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Lesser-known tractor brands, good tractors with a short lifespan. Innovative engineering and a strong intrapleural drive resulted in some great tractors and agricultural equipment, Strong market competition, economic conditions and corporate buy-outs left some brands as a footnote in history. Here are a few you may have heard about but have faded away. Graham-Bradley Tractors The Graham-Paige Motor Co. of Detroit introduced its first tractor in1938, the Graham-Bradley Model 103. David Bradley Mfg., owned and operated by Sears, Roebuck & Co., built the tractor. The Graham-Bradley Model 103 was produced by Graham-Paige Motor Co. from 1938 into 1939. The two-bottom plow tractor was powered by a Graham-Paige 6-cylinder gas engine and Nebraska tested at 25hp. Grahm-Bradley had no dealer network of its own, the company contracted with Sears, Roebuck & Co. to market the tractor through their stores and catalog. Grham-Bradley had ambitious plans to build 10,000 tractors annually but those plans never fully materialized. Sears gradually reduced its catalog space for farm-related products; the Graham-Bradley tractor disappeared from the catalog in 1940. In 1941 Graham-Paige switched to wartime production. The production facilities became Kaiser Motors after World War Two and, eventually, Kaiser-Jeep.

Whilst looking for something else, I came across this in a draw in my garage. It follows the ‘Archimedian drill’ principle. As you slide the centre piece up and down, the ‘twisted bar’ oscillates to lap the valve and seat. The rubber sucker fits on the fixed end, whilst the other, (knurled) end piece, which you hold, is free to rotate. Brand name is ‘ Sykes - Pickavant’, Made in England.🇬🇧

Gentlemen, Thank you for the suggestions on removing the stuck lug bolt. Today I picked up a bolt extractor kit from Harbor Freight (Pittsburgh Pro 67897) and had it out in no time!

68 Charger 12

The first two pics were yesterday, the C-81 didn't see her shadow either, it was behind her,lol.

Out in the shop today I found this tool. I think I know what it was used for. Shuckin' corn. I've never used one or even seen one before and it's not used in the way I had imagined. I found video of a fellow using one but his was a homemade wooden one where as this one is likely store bought. The very tip is broken off and I assume it would have been sharper. I don't know how old it is. Looks like I found another tool to donate to local museum.

I grabbed a few led license plate bolt lights off the 'zon...they are 1/4-20 threaded, so i removed one of my hood stand bolts, slipped 2 wires through, put the nut on the back, snugged it down, ran a ground; and ran the 12v wire to the switched accessory terminal on the switch. Its a warm 4300k color, not distractingly bright..and its tucked away with no additional modifications. I intend to add these to my other various tractors as well, they should thread in as dash bolts on 300/400 series.

Could that noise have been from the idler pulley? Found your missing piece of the hood! LOL

I purchased this piece a few years back. I didnt know how tall it was until i went to pick it up. I had planned on putting it on my front porch. Come to find out it was over 9 feet tall. Wasnt going to fit on the porch, wasnt going to fit in the house either. I didnt want to leave it outside so i enjoyed looking at it for the summer then sold it. Wish I kept it. Even had the history of the artist making it.

Got the rat rod Suburban on ground & running. Still gotta get rear fenders installed. Got them outside weathering to match the hood rust/patina. Ended up clear coating the hood. Definitely want to lower it on the ground but that will have to wait till weather gets nice & I have more time. Theres a few other small things that need done. Unfortunately, as I was pushing it outside to test drive I could hear noise in transmission as it was rolling. I bought transmission at big show last summer & was assured by seller it was good 🤥 Not sure what I'll do now.......probably find another transmission I guess.... Disappointed about transmission

@Ed Kennell @Pullstart @ebinmaine Thanks guys, guess who this is LOL.

Didn't get much done tonight. The old Ranger tie rods were too far gone to clean up, so I made a set with some joints I had already. I like heim joints better, but didn't have any. These look a little wonky but they work. Tomorrow is engine day. Carb has been in the chem-dip bucket for a couple days. The pan gasket needs replacing and the then paint the whole block. Retorqued the head bolts. The engine was a great runner, so not much else will happen with it.

