1971 Bolens 1886 Restoration Aftermath

A video of my restored, resto-moded, 1971 Bolens 1886-01 with Johnson Workhorse 14 loader.

[@victoryfirst2878]

HOPEI find me one in the future . Nice job fella too.

[@AustenARW]

Thank you! There are some active Bolens Facebook groups I'd recommend joining to find machines for sale.

[@quantumphaser]

When Bolens made great tractors

[@AustenARW]

Agreed!

[@sixbanga9524]

Great job on the resto

[@AustenARW]

Thank you!

[@jimthvac100]

I think Bolens is best garden tractor for a front end loader simply because the foot travel control frees your hands for steering and bucket control.

[@AustenARW]

Good point!

[@gardentractors1751]

Man I can't believe your getting ready to sell that thing What beautiful tractor.

[@AustenARW]

Thanks man, it's going to be tough for sure.

[@boostedmonza5023]

Great looking Tractor well done.

[@AustenARW]

Thank you

[@ragtop67firebird]

Very nicely done.

[@AustenARW]

Thank you!

[@Isavetractors]

Nice Job!

[@AustenARW]

+isavetractors Thanks!

[@ericjr16blazer]

All I can say Austen is SWEEEEEEEEETTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like new dude!!

[@AustenARW]

+Eric's small tractor restoration Ahh, thanks Eric!! I wish that you could come over and take it for a spin!

[@lpi6608]

hot looking tractor .. nice job,, I see I am not the only one who uses just 2 bolts for the wheel weights I rebuild a ariens gt18 diesel fun job lots of googling

[@AustenARW]

+L Pi Thanks! I just got the seat restored, here's some pics. www.mytractorforum.com/18-bolens-forum/931146-restored-seat-pics.html The GT18 diesel sounds like an awesome machine!

[@mariuszek79w]

good job.

[@SteveMirabelli]

Absolutely fantastic restoration on this tractor. I bought one recently that is in rough shape. It all works but it needs to be gone over. I don't intend to restore it but I will be using it. Question.I would like to change the transaxle fluid. Is there any information on the net about the proper way to go about that? I haven't been able to find any as of yet.

[@AustenARW]

Hi Steve, thanks for the nice words. Are you a member of any of the tractor forums? You can download the Eaton 12 service manual for free on GT Talk. Once you sign up, you can download the manual here: gardentractortalk.com/forums/files/file/1485-eaton-12-service-manual/

[@SteveMirabelli]

Thanks for the quick reply Austen. Again you did a great job bringing this tractor back. Love it.

[@dandahermitseals5582]

It's beautiful!! I've got an H 14 I want this on. Where did uget it? Did u build that 3 point hitch mod?? Dan

[@AustenARW]

Thanks, Dan!! I purchased the tractor originally from a forum club member. The 3 point is a factory Bolens hitch.

[@butch9044]

Beautiful Job Where Did You Get Parts For This I Have One

[@AustenARW]

+Herbert Stehling Thanks Herbert! I got the parts from multiple sources, some were also made custom. Bolenspartsandsupplies.com; ricksbolensparts.com; samsbolens.com; mcmaster.com

[@willmiller2931]

Nice tractor! Did you have to modify anything to get the loader to fit or did it bolt right up. I am getting on of these and would like to put one on it. Thanks for your help in advance

[@AustenARW]

Hi, thank you. The loader is a Johnson 14 and it mounts right up to the large frame. The model 10 Johnson loader will mount to the smaller tube frame models for reference.

[@willmiller2931]

Austen thank you. Last question cause I have not looked over my tractor yet. Did you put the hydraulic 3 point hitch on the back or did it come with it?

[@AustenARW]

No problem. It came with the three point hitch. If you haven't already, you should join mytractorforum.com and gttalk.com and visit the Bolens sections at both places. Lots of information on both sites and many knowledgeable members. Doing a search at both places can be very helpful too if you're looking for info. If you want to find out more about my tractor and see pictures of it, search "Steevo" on MTF and my username at both sites is "Austen."

