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Hello to all. I know some of you have seen this before, sorry. Another restoration waiting to be done, an RJ58 with the possibility of plough & front blade in the future. Philip

Its been a nice day in the UK, and for various reasons a few of the horses made it outside for some fresh air. As well as one of my other toys... It's the first time bendy and C4 have been side by side too the GT14 got an airing too

I didn't appreciate how long our grass was until Saturday so some serious grass cutting was in order. The first job was to service the push mower so my wife could forge ahead with the smaller bits of grass and then sort out my son's electric toy car so he could tow trailers of grass cuttings from the push mower. I have been side tracked recently with new purchases and neglected the repairs needed on the main grass cutting tractor, the Bolens HT23. I did attempt to use it but it was too sick, those Kohler twins are a pain. I then spent the rest of Saturday hooking out a deck for a Bolens tube frame tractor which was hidden at the back of one of my storage sheds. The plan for Sunday was an early start, rebuild the tubeframe deck, drop it on a tractor and forge ahead. When I opened the bedroom curtains on Sunday morning I was faced with this surprise from my wife. I cut most of it out with the tractor today but as the push mower is set lower it can still be seen. So if you are planning to fly into Norwich fleapit International airport look out for it. Iain

Alain, it doesn't count mate as your name spelt wrong! Come to think of it, so Iain's! So that's just Chris and me. No wait, Chris is spelt wrong too; it should be Christopher. Anyway as I was saying, it Dave and me. Hang on, Dave spelt wrong as well. It should be David. Oh well, Look like I get first dibs for all Bolens stuff after all. Cheerio losers! Andrew

And don't forget the scarf.

Time for the rest of the update.. The hood stand has had a couple of bit's of box welded to it. Which along with a couple of hefty mounting brackets has put a lot of strength into it, no longer does it wobble when the steering is turned. The n/s foot plate has been fully welded and ground down.. I did for a while yesterday think about having foot gear change and a suicide clutch, but decided I'd rather have both hands on the wheel when the clutch is dropped at 9000rpm This is the mount for the suicide shift made for a bit of thick steel and a cut down bike swing arm bolt.. Shifter mounted and the linkage worked out, though you will have to wait until the linkage is done before you see it. The fender pan has been bolted down, but I thought a photo of 6 bolts would be boring so I didn't take a photo.. And to finish off this update, I needed to work out where the pedals would go so I climbed aboard, at which point Nigel wandered (not waddled ) in and grabbed my camera

well the mention of the loader will cause a riot on here, probably all of the bolens folks would want to know where that is, hell i even want to know and i'm a WH guy

The tube frame 1556 was only made in 1972 and the Large Frame 1477 was only made in 1971, I would think either one of these would be very hard to find anywhere. Even though the ride-a-matic and round hoods are earlier tractors they made many more of them, but they are becoming very scarce. tube frames used two thck tubes attached to Baluster up front and the cast iron rear end in back, the Large Frame was, well, larger and used a heavy channel frame. Large Frames were the first to be able to use Cat 0 three points, previous Bolens models utilized a sleeve hitch for raising implements, and Large frames were hydros, were very few tube frame models were hydros, many not offering a hydro lift either which was standard on the large Frames Whoa Andrew, I believe Alain comes before Andrew, your second

Philip,One of the code of conduct within the Bolens Circle is that the Bolens collectors on this forum are contacted in alphabetical order which by a stroke of good fortune I am first on the list for any rare Bolens! Andrew

Philip, The early ride-a-matics were green and yellow and the later ones gold. The front grill is made from cast. The later Ride-a-matics were square fronted still with a cast grill. Husky was the name given to the early tubeframes which predominantly had Wisconsin engines, the 600 had a B&S engine. When Bolens moved to Tecumseh engines they dropped the Husky name and they became G or H series (Gear or Hydro). The husky badge was still used on the front of the early G/H tractors. The easy way to identify a tubeframe is the chassis which is two tubes/pipes. If you look at my post on my Bolens G14 you will see a picture I posted of several of my G/H series tractors. At the end of the line up is my large frame tractor, a HT23. Also in that post is a picture of my latest H16 which is an early model with the husky badge on the front. I am sure more knowledgeable people than me will fill in the bits I have missed. Several Bolens collectors on this forum and we are all always on the lookout for more, so if you know of any for sale do let us all know. For the rare ones you can let me know first Iain

That's good news that it's all up and running. That will get you motivated to start other jobs on it.