Sunny & in the 40's today, brought one of the C-81's into the shop, she fired right up, gotta love that REC fuel. This one will be going to my son's new house this spring, she'll have new gear & engine oil, get greased up, sharp blades & a new mule knob.

This strange piece of equipment came as part of a Ritter antique dental drill. The label calls it an Ionization motor-generator. It has 110v input and output to motor connections on the top. No spinning shaft out the side(s). Initial internet search hasn't really revealed anything so maybe the vast amount of knowledge of RS might have an idea. What iz it for? Any ideas? I have no clue what it does for an electric motor connected to it. Overall pic of drill with the foot controller and that ionizer thingy. It's very well made and amazing how that rope/belt going through all of those pulleys can flawlessly spin that drill tip in almost any position . Have not plugged it in to test it yet as I don't want to let out any magic smoke. A customer gave this to me as a "tip". They were clearing out the estate of a passed love one and this was still in the basement. They didn't have the heart to throw it out and were glad to find someone that could appreciate it. I just thought it's cool old school. If it actually runs and works I might use it for toothpick art builds. IDK

Savable, yes, but time consuming. Have to go through it and clean/inspect every nook. I used diesel fuel as solvent, it worked OK and used a wire wheel on a drill inside the case.. That little blue handled stainless brush was super helpful. (it is kind of like therapy for the mind tho.) I was lucky enough to have a donor unit. Needed a few parts. Some incentive.

1992 416-H with Kwik-Way loader implement.

At the M & G here in Maine in 2022 my daughter came to visit so I surprised her with a ride in the 86 Chevy K-20 something she hadn't been in for many years. She has a liking for Owls so I headed to a few back roads from the house and when she spotted this she was thrilled. It amazes me how much talent some people have to create something this magnificent. This stands all of 8' tall , stump included, would be a fair guess. Enjoy

Did a little work to it today, got the switch wired up. And the carb & fuel pump rebuilt. New exhaust, new plug wire, coil, points, condenser. Gotta get a battery yet and wire up the ammeter and then we should see what this engine is gonna sound like.

Just found @squonk 's 4th grade pic online! LOL He drilled too deep while playing with that thing

Now I may have posted about this, but I have never had to do as such. If I remember my sources, I think it was @AMC RULES who pointed me in that direction, using PC-7 epoxy. That stuff is incredibly hard once cured and can machine like steel.

Tom has been thoroughly enjoying his new ride. When it snows he's been known to drive around outside plowing for 3 hours or more. When it's not snowing he's been known to use the tractor to fetch the mail. 😂 This afternoon Trina and I went over to visit and added the last piece of the puzzle. A cab. Tom's pretty tall so I added about 3 1/2" to the height by putting spacers in the front frame below the hinges. Thanks to @c-series don for sending up a couple good door hinges. Tom's gonna figure out how to attach the loose cloth at the front. With the "lift kit" those sections don't fit right. He's pretty stoked to have the can for a bunch of reasons. Not the least of which is that his tractor now says Wheelhorse!!

Got yet another project. Could anyone tell me any info on it? I haven't gotten the time to get back up to the shop where It is to get the serial numbers. The guy I bought it off of said it has a Briggs n Stratton engine on it that's all original.

I'm interested in the Ionization part because I don't understand what that's referring to. Is this what that ionization part means? "Motor–generators have even been used where the input and output currents are essentially the same. In this case, the mechanical inertia of the M–G set is used to filter out transients in the input power. The output's electric current can be very clean (noise free) and will be able to ride-through brief blackouts and switching transients at the input to the M–G set." I can see where early electrical power probably wasn't stable and clean like it is today. And BTW, said eff it and plugged it in since it was all wired up anyway. SUCCESS it actually operates. No magic smoke loss at all. The foot control works good to control speed and direction of rotation with a slight spring tension back to neutral. It could certainly use a good cleaning and greasy Pete would be in his glory going through all of the points that need lubrication on this thing! I haven't powered the ionization thingy yet but may try it to see what happens.

