chipwitch 73 #1 Posted May 27, 2014 Hello all. I'm a middle aged woman, no kids or grand kids , new to tractors, though a few years ago a friend invited me to join him at the Florida Flywheelers Tractor pull and flea market where I had a ball. Just bought my first tractor, a C-125, mechanical transmission (8 speed) with a tiller attachment this past Sunday. I'm not sure of the year, 80 or 81 near as I can tell. The dataplate seems to be missing. Much is original, but some of it has obviously been backyard engineered as well. I can't say I ever really had much interest in tractors, but about 8 months ago my life took an unexpected turn. My yard became infested with ticks. So now I have a tractor. Make sense? Probably not. LOL. I was real reluctant to use chemicals on the lawn. Aside from the expense and the risk to the health of my puppies, most chemicals I tried only seemed to make the ticks mad. One day, I read about guinea fowl being devastating to ticks, so I bought 3. Well, the guineas I got, don't much seem to like the taste of ticks. I ended up having to spend the money and polute my lawn anyway. Darn birds grew on me though. Next thing I know, I'm buying some chicken eggs and hatching them. I mean, I already have a coop and a run for the guineas. And I love fresh brown eggs. What's a few more beaks to feed? They eat like birds. Right? Readers Digest condensed version... Hatched 10 of 12 chicken eggs. Will keep 2 for eggs and the other 8 are going to freezer-camp. They're about 9 weeks old, so getting close. Have 10 guinea eggs incubating now and will be ordering another 25 chicks in a couple months as the ones we bought are barnyard mixed breeds and we wanted Buff Orpingtons to raise. Feeding that many chicks, we needed a garden to grow fodder. I like tomatoes even more than eggs, so what the heck. BIG garden. (Had a small one a few years back) Plus, what is one to do with all that chicken black gold if not fertilize a garden? LOL While looking for a tiller, I came across my C-125 with tiller. Sold! I'd been thinking about a small FEL to help with some of the guano management,as joint pain makes lifting difficult. But, my JD LX277 AWS is just too nice and not really suitable for a FEL. The C-125 is ideal for my small homestead. Soon, I hope to employ my engineering background to design the FEL as well as a hydraulic lift. I have to tell you, when I first rode that C-125, I knew it was nothing like my lawn tractor. Put it in first and it just creeped along. Then I realized I was still in high gear! Wow! Lot of torque for 12 hp. Clutch transitions high on the step and had a hard time finding it. Consequently, the first time I put it in 3rd gear, I popped the front wheels 8" up off the deck! Very impressive. Anyway. Love the tractor, but I'm finding out theres a lot about it I don't know. In my quest for information, I found this site. Lots of good information here. Hope someday I'll be able to contribute a little to the project myself. For now, I hope y'all can suffer another newbie and a city interloper into the world of farming and tractors... Wheel Horse tractors! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,126 #3 Posted May 27, 2014 Freezer camp. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rexman72 210 #4 Posted May 27, 2014 welcome to the site Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowtieguy 334 #5 Posted May 27, 2014 THREE guinea + 10 = THIRTEEN + 25 on order = THIRTY EIGHT (38) ONE WHEEL HORSE C-125 + 1 (fel) + 1 (parts tractor) + 1 (round hood) + ?????????.....= at least (38) PS..don't feel bad....it happens to all of us!!!..oh yeah, you will like it here! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joefrommi65 18 #6 Posted May 27, 2014 Welcome to red square !!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chipwitch 73 #7 Posted May 27, 2014 You forgot the 10 of 12 barnyard chickens I already hatched! Thanks for the welcome everyone. Here are some pictures of my tractor. Needs some work, but oddly it makes me smile everything I look at it! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,300 #8 Posted May 27, 2014 Its quite possible that a new drive belt will bring that clutch pedal back where it belongs. Did ya get the belt for the tiller?? I don't see it in the pics. Hope so, they are not cheap! And finally I see the model# plate under the dash, give us the info off it and we will tall you exactly what you have. I circled it in red. Mike........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,032 #9 Posted May 28, 2014 All of those chickens and a garden in Miami, sound like you must be out in the Red Lands, I know there wasn't room enough to have two blades of grass when I lived there! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chipwitch 73 #10 Posted May 28, 2014 Hi Mike. Just got the tractor Sunday, Monday being a holiday and me not knowing what to get. No time yet to get the belt. Plus, it looks like something is missing to drive the deck or I'd get that belt too. The deck I got looks like a 36" rear discharge. It's in pretty bad shape. Unusable, but rebuildable. The photos are the two nameplates (tractor and tiller). They're on my phone. I'll post them on the next post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chipwitch 73 #11 Posted May 28, 2014 Pictures of tractor and tiller id plates Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chipwitch 73 #12 Posted May 28, 2014 @953 nut.... lets just say Miami-"ish" Thanks for the welcome Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,300 #13 Posted May 28, 2014 Here ya go.... 01-12K801 1980 C Series Garden Tractor C-125 8-Speed Kohler K301AS-47723D Mike......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chazm 413 #15 Posted May 28, 2014 WELCOME TO My wife is a chicken farmer as well Gotta love big ol brown eggs .... You may fine this site helpful with your chickens http://www.backyardchickens.com/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chipwitch 73 #16 Posted May 28, 2014 WELCOME TO My wife is a chicken farmer as well Gotta love big ol brown eggs .... You may fine this site helpful with your chickens http://www.backyardchickens.com/ Not a member there, but I refer to it often. It's a great resource. Thanks for the welcome Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dodgemike 52 #18 Posted June 14, 2014 Welcome to RED SQUARE. Nice tractor. If you design a FEL it would be awesome if you shared the plans. I know there are plans in the archives, but always looking for a better mousetrap. Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chipwitch 73 #19 Posted June 15, 2014 You got it dodgemike. Lots of other stuff to do first. Might be a while. Within the next couple weeks I'm planning to build an attachment for the tiller... a trencher wheel. I'm in dire need of lots of irrigation and would rather throw something together than rent a trencher... or use the "back" hoe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amanda 81 #21 Posted June 17, 2014 Welcome to Red Square!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites