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Hi heres a couple of pics of my homemade grader/dozer . The 2 blades see saw on a pivot under the front wheels the front blade works a treat for spreading gravel and the middle blade levels like a charm. The middle blade is just a piece of 4x2 chanel bolted on with 2 steel straps so it can be angled if required.I used the deck lift cylinder to move it up and down . It doesnt look pretty but i had to knock it up in a hurry to move 12 tons of gravel

I have been intending to post this restoration since joining MoM last year but seem to have spent most of my time helping friend John dispose of his Bolens etc stash. As most of the stash has now been cleared I now have slightly more free time, so here goes. The number on the Roper ID plate,T5828DR, I have not been able to trace but the tractor appears to be identical to Sears 917- 257050. The Sears parts list, engine number etc confirms this. The tractor was a mess when dragged from the undergrowth at John's place about three years ago. Lots of damage, parts missing etc and a blacksmith repair job in various places. John was told when he bought it that it had been run into a post, smashing the grill and pushing the hood back which in turn badly damaged the plastic dash tower. As can be seen the damage was "repaired" via a heavy metal frame and alloy plates pop riveted on plus steel box section in place of the lower grill. One of the first things found was that there was no spark plug in the front cylinder of the horizontal Briggs twin. Hardly surprising as there was very little thread left in a hole which resembled a cone. Managed to fit a heli coil at a later date. Since then I have been given a pair of cyl heads. Also found that the starter motor was jammed when trying a first start. One magnet had come unstuck from the case. Stuck it back on with Araldite then found it ran in the wrong direction. Wondered if this was because of the glue used. Using a Westwood ? motor with the Sears mounting bracket and a temporary fuel tank got the engine running on one cylinder. A drive around showed that all the gears were OK. As the tractor looked do-able, with a LOT of work, the next step was to transport it to my garage so that I could get at it without 44 mile round trips to John's. Before the restoration bits, a photo of my great grandson Mini Alan trying it out for size.

It's definitely NOT a G8, as the G8 was a small (stamped) frame tractor. It could be a G9, G10, or G11. G9 = 8HP B&S 190417-065301 G10 = 10HP B&S 251417-015901 (1976 and 1977. The 1973-1975 G10 had the TEC HH100-115181D) G11 = 11 HP B&S 252417-013201 I think you are closer to being right than am. Fender pan isn't right for the G9, G10, G11. But with the cobbled up seat, anything is possible. Getting the proper engine spec would be the key.

Sounds interesting transplant. Flog me the old engine if you do please

After transporting the tractor home and having a good look at the damage and missing parts, it was decided that a near enough non original option was the way to go. One of the first jobs was to remove the blacksmith "repair parts". The frame around the upper grill was a surprisingly good fit held on by nuts and bolts. The door butt hinges were welded on, for welded just imagine bird poop splatter, as one hinge had already parted company. The frame and the upper grill. The bit of tin at the bottom of the grill replaced the original hinge mount which had broken away. The box sections which replaced the lower grill were only firmly welded along the front face and were quickly removed with the help of a bar and G clamps. Some of the welds were good, others bird poop. Almost as if two different people had been at work. The engine was lifted off using the same bar. The heavy welded on plate which supported the box sections can be seen. I cut most of this off before realizing later that I could have reused it to mount the new lower grill. The tow bar extension, seen on an earlier photo was removed, two bolts and more poop spatter, to reveal more damage. The original tow pin hole ripped out and the plate cracked for about 1/2 the width along the bend. Could have been repaired but I went for a different option of which more later. After spending ages, on and off, trying all the usual ways to remove the well rusted on steering wheel, I resorted to cutting a slot in the hub and used a wedge to slightly open the slot. This freed the hub from the shaft. Other options suggested on various forums were a lot more drastic. Once the wheel was off and after taking lots of photo's to help with reassembly the major dismantling started.

this arrived today sweet little engine not sure what im going to make it run yet something for next years shows me thinks

Hi, I got an 1886 which works . You will spoil it if you put that other engine in. I rebuilt my engine with new rings & valves & a coil. Is a beast of a mower & I love it Bet if its been run low on oil then the crank will be shot. Its very hard to find certain parts for these twins any more unless you get 2nd hand from the US but most of them are shot as well Chris

Thought it was too good to be true 137 would not start this morning, found a major air leak on the engine side of the carb through the slot which clamps the carb to the manifold, sealed that up ,still would not start, I have never had any dealings before with a Lucas magneto but looking at it I thought the cam ring in the clamp did not look right when you advanced the timing the whole ring moved outwards. The cam ring has a notch cut out of it to limit the advance retard which locates against a pin. When you move the running lever to 20 degrees advance the cam ring moved outwards and was obviously disengaged from the limit pin. I made some adjustments to the advance lever and refitted the ring which showed that the ignition timing was out, I have reset the timing to top dead centre starting, still would not run. Now I have discovered that the main throttle slide is not snapping shut against the bottom of the venturi when no throttle is applied. I have now dismantled the carb with a view to ensuring the slides are free and snapping shut for starting. In the morning I am going to make the floorboards and front bumper before I go near starting it again.

I expect they thought it would tax your brain to much filling more than one form in

Kettle? Frying pan!!

Looks good so far, thats gonna keep ya nice and warm. Are you going to put a flat top on it for the kettle?

Made a start to my stove today. Had to have a change of plans as i couldn't get a cutting of box section big enough, needed a bit 12in or bigger. So, plan B. Had a look about to see what i could use and decided to go the gas cylinder route. After deciding on the orientation of the stove i marked out the door size, then cut down the hinge side and welded on two trailer hinges. Then cut free the remaining three sides. Found an old grate and tin pan and cut to fit. Didn't want it to sit on the floor so raised it up on 16in legs. Ran out of welding wire so thats the end of progress for today.

