Clover has a long history, as he is over 25 years old. Recently, he broke down, I suspected that it was a valve problem. After diagnosing his engine, I determined that it was a valve problem. Since he also had a few transmission problems, it was decided that he would be rolled into the shop (part of our garage) and be restored.

Below are some pictures of the process.

The hood has been taken off, along with the muffler, head, air filter, etc.

This is the hood. I had to use some putty on it because there were many scratches, and the corner was chewed up (next image).

The corner of the hood.

The intake valve’s seat was coming out. The head had to be taken off to get to this.

A better view of the intake valve and seat.

The carburettor has been partially removed to gain access to the valve retainer cover.

I have gotten my paint, primer, sandpaper, and painter’s tape around.

Here is the hood, taped up and 3 coats of paint. The green part of the hood received 5 coats of paint.

The green paint has not dried fully yet. I have applied a coat of primer to the grille. It now has 2 coats of black paint and will receive one more yet.

Here is the mower deck guard, with 4 coats of dried paint.

The mower deck and operator’s platform have yet to be painted. All painted parts will receive a waxing. This tractor is a John Deere 165 Hydro lawn tractor with a 38″ deck. It will be up for sale when it has been fully restored.

In the next post, we will give a listing of all tools, parts, and materials used so far.

Any comments are welcome, especially ones containing tips, advice, and suggestions.  Just keep an eye out for that next post!

Thank You for your consideration!

-The Technology Before Time administrator

“Cascading Style Sheets enable you to rapidly create web designs that can be shared by hundreds or even thousands of web pages. It accelerates development cycles by centralizing text and layout information for easy editing and updates. This book teaches you everything you need to know to start using CSS in your web development work, from the basics of marking up your content and styling text, through the creation of multi-column page layouts without the use of tables. Learn to create interface components, such as drop-down menus, navigation links, and animated graphical buttons, using only CSS  (no JavaScript required). Discover how to design code that works on the latest standard-compliant browsers, such as IE7 and current versions of Firefox, Safari, and Opera, while working around the quirks of the older ones. With a mastery of CSS, your web design capabilities will move to a new level, and everything you need to know to get started and build your skills is right here in this book. You’ll be stylin’ in no time!” – Review on ‘Stylin with CSS’.

Review on ‘Codin’ for the Web’:

EVEN THE MOST SKILLED WEB DESIGNERS can find the complexities of creating a full-functioned Web site to be a daunting task. Here to help designers create sites that not only work, but work well and are easy to update and maintain is an easy-to-read guide to Web programming basics from best-selling author Charles Wyke-Smith. Just as architects need to understand building materials and their properties, Web designers need to understand the code that serves as the foundation of their sites. Wyke-Smith ensures they do by teaching designers that all dynamic Web sites consist of essentially three components: a browser interface, Web server middleware, and a database. The guide covers everything from Web coding concepts and principles to building sites, designing visual interfaces, developing databases, developing middleware, ensuring a good user experience (through good code!), testing and debugging, and more.

• Create dynamic Web sites that provide real-time responses to user inputs

• Understand the basic structures of all coding languages, such as variables, functions, conditionals, loops, and objects

• Use the power of PHP to program the business rules of your site

• Learn techniques for validating forms to reject erroneous or malicious data

• Import and export data from other applications via at les

• Build and query database tables using SQL to manage the data generated by your site’s activity

• Develop a simple content management system

• Develop a password-protected members-only area of your Web site

• Build a template-based Web site with dynamic navigation

Review on ‘Scriptin’ with Ajax’:

JavaScript is the brains of your Web page—it enables you to modify a document’s structure, styling, and content in response to user actions without requesting new pages from the server. Scriptin’ with JavaScript and Ajax teaches you how to master this powerful and elegant language so you can develop intuitive user interactions that take the user experience to new levels of sophistication and responsiveness.

Today’s application-like Web experiences (such as Salesforce.com and Google Maps) and Web 2.0 sites (such as Flickr.com and Twitter) are powered by JavaScript and Ajax. Using the techniques shown in this book, you will be able to start creating similar experiences in the sites you design.

Scriptin’ with JavaScript and Ajax will teach you how to:

• Start developing with JavaScript fast!

• Write lightweight but powerful object-oriented code

• Modify the Document Object Model

• “Progressively enhance” your pages with JavaScript to provide the highest levels of accessibility to all users

• Learn sophisticated techniques for making your pages respond to user actions

• Use the downloadable Scriptin’ library of helper functions to speed development and ensure cross-browser compatibility

• Use Ajax scripting techniques to update specific areas of the page with data from the server

• Create powerful interface interactions, such as sliding panels and tree menus

• Evaluate frameworks such as jQuery and Prototype to find the best one for your needs

• Build an online application that looks and responds like a regular desktop application

[amtap book:isbn=978-0321572608]

[amtap book:isbn=978-0321429193]

[amtap book:isbn=978-0321525567]

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links that will provide compensation to our company if a purchase is made.

