slf-uk

Today I decided to do some work on the D160. It has been in storage for nearly two years and if I remember correctly the last time it was used was when Tom used it and I believe it kept cutting out. My D160 came out of the factory as poverty specification and it was supplied without a tow hitch or lights and did not have 3pt, PTO shaft or wheel brakes. With the help of friends in the US plus some parts from Harry (via Chris) I have collected a few bits to put on it. It now has lights and a tow hitch and I have most of the parts to put a 3pt on it. Before I started I kicked a few things out of the workshop to give me plenty of space, they are a big machine. I then pulled the complete fuel system off and cleaned out the horrible smelling fuel. The carb got stripped down and went through the Ultrasonic cleaner. With the fuel tank removed and with no 3pt or wheel brakes you have lots of space at the back. It is not uncommon for the panels on these to rust under the fuel tank and mine even has a hole in the panel I hope to have it running tomorrow and then I can focus on some of the repairs I have planned. Iain

Looks like an interesting project Andrew. The brackets on the side are intriguing, I assume they are for locating the uprights for greedy boards. Iain

Thanks Andrew, I have just ordered a replacement exhaust. We are planning to move on to something else today. I was unsure if he was going to steer away, you may have noticed the nervous camera shake. You welcome anytime Chris it is always good to see fellow GT collectors. Iain

If it was my build I think I would have turned the engine so the cylinders were out each side and then use a right angle drive to get the power to the axle. Iain

As others have said, I am pleased you got your money back. I am unsure what part you are looking for but if you post a picture I will look through my stock of Wheelhorse parts to see if I can help. Iain

Thanks Doug. I will post the updates on threads I have already created for the tractors. Progress is always slow so I try to keep to one thread to each tractor so I can view my progress and keep track of comments and the suggestions made. If you are interested, the threads are: 1962 ride-a-matic http://myoldmachine.com/topic/1333-bolens-ride-a-matic/ Wheelhorse D160 http://myoldmachine.com/topic/1136-wheelhorse-d-160/ and I am yet to create one for the 1961 Ride-a-matic. Planned work on the 1962 Ride-a-matic was completed today, now onto the next. Iain

We got the tractor back together today and running. To enable the Versamatic to work correctly I made this bracket from some scrap To complete the planned work I needed to make a bracket to hold the grill. I cut all the parts and then my very expensive and not very old MIG decided to break. It is still under warranty so not the end of the world, but not helpful. A temporary fix was put in place so we could test the tractor. I did a quick video of the test run on my phone and yes it was cold Iain

Today Joseph and I had a day in the workshop and we did some work on the 1962 RAM. The original plan was to fix some of the bodges and make up some missing parts. The more we looked at it the more problems we found. We ended the day with the hood, grill, fuel tank and engine off. The blue wire was the fixing to hold the top of the grill I was surprised how heavy the cast grill was Then the hood came off which is was fiddly We ended the day with most of the front apart The fuel system was dismantled and cooked in the ultrasonic cleaner, all the missing fixings were replaced and a few other jobs. It's now ready for reassembly. Iain

Great pictures, a fine pair of tractors. I have been having a similar problem over the last few days with Joseph getting stuck on an identical tractor to the one I was using. I added two wheel weights to each side of the tractor he was using and he was still getting stuck but I wasn't. I think I need to either feed him up with mince pies or more to the point eat less myself. Iain

I am really enjoying reading the progress on this and I'm learning lots along the way. Unfortunately I don't have any words of wisdom to offer. Iain

Very nice, love it. Looks like Santa came early for you Nigel. Iain

I have not had much tractor time this year mainly due to work and family commitments. I have the time off between Christmas and the New Year so today Joseph and I have hooked out three tractors to spanner. I have no idea what progress we will make. These are the three we choose to look at. From left to right 1961 Bolens Ride-a-matic, 1962 Bolens Ride-a-matic and a Wheelhorse D160 The previous owner of the 1961 Ride-a-matic added a few "extras" I guess for health and safety reasons, or should that be "elf and safety" this time of the year Joseph really loves the 1962 Ride-a-matic and can't keep off it Santa arrived early for me too even if I had to buy it myself To finish this post off we took a festive picture of the tractors with the outside Christmas tree in the background Merry Christmas everyone!! Iain

Happy Christmas everyone, I hope everyone has a good one. Iain

Paint looks great Ian. My head hurts just looking at that wiring loom, I hope it is not too difficult. Iain

Great collection of equipment. I have a soft spot for cab's on GT's, most look a little odd but yours is spot on, love it. Iain

Just to add to this, I can't say enough good things about the Financial Ombudsman. They contacted to me today to say that they have spoken to my insurance company and I should expect a call from them. The call came in 30 minutes later and they offered me everything I was asking for and a 25% refund on my policy as a goodwill measure. Everything that was on offer was conditional on me telling the Ombudsman to close the case. They really do have amassing power over insurance companies. If you are considering going this route and would like some tips on the quickest way to progress it, PM me with some contact details. Iain

Great van, love it. A Vauxhall 2.3 would be a good choice too.

It's amassing how different it sounds to mine, the standard exhausts have a very distinctive sound. Iain

I did see those tyres and wondered if they would fit. Thanks for the info. The D200 looks great with the rotavator fitted. I wish I could find one for my D200 Iain

I often forget to keep the batteries charged and end up with more dead batteries than I would like. Someone I know has had good results with intelligent chargers but good ones are not cheap. I did wonder if you can get one that services a number of batteries and then it would just be a case of installing a low voltage power circuit. Iain

Your making great progress Ian and I love the video. Iain

Happy birthday James, hope you have a good one. Iain

Once you have some insurance in place it would be worth giving the Financial Ombudsman a call. They are assisting me with an insurance problem atm and I found them to be really approachable and helpful. You should not be more of a risk to insure and if they agree they will be able to resolve the situation quicker and more effectively than you can and it does not cost anything for them to support you. Just a thought. Iain

I found that drive linkage on these can be a fiddle to get right and can work loose. They are great once you have them adjusted correctly. It's good to see that it appears to have the original seat with the arm rests still fitted. I seem to recall that the back tyres on these are an odd size, 27x9.50-15 comes to mind. Nigel, I would be interested to know what the size and make of tyres you have fitted on the fitted to the rear as I need to source some for one of my D's. It would be handy to know where you got them from too. Thanks. Iain

I seem to remember that you could do this in our country when I was a kid, unfortunately no longer. It is an ongoing war, enhancing security at every opportunity and reviewing the situation when attempts are made. I really do find it a depressing situation and don't see it getting any better. What makes my blood boil is when you contact the boys in blue and the first response is “would you like a crime number for the insurance company”, followed by “very little we can do sir”. I know police intelligence are two words that are often not used in the same sentence, but you would have thought that the person who was let out of prison for this type of offence and has no apparent income but drives a van, is worth keeping an eye on. Anyway back to the task in hand. The job of getting everything back into the workshop turned into a nightmare. I knew that I would need to find an alternative location for the three tractors on the top of the stand but I was confident that everything else would drop straight back in place. This wasn’t the case for some reason but I did get it sorted, even though I had a bit of a sense of humour failure at one point. Seems mad that it took me two full days to empty the workshop, dismantle the stand and put everything back but it is at least a step in the right directions. No further progress until next weekend. Iain