bowtiebutler956

Thanks Neil, and if you look at my location on the members map, you'll see I'm as far south as you can go in the US, so we haven't been getting that weather. We've only had one freeze this winter, and its been 85* the last couple days. I was sweating in my shop yesterday, and you could actually touch some of the paint before I left. Thanks Matt

Wow, your confidence in me Ian, is appreciated, but all back together by this weekend? I think I may let you down! Thank you Sir! Thanks Nigel, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished tractor myself! Thanks, I appreciate it. Thanks Mark. Well, the frame and wheels got painted today, as well as a few other bits, and pieces. The paint job is far from perfect, but it will be a good looking working class tractor. The lights in my shop always give everything a yellowish tint, but after I take all the tape off, and put the wheels back on, I'll role it outside, and take a few pics in a more natural light tomorrow. Matt

Very nice find Richard! It looks to be in great shape, and it must have been intended to be around radio equipment, and such for it to have the shielded plug, and wire. Briggs didn't change the design much thru the years, as here is one of mine from 1945. Matt

Hello all. Well, its almost time to start painting! I know I said in a previous post that I was going to give the frame a rattle can paint job, but I changed my mind. I would like this to have a good durable paint job, so I will be using proper paint with hardener. Not to mention I like the extra shine you get with good pain. I never intended this to be a restoration, and its definitely not, as I'm not completely tearing down, and rebuilding it, but I keep going a little further, and a little further. You guys know how it is. My good friend Byron said this to me yesterday, " are you going to make this one so nice you don't want to use it, like the others?" I replied "uuhhhhh, no?" I also had a few goodies come in the mail as well. New decals, motor mounts, tie rod ends, and I picked up the necessary supplies for a proper exhaust stack. One more thing, I did bolt the fenders back on for a test fit, and they do clear the tires by about 1/2 inch, so I'm only going to raise the fenders 1 inch, for a little extra clearance. Thanks Matt

Sorry for no updates for a few days, but I've been having a hard time finding time to work on it. The engine is all put back together, and I've started addressing some steering problems. This 444 had alot of play in the steering. About 1/3 of a turn. It had several problems, the first being the pivot pin for the front axle was worn, allowing to much foward, and back movement in the axle. I addressed this issue with a new aftermarket pin, that eliminates the need for shims to tighten up the front axle. It took 90% of the play out of the axle. The next issue was the lower steering gear was badly worn out, so I replaced the whole steering shaft, and will be putting an OE steering wheel back on the tractor. The last problem is all 4 of the tie rod ends have play, and the correct factory replacements are $55 a piece! Thats not in the budget, so I found some suitable aftermarket pieces for $10 a piece. They should arrive tomorrow, and this should give it a nice tight front end. Matt

Very Nice! It looks like you did a very nice job on the tricycle conversion. I look forward to seeing more from the build. Matt

Thanks, and I'm also hoping all goes well. Thanks Ian. These tires are Awesome! I love them. I managed to get a couple hours in my shop today, so I painted the engine. It turned out decent, but not nearly as nice as all my little vintage Briggs engines. Being that this tractor is going to be a full time worker, I'm not going to extremes to make sure that everything looks perfect. All I really want, is for it to be mechanically good, and look decent. I would really like to be getting more done, but my wife is out of town with our two older children, and I have my two younger boys. After a couple hours of them being stuck at my shop, it starts to drive them crazy, and they in turn drive me CRAZY! Matt

Very nice herd you have there! Matt

I hope to have it painted by the end of the month. Thanks Thanks, I'm very happy with the valves. Even if the tires do clear, I'm going to raise the fenders at least an inch, just to make them look right. Thanks I've been very busy at work, so I haven't had any time to work on the 444, until today. I got the short block assembled, and all is going together very nice. I still need to pick up some fasteners for the engine, but I'm hoping to get it painted tomorrow. Here are a few pics. Matt

Wow, thats goint to be one Gorgeous machine!! Look forward to seeing your progress. Matt

I love this project Mark! Guys like you, and Ian, shure know how to do some amazing things with your Wheel Horses!!! Matt

Very nice work! I've never heard of one, so I'm guessing they never made it to my part of the world. Would love to see your C100, as I have a couple Wheel Horses myself. Matt

Looks like a great project Chris!! There's just something about those Bolens that look tuff, and I'm going to have to own one some day. By the way, that HT20 is amazing! I look forward to seeing your progress. Matt

My engine kit came in today, so I did manage to polish the valves, and lap them into they're seats, but thats about it. I've been busy with work, so I'm not getting much done right now, but I figure a small update is better than no update. Matt

Glad to hear of another one out there Gary! I picked mine up in Dallas Tx from the original owner. She said that she cut hair for about a year to save up enough money to buy this for her husband back in 74. Her husband passed away several years ago, and she decided it was time to part with it. Thanks Matt

Thanks Koen. The front tri-ribs are Firestone, the rear AG's are a brand I've never herd of. (Lande) Probably China. Matt

Love seeing the old Garden Tractors working hard! Very nice! Matt

Thats what I'm hoping for. My tires came in today! I didn't waste any time getting them mounted. As you can see in the photos, they're much taller than the originals. I have the fenders off right now, as I was going to start prepairing them for paint, but I'm going to need to bolt them on before painting to make sure the tires clear. If they don't, I can raise the fenders. I put the tri-rib tires off my 222 on it, just to see how they'll look, as I will be using the same tires on this 444. I will be moving the tractor from my yard into my shop tomorrow. I had to clear out some other projects first, just to make room! Here are the pics. Matt

Thank you sir. I did get around to going threw the carburetor today. It was in really nice shape, and even has a tight throttle shaft, so I didn't have to make a bushing for it. After soaking in carburetor dip for a few hours, it was squeaky clean, and after a little polishing, its as good as new, or as close as I can get it. Matt

I couldn't help myself Richard! I just had to smooth them out a little. I didn't grind away any material, I just used an emery drum role on my die grinder to smooth the casting, and remove rough edges. Matt

Time is precious, so I try not to waste it! I got the engine tore down today, and I'm very happy with the way it looks inside. I gave the cylinder a brief honing, and cleaned up very quickly. Its not perfect, but it is good. The crankshaft is still standard, and looks good. Although you can see a mark in the rod, you can't feel it. I gave the block a good cleaning, and cleaned up the ports. I went ahead, and ordered the engine kit, which will consist of piston, rings, connecting rod, both valves, gaskets, and seals. The first picture below is the exhaust nipple, which I had to cut, and break out with a chisel, as it wasn't coming out of its own free will. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, so I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking for me! Matt

Hello all. I pulled the engine out of the 444 this morning, and I'm now taking it out to my shop to perform a full autopsy. I've tried to assure the patient that it will live once I've given its heart a triple bypass, but its looking quite sad sitting there with no engine! More pics later of the inside of the engine. Matt

Thanks Nigel. Matt

Thanks Ian. What do I have to do to make it like that myself. Its always much nicer when the video is up on the screen. Matt

Gary would have loved this tractor Neil. Matt