[Itali83]

Hey guys, little back story. I got a ‘66 110 hydraulic lift tractor from my uncle literally 22 years ago. It had a blown motor, I was in high school and he knew I liked working on mechanical things. I took the motor apart, found the block and all internals to be junk from a connecting rod that decided to exit stage right. Put it to the side, life got in the way and here I am 22 years later with kids and wanting to have a tractor for them to ride around on.
I was able to find a good rebuilt k181 locally, I went through the mechanicals and put it back together and got it running. I haven’t finished putting the hydraulic unit back on as I’m using it for a yard mile mostly but will in time.
While working on this ‘66, I knew I wanted to get a rototiller for it. Did a little searching and found one locally. Only catch was that it was attached to a ‘66 110 manual lift tractor that was running and complete. So I did the logical thing and bought another 110 before I even got my original 110 going! I’m hooked and love these little tractors. Here’s a few pictures of them. Still need to get a pic of them side by side.
Ben
Here’s my ‘66 that I’ve had 22 years

 

[Itali83]

Here’s the ‘66 I bought while working on my original ‘66 haha

 

[Chaser]

Welcome aboard! Love the state of Maine, beautiful there.
You have to be careful, these old JDs seem to multiply quickly.

 

[Kster526]

Welcome as Chaser said they do seem to multiply. Its contagious.
Thanks for sharing looking forward to more stories of them. Glad you kept it around for that many years as your children will now get to have lasting memories with the same one you grew up with.

 

[HD-JD110Fan]

Hey guys, little back story. I got a ‘66 110 hydraulic lift tractor from my uncle literally 22 years ago. It had a blown motor, I was in high school and he knew I liked working on mechanical things. I took the motor apart, found the block and all internals to be junk from a connecting rod that decided to exit stage right. Put it to the side, life got in the way and here I am 22 years later with kids and wanting to have a tractor for them to ride around on.
I was able to find a good rebuilt k181 locally, I went through the mechanicals and put it back together and got it running. I haven’t finished putting the hydraulic unit back on as I’m using it for a yard mile mostly but will in time.
While working on this ‘66, I knew I wanted to get a rototiller for it. Did a little searching and found one locally. Only catch was that it was attached to a ‘66 110 manual lift tractor that was running and complete. So I did the logical thing and bought another 110 before I even got my original 110 going! I’m hooked and love these little tractors. Here’s a few pictures of them. Still need to get a pic of them side by side.
Ben
Here’s my ‘66 that I’ve had 22 years
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I add my Welcome to you as well Ben, glad to have you with us. It's great that you kept that first '66 110 for so many years and always had that passion to get it running again. Nice find on the 2nd one being so complete and having the tiller attachment you wanted. Your kids will indeed love riding these. What's great about these 'ol round fenders is that parts are fairly easy to come by on sites like eBay and others. Fellow members may also be able to help you out. Many of us have round fenders and several of us '66s. And like I and others of us always like to say to new members, there's a Great Wealth of Knowlege available collectively on or site from lots of friendly and helpful members, whether you'd just like to get something running, want to do a partial restoration, full restoration, or anything in between. It's always your choice here, we love 'em all. Welcome Aboard!

 

[Itali83]

Thanks guys! I’m very glad I’ve kept it all this time too. The new to me ‘66 is a sweet little tractor too. Has been very well kept all these years.
My plan for both it to keep them mechanically sound and enjoy them. I really appreciate original things in their condition as long as it isn’t too rusty or beat up which to me, neither of these are even close to that. So no restorations are in store for either of these rigs.
My uncles 66 came with a mower deck and snow thrower. I’m planning to rebuild the snow thrower and possibly use it for just little stuff around the house that I can’t get my plow truck to. Mostly for novelty really. The 2nd 66 came with a mower deck and the tiller. Which I’ve used and it works great. I’d like to get a front blade for one, I’d like a rear sleeve hitch and possibly a 10” plow to help with the small gardens my wife wants put in.
I will make another post in the proper section about governor help. I’m trying to fine tune the governor settings and finding that I can easily set the max rpm setting no problem. But the throttle isn’t linear with the throttle lever. Like, I move the throttle about half throttle with no change in rpm, then 1/2 to 5/8 throttle rpm’s go from idle to just about 3500 rpm’s. But the governor is lazy and won’t really throttle up the carb when a load is out on it. I haven’t had time to really get in and try adjusting the throttle plate behind the throttle arm on the governor. I do have the factory manuals and understand how the setting procedure works, just think I may have some worn parts etc that are causing my issue.
Another thing I found cool on my uncles old 66 is that it still had the original John Deere keychain. It’s quite petrified but still intact. Here’s a picture of it. Not sure if it’s rare to have one still or not but I think it’s cool.
Ben

 

[Kster526]

awesome!!

