OldBuzzard

Nice research HE.
 
However, you have a bit of misinformation inre the serial numbers.
 
Bolens started each production run with the serial number 00101.  So, the first tractor in the 03 production run would have been 0300101.
 
To determine which unit off the line you have, you would need to subtract 100 from the serial number.
 
That means that your tractor was the 1348th off the line in the 03 production run.
 
With the tube frames and large frames there were two different model/production run/serial formats.
 
The earlier ones has the production appended to the model number with the serial number separate. The later ones had the model number and then the production run number as the first two digits of the serial number.
 
That change over occurred in 1972/1973. Here is a Service Bulletin that details the change.
Bolens Serial Number Service Bulletein.pdf

Nice research HE.
 
However, you have a bit of misinformation inre the serial numbers.
 
Bolens started each production run with the serial number 00101.  So, the first tractor in the 03 production run would have been 0300101.
 
To determine which unit off the line you have, you would need to subtract 100 from the serial number.
 
That means that your tractor was the 1348th off the line in the 03 production run.
 
With the tube frames and large frames there were two different model/production run/serial formats.
 
The earlier ones has the production appended to the model number with the serial number separate. The later ones had the model number and then the production run number as the first two digits of the serial number.
 
That change over occurred in 1972/1973. Here is a Service Bulletin that details the change.
Bolens Serial Number Service Bulletein.pdf

Nice research HE.
 
However, you have a bit of misinformation inre the serial numbers.
 
Bolens started each production run with the serial number 00101.  So, the first tractor in the 03 production run would have been 0300101.
 
To determine which unit off the line you have, you would need to subtract 100 from the serial number.
 
That means that your tractor was the 1348th off the line in the 03 production run.
 
With the tube frames and large frames there were two different model/production run/serial formats.
 
The earlier ones has the production appended to the model number with the serial number separate. The later ones had the model number and then the production run number as the first two digits of the serial number.
 
That change over occurred in 1972/1973. Here is a Service Bulletin that details the change.
Bolens Serial Number Service Bulletein.pdf

Wow Iain, you have a sharp eye. First the history on the tractor. The tractor was purchased in May of 1977, its a 1976 model. it was purchased in West des Moines Iowa, by a guy that lived near Panorama, Iowa. In 1989-1990 the original engine gave way and the original owner traded it in on a new (wasn't actually new, but was still on the lot, 1989 model, I checked the serial numbers on the dealer invoice) Bolens Duratrac (5120H). The dealer put a new engine on the H16 at that time and offered it for sale. Another one of the dealers customers had bought a used Bolens QT17 (1666) from him the previous year and the engine (Kohler KT17) failed after the first mowing season. The dealer felt bad and wanted to make it right so he offered the guy the Bolens H16 with the new engine at what he had in it. Everyone was happy as it came with not just a 42" deck, but a front blade, snow blower, and tiller as well, all virtually new. Before the second owner could cut his grass the first time his son was driving the tractor around the property and hit a well casing that damaged the deck, gearbox, and PTO. He took the deck to a local shade tree mechanic who promptly left town with everyone's equipment. The second owner then put the Bolens under a tarp in the barn, along with the blower, tiller, and blade  and bought a cheap craftsman lawn tractor. the Bolens sat in the barn from 1991 until 2013 when he drug it out to sell. He was on his third craftsman lawn tractor when he advertised the Bolens, hoping to bolster his funds to enable a zero turn purchase. I bought the tractor minus the deck for 550.00, the 1991 OH-160 had less than 50 hours on it. I bought a 42" 18423-03 deck for 100.00 that is in better shape than this one and have the right lift bracket, I bought this deck for 18423-01 deck for 50.00 it was on a G14. Back to the engine, the OH160 and HH160 were supposedly the same engine, just different designations, maybe because they turned the engine 180 degrees in later models, but the dealer actually put the the Tecumseh OH160 engine in it, it has a spec number of 170182F, serial number 1151E, which makes it a 1991. The tractor is a 1656-03, serial number 0301448, or the 1448 -03 to come off the line, serial number 309999 starts model year of 1977. I try and research history and specification of every tractor I buy and try to buy from th original owner or second owner. I also like to get names of people that sold the tractor or worked on it to call them and ask questions. Yep people are surprised when i call them about a machine they owned, sold or worked on 30 years ago. By the way our local O'Reilly's auto parts stores still sell the same tail lights for under 4.00 each, I bought the single taillight for the 1556 from Grainger for 7.82. the 1556 is a Grote taillight. I forget what the H16s are, I have the invoice around here somewhere. Sometimes I get on the hunt for a OEM part and I can't stop.

