slf-uk

Welcome to MOM Sam. I like your Westwood, I have a couple of D1200's but they do not look that good. Iain

I am not sure if this is the correct section to post this, if not hopefully someone will move it. I have just noticed a crazy modified WH on that well know auction site, that has a Ford V4 engine. It has had such an impact on the seller he has forgotten how to spell so you will need to search for "Modfide Wheel Horse" to see it. I wonder if the seller is related to Ian and I hope it does not give Ian too many ideas otherwise we will be seeing a V8 project soon :) Iain

I spent an hour last night replacing most of the missing nuts and bolts, some were fun to get to and the complete dash tower had to be lifted to get the missing clip at the bottom. The bolts holding the engines on these have a strange head so I removed one of the two remaining bolts to identify the length and thread. Even with only one engine bolt out of four the engine is still rock solid! A quick lathe job is required to make two spacers for the missing ones, or at least that is my excuse for some lathe time Iain

I was allowed an hour in the workshop by the boss last night and despite being very tired I managed to get a reasonable amount done. Posting it here makes it feel like progress. I checked out the shaft as suggested by OldBuzzard and it does not have the tab at the end, which suggests it is a 1977. Picture of the end of the shaft As with most of these tractors the wiring has tangled with the pulleys or belts at some point in the past so sorting that out was the first job of the evening. I then moved to the starter which was seized. The starters on these engines are held on with two bolts through a tab underneath and some have a third tab at the top. I am sure wiser people than me will know why some have the third tab and some don't. The starter on this engine had the third tab which meant that the fuel tank and the bracket holding the tank and hood strap had to come off first. I took the starter apart cleaned it up and it now works great. Whilst I had the tank off I cleaned it out made sure the tap worked as expected. It was then just a case of putting it all back together and getting indoors before I got into trouble. Iain

Thanks for the information. I don't have enough of the original PTO to be able to identify it in that way so I check for the tab. I am looking forward to getting out to the workshop tonight to check. Iain

This just keeps on getting better. Iain

Look guys, to stop the arguing I think the best way forward would be to put them on one of my tractors Great find Andrew. Iain

The loader he had was for a tubeframe and is the same one I have. Chris, way back on the VHGMC forum in 2011 you pointed him my direction as we have the same loader. Iain

I have been trying to age the G14 but unfortantly the decal with the model and serial number are missing. I am assuming it is a later G14 as it has the same make/type of tyres as my HT23, which is different to all my other tubeframe tractors. It also has a Tecumseh OH140 engine as opposed to a HH140 which is my other G14's. Does anyone know if you can date a Tecumseh engine from the serial number? I believe it is possible for engines made since 2004. Thanks Iain

I noticed on Cherished Car Insurance's web site that they offer discounted rated for clubs to offer to members. I wonder if we count as a club?

I agree the later one does look a better fit. Love your use of the patio but somehow I don't think I would get away with that. Iain

A very timely topic as I am currently considering my insurance options. Any further suggestions for companies would be helpful. Thanks Iain

The two things that those OHV Tecumseh engines do best is drink fuel and throw oil out of the breather. With 30-40 years of oil being chucked about it keeps the rust down and helps to maintain the original paint. Before I put it on the bench I gave it a quick pressure washer to remove the worst of the oil build up. The carb kit was ordered from the cheapest US ebay seller that I could find that would ship to the UK and had the genuine Walbro parts. The company was called Bob's Welding & Equipment, I have never used them before but they were cheap. Iain

Mark, very happy to help, just flag which models and pictures you want. Unfortunately not all my tractors have the original decals. I loaded the G14 onto one of my work tables today and spent a little time looking it over. It has the usual steering wear and a few panel fixing missing but nothing serious. I then had one of those OMG moments . The engine on a tube frame is held down with four bolts and a spacer between the chassis and the engine. The front two bolts are missing and presumably fell out at some point in the past. Not a problem to resolve but it theory the engine can rock front to rear with the drive belts pulling on the back of the engine. I gave the engine a tug but it did no move even slightly, they really did over engineer these tractors. In this picture the back of the engine is on the left and the things you can see under the engine on the right hand side is the oil drain plug and the wiring for the lights. Same view of a G10 showing where the bolts should be. The spacers are longer on a G10 because the engine is shorter I have ordered a carb rebuild kit from the US using the express three day delivery option, which as we all knows will take two weeks. During the week I plan to check out the wiring. Iain

I feel so much better reading this as I thought it was just me that struggles. It makes me smile when you see the adverts that showh a girlie in her Sunday best apparently fitting it with ease. I have developed my own technique but that does not always work out. Way to go I would so much like to be in that position Iain

It would be great to get even more up and running to have a bigger line up and more for Chris to test drive. I keep thinking about a full restoration on one or more but they are working machines. With fresh paint and everything working perfectly I would be scarred to use them. Iain

I am pleased it all worked out in the end, I was beginning to think that I may need to add it to my collection Iain

When I was younger I loved nothing more than an auction in bad weather to keep the prices down, these days I take self preservation into account. I am disappointed you boys did not get that blower for me, I would have been very grateful Iain

Nigel, if Andrew is going to cut up rough about the colour you will have to sell it to me instead Iain

Chris, you missed the chance of an earner on that snow blower, I would have paid you double what it sold for Iain

The G14 came with a deck which I initially thought was a 42inch deck as that is want is usually fitted to a G14, but I believe it is either a 34 or 38 inch. It has some tin worn but not beyond repair. If I use the tractor for grass cutting duties it will be fitted with a 42inch deck. I took lots of pictures but I am too old and slow to realise that my son photo bombed most of them and I only realised when I went to upload them, bless him. I tried to take a picture highlighting all the model decals but I did not position the tractors well enough for that to work. I'll try harder next time. The horrible Howard decals have been removed from the G14 at some point in the past. BTW. Chris, in this picture your uncle lives just over the horizon Iain

I will second that, I would love a Bolens snowblower. It is top of my attachment wish list. Iain

I picked the G14 up today and managed to miss the worst of the weather. The seller was a lovely guy and is interested in old equipment. I pointed him to this forum. A couple of pictures of the G14 I then had my 7 year old lad helping me for the rest of the day so I was unable to get on with anything useful. He wanted to have some tractor time so I thought it would be good to pull a couple of the working tractors out for a line up as the G14 completes a advert type picture. Left to right is a G10, G12, the new G14, H16 and HT23. No G11 as OldBuzzard has all them and Chris has all the HT20's. Iain

Its been a good week for Bolens tractor purchases this week, looks like we have all been busy

I know I am sad but I just can't stop looking at the picture of that loader and backhoe. That backhoe is huge, I love it.