 here he rebuild singles and I am sure it will be a lot less.

What's the reason there? If you have a good usable Machine Shop getting it rebuilt is EXACTLY what I'd do. Likely... But it's a tough call at this point how long it'll last. If that's a working tractor you'll have less time than a strict show cruiser.

Wheel hub removal from an axle and be extremely difficult and requires Great patience with the possibility of specials. DO NOT USE A HAMMER OF ANY KIND. DO NOT USE A THREE-JAW PULLER. There are a few different ways of attacking the problem and I would highly recommend doing a search on the site and taking the time to read up on them. Patience is the answer. Remember, it took 40 or 60 years for them to rust in place and they won't come off in just a few minutes.

No worries brother man. I'm a few years in on mine too.

My ladder came out better than I anticipated. I finished the platform as mentioned in the video as well. Now there is safe entry for myself, and room for a hunting buddy (one of the kids) this season!

Looks amazing in the morning light!

Happy Birthday Kate! Have a great day!

Awesome build!!

Not familiar with this tractor or transmission but I don't think you should be changing gears while the tractor is moving.

Rainy day not much work at the farm so came home and finally painted the rims

Always been a problem. Totally different up her Newbie... they salt and brine the roads ... every two to five DAYS ...even if they don't need them. And heavy. Gotta remind you the weatherman is wrong but they treat the roads anyway. They waste the materials for fear of not having it in the budget to waste more money or get more salt from the state next year. Many of us go looking for down south trucks... out of the snowbelt states. Washington state is a good state for looking for salt free trucks.

A little smoke on start-up isn't a big deal. 1700 hours in thirty six years is about fifty hours a year so that has been working well for you, keep an eye on the engine oli and keep on running it.

New battery, new cables, fresh fuel… Elvis is alive!

My two seater.

$1200 is a lot cheaper than a new tractor. When rebuilt it will probably out last you.

Looks much safer. You'll really appreciate the upgrade in 30-40 years.

@Horse Newbie in my mind, the only thing that could improve your truck would be a stick shift! However, that hood looks like it’s about time to scrap it out. If you’re busy I’ll haul it in and send you the funds…. Just because I’m nice like that!

Wonderful photos guys, so great to see them all. Keep em coning. With smart phones there will be no albums getting dusty up in loft spaces for future generations to chuckle over hiw they looked back in the day.

Every time I see your shop I say….man I need to build one that big! My garage is over full. 😂

I located a clutch cross shaft with foot and hand control right behind the engine and added a second idler pulley behind the clutch/tensioner pulley to direct the belt below the tunnel. Also added support pins to keep the lower belt from sacking and grabbing the engine pulley during transmission shifting. You can see the support pins on either side of the tensioner pulley lever.

OR THESE! But the one that mike showed you is my favorite, it belongs to @turnnleft. He and his grandson cruise on it a lot.