slf-uk

Great article. On this site I also noticed this amazing article telling the story of landing a C-130 on an aircraft carrier, wow. http://theaviationist.com/2014/07/16/c-130-land-on-carrier/
 
Iain

Very good of Chris to take one for the team I wondered what was in the caravan and thought it might be worth exploring, but I really hate spiders.
 
Iain

Great article. On this site I also noticed this amazing article telling the story of landing a C-130 on an aircraft carrier, wow. http://theaviationist.com/2014/07/16/c-130-land-on-carrier/
 
Iain

Bit the bullet today and bought some hubs, bearings etc. Spent the afternoon boring out the wheel centres and re-drilling the stud holes. Now all I need now are wheel spindles. Forgot about them.

Evening chaps, today has been all about metal..
 
To cover the hole that normally has a plate with an ammeter fitted I made up this plate... The curved bit covers the steering column where it pokes through under the dash.
I forgot to take any photo's of it so have a snap taken from the video footage.
 

 
 
Working out where and how to mount the ignition barrel was fun. It will go under the dash towards the left which will mean drilling a hole through my freshly made panel above..
Here's the mounting bracket next to the barrel..
 

 
 
The bracket also stops the bike steering lock pin from popping out should the key be turned the wrong way..
 

 
 
And onto today's main attraction... The dashboard..
 
In my haste to get it to fit yesterday I ground a bit too much metal off on the bottom corners. It would of been easy to ignore the gaps if they hadn't of bugged me so much..
 

 

 
 
So... Off came the dash panel, the offending corners were cleaned up and clamped to a small slab of brass..
 

 
 
Extra MIG metal added to build the corner back up..
 

 
 
One gentle tap later the brass came off the dash.. This is the underside.. You can see where the weld picked up some dirt from the brass.
 

 
 
Some very careful grinding later and the corners were sorted
 

 
 
On a roll now 3 holes were drilled for warning lights and the starter switch, before I attacked the dash panel with this flap wheel thingy in the pillar drill.
 

 
 
The end result after a couple of coats of clear lacquer looked like brushed stainless..
 

 
 
I like the look but I'm now wondering if my airbrush paint will still be any good after 7 odd years, and if I have any fine line masking tape
 

Great photos (not as great as those of Rita Hayworth) of 150 US aircraft laying in 130 feet of clear water in the South Pacific. None of these American planes were shot down, they were pushed off the sides of ships. I think that was about the time Rita Hayworth was touring the area possibly causing the American sailors to push everything overboard to make room, lol, just kidding, maybe
http://theaviationist.com/2015/07/12/airplane-graveyard-in-the-pacific/

Now i know what its like to go pot holeing, there was some of the biggest spiders i have ever seen in there and im sure there was something else watching me.
At least we know theres only furniture in there and no red bits but it did settle my curiosity

While at John's today, digging out more of the Bolen Stash, we heard a noise from an old caravan which
had been partly crushed by a tree brought down in a storm a few years ago.
 
This caravan had been used to store furniture etc and was almost full and very difficult to see inside due
to being covered with undergrowth.  After calling and getting no answer I took a few random flash photo's,
not being able to see much at all, and managed to get a ( not too clear ) picture of the culprit.
 

 
The only way we could get this person to emerge, threats to call the police etc had no effect, was to offer
him a cup of tea.  This did the trick and he was out instantly, covered with cobwebs and probably bugs too.
 
Asked how he got here, guessing he was an illegal immigrant, he said he had stowed away in a red sprinter
van which has been seen nearby on a few occasions recently.
 
We eventually sent him on his way, but he threatened to return saying that he liked exploring at John's, even
though all of the red stuff has gone.
 
 
 

Not Bolens, but part of the stash.
 
Chris and I extracted this Atlas Shaper from the back of the barn today. for the help Chris.
Easier than expected with a bit of thought and forward planning.
 

 
It gave Chris the opportunity to try out his re engined Raider 12 too, especially when removing  the
last two Westwoods from their burial ground.  They fought back, but the Raider won.
 
Who needs a Bolens when a Horse will do,   said Chris.
 
 

Tom, let me know if I can help you out with any parts or assistance.
 
Iain

Tom, let me know if I can help you out with any parts or assistance.
 
Iain

Happy birthday Nigel, have a great one.
 
100 years old that can't be right, you look at least 10 years younger   
 
Best wishes
Iain

These Bolens tube frames are a fairly easy restoration. The simplicity of design lends well to the novice or the experienced Bolens owner. Before restoration pictures of every angle and conceivable part must be taken and more as dis-assembly progresses. By numbering the pictures in sequence you can reassemble by going backwards. If you strip and sand the paint off, great care will be required to remove sanding scratches. Lots of fine paper or extra coats of sanding primer will do this, but realize that when the paint is applied you attention to detail will show. I don't go real crazy about it, because my tractors are intended for use, and I will not spend 90 percent of the restoration on 10 percent of the work. The hood and fender pan is about the only critical area, frame and other parts are usually made of a material that is not nearly as smooth anyway.

The rain washed out my garden, but I have plenty of time for another so I plowed and disked, in a couple of days I'll till

Thanks Alan for the good photos, nice finish to an exhausting day, nice to see John driving the Wheelhorse instead of the " other " red tractor

A few more.  John was not feeling too good today but Chris did surprise him with his old horse and he enjoyed driving it again.
 

 
Thanks again to Chris for helping to find more goodie's and clearing rubbish, including dragging a Merrytiller trailer out of the undergrowth, and a Westwood tractor from it's   ( as it thought ) last resting place.
 
Pam also went away happy with more bottles and a large HEAVY object which I thought was going to start divorce proceedings between her and Chris.
 
Problem solved though, as Pam won.
 
 
 

I took the Wheelhorse up with me to do a bit of towing

Looks great Ian and take care with that back.
 
Iain

Thanks Andrew, it seems a mess to me, hopefully one day I will get it where I want it. I ended up putting three coats on the 1556, evening light makes it look more beige than it really is.

First and second coats are done, I'm putting on more for good measure

 

From memory, in order to identify the engine year from the serial number it needs to be in the format of 4 numbers and a letter. This one has only got the four numbers however taking just the 4 numbers it would suggest that it was made on the 084th day of 1970
 

 
This is the Bolens tag
 

I just checked the Tractor data list and the 1253 was produced for one year only in '73 as confirmed by OB and yourself Iain.
I got to say it looks very solid that example and your young assistant is right to like the colour; a good buy I would have thought.. There was a 1253 brochure on the bay last night. No doubt it will be listed again. Be interested in ascertaining the engine details at some point.

The 1253 is easy :D
 
It was only produced for one year, 1970.

Thanks Dave. The 1254 with the Tecumseh is in storage at the moment but I am now itching to have a very close look.
 
A while back you and Alain provided some really helpful advice on dating Tecumseh and Wisconsin engines but the engine in the red 1253 is not in that format, how easy is it to date a Bolens from the tractor serial number? I am assuming that the 1253 is a 1970 but it would be good to verify and try dating some of my other Bolens, where I do not have the engine serial number or where I am unsure if it has had an engine swap.
 
Thanks
Iain

Better picture of the red tractor. Iain