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When at Newby Hall last year, we were camped about 1/4 mile from where our exhibits where. Having three and only being able to drive one at a time, walking back and forth got to be a bit of a bind. So for this year something had to be done to save the poor old legs. They're not as young as they used to be. It's the rigor mortis setting in early. So this morning I had a scrat about. One Westwood front axle and wheels, some 2" box section, surplus ladder racks and the result you can see below. Still ramps to make yet.

CAN YOU TELL WHAT IT IS YET!! Who can recognise the parts ?? After I changed the engine on my Gutbrod 1032 I had a very heavy mower deck. I also had a small Murrey ride on with no deck. I have several areas of grass which are right upto very large hedges so it has alot of suckers growing underneath. I made this trailed mower to get under the hedge and cope with the brush without getting scratched when mowing. it can be towed directly behind a machine or to either side. It is the hole Gutbrod deck and the rear chassis mounting the engine from the Murry. Hight adjustable via old jocky wheel and solid rear tyres. It proves to be that successful I had to put flaps at the rear as it was throwing sticks 20ft out the back.

Many of you will have read my thread about the Raider I had stolen, I'm very pleased to say that yesterday she was returned to the site she disappeared from. Just last week I decided I would have to replace her as I do rely on her for many jobs through the year, not least to save me many hours mowing my allotment and other peoples grass. I ended up being offered a C121 at a price I could afford and made the decision to spend the money I had put aside for the reward I was offering on my missing tractor. Here is the Raider happily returned home alongside her new stable mate. I first became fond of Wheel horses in 1995 when I took a pocket money job at a small country estate, there there was a C141 that the boss had purchased in 1978, the year of my birth. This in fact was the first vehicle I had driven and I soon learned to reverse a trailer with it too. I'm now in charge of estate maintenance at that estate and I still run the C141 pretty much every day, whatever is required of it it manages, from raking driveways to scarifying to aerating lawns to hauling mowers around the grounds on a trailer to hauling many tonnes of wood from the woodland to the yard. She is very well worked and the engine shows wear in the bore and notably where the governor spindle exits the crankcase, you can wobble this about like a knitting needle in a bucket! Over the years it has been suggested several times that she be replaced but I won't have it and if she ever has failed myself or my Dad (sadly no longer with us) will spend a little time in the shed rectifying the problem and off she goes to work again. A few years back after realising our modern Kubota didn't like cutting the long grass areas I used two scrap tractors I sourced to build one good one and this is now used solely for long grass cutting and sports a sixteen horse engine. Here are my two flanked by the ever trusty C141 and the 16BHP mongrel. The wood you see behind them plus many hundreds more tonnes have all been hauled here from the woodland by the little C141

Some of you know I've been looking to move for over a year, I finally made it last Friday. So now we are out in the countryside just a few miles from Malham. Scenery fantastic, modern conveniences lacking... We are on bottled water, no mobile, Internet or phone line. And get hot water from a tap if I leave the heating on full! Huge plus side, no neighbours, lots of countryside, land and areas to play We've been busy pla...tidying for the last few days. Here's a few pics, I know some of you like them there's videos too, but currently on free wifi and dont have time.

This was one of those things, i saw a picture on the internet and had to have a go. The first picture was my first mod, front wheels the same size as the back ones. The rest are the finished Jeep. If you want to see more info on this I did a blog on instructables http://www.instructables.com/id/Gas-petrol-powered-jeep-from-ride-on-mower/ If the link isn't allowed/doesn't work just search my screen name in google images.

This is my latest purchase and arguably my favorite one yet. An aveling barford calf dozer, a very early one being the hopper cooled one and the original 800cc dorman Petrol engine. A beast of a machine and built to with stand the test of time. Due to the nature of use, usually these machines are worn out but this one is pretty good in my opinion. Starts easily and will run all day. Has the front blade with it and drawbar. Wanted one of these for a while and now finally have one. here are some pictures for you guys.

Dug this out from the storage shed and thought it would make a little winter project, I’ve got another one somewhere in bits so more rummaging when time permits. A little challenge to build the pair together for next year’s shows.

A few photos if the tear down. Its surprising how quickly these Wheelhorses come apart. Someone must have had a problem with the belt slipping at one point and made up a couple of crude brackets. The rear most one was actually wearing away the back of the belt. That Kohler engine is one heavy son of a bitch. They are certainly made to last. The Wheelhorse has been painted at some point in its life and after the engine was removed i found a patch of the original paint, which was quite pink to my surprise. Most of the information i have found about paint colours say to use International Harvester 2150. The closest i can find, going by what was under the engine is Ral 3001 signal red. Now the work hard really begins, cleaning, sanding and painting.

