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Not much to report guys, after a busy weekend I was to tired yesterday to do much.. So little in fact I can't remember what I did other than bolt the brake fluid reservoirs in place and plumbed them in! Maybe I need more coffee! Anyway, to keep you all amused here's the latest Why Not video.. Enjoy

Sorry for not posting anything lately. As some will already know, and for those that don't, it was decided to dispose of friend Johns collection as various job lots. In view of his health, which appears to be going downhill rapidly and his desire to sell up and move to a much smaller property as quickly as possible, we thought this was the best and quickest way to go. A lot of the collection has gone already, with more spoken for. Many thanks to the various buyers. Some may be disappointed at not seeing what was for sale, but after dragging out from the various hiding places, it was found that most of the Bolens and Wheelhorses were in VERY poor condition. Although they were covered up years ago, time and the weather, plus brambles and other vegetation had come off best. There is still a lot of stuff to go yet, some of which may find it's way on here, if appropriate. Still sorting and clearing out. Can't believe how much John has collected over the years. Not just tractors and related garden machinery, but his Morris Marina cars. He has a few in almost as new, low mileage condition. Not everyone's favourite car, but John LOVED them. Again, sorry that some members may be disappointed, but acting in Johns best interest. Regards, Alan.

ime glad they have gone to a good home

In my opinion, John is very lucky to have Alan as a friend. The amount of time and effort Alan has put into this is incredible. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet both Alan and John over the weekend and I enjoyed talking to both of them. Seeing John's health over the weekend, I believe that Alan had no other option than to progress more rapidly. I am sure it will not come as a surprise to many people that I bought most of the Bolens tractors and equipment as a job lot. The surprise might be just how many tractors you can get into a Mercedes Sprinter, aka the Great White Whale. We had to use a white Sprinter as the red ones are only for Wheelhorse's Alan mentioned that Chris (The Showman) manages to get three in easily and four with a struggle into his Sprinter. We started with getting five tractors in a load and then with Tom's support we managed to get six squeezed in. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take any pictures but it made an interesting load. I think others may have taken some pictures. I will post some pictures of the tractors over time and once I have recovered. I am far too old for being stuck in a van for 18 hours and 1100 miles over three days. It was a great adventure and I am very grateful for Alan's support, also help from Chris and Tom. Iain

I understand that the weather is going to be quite nice for the show this weekend. Sadly I will not be able to make the show on Saturday or Sunday as my mothers funeral is being held on the Friday before the show so I will be in Essex over the weekend. We will still be traveling to Yorkshire to spend some quality bloke time with Chris Sutton & Paul Mackellow but we will arrive on the Monday at some point. Look forward to seeing you chaps and to those that I will not get to meet , have a great time at the show and hope to meet you at some time soon.

I can only echo what has already been said. Alan and John are such great guys and I could spend hours talking to them, so many great stories! Like Iain said, John is very lucky to have Alan as he is doing his best to help him out and helping John speed up the process of the move. I travelled down twice with Iain and like he said we managed to get 6 tractors in one day amongst a few other things, it was a struggle but we did it. It was great fun! It has been a pleasure meeting you guys and I look forward to meeting you again soon. Tom

came across this to day was thinking of buying it but whats it worth cos ive got no idea

Thanks Norm. Thanks Iain, streaming would be a great idea if it were not for the rubbish internet in the workshop area.. Not even 3G! The good news is I'm slightly more awake than this morning, so here the brake reservoirs that I did remember.. The bit I couldn't remember was the extra bits of angle I welded to the fender pan frame.. I thought it might be handy to have something solid to bolt the seat to Today has been all about getting the brakes working.. Here's the master cylinders all plumbed in.. The blue pipe is air line hose.. I did test to see if brake fluid would eat it away or not but sticking an off cut in a pot of fluid for a few days.. It didn't so I used it Front and rear brake line splitters fitted.. It took a few hours of fine tuning but the strange system does exactly what I want it to do... Only a little air left in the system to get out and the brakes will be done

I am chuffed to bits with the tractor & attachments I brought Pictures to follow soon (none of that overloaded sprinter!) I just glad to have helped out & will do so very soon again Chris

Its not a Tractor, or a mower, its not even old. But this is what we've been up to lately... A drift trike is exactly what it sounds like, a trike that goes sideways sometimes. The idea is to put PVC pipe around the rear tires to help this. There's a bunch on Youtube if you want to know more. My Dad is Dutch, can you tell? I hope he doesnt see this

thanks for the update Alan and I am chuffed that the Bolens will live for another day thanks to Chris and Iain's dedication to the Bolens Cause! They have gone to very good homes. The Morris Marina is a car that bring back memories.......

Don't tempt me! I got too much on at the moment! A nice machine for someone with talent (you!). Cheers

i think you should buy it andrew

Nigel, as you know these are very collectable and with those attachments and wheel weights, I would guess around £450 in that condition, perhaps a tad higher? There was one for sale last year locally with the tiller and wheel weights and was in full working order and I recall that went for over £700. Let us know if you get it. Cheers

Another great update, thanks Looking forward to the first test run which really needs to be streamed live for us all to watch. Iain

Lookin' good, Ian.

Charlie, the original exhaust on the 121 was a pious one. Very holy. I cut the manifold end off it and turned it up instead of down. I had some pipe that just fitted over it. Drilled lots of holes in it, cut some slots in one end and that is held with an exhaust clamp. The stainless pipe and flap I liberated from under a bench in expeatfarmers workshop. I turned two spacers to slide over the inner pipe and inside the stainless outer. These were welded to the inner pipe. One at one end. The other about an inch and a half from the other end. Loft insulation was packed between the two pipes as I inserted the inner pipe into the outer one. I then drilled and tapped two holes opposite each other, through the stainless pipe and into the lower spacer. Two 6mm stainless hex head screws keep everything together. I did fit a mute in the outlet end of the inner pipe, a plug with a smaller hole than the pipe bore, to quieten it a bit more. But it didn't reckon much to the idea and spat it out.

Evening All, Having acquired the front blade for the RJ at the weekend i thought i'd put up a few photos of it more or less complete. The rear plough, which is a Barford Atom item, is the one that was used on the RJ by the previous owner; disc to be found. When the blade arrived home my 5 year old son was chuffed to bits; jumping around with excitement. His 2 year old sister however didn't know what the fuss was all about but joined in jumping anyway. I'll take it to a couple of shows as is before restoration starts although i don't want to end up with it in bits if i need it in any snow

Thanks Neil Thanks Alain, I'm going to try and keep it original and use the lift that came with it, Thanks for the link

Sad news Neil, stay strong and hope to see you next month.