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While at John's today, digging out more of the Bolen Stash, we heard a noise from an old caravan which had been partly crushed by a tree brought down in a storm a few years ago. This caravan had been used to store furniture etc and was almost full and very difficult to see inside due to being covered with undergrowth. After calling and getting no answer I took a few random flash photo's, not being able to see much at all, and managed to get a ( not too clear ) picture of the culprit. The only way we could get this person to emerge, threats to call the police etc had no effect, was to offer him a cup of tea. This did the trick and he was out instantly, covered with cobwebs and probably bugs too. Asked how he got here, guessing he was an illegal immigrant, he said he had stowed away in a red sprinter van which has been seen nearby on a few occasions recently. We eventually sent him on his way, but he threatened to return saying that he liked exploring at John's, even though all of the red stuff has gone.

Evening chaps, today has been all about metal.. To cover the hole that normally has a plate with an ammeter fitted I made up this plate... The curved bit covers the steering column where it pokes through under the dash. I forgot to take any photo's of it so have a snap taken from the video footage. Working out where and how to mount the ignition barrel was fun. It will go under the dash towards the left which will mean drilling a hole through my freshly made panel above.. Here's the mounting bracket next to the barrel.. The bracket also stops the bike steering lock pin from popping out should the key be turned the wrong way.. And onto today's main attraction... The dashboard.. In my haste to get it to fit yesterday I ground a bit too much metal off on the bottom corners. It would of been easy to ignore the gaps if they hadn't of bugged me so much.. So... Off came the dash panel, the offending corners were cleaned up and clamped to a small slab of brass.. Extra MIG metal added to build the corner back up.. One gentle tap later the brass came off the dash.. This is the underside.. You can see where the weld picked up some dirt from the brass. Some very careful grinding later and the corners were sorted On a roll now 3 holes were drilled for warning lights and the starter switch, before I attacked the dash panel with this flap wheel thingy in the pillar drill. The end result after a couple of coats of clear lacquer looked like brushed stainless.. I like the look but I'm now wondering if my airbrush paint will still be any good after 7 odd years, and if I have any fine line masking tape

Great photos (not as great as those of Rita Hayworth) of 150 US aircraft laying in 130 feet of clear water in the South Pacific. None of these American planes were shot down, they were pushed off the sides of ships. I think that was about the time Rita Hayworth was touring the area possibly causing the American sailors to push everything overboard to make room, lol, just kidding, maybe http://theaviationist.com/2015/07/12/airplane-graveyard-in-the-pacific/

Not Bolens, but part of the stash. Chris and I extracted this Atlas Shaper from the back of the barn today. for the help Chris. Easier than expected with a bit of thought and forward planning. It gave Chris the opportunity to try out his re engined Raider 12 too, especially when removing the last two Westwoods from their burial ground. They fought back, but the Raider won. Who needs a Bolens when a Horse will do, said Chris.

Now i know what its like to go pot holeing, there was some of the biggest spiders i have ever seen in there and im sure there was something else watching me. At least we know theres only furniture in there and no red bits but it did settle my curiosity

Very dubious looking character.

Thanks God the Bolens are safe in another part of the country! These immigrants are getting more and more Bolshie these days mauranding as pickers and already have adapted to the English life style of partaking to scolding tea. Shocking! I hope you have recorded the illegal's registration number to the appropriate authorities; I.e. Nigel Farage?

Bit the bullet today and bought some hubs, bearings etc. Spent the afternoon boring out the wheel centres and re-drilling the stud holes. Now all I need now are wheel spindles. Forgot about them.

no i dont have the 2 pullys underneath the drive pully/clutch i first thought that i would be using the 2 pullys on the front belt tentioner but i can now see from your pic and a bit of digging around on the manuals you sent me ive got the middle idler assembly missing so ill have to get the lathe dusted down to see what i can come up with lol :hyper:

And put American workers out of work, no way, politicians wouldn't like the government to save any money. They probably justified it by saying they would save on fuel on the trip home, yeah right

A fascinating article and it's unbelievable that the hulks are still reconginisable 75 years after the war. I would have thought the U.S. Would have retained them as the Allieds were already thinking about the threat of Stalin in Post War Europe.

88 ??

got it kinda running on a suffolk carb today i had made a manifold some time back for one of my suffolk engine's and that fitted on the briggs perfectly

Tom, let me know if I can help you out with any parts or assistance. Iain

Seems pretty matter-a-fact when they were facing a German fighter

Hello guys this tractor was used by the RAF about 1941 at Charterhall air base in Berwickshire and was used to plough up the runway sides to grow food during the Dig For Victory Campiagn the base was abandoned in 1945 and was then used for racing formula 1 cars the Trusty came to stay at Carnoustie with a new owner wing Commander smith who used it in his large garden thanks for the nice comments Hello Ian yes it was good to see it painted over the pink

I thought 100 was the like the kilometer/mile conversion, that would make him around 60 years old, lol. Happy Birthday Nigel have a pint of the good stuff

Turning garden tractors into trains does seem to be a strange obsession all round the world... This one was spotted at Tractorfest in 2013, somewhere under the bodywork is a Wheel Horse! Nice score with the 3 point

I thought red mist only happens when your racing! Nope Doug, the paint will stay on.. It's not a Westwood I'm not going to answer that Andrew as everything I come up with is rather crude... I used to work on the railway you see, some parts of the training stay with you forever Well, I did try to get a photo of all the finished steering in place, but my lens isn't that wide.. So have a photo of the new steering box, it looks far neater than the old box. Buried behind the column is the relocated expansion bottle... Not the ideal place to get a funnel into but it's the only place it can fit.. You can also just about see part of the crankcase breather, yes it's the bit held down with the zip tie. Getting a bit more pressure to the front brakes turned out to be quite easy in the end. Rather than raise the whole master cylinder as I have previously mentioned I just raised one end.. The front brakes won't lock up but they will certainly help with slowing down which is just how I want it. So, with WN steering and stopping I thought it was time to make a start on the electrical side of things,,, I needed somewhere to put the starter button and warning lights and maybe the choke.. And I also needed a new dash plate.... I think this panel came from a WH 314-8 I bought for parts years ago.. That fills a hole I just need to work out where to put the lights and starter button... That's something for tomorrow..

Yep, it's amazing how agile he is at 100 when he hears the kettle boiling Happy birthday mate