slf-uk

I am not sure if I have introduced my HT23 on here before. I bought the tractor in 2009 and I mainly use it for grass cutting duties Last year I lifted the deck and one of the deck lift bolts broke, I then managed to rip up the wood threshold on the door of my workshop trying to drive it in with the deck dragging on the ground. I have been a bit busy so it has taken me until now to get around to fixing it. First I remove the old lift bolts, looks like someone has been here before as they should not be made out of M12 threaded rod I then pulled one off my HT20 so I could see what they should look like I then made some replacement parts then I made a quick frame to hold the parts in place for welding I even gave them a quick coat of paint before fitting I can't believe what a difference it makes, the deck lift has never been this good. Another job done. Iain

Thanks Norm. I have access to a surface table which gives me a good flat surface. After a quick pass you can see where it is warped.

The 1054 has been my firewood tractor all winter and has performed well. Joseph decided to take it for a spin around the garden, he is really getting the hang of driving these GT's. I like the way that he does not go mad with them. Iain

That's a great think to keep Chris. I think you guys are missing the obvious, I see a resemblance with James Dean

Happy birthday Ian, best wishes and I hope you have a great day. Iain

Thanks guys, it may not seem a big deal but I know he was nervous about doing the voiceover and I am very proud of him for doing it. Progress has been very slow on this tractor due to work commitments but we are making some progess and we will provide an update soon. I was just reading Ian's RJ thread and I am sure I have hit all the same problems with the engine as Ian and Nigel have. Our engine even has a warped head, not come across that on a small engine before. Iain

Tractor boy and I sneeked into the workshop for a couple of hours on Saturday to do a bit more on this tractor. It has become clear that a PO has been playing with this tractor and we are finding lots of problems, in fact more problems than I have ever encountered on one tractor before, but we like a challenge So far we have noticed that the ignition components no longer had wires going to them, the carb was missing some parts, the ignition switch wiring is very odd (and does nothing), it has the wrong belts fitted, the governor is wrong, the exhaust studs are missing or have been attacked with vice grips, the gearbox is locked solid and the Versamatic lever has been attacked with vide grips plus a roll pin broken. I am sure we will find other problems We have reconnected all the ignition parts, replaced all the missing carburettor parts, bypassed the ignition switch and fitted a new fuel pipe and got the engine running. It ran for long enough to realise it has a head gasket issue. I think I have managed to capture three of the problems with this one picture The 1962 Ride-a-matic in the background should be the same colour, I believe the engine on this tractor is the correct colour. I have been doing some research into the roll pin for the Versamatic. The easy bit was finding the Bolens part number (1185256), the harder bit was working out what size it should be. I know I have seen a similar pin on a Bolens mower deck so I started checking parts lists looking for that part number. Eventually I found it and within that parts list it identified the part as being a 3/16"x7/8" roll pin, which sounds right. With a smile on my face, I found an online seller and ordered the roll pin. All was fine until the seller contacted me a couple of days later and said they were unable to supply, were unable to confirm the size I ordered and I had thrown away the bit of paper with the dimensions on I did the research again, ordered from someone else and put the details in this post for mine and everyone else's reference. Iain

I love the look of your tractor Chris and it just keeps getting better with every change you make. Have you considered adding washer fluid to the rear tyres to add even more weight? Iain

All Bolens Tube frame attachments (assuming you have the correct brackets) will fit any of the tractors from the 16 year production. The exception to this is the 600, which has a shorter wheelbase. I believe a 600 has a wheelbase of 40 inches with the other's being 43 inches. The plans for the sleeve hitch are fine for the bracket on a 600 but you will need to make a shorter lift lever, not sure how much shorter. We love a good Bolens mystery The 600 was made 1962-1965. From the ID tag, are you able to confirm if the model number is 181-04? The first bit of the number has to be 181-0 it's the last number which is critical. It is possible the tractor you have was made up from parts from at least one other at some point but it is too early to jump to that conclusion Only the 1962 and 1963 models were originally painted gold and the 1962 had the throttle in the centre of the steering column, so yours is not a 1962. The 1962 model had a few other difference too. The 1964 and 1965 models were painted white and brown with some red bits. As such it is possible yours is a 1963 but if it is the model number would be 181-03. Originally the seat would have come with a cover that goes over the metal frame. To me, the metal seat on yours looks right. Not sure about wheel size although it should be fitted with 6.00-12 and 4.00-8 tyres. I am sure the other Bolens boys will jump in to point out any mistakes I have made with this. Iain