Bob, He may have the older style axle bracket that only works with the short frames. To use the forward holes in a long frame, I think you must have the later axle bracket that has the slots below the axle and not in front of it. Oh, to the Jim.

I'm ready for warm weather so I can dig the collection out of hibernation. This is a picture of my 12 automatic from last summer

Close, it was a Cheater Slick.

1/4" allen wrench to take it out.

I am Russ's 70 year old nephew-in-law who is devastated by this loss. I live only a mile or two away and spent many hours learning from Russ about all things Wheel Horse, not to mention automobiles, motorcycles, boating, and more. The most knowledgeable and helpful person I've ever known. RIP Salty!

Cleaned and organized the new plugs and spinners from Weds auction.

What do you think on the hub caps, Plastic, painted red. My wife says I am dangerous with a paint can.

She's a project Mike... wait till you see what Dan cursed me with. Pics and write up Tamara @Pullstart

This is a spare drill motor that came with it. Locked up so figure it's best to mess around with this one before going into the other one. Not too bad to work on but ya gotta find some tiny little set screws. The shafts and bearings needed to be cleaned off and oiled. Cool little motor! Think it should work and this one might the original motor

My dentist used one like that when I was a Kid. But that was pre electricity so his was pedal powered.

Strong magnets sewn onto thin webbing sewn to the cab fabric.

18 bucks for the new carb shipped and back in business. Thanks again! Still waiting for the ten buck rebuild kit. Probably rebuild and keep the original carb in the shelf. PXL_20240203_193914217_TS.mp4

Two things I think I see… Looks like the hole for the Allen head drain plug is oblong, or somehow otherwise damaged. Looks like the damage was caused by the front part of the hitch. .

I was into construction equipment in my young age. I had that drill in a little red wagon and it was my mobile crane/ drill set up

I think this term was used early on to describe any change in electrical current. Totally different meaning today.

My first dentist had one of those, they spin slow compared to modern equipment and it caused some pain.

That's a bit baffling Jim. All you should have to do is move the rear bar to the forward hole. I have that plow and It's currently mounted to my 2005 Classis (long frame) and before I got a sickle bar I would mount it on the 854 (short). Is something bent? Some pictures likely would help.

For record keeping, I forgot to mention that the old engine was removed, and all that jazz. The picture above is the new engine from the u-pick.

Okay so I've started my project here. I noticed a small red puddle under the transmission so I pressure washed the underside of the tractor. I found the drip which looks like it is supposed to be the drain plug but damaged. Does anyone have a photo of what it should look like? Here's mine.

Happy Birthday, Bryon! Dan got you some Mac and Cheese but @WHX?? and I ate it all!

Still need another coat then clear coat. Original was very faded from the UV rays.

We built parts for 6 of these in the mill shop. Two like the mine the others no stainless and with solid forks. I Got parts for two don't know who got the others, I guess other people in the shop. I gave the second plain one to my younger cousin. Started out with chain clutch and then changed to a BorgWarner torque converter with a Kohler K91. It would run 45 MPH with the Kohler and Torque converter. Then the Hodak Super Rat don't know how fast it is, had to around 70 or 75 hit 5 gear and pulled the front wheel.

Seems to me: Kinda like starting yoga at 60... Lotsa sludge in them veins... Best let sleeping dogs lie...

Jimmy - I have seen worse! Your 3rd gear actualy looks pretty good! Most are not. Others, like @stevasaurus have much more Unidrive experience than I - he or others should chime in. Short version - most all of these ARE fixable - just a matter of time & money.....

OK, Johnnie - just where do all the suspended solids go???? The K series has no pressure lubrication nor oil filter - so, go back to my original question. Thirty plus years of carbon crud ends up in the "Lifeblood" fluid.... what could POSSIBLY go wrong??????????? Reminds me of the old "MOTOR MEDIC" solvent treatment popular in the 1960's and 70's..Opens up both clogged oil returns AND a can of worms......