 

[HD-JD110Fan]

Thanks guys! I’m very glad I’ve kept it all this time too. The new to me ‘66 is a sweet little tractor too. Has been very well kept all these years.
My plan for both it to keep them mechanically sound and enjoy them. I really appreciate original things in their condition as long as it isn’t too rusty or beat up which to me, neither of these are even close to that. So no restorations are in store for either of these rigs.
My uncles 66 came with a mower deck and snow thrower. I’m planning to rebuild the snow thrower and possibly use it for just little stuff around the house that I can’t get my plow truck to. Mostly for novelty really. The 2nd 66 came with a mower deck and the tiller. Which I’ve used and it works great. I’d like to get a front blade for one, I’d like a rear sleeve hitch and possibly a 10” plow to help with the small gardens my wife wants put in.
I will make another post in the proper section about governor help. I’m trying to fine tune the governor settings and finding that I can easily set the max rpm setting no problem. But the throttle isn’t linear with the throttle lever. Like, I move the throttle about half throttle with no change in rpm, then 1/2 to 5/8 throttle rpm’s go from idle to just about 3500 rpm’s. But the governor is lazy and won’t really throttle up the carb when a load is out on it. I haven’t had time to really get in and try adjusting the throttle plate behind the throttle arm on the governor. I do have the factory manuals and understand how the setting procedure works, just think I may have some worn parts etc that are causing my issue.
Another thing I found cool on my uncles old 66 is that it still had the original John Deere keychain. It’s quite petrified but still intact. Here’s a picture of it. Not sure if it’s rare to have one still or not but I think it’s cool.
Ben View attachment 12858

It's really great that you're already enjoying that 2nd '66. Neat that you'll be keeping it as is original. I'm sure you'll enjoy the journey of getting your uncle's '66 fully operational and can tell this will be a labor of love. You've got great plans for these two 110s. Thanks for posting the photo of the original key ring. This brought back memories for me. I can now remember that the '66 110 that my dad bought new had this same key ring. I wish we could have kept that 110 but we sold it when we moved from Wisconsin to California many years ago. I always had the desire to find another one, have been able to find one and I'm nearing completion of the project. That key ring will hold a lot of sentimental value for you. It's really great that it was still with the tractor. Kind of like a family heirloom along with that neat 'ol '66.

 

[PA212]

Welcome Ben!

Great plan to have a few small tractors for the kids to have access to. My Dad had a series of small tractors when I was younger. It was a great way to learn how to drive, plow snow, change oil, fix things, etc. Many here have strong bonds with their fathers over little green tractors.

We all love pictures so keep them coming! Looks like perhaps you have some big iron in the background too?

Dave

 

[Kster526]

Many here have strong bonds with their fathers over little green tractors.
AMEN!!!!!!!
Well said my friend

 

[tsb3]

Welcome to JDfanatics Ben!! Couple of good looking originals you have there. I have fond memories of my Dad and our JDs from when I was a kid.

 

[Itali83]

I do have a bunch of big iron around. My background is I grew up in the family sand and gravel business. Dump trucks, loaders, pits etc. grew up in the garage watching my dad work on his trucks. I’m now a heavy duty diesel technician working for a construction fleet. My family’s business sold before I was old enough to work.
We’ve still got two Autocar trucks that are my fathers and my passion. An old Trojan 3000 loader and a 40’s General cable shovel that my great grandfather bought brand new. I also have a sickness for squarebody gm trucks. Currently stuff not controlled by computers. I do all the diagnostic and repair work on class 8 trucks so I understand it all, just don’t like it haha

Ben

 

[Itali83]

I have a very strong bond with My Dad from working on all types of things over the years. My 4 kids are in the garage with me as much as safely possible.

 

[Chaser]

Awesome dude!
I love square body GM trucks to!

 

[PA212]

Great fleet! Thank you for sharing the photos.

Square bodys with Fisher plows. Doesn’t get much more New England that!

Always liked Trojan loaders and Autocars too.

Dave