A New Hope

Something wicked this way comes…

But soft, what lights through yonder puddle… air brakes?

That Craig and his list are rather proficient at clogging the driveway.

Not Craig.

Captain Hazelwood, I presume?

Note the spoo trail on the deck of the ship.  And the cloud of crankcase vapor.

If you’re going to get all starry-eyed over your first track machine, make sure it’s a cheap one.

The remains of the day.  This tooth wear and the ‘trail of tears’ in the previous photo are closely related.  I don’t know how long this was run with leaky/no seals, but the debris in the case suggested it was quite some time.

Tokyo drift?  Keepin’ it real with steel on steel.

This is Kelly.  I think she’s having a good time.

One should not turn one’s back on an operator savant in the quest for refreshments.  I had not taken more than a few steps before the blade was rolling up the driveway.

Something about “I always wanted to build a golf course…”

Hey, where is my car?  HEY, WHERE IS THE CLUTCH!

(Notice how my car has been moved around the corner).

“The first green should go right about here…”

The problem with this tractor, is that most everything is worn out.  It still runs fine, pushes, turns, steers, stops, etc.   However, the most realistic restoration plan would be to remove the radiator cap, and then drive a better machine into place underneath it.

The tracks and track frames don’t match, the final drive casings don’t match, the ring and bevel gears are ridiculously worn.  The clutch backing plate is mostly rotten from being submerged in rainwater for too long, the crankshaft has excessive endplay, and the list goes on.

But for a starter machine, It does Ok.

My first attempt at road building, after ‘refreshing’ the gearbox.

The folks at General Gear, in Idaho, were very helpful.