I knew a contractor that would final grade topsoil with a box blade. Worked well.

I use a york rake for "freshening up" driveway stone.

That scraper blade may be good for snow?

You're right, it's only been 7 years. I poured my heart and soul into this place. Finally built a shop with a lift, had some land to farm, lots of space - I posted this thread on it a few weeks ago:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1177972-road-again.html

7 years is a long time when you're in your 7th decade.

Just read through that thread. I see new place is all electric. The new high efficiency Heatpump-ACs are pretty damn good. We used to bury propane tanks when NG wasn't available, but used heatpumps in a new home last year and the bills last winter were similar to nat gas.

Yep. Every year that you are active and have some vigor left you are one year closer to having neither. This has been, and will certainly continue to be, a lost summer in a life where I don’t have a lot of summers left. I cycle between anger, depression, and resignation on a 3 to 4 day rotation.

I had no idea of the depths of this money pit. Working on it has been kind of fun, so I'm not complaining. It's just that I need it running, like yesterday, and I keep finding more and more wrong with it. The guy who "restored" it was a real piece of work. He really soaked the poor guy I got it from. He connected a couple of wires to the generator, twisted them together, and stuffed them up under the hood. I discovered this when I was looking for the voltage regulator. There wasn't one! The guy I bought it from put in a new starter and a new battery trying to fix it. :(

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753816707.jpg

I just assumed the generator was junk and bought an alternator upgrade kit.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753816707.jpg

Whoever welded the bracket together got it upside down. The rounded corners are supposed to be on the top. A couple of minutes with the grinder and I got the top corners rounded enough that the alternator body would clear them.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753816707.jpg

Hope it works.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753817012.jpg

The battery tray swings out of the way for access to the engine. With the battery removed it makes a handly place to mislay tools. The space on the firewall is where a voltage regulator would be - it if had one.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753817012.jpg

The genius who put this together put what looks like a new radiator hose on it. It was the wrong one, it's almost totally collapsed where it is stretched over the crankcase vent pipe.

looks like you are the right person to plumb things up!! wow...neat equipment.

Thanks for including us on this journey!

Funny, when I saw the gennie my first thought was 'This needs an alternator!'.

That hose will be an interesting fix if you can't find the correct hose to replace it.

As a related aside, I rented a trailer to bring the Ford home. Cost $95 for a day. I looked at all the hauling back and forth from here to the new place that I was going to have to do while maintaining two properties with 2 tractors and a mower. I decided I could buy a trailer and use it until I didn't need it anymore, then sell it. If I got $500 less than I paid, I'd be money ahead, not to mention the convenience of not having to pick a rental up and drop it off.
I got this 18 footer for $2000. New wheels, tires, brakes, and lights. The fenders are beat to hell, but it tracks well. I'm not a fan of surge brakes, but they do work. The sad thing is, a year and a half ago, I sold my 18 foot trailer. "I'll never need this thing again!" Famous last words.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753835617.jpg

There is a Facebook group for owners of old Ford tractors. They are occasionally helpful, but it's not the caliber of Pelican's 911 forum. Reading through the threads can be hilarious at times because they rely heavily on autocorrect and AI. One guy was asking about a finish mower and autocorrect or AI changed it to Finnish mower. He never corrected it, and neither did anyone else. They spent a whole thread discussing Finnish mowers! :D:D
I have been trying to find the water temperature sender on my tractor with no luck, but I found a pipe plug screwed in near where the sensor should be. I wouldn't put it past the jackass who "restored" this tractor to just take the sensor out and screw in a pipe plug. I took a picture of the plug and asked about it and, well - this.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753835888.png