slf-uk

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

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

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

Love the pics Iain,
 
Think you need a bigger trailer next time   I feel a trip to see my long lost uncle when the weather warms up & I will pop in for a test drive  
 
I love the working clothes look
 
I dont own all the HT20s, just 2 of them

Iain,
The G14 look better than the advert! What a great buy. Is there a deck with this?
That line up look damn cool and your son is a lucky chap to be able to drive them; another Bolens collector in the making!
The HT23 is distinctly bigger than the tube frames models.
Cheers

Yeah, from just looking a pics it's hard to get a feel for the size of the Large Frames.  Once you put one next to a Tube Frame it becomes obvious  :D
 
Nice 'herd' you have going there 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
 
 
 

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 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
 
 
 

Decal arrived today from Titch, in place now...
 
 

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
 
 
 

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 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
 
 
 

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
 
 
 

ok extra £50 will do for starters andrew

I have just bought another Bolens which I plan to collect over the weekend. I not sure how it happened really as I was not planning to buy any more tractors.
 
It must be a very late G14 as it has a number of differences to my other G14's. It is in very good condition although it does require some work. It comes complete with a 42 inch cutting deck which is not in the greatest condition.
 
The previous owner has done a very interesting modification to the PTO which overcomes some of the issues with rebuilding the original. It has has a home made tow hitch which is very similar to something I was thinking of making to tow my Ifor.
 
Pictures to follow when I collect it.
 
Iain

Here's some info I got about the RAM
#11 Bolens Ride A Matic: post #11 gunstuff1000 OFFLINE
Looks like a great buy and a nice complete tractor you got both belt guards and I see it had the rear trailer hitch as well. That was an option You got a nice tractor there! Honesty it's probably the best ride-a-matic if your going to actually use it because it has the geared rear end.
Bolens800uk, on 27 Feb 2015 - 12:51 PM, said:
There's some debate as to whether the original colour on 'my' RAM is cream? Was there a cream colour RAM available in the Dtates or for export? There are gold coloured ones in the UK and green ones too but cream?!
No, never a cream color
The metallic gold when it fades tends to get lighter and have a "cream" appearance sometimes.
The pic I posted is the original color scheme.

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

No pressure then.

Hi All
Next stage of my new plough another phase bought this of fleebay when it arrives I will see what can be done hope you like

   

Iain,
 
Is the belt shield on the PTO 'different' than the standard tube frames?
 
The 1978 G14 and G11 used a different shield that incorporated a PTO brake as opposed the shield used on previous years tube frames.
 
Only one of my G11s has the proper PTO sheave, and it was missing the shield.
 
Here are some pics of the PTO and a NOS shield that I found.  The rod you see hanging down in the PTO pic is used to activate the brake when the PTO is disengaged.  I'm also including a page from the tube frame service manual that discusses the adjustment of the PTO brake.
 
 




BOLENS_TUBEFRAME_Service _Repair 85.pdf

3m clean and strip disks are the best product to use to remove the red paint, however it will be very time consuming.
 
Many years ago I used these disks to remove a word that was hand painted on the door of someone's car which suggested his sexual preference was for working alone. It work well although it took a long time and a steady hand (no pun intended) and was better than repainting the panel on a car which had a difficult colour to match.
 
Iain

Found some photos of the one I had. Andrew with the finger mower, and a brochure

Well done Chris for making this happen. I know it took an incredible amount of effort but worth it.
 
It looks so much better in your pictures than the sale advert.
 
I can't imagine another Bolens backhoe exists in the UK and I believe they are really rare in the US too.
 
I am really looking forward to seeing this project progress.

Right then, time to show off this very rare beast of a Bolens tractor which has joined my collection.
 
My thanks go to Iain who pointed out to me & I beat him to it on a deal then a long distance transport problem I had in getting it brought over from Co Down, Northan Ireland to Sussex   I did in the end found an Irish machinery haulier who had room on a lorry which was heading for Oxford. I ended up meeting it at a engineers in Warwickshire who had a telehandler suitable to lift it out of the lorry trailer & onto my trailer.
 
Its a very poorly HT20 c/w rare front loader & Brantley back hoe. Its been sat as a wreck for approx 20 years according the the guy I brought it from. Various parts missing inc rear fender & hydrostat unit for the back axle. The tractor engine is a mess & is stuck solid.
 
Its going to be a massive project to under take as all hyraulic rams need overhauling due to rust & pipe work rotten & wont be cheap to replace.
 
The plan will to be fit the loader/digger onto my other tractors & the tractor will be broken up for spares as its too far gone to restore in some areas in rear axle which is full of mud & rust.
 
Now this has got to be rarer than a D200 wheel horse