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Not a great deal to report as I've not been up the workshop apart from a few hours Friday where my body needed a break from all the festive sitting around! Trying to follow a wiring diagram on a smart phone (printer out of ink) was interesting but I did manage to remove a few more un-needed wires from the loom... It's starting to look less frightening now Just before silly season hit I pulled the gauges out of a box to finish them off.. The glass "eyebrow"/top/bit that actually holds the gauges in (the pods were make from ride on mower headlamps remember) needed a little something to stop them from flying apart during high speed jumps/crashes (delete according to taste/fear/bravery). A bit hard to see from this photo snatched from video footage, but there is a small Allen key bolt that screws through a hole in the lip thingy into a threaded insert welded to the pod body. Gauge pod body's and trim/eyebrow top ring thingys hit with the black stuff.. To finish this update off here's the latest MadTrax video where I play around some more with special effects and a few sound effects as well.. I even do some work on MadTrax

Happy new year from the Scottish Rolloman

I am not sure if you class an angle grinder and air chisel as sympathetic removal however no Bolens parts were damaged in the process. Progress has been slow today as Sunday's is granddad day and as such I had little time. After removing the metal from the foot plates and wheel arches I found even more add-on plates that I had not noticed before, these ones extending the sides of the chassis. A chain guard maybe? After removing the add-ons I focused on the engine which appears to be seized. On strip down, first inspection of the carb did not look too bad with very little spindle wear I found this inside the carb and I expect you can imagine what it smelt like Hopefully a bit more progress tomorrow before returning to work on Tuesday Iain

Whilst at the Autumn Tractor World show Jim Beacon approached me and alerted me to another Farmer's Boy for sale...... The words "with attachments" kinda set my ears on high alert as I have been looking for one of these for some time. Jim was unsure which model it was and I assumed it was another Minor with bits? So I agreed to give it a new home.......... Imagine my delight when Jim messaged me to say it was the earlier Light Tractor model with the cast gearbox! 2 weekends ago it was delivered and I am really pleased with my latest purchase. Here it is as delivered, with the large cast wheels for ploughing fitted....... and its attachments. I have fitted the smaller rubber wheel and tyres to make it somewhat easier to move around!

ALL THE BEST FOR NEW YEAR EVERYONE.

I take the point about the pin coupling but it could have started life with a cheepo pressed steel ball socket. Unless it was just a one off built with "what we had around us", I cant see that a commercial manufacturer would spend on Indespension units for a low speed off road application. Garden trailers of the day, such as Saxon, made do with a 1" diameter bar for an axle and wheels with either plain or roller bearings.

With all that work you are doing on your tractors over the last week, I think you should be using this to reduce your fuel going off and gumming up the carbs and weakening the fuel lines. I know you have used Aspen 2 on your hedge cutters, Stihl do their version for 2 and 4 strokes. I have got this in my 1050 and will gradually use this product on my other tractors. I have been using this on my modern Honda mower and it fires first time. Just a thought.

Making great progress Iain. Be interested if all that gunk will be a challenge for your cleaner. Taking off all those ugly duckling add ons will reveal a beautiful swan! Be great if this one runs as well!

Happy New Year to all MOM members Hope your 2017 is a good year

Happy New year chaps , feeling a bit delicate this morning , way too many Jack Daniels

I stand corrected and should have known.

Alan don't you know that Joseph is the driver behind these garden tractors! Iain's the monkey wrench!

Looks good Iain. Shame Joseph won't let you drive it though.

Looking good Darren.

Have been gradually putting all the attachments back together, in between shifts at work....... The transport wheel is done, the plough just needs the nib bolts grinding back, the mower is awaiting the blades to be refitted to the disc and the safety guards refitting to the drive tube. One of the guards was made out of a bit of old can of some sorts. (bottom pic far left) Very thin and flimsy....... so, having made a cardboard template, cut out the steel and curved it to shape and then welded it together. I ended up with a 2nd slightly bigger safety guard to prevent things from getting to the top of the drive shaft too! (bottom pic far right) I've not started reassembly of the tool frame or the rotavator yet.

Here is a small update and some more pictures, little by little it is coming along and most parts are now painted, next on the list is the hydraulics 😬

HAPPY New YEAR EVERYONE