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Triumph66

Bolens HT20

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A few weeks ago I got a call out of the blue saying would I be interested in this old tractor. My pulse quickened when he mentioned that it was hydrostatic and had 20 HP engine in it. I asked for photos which duly came a week later and my thoughts were confirmed. It was a Large Frame and both Chris and Iain identified it as a HT20. I have been told it is an early model. It runs and stops ok and come with a 56" deck too. There's a bit of tinware missing but otherwise it's solid. These are hard to come by ad I am chuffed to but that I got my hands on one.

 

 

 

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46 minutes ago, Triumph66 said:

Should be here on Wednesday morning :hyper::hdance:

 

Will take better photos for those interested :smoke:

 

Count me in, not sure I can wait until Wednesday though :). I love seeing pictures of everyone's new toys.

 

Iain

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t's here but not without a bit of a kerfuffle!

I got a phone call this morning saying he was half an hour away. Great I replied! Then he said "It's a big tractor and not sure how we are going to get it off..." "I am sure we'll manage" I replied.

It arrived on time and with a bit of maneovoring and shunting the lorry reversed back to my lock up.

He then revealed the tractor in all its glory which was strapped onto a pallet. The first problem or as some people like to say challenge was that the pallet was too wide to go through the rear so i quickly used my hand saw to reduce the width. This worked ok and we could just about get it on the tail lift.

We then came across another issue. It was again too wide to go through my garage. I quickly thought I would roll it off and gave Chris a quick ring to ask him the procedure to release the valves to aid rolling. However, the seller have strapped the deck underneath the tractor and so we couldn't roll it even if we wanted to. ....

By now the delivery guy was clock watching and I said let cut the sides again. This time speed was of the essence so I fired up my chainsaw and quickly sliced through the timber on both sides and after a couple of failed attempts managed to get it through the door and under cover. It was a great relief to get it in the garage as the driver said he was beginning to think he would have to leave it in situ if we couldn't get it inside. Thanksfully it's all sorted.

Chris is coming over on Saturday and hopefully between us we can get it off the pallet ....

Photos to follow but a quick glance around showed me it's a mightily sound tractor and with a good clean and a service will be a good one. Compared to the 850 in the corner, the HT20 is huge!

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Certainly looks good Andrew, I couldn't help noticing but the transmission oil filter looks like it has a hole in it?

I'm sure you and Chris will have it off the pallet and up and running on Saturday

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I must admit Harry I thought that too but I think it's intact though absolutely dented and battered to buggery :o

 

1 hour ago, Stormin said:

I thought Bolens was spelt :- B.O.L.E.N.S.?  Not :- K.U.B.O.T.A.?? :yankchain:

 

A deliberate spelling mistake and a visible security detereance to deter thieves.   B)

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I am pleased it arrived safe and it looks fantastic, thanks for posting the pictures. Give me a ring on Saturday if you and Chris need to compare anything with my HT20.

 

Iain

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12 minutes ago, slf-uk said:

I am pleased it arrived safe and it looks fantastic, thanks for posting the pictures. Give me a ring on Saturday if you and Chris need to compare anything with my HT20.

 

Iain

 

Certainly will Iain. I am not sure who's more excited. Me, you or Chris? :hyper::hdance:

 

i have only seen Chris's 1886  and his Ht23  and I know you both said it much bigger and heavier than a TF, I was still caught unawares. Especially when I compared it to the 850 :jaw:

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5 hours ago, Joseph said:

Great find Andrew, I'm excited too :)

 

 

Thanks Joseph. I should have included you Joseph as well as your Dad and Chris! 

 

Hey Joseph, when's your Dad going to get his own Large Frame as I know you got two yourself :hyper::hdance:;)

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Another update. Chris arrived with his mate Paul this morning after collecting an item near me. My main concern was getting the tractor off the pallet which we did with a bit of juggling. I was mightily relieved that it all went to plan. The next job was to see if we could fire up the old girl. The oil was drained as was the fuel tank for shipping. Fresh oil was poured in and the oil filter changed as was the transmission oil (which wasn't too rank looking) and filter. Chris poured in 8 litres og hydro oil as we could not check the level due to a broken hydro dipstick. I poured in fresh petrol with a Briggs and Stratton Fuel Fix additive. The battery was hooked up and with a turn of the ignition bought the engine to life. The noise was deafening in the garage with very little smoke which gradually disappeared as it warmed up. There was a bit of hunting which Chris adjusted to factory settings. Due to where the lockup is, we both felt we couldn't do a test run. The hunting is still there but can be tweaked when the engine is warm. We jacked up the rear to see if the wheel turns ok and thankfully they did. 

I need a few things on my shopping list including a new dipstick for the hydro, plus an air filter (on order), fuel lines as the old ones are hard, battery leads and clamps, condenser, tinware, new wiring loom etc. I am really chuffed with it and as Rick said it is a 'good fixer upper'.

I have added two videos I hope. The first one is when it fired up the first time and the second is Chris tweaking the hunting. I have included a photo of the battered hydro filter. I am very grateful to have Chris and his friend Paul helping me out on this project. In fact Chris is hoping to come down again to carry on with a bit more work on the HT20 when he can fit in in between his Bolens, family and work. Also thanks to Iain ffor his arcane knowledge on these LFs and Rick for agreeing to source the tinware for the engine etc. Always great to see a fellow Bolens enthusiast willing to help out

 

 

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Thanks Iain.

 

Next job is to get it to my other place so I can fire it up and actually drive it about the field. Hopefully do that in a few weeks time.....

 

A video of this will be taken......:hdance::hyper::smoke:

 

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