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A bit more progress to report. Andrew found and purchased a sleeve hitch for the Bolens tube frames. He arraigned with the seller to send it to me for inclusion in the shipment. I have one pic of it, and at a later date I'll have a few more when I get it mounted on the tractor. We also have the beginnings of the shipping crate. It turned out to be a bit more of a project than I first thought. I went over to the dealer, and discovered that the parts of the crate were too large to fit in the truck bed. I have a Dodge Dakota with the crew cab, so the bed is a bit on the short side. So, I said to myself "Self, let's just go get the trailer and use it". Self replied, "I do believe that is a splendid idea". Now this dealer is also the same dealer that originally put my forklift together. They used and abused it for 30+ years, and about 2 years ago I managed to get them to sell it to me, It worked great but did need some help both cosmetically and mechanically. That was done over the winter before last. You can see a long thread on that over at the GTT forums: http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/29815-bolens-1886-forklift-refurb/page-1?hl=+refurb They were also holding a Cub Cadet open house, with all of the new CCs available for a test drive, etc. I sat and talked with then for awhile, and was talking to the father who was the original owner, and he expressed interest in seeing it now that it had been refurbed. Once we got back home and I was hooking the trailer up to the Dakota, I once again opened up a conversations with Self. "Self" I said "since we are taking the trailer anyway, why don't we load the forklift as well, and we can let the folks over there see what it looks like after the refurbish?" Self replied "Brilliant!" (I think I've been spending too much time on this forum and watching old episodes of Top Gear and the language is rubbing off on me :D ) So, the forklift was loaded onto the trailer and back we (Self and I) went. We shot the breeze some more, and I finally started loading up the crate. Now I gotta tell you, that was WAY too much like work! There was a big stack of knocked down crates, and I spent a lot of time moving parts around until I finally found one of suitable size, and all the parts thereof. Finally, I was all load up and back home I came. Here are a few pics. As you can see the poor Dakota had all it could handle with the forklift on the trailer Another couple of pics of what will be the shipping crate. And, a couple of pics of Andrew's 600 parked next to my HT20D. The HT20D is sitting there because it's being shifted from the Winter mode to Summer mode. The blade will be coming off and the flail mower will be going on. I just HAD to take those pics as it so clearly shows the difference in sizes between the first of the tube frames and basically the last (size wise) of the large frames. Andrew's 600 is there because I was attaching the sleeve hitch. However, I ran into a problem, so the hitch isn't on it yet. I will describe all of that in a later post

That will do me then Sold!

Just got back from a day trip to Cornwall (as you do) with this, its an International Cadet 81 of the late 70's period, complete with mowing deck... rather pleased but somewhat tired now, started out from home at 2am and got home at 5pm... I will have a good look at it tomorrow, it's parked in its new home now, here's some photos to be going on with...

Thanks Chris. That was quick. I'll pop it in a jiffy bag and post tomorrow.

I have the manual for these, and I will tell you the bronze gear that slides over the axle is prone to wearing out, when you can find the bronze gear (32T) they are about 120.00. Fortunately there aren't alot of expensive parts in these old style round backs, but with bigger late model tube frames you might want to get a flat back model rotovator

Gentlemen, Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums. There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it. One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested. I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested. Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me. I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it. I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me. As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see. It's absolutely beautiful It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid. PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up. So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens. One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round, I hope I succeeded :D I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well. You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer. I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

While searching ads for a hand held earth auger to do some fence posts, I stumbled across an ad for this machine. DIG R MOBILE earth auger machine. Found it very interesting, went to look at it and impulse bought it. I don't really have a need for this much hole digging machine but I'm a sucker for old cool machines. Hopefully I can find some side work for it to help pay the bill. Everything works but it needs some TLC to get everything tightened up so it drills straight. Made in the 60s by a company called General. Came with it's own factory custom trailer. Just thought I'd share some pics.

We went to this one day show at Blindley Heath in Surrey today for a look, basically its a country show similar to Heathfield show and the Smallholders show. There were some old machines there, here's what I caught on camera

Thats a Mayfield 2 wheeled tractor plough

Thats a merry tiller tool frame with plough on I love this guessing game!

Here's some pictures of the restoration, this is after the frame was painted and I put the engine back on

im sure thats an autogardener plough

That crate is identical to the ones I have seen being used to import Husqvarna ride-on's into the UK, so it should be something the shipping people are very familiar with. Iain

Right then, back to the Operation. When we last posted, the Forklift was still on the trailer as were the makings of the crate. This morning I went out to unload everything and put the crate to a place where I could still get to it later for assembly. Now one thing to consider is that the forklift has very little ground clearance and with the weight box on the back having a long overhang, it doesn't take much to high center it. That means that you have to be a bit creative to get it on and off a trailer. Fortunately my North lot has a drainage ditch that is just perfect. I just back the trailer down the ditch and the tailgate is now level with the road :D I also found that a byproduct of taking the forklift with me when I picked ut the crate was that the crate was resting just fine of the forks. So, unloading the crate was just a matter of lifting the forks so that it cleared the trailer sides, driving off the trailer, and Bob's your Uncle. I'd like to be able to claim that I planned that, but it was just pure happenstance. Pics of how the unloading went.