Hi Ian, not black,not high back,but well vented ready for any "oop's" moments when you hit the 'loud' pedal :D

I've spent all afternoon, filling and sanding the top. Priming and top coating the underneath. What do you think?

Here is my line up of Shay Rotogardener's think that i have all the models covered now. Models include two 80's a number of 120's and the last one is a 125 four stroke

HELP. ! After reading all the above posts I am a bit nervous that I might be flattened in the stampede at my about to be revealed news. Rapidly building armoured shelter right now. I know of approx 10 various Bolens which are about to be sold. These belong to a friend who is downsizing his property due to ill health etc. I believe I need to get the moderators permission first before saying too much as the owner is not on the forum or internet. Just as a starter there a two Ride a matics, the cast gold versions, various Husky's, a large frame Hydro which if I remember, is an 1177, plus, wait until I take cover, a Husky I think, with a front Hydraulic Loader. Also to be disposed of are approx 13 other garden tractors plus loads of other stuff. As said above, I think I need the go ahead from the mods before going too far, if I haven't done so already. If so, mods please delete. Alan. Spelt the correct way. ,

Dug this out of the back of my shed today, my Easimow I restored a couple of years ago, a bit of rust showing through again, painting is not my strong point.

Shame, shame, shame gentlemen. You forgot one of the old Bolens that is the most fun to operate. The Estate Keeper and it's little brother the Lawn Keeper

looks and sounds great Matt only one thing i'm worried about, my horse sounds just like that at idle, is that normal

Remember, I am first in line .........

My tractor is a 1476, very similar, but older Large Frame Bolens with the single cylinder Wisconsin 14hp, just make sure you have the right size crank shaft to use the three pulleys and you should be fine

Hello Paul, Thank you for the welcome. When i first found the Wheelhorse i thought yourself or showman would know more about it than i. I'm normally working on later machinery with maybe a Raider 12 occasionally coming in for a "get going" being the oldest machine.

It looks like the dark blue paint is not original so this mower will be repainted in the Multigardner green to match the rest of the collection

They will probably end up in the street when Mrs Showman wants her patio back

Yep "why am I sharing my boot space with this thing ?" Bless her, she copes

I can just imagine what the dogs thinking.

Here's the new mower, firstly in the car with the secuirity officer giving it the once over, then outside the workshop at home... And before you ask Chris,yes it runs !!

Look good Mark in a lineup, if i had a bigger garden I could line mine up

I wouldn't mind leaving as is but it's the wrong colour. Also i've got stationary engines in oily rag condition so fancied something shiny. I'll see what opinion is nearer the time.

That's an absolute beauty you got there Philip. In my humble opinion I would keep it just as it and apply a coat of Owatrol to enhance the patina. The RJ 58 are my favourite Å´heel Horse models and look similar to the Bolens round hood models like the 800.

Hi Luke, I can relate to that. Ideally you need an engine that will take a drive on the flywheel for the PTO. It looks like you have all the essentials on the tractor. BTW I have an HT23. Iain

Well had an hour or two on it This afternoon chucked an old battery on it chucked some fuel in and jumped it of the car fired up after a couple of turns ran sweet as a nut no smoke an drove it round the yard a few times hi low box works fine gears are a bit hard to find but nothing major If at first you don't succeed Use a bigger hammer

Congratulations. You'll have to keep us informed.

Todays effort. Three coats of primer. Three coats of top coat. Another to go on soon.

Welcome! I have 3 of these tractors You think thats bad, take a look at the last one I brought

Great collection, I see you like red,. Alain

I need to find where I have bought a 99% match on the lights for you and norm

Mark has a source for lights. He was going to let me know where from. Give him a nudge.

Maybe you could start a new trend Matt. Custom painted hand tools.. Any color you like as long as it matches what ever else you were spraying at the time

I'm sayin' nowt.

C4 has been giving bendy the evils for some time, what with bendy getting all the attention.... New paint job, engine rebuild, etc Well today was too much and C4 said outside now I'll show you... Here's the result After a few rounds of tug of war Gonna keep you guessing for a while as to the outcome

As some folks looked at the answer.... Here you go

I'm going to guess Bendy won... I think the video gave it away Mark

I can just picture him in flying helmet and goggles.

Have you thought about a small windscreen / deflector on the bonnet to stop your eyes watering whilst driving round the arena

C4 is my guess, despite the extra weight on Bendy.

Indeed, I'm very proud of those screwdrivers Ian! Matt

One word freakin awesome! Oh wait that two words...

Got another one of the little Sexton mowers to collect tomorrow, photos on here when we get home