At long last the 600 is now in it new home in the UK along side fellow Bolens and a rogue Ford. It was meant to be delivered on Friday but they couldn't do it then so re arranged it for Monday morning. Whilst waiting for the delivery, I connected up the 1050 air filter unit plus a new air filter element. I turned the fuel tap on and it fired into life after several attempts. It was a wee bit smokey though. I also had a good look through it too. I am always amazed at how well built these little tractors are.
The 600 is just as good in the metal as it were and I wiped off accumulated grease and dirt to reveal gleaming paintwork! There was some subtle differences to Chris's 600. The three differences I noticed to date were that mine got a white steering wheel whereas Chris got a black one, the throttle lever was mounted at the front of the steering column not on the side like the other one and the foot pedal on mine is just a simple bar whereas Chris one is a more elborate pedal. I will be interested to see my other 600 to compare the differences. I think someone mentioned that this one from the US is an early example.
My thanks to Dave (Old Buzzard) for his time to check it out and collect it and storing it. Also to my consultant, Iain, for his encouragement and knowledge. I contacted several shippers but in the end I went with Chris Sutton's (The Showman) recommendations using DLR Shipping. Is it worth it? Was it worth the angst? To me, yes, as I have picked up a really early example and an original one as well of the 600 with a belly deck and a front plow plus a Brinly sleeve hitch for roughly £150 plus shipping. It was also saved from the scrapie too...... Would I buy another garden tractor again? Yes I would but it got to be in it original paint job with some attachments too and also one that you can't get over here. A Bolens Deluxe Ride a Matic from the late 50s would be an example or a Copar Panzer.
For the moment, I won't be buying anything from the US for the moment......