Andrew,
 
Yours actually has a partial decal on it:
 
 

I took some time to drive the Bolens H16 and then wash it up after sitting in the shed for a few month, also scrubbed and sanded the deck. It's got a first coat, next it will get a vigorous sanding, filling primer, and finish coat with poly converter added for hardness and gloss retention. The white specks are ash from the burn barrel, paint was more than dry

Thanks Mark, having had the both Winter and Spring pretty much wiped out as far as hobby stuff goes by aged parent problems including my father passing away in February, I'm slowly beginning to find some time again but there's a backlog of work that should have been done so this project will be for the future sometime.
 
 
 
 
Chris, it's reassuring to know that someone else has seen one of these - hours spent searching the net has failed to come up with even a photo of one let alone any details. I imagine that most ended up rotting away outside in the rain as its a big and heavy thing that's not easily mounted or removed from the tractor, a kind of permanent encumbrance that seemed a good idea at the time but ended up being discarded as being too much trouble. (Dealers managed to sell punters all sorts of things like that!)
 
 
 
Thanks Koen, its kind of similar but its belt driven from the tractor rather than being powered by its own engine.
 
 
 
As far as I can work out......
 

 
The bar 'A' clips into the hitch on the rear axle, the same one used for a snow blade frame. The channel section 'B' rests on the arm of the rear towing hitch.
 
I haven't tried it yet but based on weight and awkwardness it's a two man task to put on for sure.
 
The drive belt goes all the way to the PTO at the front so I'm guessing there was a modified or additional belt guard supplied with it and possibly an idler to mount somewhere on the tractor.
 
When the seller offered to deliver it FOC I jumped at it but it meant I didn't get to see the 312-8 it had originally come to him on. If I'd gone to collect it I'd have been able to see what mods were on the tractor to adapt it to this use.
 
Based on appearance I'd guess it pre-dates the 300 series so it could well have originally been on an earlier tractor. Who knows? Just hoping somebody will jump in and say - thats a.........
At a guess it's an aftermarket product produced to fill a gap in the WH range of attachments.
 
I'll probably never end up actually using it but I think it has a certain charm in having a kind of farm machinery look about it.
 
Andy

Stop Press !!!!
 
Doh! I was sitting on a 1970s brochure with the bagger listed! It is genuine Wheel Horse rather than an 'Allied Attachment' and should have a Wheel Horse decal.
 

 
Just need to find the product code but I bet it's one where Toro have managed to lose the documentation.

Having just acquired one of these I'm hoping someone will be able to tell me a bit more about this bit of kit. I first saw one when I picked up my C-100 a few years back from a guy who had a collection of WHs and various attachments. Another appeared on a certain auction site a yearor so later but missing bits and rotting out. Picked this one up for £26 off same site last week with just surface rust and a straight forward resto (famous last words!)
 



 
The vacuum hose end piece bolts onto a standard 42" WH side discharge cutting deck so designed specifically forthis. The ones I've seen have all been WH red (original paint) but this one has no ID tag or signs of having had a WH sticker on it anywhere.
 
Can't track down manufacturer / model/ manual for it and have had no response to date on the RS forum so maybe it was made in Europe / UK.
 
Hoping someone else remembers coming across one and may know something about them.
 