I love these little Bolens, very nice looking tractor and very sturdy. I'll look forward to seeing it in England

There is an inspection/cover plate on the bottom of these round back tillers. I suggest you remove this plate and check for bronze filings and/or metal chunks or pieces. These tillers can run even after considerable damage, but the damage will show up in the bottom of the case. When you remove the inspection plate the bronze 32 tooth bronze gear (part 48 on the diagram) will be able to be inspected for wear. At this time the bearing, cup, and seal should be replaced on the front and rear to prevent further wear or damage. Other than the bronze gear the rest are fairly common parts and can be cross referenced by many bearing suppliers with the bearing itself or its dimensions, that will save money from paying epay scalpers.

Cash on collection me thinks unless the postman is Mr T

Alan, If you would be so good to do the same! Thanks Andrew

Yep, the good folks over at Worcester's were most appreciative, and glad to see that it had a new lease on life. Yes, Haban made the Flail-Mo in different widths. They made the 36" models 502 and 503 for the tube frames and the 48" models 513 and 514 for the large frames. The one in the pic is a 514A and I also have a 503 which needs a bit of TLC and isn't usuable at this time. It's an attachment that you don't want to use with a gear driven tube frame unless you have the optional hydraulic lift. The Sickle-Mo is a model 415A and is mounted on a 1250 with the optional Bolens Dual Wheel Kit. The REALLY nice thing about the 415 is that it uses the tractor's hydraulics to raise/lower the cutter bar. Sure makes it easier to use than the 405A that I have on a 1256. With that you have a lever you pull to raise/lower the cutter bar.

Thanks Iain, good to see your boy has an interest in mechanical stuff at an early age I was lucky with the prop shaft, the end with the good UJ was the end I needed I've just ordered new front tyres and some more suitable and more traditional looking air filters which should arrive next week... Not long now chaps

when ian and i were at alans and johns yesterday i stumbled across this and i just had to have it, it needs a lot of work to finish it, and i know it will owe me much more than it will ever be worth !

Funny you should say that Paul, I do know of another Honda V twin bike engine that's not too far away

That is what we call the "Round Back" tiller. This one has the optional extension on it The round backs are a light/medium duty tiller and meant to till ground that has been previously worked. They can till virgin ground, but you don't want to till a large plot, or do it on a regular basis.

That would be what we call the "Square Back" tiller for the tube frames. It's a very heavy duty tiller and is capable of working virgin ground.

Sorry to keep you all waiting. The first of the stash has just been posted in the FOR SALE section. More to follow over the weekend. Thanks again to Nigel and Ian for the help and guidance in identifying a lot of the stash. As they suggested, I am listing some of the attachments first, followed by a few of the better condition tractors, although the listings could be mixed due to circumstances. As some may already know, these items belong to an old friend who is in very poor health, and is having to dispose of his collection. He is sorry to have to part with years of collecting but needs to downsize to a much smaller property. He lives near Cranleigh, Surrey for those who will be wondering. A lot of the collection is dry stored but some, which was stored outside under covers has suffered from the weather, the covers having rotted away over the years and with everything being covered in brambles. Still in the process of digging out which is a slow job as I can normally only get over to my friends place once a week, and he is not always in a fit state to help. Any questions please ask. I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge. Alan.

Leaking fuel points to float & needle problem.

The only real difference I have been able to identify between a OH160 and HH160 is the charging circuit. A HH160 has a large remote rectifier located under the battery tray and the OH160 has the rectifier located on the tin covering the flywheel just above the starter. Both have issues with the remote rectifier tending to get hotter than it should and the one on the tin being subjected to debris being thrown from the flywheel. I couldn't see from your pictures if they used the original rectifier when they installed the OH160 or if they changed the wiring. I just love posts like this, so much information and lots to learn. Retaining the new information is the difficult part. Iain

Paid a visit to Jonathan, (expeatfarmer) while out this morning. As we talked and perused his latest acquisition, something caught my eye under a bench. A length of stainless pipe with a flap on. Surplus to his requirements, it found it's way into the Discovery. Back home and a bit of scrating about in the workshop, some welding, some lath work, some drilling and the result is below. Not what I expected to do today, so thanks Jonathan.

Don't let Ian near it, he'll put a Hayabusa engine in it or something similar !!

Another great update and video. My 7 year old lad is as much interested in this as I am. Pleased you remembered to remove the U/J from the end of the section of prop. Iain