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links that will provide compensation to our company if a purchase is made.

This recipe is 100% non-toxic and bio-degradable. It will not harm septic systems or gray water systems. And, it is easy to make! It will also cut down on odors. “The combination of baking soda and vinegar can break down fatty acids into soap and glycerin, allowing the clog to wash down the drain.” Read the rest of this article: Clogged Drains.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/8 cup Free and Clear dish soap (optional)

Pour baking soda in drain. Then, pour the water into the drain (If you are using the dish soap, mix it with the water before pouring the water into the drain). Let it sit for 10 minutes. Run water down the drain for 10 seconds to rinse the drain. For stubborn cases, repeat procedure a second time, but leave it sit overnight. Then, rinse the drain.

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (01170)

Church & Dwight, Misc., $3.61

Dish Liquid Soap Free and Clear – 25 Oz.

Health and Beauty,

Arrowhead Water Distilled, 1-Gallon (Pack of 6)

Arrowhead Water, Misc., $9.06

Heinz Distilled White Vinegar 16oz

Heinz, Misc., $9.99

Real Salt Granular, Refill Pouch 26 Ounces

Real Salt, Health and Beauty, $5.51

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links that will provide compensation to our company if a purchase is made.

You may have noticed that our website was down for 2 days. The reason for this was that I was trying to move a website around and accidentally deleted my WordPress installation. I didn’t have a backup (because my backup software didn’t work then), so my father (who hosts me on his reseller account) sent a ticket to his hoster. Thankfully, they had a backup and restored it for $15 dollars. We’re back now, and WILL keep backups of this from now on (shows how important backups are)!

Of interest:

• Forum discussion on the backup error
• My father’s post on this

It is the Cruzer Micro USB Thumbdrive, available in sizes up to 16 GB. Just insert it in your USB port, and it automatically installs drivers, etc., without any of your knowledge (on Linux, Windows 2000 or newer.). It works on USB 1.0 or 2.0 ports, although 2.0 is faster. I have used the 2 GB model and am very happy with it.

• 
  

  SanDisk 1 GB Cruzer Micro with U3 ( SDCZ6-1024-A11, Retail Package)

  SanDisk 2006, Electronics, $7.95

• 
  

  SanDisk 2 GB Cruzer Micro with U3 ( SDCZ6-2048-A10, Retail Package)

  SanDisk 2006, Electronics, Too low to display

• 
  

  SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive SDCZ6-4096-A11

  SanDisk, Electronics, $7.00

• 
  

  SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive SDCZ6-8192-A11

  SanDisk, Electronics, $15.99

• 
  

  SanDisk Cruzer Micro 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive SDCZ6-016G-A11

  SanDisk, Electronics, $29.53

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links that will provide compensation to our company if a purchase is made.

• Simplified Hydraulics

  L. S. McNickle. McGraw-Hill 1966, Hardcover, $8.59

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links that will provide compensation to our company if a purchase is made.

Fuel OptiMiser Standard Model Improves Mileage up to 24%

“Use all the fuel you paid for, boost horsepower and extend engine life — all with the Standard Model Fuel OptiMiser™! Easily installs over your vehicles fuel line, where powerful hydrodynamic magnets break apart clusters of fuel molecules to burn gas more efficiently. Reduces carbon monoxide emissions. Maintenance free. Does not void manufacturers warranties. Also works on smaller, nonautomotive engines. EPA Accepted Laboratory Tested.”

For more fuel molecule clump-breaking power, see this one:

Extra Performance Fuel OptiMiser

“XP Model Fuel OptiMiser™ has a stronger magnetic field than the Standard model, giving you even better engine performance and fuel savings with fewer harmful emissions. Recommended for diesel, high-performance, larger and commercially used engines. Easily installs over your vehicles fuel line, where powerful hydrodynamic magnets break apart clusters of fuel molecules to burn gas more efficiently. Reduces carbon monoxide emissions. Also delivers fuel savings on any type of fuel heating furnace, boiler or natural gas appliance such as dryers and hot water heaters. Maintenance free. Does not void manufacturers warranties. EPA Accepted Laboratory Tested.”

If you want to get one or both of these, go to the following links:

• 
  

  Fuel OptiMiser Improves Mileage up to 24% – Standard Model

  Northern Tool and Equipment, Misc., $19.99

• 
  

  Extra Performance Fuel OptiMiser

  Northern Tool and Equipment, Misc.,

Here are some ideas for using the Fuel Optimiser (both models):

• Furnaces, portable heaters, large industrial heaters (Propane and Natural Gas)
• Lawn mowers, lawn/garden tractors, tillers, weed eaters, etc. (all fuels)
• All tractors, industrial equipment, generators (all fuels)

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links that will provide compensation to our company if a purchase is made.