Jump to content
slf-uk

Another Bolens joins the collection

Recommended Posts

On Friday I had a quick trip to see Alan, John and Chris (The Showman), stopping off on the way to drop off a Bolens to the other Chris (Bolens Chris as my lad calls him). It was fantastic to meet up with them all again.

 

I picked up a Bolens 1054 which I am sure a number of you have seen before. A couple of pictures of the tractor after it arrived safe in Norfolk, the home of Bolens tractors in the UK :)

 

It is a 1054-03 which I believe means that it was made in 1972.

 

Iain

 

post-276-0-70409100-1454939540_thumb.jpg

post-276-0-56092500-1454939551_thumb.jpg

post-276-0-51314300-1454939566_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Glad to see it got to you safely. As you know I saw it at John's place last summer and it was up and running very well. The Bolens pushed a trailer connected to the front hitch and manoeuvred it with my wheelweights and round back tiller on it with ease to my car. I got a video of it on my mobile which I will post on to you. Another good find Iain and another saved too especially from Chris aka The Showman who unnerved me totally by saying it was a WheelHorse...... Poor old fella obviously confused by the fact it was painted red and of course it is running as well! Plus the fact he been desperate to find a working WheelHorse at John's place. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Iain was lucky to get it on Friday Andrew, as Chris was helping with the loading.  As you know anything red finish's up in a red Sprinter van.  Iain's Sprinter was white and was easier to find in the semi darkness which saved the day.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Glad you guys picked up on the spelling, with my spelling ability I would have never noticed. Very odd how it is spelt correctly on the sides but not the front, or at least I think so :)

 

I had another look at the tractor tonight and I noticed that the throttle/choke controls are different to my other 1054's. The others have a pull/push arrangement but this one has up/down controls. I am wondering if this was an engineering change on the later 1054's or if the dash and controls have been swapped from another tractor. A bit of investigation is required.

 

Iain

 

post-276-0-00230800-1454964836_thumb.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My 1254 got up and down controls and it's the same age as your tractor I think. Mine a '71 I think.

In fact when I ordered the new controls for the 1254, Bolens1000 off GTT wanted confirmation of the year which suggests that there may have been a change around in the early 70s. I just looked at my 850 (made in 1965) and that got the push/ pull levers.

Be interested to know what you find out Iain.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My 1254 got up and down controls and it's the same age as your tractor I think. Mine a '71 I think.

 

I think it was an engineering change. My 1254 is a 1972, same year as this 1054 and that also has up/down controls. The Husky (or is that Huskey :) ) was replaced by the G and H series in 1973 and they all had up/down controls.

 

Andrew, if your 1254 is a 1254-01 then it is 1971, all other versions were 1972

 

Iain

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote. Andrew, if your 1254 is a 1254-01 then it is 1971, all other versions were 1972

Iain

I will have to check the serial # when I get it back from Daniel. It could be an 1254-05 from memory but I will check.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

According to the Bolens experts the up/down controls are correct for a 1054-03. I know one of my other 1054's is a 1054-01 with in/out controls but I am unsure what version of 1054 the others are. Apparently this page was added to the operators manual to show the change in controls

 

Iain

 

post-276-0-40761300-1455011735_thumb.jpg

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very interesting. Look like our respective theories were on the right track.

I checked through my photos of my 1254 and it's a 1254-05 making it a '72 model as you suggested. Be interesting to see if the earlier ones had the old style levers.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In between decorating and allowing the paint to dry, I had a bit of time and I found a photo of a 1054 with the push/ pull levers.

post-259-0-90753000-1455033077_thumb.jpe

This is a 1254 photos with the push/ pull levers. Interestingly the dash has the wood grain effect style. I am sure mine is Matt black. I am guessing both are early examples.

post-259-0-83921300-1455033273_thumb.jpe

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 hours ago, Triumph66 said:

Fabulous photo!

 

i wonder what that trailer load weighs?

 

 

4 hours ago, Stormin said:

 

About 6cwt at a guess. No bulk in it.

 

 

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 :unsure:

 

Iain

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...