I believe Dave (OldBuzzard) posted the sleeve hitch plans in the download section of this forum. These plans were created by a very good friend of mine in America, Michael. Iain

Wow Chris, that Bolens 600 looks fantastic and is in really good condition. The best bit is that it looks 100% complete and I could not spot any missing parts. Looking at ID plate it looks like a 181-04 which would make it 1964 and one of the last batch of 600's. If I have read it incorrectly this is the details for all of the 181 models: 1962 - 181-01 & 181-02 1963 - 181-03 1964 - 181-04 181 signifies that it is electric start, it would be a 180 if it was manual start. This is the parts manual for a 181-04, I have the parts manuals for the other models if it turns out not to be an 04 600 180-04 181-04 - Parts Manual.pdf This is the owners manual 600-800-900 - Owners Manual.pdf My Bolens buddies and others have commented about colours however here is the 1964 sales brochure which should help 58131-Bolens 1964 Brochure.pdf As a suggestion, I would put the wheel weights back on and try ploughing with the Bolens. If think you may have misheard Alan. I am sure he would have said he that he has found a lovely Bolens which needs to come to Norfolk. I'll wait for the call Iain

Good call. After we went indoors to warm up we realised we should have put some ropes from the steering to the sleigh. Next time maybe. It's not often that the old geezer is allowed to drive these days . We are working on a brief video about the 61RAM atm while we are waitnig for parts to arrive from America.

Model 142301 and spec 019701 is the engine fitted to a 1962 Bolens 600, model 181-01 or 181-02. When fitted to the tractor it would have been electric start, spec 019801 was the manual start version. Hopefully confirming engine age will help you with parts. Iain

Great restoration Alan, look fantastic.

Looks good Paul, that Cub has come a long way since I last saw it at John's. I am very impressed you were washing the tractor on Sunday as I seem to remember I was indoors cuddling the woodburner. Iain

Looking good Norm. I am pleased you are doing this as this is something I need to do at some point and I can learn from the master . Do you know how the engineering company did the cuts? I was thinking of using a rotary table on my mill as I think they are too large for my lathe. Iain

It looks absolutely fabulous Ian, you are doing a great job. Are you using spraying with cellulose? Iain

Sounds great Andrew, I am pleased you have it running.

Andrew, the big difference is the back axle. A HT20 has a single range Sundstrand and a HT23 a two range Eaton. I was chatting to Chris about this the other day because I wondered what axle he had in his 1886. If I remember correctly the 1886 has the same Sundstrand as the HT20 but my 1477 has an earlier Eaton. Hope that makes sense Iain

The pallets we get weight 20-25kg each. I weighed some a while back to make sure I was within the weight limit if I had a hundred on the Ifor. These days they get cut up rather than moved. So, if you count how many blocks you can see on the trailer, divide by 3 and multiply by 20-25kg that will give the answer. OMG, just realised I have gone all metric Iain

The Bolens 1054 previously owned by John is still doing well and currently fitted with wheel weights. This is a picture from Saturday morning when we were clearing up a few pallets. I think we need a bigger trailer

We had some tractor time on Saturday afternoon and decided to attack the tyres. Tri-ribs and new tubes fitted to the fronts and new tubes for the rears. The job would have been more fun if Joseph had not driven over some cat poo last time he used the tractor.

I am pleased it arrived safe and it looks fantastic, thanks for posting the pictures. Give me a ring on Saturday if you and Chris need to compare anything with my HT20. Iain

Looks like you have done a fantastic job, it looks great. Amassing attention to detail on the outside woodwork. Iain

Count me in, not sure I can wait until Wednesday though . I love seeing pictures of everyone's new toys. Iain