Its vintage, its American, its Iron, its....

My squeaky clean 1972 Bolens FMC lawn tractor. This utilitarian piece of agriculture history comes with vented seat, electric start, a snowplow attachment, and a low, low 200 hours on the clock. It can be mine if the price is right.

Which in my case was FREE, with a snowplow, tire weights, tire chains, all the manuals and receipts, a spare set of mower blades, and a new battery. (housewarming gift from daddy)

Needs more GRM stickers.

Don't make me post pics of my 'world's most redneck' riding mower.

Curmudgeon wrote: Don't make me post pics of my 'world's most redneck' riding mower.

DO it Do it DO it DO it DO it.....

This one will be getting chrome exhaust, and a 70's kustom metalflake tribal paintjob.

dude, you let ron jeremy ride your bolens?

The lawn tractor really seems like a piece of equipment that probably hasn't improved significantly in 40 years.

We need a new section in the forum.

Luke wrote: The lawn tractor really seems like a piece of equipment that probably hasn't improved significantly in 40 years.

Speak for yourself. Mine has a hydrostat transmission and a cup holder.

neon4891 wrote:

Luke wrote: The lawn tractor really seems like a piece of equipment that probably hasn't improved significantly in 40 years.

Speak for yourself. Mine has a hydrostat transmission and a cup holder.

My friend has a 1967 Jacobsen with a hydrostatic trans and a swivel cup holder mounted to the side of the hood.

I think I'll agree with the 40 years comment.

Luke wrote: The lawn tractor really seems like a piece of equipment that probably hasn't improved significantly in 40 years.

Only gotten worse with the seat/safety switch which no longer lets you get off the tractor and still leave it running.

probably easily bypassed.

Mine lets me hop off and leave it running...if the deck is not engaged, and I have the parking brake engaged.

You want redneck mower pics? Here ya go.

19sumthinsumthin Montgomery Ward (MTD) that I bought for $75 around 1993, it ran but needed tires and had been sitting out in the weather so the paint looked like crap. I got into the beer one Saturday afternoon and decided the rust on red look had to go, so I dug up some masking tape, spraybombs and some extra stickers from my motorcycle racing efforts. I then created the paragon of good taste you see before you.

It had a Tecumseh 12HP OHV that was a little weak for my taste so I fiddled with the governor and took care of that. There were three other guys in my n'hood who rednecked their mowers up like mine but mine was the original and fastest. It unfortunately did not win the wheelie contest.

It ran like that until 2003 when it finally chunked a rod. I bought a complete John Deere with a rotted out deck for $100 and swiped the 11.5 HP Briggs, then sold the scrap for ~$20. I can't get this governor to bypass so I guess it will last till I croak. The only other things I have done to it is replace the deck bearings and put a new seat on it, the old one got so bad it would pinch my ass when I tried to get up after mowing the grass.

I have clipped fences etc so many times that the steering is all bent up, it turns a lot sharper left than right (NA$CAR here I come!), the battery is weak so I have to jump start it (too cheap to buy a new battery right now) and every damn one of the lawyer switches has been disabled. There is an aura of evil and general unsafeness which extends about 6' around it in every direction.

I fired this monstrosity up here at the new place last week for the first time, I am sure all my retired neighbors were peeking out from between their blinds and going 'Oh, my...'

Curmudgeon wrote: I have clipped fences etc so many times that the steering is all bent up, it turns a lot sharper left than right (NA$CAR here I come!)

We have an old 70's era Masey that also can spin in one spot turning left, but god forbid you wanna go right! And damn, with a 12hp Princess Auto/Powerfist motor in there, it'll make your kidneys bleed if you try to go too fast!

Consumer grade lawnmowers have assuredly gotten WORSE, not better in the last at least 20 years. I had an old Murray that was a hand me down from Grandpa. The electrical system got old/tired/dryrotted/rusty whatever and I finally got so tired of messing with it that I got rid of it. Traded it to the local mower guy for a summer’s worth of mulch on my flowerbeds. Probably should have kept it. Bought its direct descendant, an AYP Craftsman. Tractor, now, works fine, but the mower deck has been one thing after another. Spindles breaking, deck bending, etc. Deck made of aluminum foil and spindles of cast pot metal. Lovely.

neon4891 wrote:

Luke wrote: The lawn tractor really seems like a piece of equipment that probably hasn't improved significantly in 40 years.

Speak for yourself. Mine has a hydrostat transmission and a cup holder.

Cub Cadet 123 over here... and a 149

I would venture to say they have done a whole lot worse than 'not improved'

mines not vintage. i thought it was fairly redneck but I think Curmudgeon has me beat by a fair margin. i got it cheap from a co-worker, added a cast iron front axle and new spindles, loaded the tires with RV antifreeze and added wheel weights to get traction and weight down low for my hilly yard. works a lot better now. as in, not getting stuck spinning a tire, not feeling like its going to tip over on top of me sometimes....Mows ok.

Amazing restraint on the riding mower self portrait.

Here's something less so...that cannot be unseen.

jrw1621 wrote:

Luke wrote: The lawn tractor really seems like a piece of equipment that probably hasn't improved significantly in 40 years.

Only gotten worse with the seat/safety switch which no longer lets you get off the tractor and still leave it running.

pull one wire off the switch. if it quits when you get up, hook it back up and pull the other. problem fixed. now to eliminate the "turn key backwards and press this button after you make sure no children or puppies are behind you to back up with blades spinning" feature.

Okay, the pink speedo/junk pouch thing I understand, but, why the penny loafers!?

The_Jed wrote: Okay, the pink speedo/junk pouch thing I understand, but, why the penny loafers!?

That's what you understand?

The socks are what I have a problem with.

Karacticus wrote: Amazing restraint on the riding mower self portrait. Here's something less so...that cannot be unseen.

I guess that's how Ric Ocasek made spending money before he got rich and famous. I still want to burn out my mind's eye.

I want a big lawn so I can buy a riding lawnmower.... Well that and I could have a place for all the cars I want.

Curmudgeon wrote:

Karacticus wrote: Amazing restraint on the riding mower self portrait. Here's something less so...that cannot be unseen.

I guess that's how Ric Ocasek made spending money before he got rich and famous. I still want to burn out my mind's eye.

"Hey Rick, why the long face!?"

We had a Korean War era Bolens when I was growing up. The seat cushion was on top of the engine, steering wheel had to be from a jeep...damn thing was a tank.