I'm new to this site and thought you guys might like to see my collection so far! Ive got two Mk 3 Trojan Toraktors and a field rider. The field rider is similar to a Mk 4 trojan but slightly better made Id say. It has a little Albion gearbox, wheel weights etc. no one seems to know much about it! All I know is it was produced near to where the Trojans were! It's meant to be the only one left!! It is the only one I've ever seen but there may be more out there!!! If anyone has any information that would be great! I also have a little tipping trailer and a small set of disc harrows! The disc harrows don't look a homemade jobby but if they are then they are very good! Again I know nothing about these!! Let me know what you think!!

I got this last week. I bought it off the second owner from the restoration, it was restored in late 2013 to an extremely high standard, one of the best i have seen, all it needs is a choke cable fitting, i was given the before pictures as well. Here are a couple of pics

I went on a journey to Oxfordshire on Friday to collect my latest purchase . Had to drive like a bat out of hell to get back sharpish so that , er in doors , didn't see another tractor arrive at the ranch. The guy that I bought this from also had an awesome collection of Wheelhorse tractors including a suburban 401 , lawn ranger, and many c series tractors along with some awesome implements. Luckily I sneaked the latest member of the Heard into the barn with minutes to spare

Back last summer while I was at a mates barn having a rummage, right at the back in the darkness I found a red tractor that ive never seen before. After a bit of research I found that it was built by Toro for one year and because of poor sales was dropped. The dealer had 10 and offered them at a deal and my mate bought 3. Two were used for a contract that he had then parked up and the third is still new and not assembled. The one I have bought is a Toro GMT 230 1978, It has a Kohler 23 hp engine, hydraulic deck lift and bends in the middle. It was parked up in the barn in the late 90s after doing 170 hours work and left until I spotted it. After fitting a makeshift fuel tank and a good battery it fired straight up with everything working. Have to say i'm chuffed to bits with it and sounds really nice, awesome thing to drive

Bought this as my winter project, it needs lots and lots of work

The standard rear wheels on the C-121, (Black Horse), though fitted with ag tyres, are a little wide for ploughing. The earlier narrower wheels tend to be a bit hard to come by. I acquired a pair of 700 x 12 ag tyres off the Fife Pooman. These had come off a walk behind and practically new. Tubes with them as well. Bit narrow for the standard wheels, but as I had some spare wheels a plan was formed. People widen wheels, so how about going t'other way? Off to a local engineering firm with a pair of wheels. A week later I had six wheel parts and my wallet £20 lighter. Today I had some workshop time and started to build them up. Gavin who had machined them for me, had marked them up. So each half would match it's respective other half. The cut out centre pieces I cut through once to make a band that would hold the two halves in position. Yes, I know. I should have taken a photo. The band was placed round the two wheel halves and clamped in position. I only used one G clamp, as I only had one big enough and moved it round as I tacked the band in place. With both wheels done and the welds cleaned up a bit, the result is below. Not pretty I know, but they will be. Next job is to clean off the old paint. One job I really enjoy.

I went up to a friends place on Saturday not 20 miles from here to collect a set of rear wheel weights and while i was there i saw the little tractor they came off. It was hiding in a dark container looking all forlorn to be losing part of its rearend so a deal was struck and it was loaded in my van. Its in good condition and will enjoy its new home with the Horses. Heres a few photos for you to look at and i need a new coil if anyone has one.

Spent my usual Tuesday rummaging though the brambles and to my surprise this got uncovered from it's hiding place

A friends Mom flipped his Work Horse on it's side 10 years ago. Horse went to the dealer, repaired and a new 48" SD deck. Parked in his barn after repairs. Never used again. Cleaning out his barn I offered, "I'll haul the tractor away 'No Charge." Leon Redbone agreed. After cleanup, a bit of paint, added the Dial-A-Height, machine is excellent. Didn't care for all gray, belt guards are now Rustoeum Regal Red. Coarse skateboard grip tape on the foot rests, new seat.