[@lostsurveyor3036]

The johnson workhorse loader. did you restore that or do they still sell those? I am getting an allis chalmers garden tractor and would like to rig up a loader to it, even if i have to build it.

[@AustenARW]

The person I bought it from rebuilt the loader. Johnson loaders are no longer made but they do come up for sale from time to time. I would put some want ads out there for one, it would make a great addition to your AC.

[@1teddy1979]

All I can say is WOW! That is beautiful. How many hours did you have in that restoration?

[@AustenARW]

Thanks! It has around 30 hours on it since the repaint and about 100 since the mechanical refurbishments.

[@1teddy1979]

Austen oh I meant hours it took to restore it. I have done a few and I know how time consuming it is and the the ones I did were no where near as nice as your work here

[@AustenARW]

I wish I could take credit but I can't. The gentleman I purchased it from who did the mechanical refurbishments spent six months or so taking it apart and replacing parts. I purchased it a few years later from him and had it taken it apart and repainted. Thanks for the kind words. They do take a lot of time to restore for sure.

[@1teddy1979]

Austen thanks for your replies it is one beautiful machine

[@tonysantana1493]

Does the bucket work?

[@AustenARW]

Hi, yes it does work. Here it is in action: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5CpeWWnfr5mi5Y

[@alainpepin2682]

It would be nice if the forums had the correct color listed for these early 1970's Bolens machines, so us that have them could bring them back to original, I got lucky, mine had been stored inside and had parts underneath that hadn't seen any sun. It seems the many of the forums don't really care what color or if they are painted, kind of sad.

[@AustenARW]

+Alain Pepin Hey Alain, I agree, it is difficult finding original paint codes for the large frame. It is kind of guess work in some cases. There was some original paint left on the PTO lever and we matched it up to "Wimbledon White" which is pretty close match to the original. Here's photos if you're interested: gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/48633-1971-bolens-1886-01-restoration-photos/ Austen

[@alainpepin2682]

+Austen Bolens was really out there on color changes. Bolens made 1476 tractors for the 1970 and 1971 model years, but that doesn't tell you when they were actually built, probably from late summer of 1969 to late summer of 1972. The color on the 1969 Bolens 1455 was very close to Wimbledon White, I think the early 1970 Bolens 1476s mght have been painted with that color, mine might have been as well, I cant tell. The lever could also have been replaced with one from an earlier tractor. However most of the 1971 and 1972 tractors were not Wimbledon White. According to the defunct Bolens dealer I know his literature and samples of existing parts was a greenish, grayish off white, the color I used on my 1972 1556 The problem with using parts for color matching is that the green and blue colorant tends to fade or secrete from the paint in reverse of the way photographs age and patina. In order to determine the original color one can take the existing color and use the loss of color ratio spectrum depending on the colors, yellows and reds fade first, then blues and greens, but this is a complicated algorithm that no one will attempt. The older lead based and powder coat epoxy's fade less quickly than many modern paints, but not the same or always in the same way I have been in the paint business for 30 years, old garden tractors are a science and chemistry that takes more than anyone in the business today is willing to give. Now if I am repainting a 250,000 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda, i can get the paint matched EXACTLY. The guys that work in most paint stores are less than knowledgeable or helpful, hell they cant even mix two gallons the same most of the time.

[@AustenARW]

+Alain Pepin Thanks for all of the info regarding paint! I didn't realize Bolens had made so many color changes.

[@alainpepin2682]

+Austen Austin the 1968 Bolens 1250s were two tone Wimbledon White and Cordovan Brown frames/engine with lime green decks and yellow implements and the next year Bolens 1455s were all Wimbledon White with red decks and wheels and yellow front implements and red rear implements. I would say Bolens used well over a dozen different colors over 20 years, maybe more. Whats more the literature is faded and paint codes and all info was destroyed when the factory closed