Greetings from New York?

Hi my name is Carl.  I'm actually from the beautiful finger lakes region in upstate New York which is more agricultural and has wonderful places to romp.

At my full time job I build machines that use Ultra-violet light to kill bacteria in cold pressed juices such as apple cider.  I work on the building and our fleet of trucks for that company as well.  On the side I do a lot of handyman work for friends including plumbing, electrical, some carpentry and a lot of small engine repair.

I have a diverse work history including working on those UV machines most of my life, working on overhead cranes for 5 years, and working in a machine tool shop for a year.  The fabrication, mechanical, and electrical skills that I've developed over my lifetime have come in handy when it comes to working on my mud mowers which I will post in the project threads.

The first ever tractor I ever had as a young teenager was a Jacobsen that that I believe had a 8hp briggs with a 3 speed Tecumseh transaxle.  My dad and I replaced the stripped gears in the transaxle, put 22" knobby tires on it with a slight body lift for the fender to clear the tires.  I loved pulling my friends behind it in a wagon and towing my younger brother in a sled towed behind it in the winter time. I loved that tractor up until I got older, bought a 4 wheeler, and unfortunately scrapped it but my dad still has the transaxle laying around I believe.

When I was 18 I removed the deck from my 1983 wheelhorse C-125 equipped with ag tires and wheelweights and wanted see how it did in some mud at my dad's hobby farm.  It handled great, but ultimately it got stuck in the wet field, then I got my Polaris sportsman 800 stuck trying to pull that out, my dad's ford 1710 tractor stuck trying to pull that out and almost got my 2006 F-150 stuck trying to pull that out too.  I still have that C-125 to this date and mow my lawn with it every week.  I did fab up a really handy 5-gallon bucket mount for it which I should post some time.

When I was about 20 I had a small simplicity with an 8hp briggs and a 5 speed transaxle that I put 22" knobby tires on the rear, knobby tires on the front, upgraded headlights and taillights, custom grill, and a mild pulley swap.  It ran okay in the snow.  I did end up doing a wheelie and flipping this tractor over backwards.  Ultimately I wasn't a fan of that particular simplicity model so I sold it.

Years go by and this past spring I acquired a free 1999 John Deere LT 133 with a wrecked deck and no hood that although it is a hydro I thought it was still a good candidate to become a mud mower.  I have videos on YouTube of that tractor going through thick mud.  That tractor isn't quite finished to my liking yet so there's more to come on that.

Two weeks ago I spotted in the tin pile at the local scrap yard an almost complete 1979 Wheelhorse C-81 that I think will be my best tractor yet.  When I saw that it was an 8 speed I knew right then that it was going home with me.  Sixty dollars and two hours later I had the original kohler 8 horse running great and was driving it around my house with a flat right front tire.  The tractor is currently torn apart right now, but it's not that far from being mud worthy.  

I'm looking forward to posting the two current mud tractor projects I currently have and sharing thoughts, advice, and opinions with everyone.

Welcome welcome! Can't wait to see some of your builds, especially the C-81. Wheel Horses are cool and very well built machines!

Yeah I’m super stoked about the C-81 too. I didn’t even care about the motor when I bought it because I knew these tractors with 8 speeds are hard to break.

Looking forward to seeing your builds, welcome!

Welcome! Glad you have come by! Feel free to post some pictures when you want! Howto for that in my signature if you need!

I like the question mark in your title. Is the Fingerlakes in New York? Good question.

@redlinemotorsportts was from around that region but he doesnt live there anymore.

Welcome to the Forum!

When other people from around the country here that I'm from New York they automatically think New York city, so the the joke was supposed to be how can someone from New York want/need/have a place to ride a mud tractor. The finger lakes region is mainly South and East of Rochester. I don't live far from Canandaigua Lake.

I lived in New York til I was 13 man! I was around Batavia, right off of Route 20. I went to the 2cyl expo around Canandaigua. I live in Kentucky now. Whenever i say I'm from New York, everybody automatically thinks New York City. Gets annoying after a while lol. Welcome to the forum! Can't wait to see what you build!

I live in Palmyra which isn’t far from Canandaigua at all. I have a ton friends from Canandaigua. My mom actually grew up in Batavia. I have a couple of build topics in the Offroad tractor builds section. One is my JD LT 160 and the other is my wheel horse C-81.