Pulled this in the workshop today for recommissioning will also be putting 4 new tyres on it, now this is a proper tractor with rear hydrolics and Pto

Nicholas has owned this machine since 1979 but at the age of 76 he realised he would never be able to use it again in anger. So today I became the new owner

this is some picts i took about five years ago it was the last time it was used

Well it's about 99.9% finished, the fenders and a few other bits have now been bolted on ready for tomorrow's show so here are a few photos. The original number plate has now been put back on.

Lots is going on in the run up to my first show of the year. The bonnet has been sandblasted There was quite a few rust pits hence all of the filler Trackrods have been added and stainless steel nuts and bolts have now replaced the old. Back on all four Hoodstand back on with the new decal The front grill, wiring loom and decal now in place The new light switch that I turned from a photo of the original to match what was on the tractor. Nearly there now, just got the seat, fenders, bonnet and then a few little pieces but I'm very happy with it!

I'm getting lots done now that I've finished school The engine has been mostly reassembled now The hood that was ready for the scrap bin has been patched up the best we could, at least there is metal there now, with a bit of filler it should look ok. With thanks to the warm weather today I got lots more painting done and some parts got reassembled

As some of you know I entered the 2016 Annual ploughing match. The ground was wheat stubble and had large mose patches which made traction a problem up hill, anyway i had a go. Not having done it before i entered the novice class and was shown to my spot which was twice as big as the horticultural section and the only ride on tractor in the class all the others were full size tractors. Anyway we marked out and did my opening and then carried on and did the patch ( and we weren't last to finish) I learnt a lot throughout the day with lots of advice from friends and need to make a few alterations to the tractor. Heres the photos and running list and results, i was very pleased and had a good day and I wasn't last which was a bonus.

Just finished this for a local haulage company. Its a Tamiya 1:14 scale Volvo tractor unit, which has a 3 speed gearbox and electric motor and a scratch built trailer. Total length, 4 feet.

Here's a couple of photos of my Garner light four-wheel tractor. It has a JAP 5 engine, centrifugal clutch and 3 forward and 1 reverse gears. The large hand lever raises and lowers the draw-bar and a mid-mounted tool frame. I have the tool frame and 2 ridging bodies and a set of home made grubber tines. The toolbox behind the drivers seat is an old ammunition box, this I have been told was factory fitted by Garner.

Managed to find enough motivation today to make my way out to the workshop. Preheated the room and managed to get a coat on the floor which dried fairly quickly. For the next part i had to call in my father to give me a hand to cut in the walls and floor so i could concentrate on rolling on the paint before it started to go off as it was two pack. Still another coat to go on the walls tomorrow hopefully, and then a red band to break up the blue and white.

After a good turnout at Newby Hall we have been rewarded with a good article on the UK wheel horse round up in this months T&M. A good set of pictures and we have our names in print

How's this Koen

Hi Guy's, sorry I've been a bit slow getting the Tractorfest videos sorted.. But a start has been made.. So I don't upset my ISP by using too much bandwidth I can only upload 1 video a day.. So here's the first, Day one in the arena.. Thank you to Ben for the camera duties

Just finished this there was a lot of bits missing and it was in a terrible state when I bought it , I have put a clutch on it so it’s now press and go ,made the gearing for 6 mph flat out thanks to twitch for decals, and Angus for the engine.

Halfway through the day I decided to change the tractors around that I'm taking to Rural past times and change trailer as the one outside was a bit tacky. The one I wanted was right at the back of my well organised storeage shed so had to shuffle everything to get it out. By 4 pm I started to wander if i made the right decision not to mention the heavy rain we had. by 7.15 i had the Bolens and Raider 12 in the van with the posh trailer and everything thrown back in the shed.

picked this up the other day, every thing was seized up on it, but it has compresion so thought i would strip it and get it working again

Got my working wheelhorse out today, first job was to fit the refurbished rear wheels, change the standard seat for a heavier one and fit the wheel weights. taken off. two standand wheels 52lbs. standard seat.............11lbs. fitted on. two narrow wheels 48lbs. seat........................37lbs. two rear weights.....100lbs. so total extra is 122lbs, I'm pleased with that and should help with traction

After many months of fun I have decided it's time to start the restoration, here's some pictures of what it's been up to before the strip down. Just before the strip down. First the fenders, seat pan and bonnet were removed to make things more easily accessible. The front grill was removed and the engine bolts undone so that the engine would slide forward and disengage from the clutch. I then lifted out the engine, took out the steering column and removed the dash tower Next I tipped the tractor on its side to make the linkages easier to get to, with a bit of heat and patience it all came apart. I then drained the oil from the transmission and removed the chassis from the transmission, next job is to remove the axel pin which is rusted solid and is proving to be a real pain