Andy

First of all I'd like to say a massive thank you to Iain (slf-uk) as I wouldn't have been able to get it home without him. He very kindly offered to collect this wheel horse for me as my father is currently ill and is unable to drive. I am overwhelmed by his generosity, so thank you Iain.
I have been wanting an auto wheel horse for a while and this one popped up advertised as not having a spark but it looked very tidy in the pictures. I liked the look of it a lot as it was original. I spoke to the owner and he was very honest and said that the wiring needed going through, I set my limit and luckily I won it. My plans are to try and source a hydraulic lift assembly for it and plumb it all in, it's definitely going to be a keeper. Anyway, I know you all want pictures so here it is:



It also came with some weird sort of frame under the hitch, anyone know what this is and whether it's original?

After I got it home I couldn't resist having a play and to see if I could get it running. I tested the coil, condenser and spark plug and they were all OK, cleaned and reset gap on the points but still no luck. I then ran a temporary wire giving the coil constant power from the battery and turned it over and we had a spark, put the plug in and off she went, a fair bit of smoke but it soon cleared, it hasn't been run in about 5 years so it was expected. The lack of spark was down to some awful wiring, here is an example of a join in the wire:

This was just covered in insulation tape, the wiring is totally gone and I have decided I am going to make a new wiring harness. The only problems I'm having is finding a plug for the ignition, also what connectors do these plugs use? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for looking,
Tom

My MG40N arrived from France on Saturday evening ticking one more box on my model list only two or maybe three more to complete the set, wheeled itw, skimmer and an English spec MG40 with Sachs engine and bonnet. If anyone has any leads on any of the missing three I would be very grateful. The MG40N was built by Ransomes specifically for the French market, this one is fitted with a pto driven hydraulic pump to raise and lower the implement crane which the French seem to prefer over three point linkage. The drawbar is much heavier than UK spec. and it is also fitted with a NATO hitch. The engine starts and runs well, steering brakes a bit iffy and it needs a jolly good clean but apart from that I am well pleased. I even managed to buy an original French Sales brochure for this model on E bay France last week.

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

Believe me Iain, we have plenty of those kind of people here as well.  They are mostly 'city folk' and pretty much wrapped up in themselves.
 
Out in the small towns and rural areas, people are more neighborly and will help each other just because "that's what you do".
 
They do small things like removing the snow from the elderly widow's drive, to the big things like harvesting a farmer's crops when he has an illness or injury.
 
 

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

They are identical to the set of ride-a-matic wheel weights I am but they are also identical the set of weights that come with my Cub, which still have the original yellow paint.
 
Is it possible that they are a generic weight that was fitted to a number of tractors at the time.
 
Iain

That really is a great 600 and looks even better in these pictures than the ones the seller had. Even better, one of the pictures is a great help for me to see the details of a bracket that is missing on my 600.
 
The assistance Dave is providing to Andrew is unbelievable and inspiring. I believe Andrew is also using shipping information provided by Neil and me to sort that side. For me this is just another example of the goodwill and support that forum members on here are willing to provide. This is a great place to be!!
 
Iain

Oh by the way, when I was taking the cattle pics, I had my little camera at max zoom, and with the glare on the LCD screen it was a bit hard to see just what I was taking a picture of.
 
Here are a couple that I didn't include above  :D

We haven't gotten too deep into that.
 
It appears that Andrew will be making all of the arrangements over there for the actual shipping.
 
I will be prepping/crating/getting it ready for shipment.
 
If it ships from the Port of Cleveland which is only 40-50 miles from me, I'll be able to deliver it to the port which will save some money.  If it has to go to New York, that's 500 miles from here and it will have to be shipped from here to there.

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

Oh by the way, when I was taking the cattle pics, I had my little camera at max zoom, and with the glare on the LCD screen it was a bit hard to see just what I was taking a picture of.
 
Here are a couple that I didn't include above  :D

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

With the help of Old Buzzard we were able to put together a .pdf file of the Bolens 1556 operator/maintenance manual.I took the pictures and resized them and OB used his pdf maker to put the file together I uploaded it to the manuals section for anyone that wants it.