Worth keeping the QT as you got it running sweet now.

With those wheels you need to paint the trailer black and give it a flame job Alain. Oh and its Tyres and tomartoes

i originaly bought it as a spare engine for the 1886 (£200)the engine was reving up and down and the brakes didnt work 5 minutes adjusting the governer and an hour on the brakes it worked a treat .I love the sound of the engine on tickover so it has been reprieved nick

I agree with Chris about trying to keep the original engine in if possible. By the way Nick, your new avatar is a lot better than yesterday ! Very cool.

Look good. Your going to have to refurbish the rest of the trailer now to match.

In hindsight, I guess he knew northerners are not wastrels like southerners, and one form would be enough.

Not as powerful as the Kohler. Parts are not a fortune if you ask the right people. Shipping is the killer, but if you want it right you have to pay for it You wont know what the engine is like until you pull it apart. They are very heavy lumps. not too bad to get out. Its the drive shaft you may have an issue with

Hi Nick, I have not got any pics of the G14 atm. Must take some!! Tracs been dead for years & needs some love The arms are off it also. Been off 15 years. I am missing a bucket & forks but I have some ideas on that Join the club I want a loader for my tractor. I have 2 & a back hoe for large frame

nice pic deck looks the same as mine id like to sort the engine thats in and keep it original because it doesnt look to have been messed with but second hand parts from the states are a fortune the wisconsin ive got is in realy good condition and its a better engine. and thats the dilema nick

that's a lovely looking tractor, im very jealous! great to see an old broken garden tractor returned to it former glory Regards Joe

Hi all quick update I've had a bit of a play today I've got the kubota running which started very well and I have tested the rear 4x4 drive chain here is a quick video https://youtu.be/HJv0xQZGPtI

Got mine with my Christmas card keV thanks

Thanks, but I am sorted for parts now. What I couldn't get without winning the lottery, I made. More will be revealed in later posts.

That's one nice looking tractor. Now! And I really like the colour.

They are too good to use

He'll be waiting till Malvern to give it you personally.

The one you sent me for Christmas has not arrived yet!!!!!

1 37 is alive and well!!!! After three solid days of trying everything I could think of to get it running I was at the point of despair and so knackered from cranking that I thought it safer for me not to try again whist my wife was out in case I had a stroke or something daft. Whilst she was out walking the dog I put the decals on and just sat and looked at it trying to think of something else to try. Some time ago I came across a very rusty ancient mica insulated three point spark plug which was in one of the heads that came with 137, I sand blasted it and polished it up as a keepsake. 137 had fired a few times, once it fired a five bang run so it was not far away. I took the plug out put some oil down the bore and then sat for about half an hour just turning the engine over to try to loosen things up. Put the plug back and tried again, fired once and stopped. I then took the plug out and fitted the three point ancient plug turned the crank and off it went running like a dream. I ran the engine for half an hour checking for oil flow in the dry sump and any leaks. Stopped the engine and had a celebratory coffee and then tried to start it again hey presto off it went again. Thank goodness for that . Now I can make up a bumper, fit some floor boards and then crack on with some other machines for Malvern.

For 30 years I painted everything from anhydrous ammonia plants to kitchen cabinets and it never failed that a guy in a suit or a housewife would asked me "did you put on two coats?" I goy being to the point where I would say, no I did not, I am cheating you, and by the way I thinned the paint so much that it should fall off by the first dew or in just after I cash the check, which will before the ink is dry. When they would get in a huff, I would ask them how they would feel be accused of cheating, I don't take it well and was more than willing to leave right then and get drunker while I fished.

Picked up some 2mm galvanised tin and got it fitted.

My late Christmas present, also got a nice little Heavy Duty dump trailer to pull behind, 325.00 for the Bolens and 100.00 for the trailer, 400 miles round trip, 28 gallons of gas at 1.52 PER GALLON

hi kev i will be there and i will have my own working machine at long last!!! i pick it up this sat 21st it's an anzani iron horse it comes with a plough and cultivator attachments, so i will be able to join in the fun! and with any luck may well have some female company!! you can put me down for the classic car show as well, definite this time. So it will still be the same sort of stall as previous ie static awning display of memorobilia with the big camper plus the iron horse and classic camper. just got to get xmas and new year out of the way,which will be difficult i know,then look forward to new horizons! pete

While inspecting the Harvester engine, I found it must have been stored in a damp area for a long time as it had some issues so a semi rebuild was in order. New rings, gaskets and seals with a thorough cleaning of all the roller bearings and a carb rebuild. Got it all back together and here's a short video of the first test run. Started up and ran but died out. Still need to adjust the carb and change the fuel as I run it heavy on oil for the first fire up. Steve sent the pole and tree jaw so hopefully I can get it all together this weekend and shake a tree. I'll post another video of it in operation. http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt316/wallfish1/th_Harvester%20video.mp4

Finally found an XLH-1 Harvester, or should I say "one fell in my lap". A really nice man from Michigan (Steve Adams) found this XL tool thread on MoM while researching it and contacted me through a PM. Turns out he is not a collector and would like it to go to someone who will get it running and enjoy having it in a collection. Steve also took the time to go back to the place he found it and look for the extension pole and the tree jaw that goes with it. He found them in a barn and is sending those as well. These are very rare and even more so for a complete machine. I'm pretty excited about having one in the collection and look forward to getting it running to test it out.