Yesterday I collected my Jacobsen built Ford 100 from Chard in Somerset. The owner, Tony, gave me the background on the Ford as referred to below: "I have what I believe to be the only Ford 100 imported into the UK . It has a mower deck, beltdrive rotorvator, bulldozer blade, and most of the bits of a trailer plough.The story I had back in the late 60's was that "it was sent for evaluation as a saleable item and used by the then boss of Ford UK. He found it too small for his needs so traded it in with a local tractor dealer for something larger. They were supposed to remove all the Ford markings before re-selling it, but they left them on!" My late father bought it. It was in use as a grass cutter for many years by my late father who passed it on to me when he moved to smaller housing. I used it either for grass cutting or rotorvating, but it has been stored now many years with only one minor attempt at renovation 7 years ago. I have no further use for it and I guess I want to sell it, but I would rather it goes into the hands of someone who can properly restore it, maybe that means it needs to return to the USA?" He carried out a light rejuvenation of it in the 70s as detailed below: "If this turns out to be successful attached are some old pictures I took abaou 20years ago before my last attempt at refurbishment. The decals, from a ford 2000 were added in the 1970's following a repaint and DO NOT really suit this old lady, hey I was a lot younger then. in my refurb I made a new seat can cover. not easy and could not source the rib moulded material, but looks MUCH better than the ragged old one. The off road tyres were a 1970's purchase when I hoped to get some 12" rims adapted to suit the hubs and gain more grip for the plough. project submerged by marriage failure. The potato ridger was added to the plough frame from a merrytiller and is not original. For some reason I dont seem to have pic of the rotovator but the drive/attachment mechanism is in the third pic along with the plough attachment. The original exhaust was side delivery but this vertical one (now defunct) and a later one now added, though awful to a purist somehow make it look more macho." I contacted the vendor and agreed to meet up in late August and a deal was struck. He was keen that it went to an enthusiast. Yesterday I collected it and drove it up the ramps onto my pickup after it was jump started. It is the first time it moved under it own power for 7 years. Previously prior to that some 30 years ago, as mentioned above, it was fired up and back in the 70s it was given a fresh coat of paint to freshen it up. The decals are from a Ford 2000. Today I unloaded it and gave it a good wash whilst assessing what needs doing. I pumped up the tyres, grease the suspension and to drive and cleaned the plug. My plan is to give it a service (oil change, air filter, spark plug, drain the tramission oils,replace the fuel line etc) and buy a battery. It's missing a belt guide on one side but it's all there and original ( apart from the stack exhaust). The Ford is based on the Jacobsen Chief model from that era. I will be picking up the Ford Tiller and front bulldozer plough in a few weekends time. Ford 100 on collection Ford 100 washed and given a quick grease up with tyres pumped up. Surprisingly a solid lump of metal.

This is my most recent new toy, a gravely tractor with loader. I am very pleased with it as everything works and it is a strong tractor. Unfortunately the rear fender is missing and some has attacked the unit with red oxide. My plan is to restore it eventually and put some better tyres on the rear for traction. Here are a few pictures. Harry

Another sunny day so I've got lots of red bits

In a rare departure, C4 was out this afternoon for some duties in the top field. Firstly pulling out some old fencing buried in the ground, and then moving a a few logs...as well as providing a little light to see.

Only kidding Here's the second go, needs setting up and a better driver See what I mean

Did a few more hours in the top field. The GT14 even came out to play, though it only just made it up the hill. It's still really only 4x4 territory. Me and the kids did breakfast outdoors too

Short on updates, but decided I needed a proper brew area in the workshop. I recycled two very nice pieces of solid oak and beech worktop for a kitchen area. Bought a hot water heater too, so I no longer need to wash in the stream

Well this is the lastest Bolens in my fleet. 1973 Bolens 1556 c/w tiller. Runs well but a right pig to start, Hopefully with a good service & carb clean will solve it. When I get a min!!

Here is a photo of my Grandfather(driving) with his first tractor. We think it was in the early 50's, go by the age of my mother and two uncles. I would love to have this tractor today but i think it was exported to South Africa. Is there any way to find out if it is still in the UK? Another old photo of my mum when she was about sixteen on her way to feed the hens. Could you picture asking a teenager to do this today!

Hello I picked this red small tractor up on sunday morning a none runner at the moment watch this space I do have all the parts