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The rain washed out my garden, but I have plenty of time for another so I plowed and disked, in a couple of days I'll till

A few pics from a VERY HOT showground. :wub:

Thanks Alan for the good photos, nice finish to an exhausting day, nice to see John driving the Wheelhorse instead of the " other " red tractor

A few more. John was not feeling too good today but Chris did surprise him with his old horse and he enjoyed driving it again. Thanks again to Chris for helping to find more goodie's and clearing rubbish, including dragging a Merrytiller trailer out of the undergrowth, and a Westwood tractor from it's ( as it thought ) last resting place. Pam also went away happy with more bottles and a large HEAVY object which I thought was going to start divorce proceedings between her and Chris. Problem solved though, as Pam won.

Thanks Norm. The back up Cylinder is nearly done now . Good paint hardening weather. Just got to check/adjust for balance before installing- Alloy Piston's ordered.

If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England. There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by the suns of home. And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends, and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English heaven. A sonnet written by Rupert Brooke after enlisting in the military during the Great War that seems to say what every soldier feels fighting on foreign soil, that if one must fall in that soil, away from home, it becomes sovereign soil paid for in blood.

All tires were inflated before removing from the barn, but when the tubes started protruding through the various splits we thought it best to let most of the air out again. The two rights were really bad. Chris didn't want to hear loud bangs from the rear of the van on his way home.

These Bolens tube frames are a fairly easy restoration. The simplicity of design lends well to the novice or the experienced Bolens owner. Before restoration pictures of every angle and conceivable part must be taken and more as dis-assembly progresses. By numbering the pictures in sequence you can reassemble by going backwards. If you strip and sand the paint off, great care will be required to remove sanding scratches. Lots of fine paper or extra coats of sanding primer will do this, but realize that when the paint is applied you attention to detail will show. I don't go real crazy about it, because my tractors are intended for use, and I will not spend 90 percent of the restoration on 10 percent of the work. The hood and fender pan is about the only critical area, frame and other parts are usually made of a material that is not nearly as smooth anyway.

After approximately 40 plus years of captivity, John's Fordson has made a hasty exit from the barn it called home. The front tire was inflated just before the move, but after a few minutes the air inside decided it wanted to escape, and made it's own way out through the tube and sidewall with a loud BANG. What a waste of air. Much to everyone's surprise, all the wheels rotated, the steering was free, and the move from barn to loading was done in about 25 minutes, via a combination of pulling and pushing. It took almost as long strapping it down on the trailer and checking for loose bits that might go awol on the way to it's new home. Thanks Philip and crew. A few photo's which could have been better. The sun is never in the right place.

Took the misses out today for a forage looking for goodies, it turned into an all day thing but at least she saw what got put into van, i think she enjoyed the day so here's a couple of photos

Hello Alan, thanks. The Bearing and Pinion surfaces at each end cleaned up ok with no pitting, even though the L/H Drive Chain, Sprocket were solid with rust and the R/H Bearing rusted up. Checked them over with a Micrometer , then polished them up with Crocus Grade Emery. Bearings are still a press fit. I had made covers for these areas out of Copper and Brass tube to protect them at the Blasters. The Drive Pinions are less worn than my originals (they were subjected to sandy soil lawns in their previous useful life, but all still good/useable). So it means I can use all the Drive parts from John's Donor Mower including the Wheels as the parts all have 'Bed In and Mate Up' well together.

Take the sides and ends of the longer trailer. Add hecks at either end, throw some hay on and you'd have a great show piece behind a tractor.

Thanks Andrew. The soil is good, lots of manure and compost from leaves, grass, etc. The climate here is very adverse, we have a small window that may be warm enough in early spring to plant, but may not be either. In late spring, May and June, we can get up to 20-30 inches of rain, or almost none at all. After June through September the heat usually averages in the low 90s F many times closer to 100. I am going to try and plant in mid to late August since we never get a freeze before late in November, and the weather starts to cool down.. I love using these bigger machines, the taller wheels and tires really help when working in loose soil.

Alain, you got some nice bits of kit there. The soil look to be in good heart judging by the photos.

Managed to date it 1982 had a 50th anniversary decal in the middle of the steering wheel which some how I completely missed

You can be a proper, (nearly), Showman now, Chris. Tow two trailers at the same time.

I have an allen scythe and a sickle bar attachment for my howard dragon..but my preffered machine for high grass is my Hayter 26"roller drive motor scythe . These old hayters will make fast work of high grass without smothering you in a clould of oily blue smoke (allen Scythe). There was one on the" for sale" section of this site some time back.

I took the Wheelhorse up with me to do a bit of towing

Alain, it does make me think I should get the 1254 painted up at some point in the future. Looking forward to seeing it put back together.

Well done with the reel, Richard. And those caps look the business painted silver.

Here's our other Standard Fordson. The orange parts (excluding wheels) date from roughly 1939, the green parts 1942 & the engine from 1945. When we first picked it up it was all green but after a good wash the orange reappeared. At present the tank & carburettor are off but the new valves are in & compression is lethal. When the head was off i noticed the pistons were stamped 60 thou oversize. Once i get the manifold & carb back on i'll try & get it running with the water leaks & split block still to do. The wheels are Major ones, put on to make it mobile but I have the originals. Philip

I was going to bring my E1A Major up to do the shifting & loading but my brother in law, Terry, said he'd assist with his Landrover. . He towed it to it's new place as my van is limited to 2.8ton & i haven't the fogiest of the trailer weight let alone the tractor & winch. It looks safer behind a Landy. Philip

Well done, Glad to see a landrover involved

That's amazing ! didn't think it would have come out that easy, I see you used a land rover would't the Bolens pull it

Those old 26" roller drive hayters were built like tanks i have one for years ..a mighty machine to cut high grass with the 4 blade deck attachment. The cylinder mower attachment gives a rough enough cut but has its use. A roller seat was also available.