AWESOME Bolens Ridemaster Restoration (Part 1) 

I have a Ridemaster that sat in my neighbors yard facing the road for years. When Menards was built they put up a stop light near their backyard and my neighbors put up a fence and the Ridemaster disappeared. One day when I was in Menards at the check out my neighbor, who also worked there, asked me if I wanted to help him restore a tractor. It was the old Ridemaster. I ended up fixing his Troy-Bilt tiller in trade for it and still have it today. I ended up joining the Illinois-Missouri Tractor club afterwards and talked with one of the members, and to my surprise he had tried to buy it in years past. My neighbor was the one to trade work for the tractor in preparation for the fence and got it before the club member. This is one story of antiques on my street finding me and I am know as the lawn mower man for all the neighbors. Thank you Taryl for your interesting videos and you have got me interested in fixing my old Ridemaster again! Maybe someday I can come see you and talk tractors!

My dad had a 1956 Bolens yard tractor. It had pull rope start like yours. Dad mounded an electric motor to the garage wall, on a board with a hinge, and would put a belt from it to the pulley, and press down on the electric motor to start her up. It changed speed by having a spring loaded pulley and as the lever pulled the belt tighter, it sunk deeper into the spring loaded pulley to change the ratio. All I have left of it is the plow attachment that is a decoration. When dad got a new tractor he made me a go cart with the parts from the Bolens.

Love bolens equipment! I have a 1972 1256 Hydrostat. I use it to snow blow my driveway every year. Can’t beat the old stuff!

Finding that manual and and having it include a parts diagram was a great find! It makes working on it and figuring out where parts go almost invaluable. Nice find!

That was awesome we need to have more people restoring more of this old farm equipment before they end up being scrapped. The younger generations need to engage these old time farmers while the are still around to find out about the types of machines they had and how they were used. If you ask me I would say that a lot of used back in the old day worked better then what we have today and lasted much longer.

Years ago (around 1968) my friends dad had one of these in his barn, after much begging, he let us fix the broken throttle cable, get it running (as far as I remember it was single speed) we rode it all over the ranch, had a ball. Now I know what it is called!!!...Way cool auction score.....I want to see it riding around!!!!....What a cool toy for the antique tractor meet you go to!!!!!!

Best small Engine mechanic on the tube

So glad I found this channel...not only entertaining but educational too. Can't wait to see this thing restored and see it being used

That ridemaster looks awesome. That thing is going to be amazing restored.

Wow that thing is neat, 375 isn't bad. Would make a nice show piece restored.

I think the rear wheels adjust for row crop work taryl so the wheels can fit in between the crops sown

man that thing is cool looking!!

Green Acres comes to mind when you feature machines like this. I bet Mr. Haney would have some treasures for you to fix up.

Very cool machine, very well built

Awesome find Taryl! Just make sure Ronnie doesn't try to sell you any "used" parts for it. Looking forward to Part II.

Cool find! I’m really looking forward to this series.

Always fun to get a new toy! Nice score.

Wow that thing is cool!!!! Cant wsit to see what brilliant things you're gonna do to it!! Thanks dudes!

That thing is badass..... Have to pop wheelies in reverse.... LMAO

This may be one of the coolest looking garden tractors I have ever seen, you know if you have pictures of the implements you could fabricate mounts for implements no worries. Looks like it could produce a lot of torque even with a 6 Hp engine 👍

This machine is awesome, I've never seen one before, but that old equipment is timeless and made to last a lifetime. I'm looking very forward to future videos on this Bolens Ridemaster. I'd say you got a really good deal on this one!

I've developed a hankerin for old oddities like yourself Taryl. I picked up "The Mule" single wheel plow with a Briggs drive chain system. Also have DB walk behinds and suburban mowers. Anything old and different. I just picked up 2 Clinton engines that those stickers I ordered will go on. I do need help finding a carb for an S-8D Wisconsin. The small engine shops I've checked with aren't willing to accommodate such requests or have just junked their old stuff. There's your dinner!😉

Somewhere in Ch-yna there's a farmer that's been using one of these for over 50 years.

That machine is bad ass. I love it. I would have paid that price all day long. I love the old equipment. Great find !!! Love your videos.

Cool snag there, Taryl. Definitely waiting for part 2! Thanks for sharing.

Your right Taryl about the new crap, that's a nice machine look at all the attachments you could put on it, good buy worth a restore , it will look like brand new, good for show tractor!

That's so cool Can't wait to see what you have in mind for it.

Taryl show us the comeputer, cannot go without one...:/ nice video.. thanks...:)

Awesome! I just rebuilt a 74 John Deere 110 that hadn't run in 20 years. Just mowed the lawn with it. Now I need a new project!

I have an old Cub Cadet and when the starter/generator went south I adapted a Club Car golf cart starter/generator to it and it has been running like that for 12 years.

Def a cool item..... thanks for sharing

Ok thats cool. This should be fun to see what you do with it Taryl.

Your right it’s pretty cool. I like it. Look forward to more videos on it

YESSS I love the Old Stuff. Can't wait Taryl.

Love these videos !

You should join the ridemaster/ bean cutler group on facebook. Excellent group of people there with plenty of information on these tractors. I recommend throwing some weights on the rear, as mine is tippy on inclines.

looks like a fun project. can't wait to see more. good luck

Taryl - that is a great project - I look forward to the new series !! :)

Lucky man what a great project thanks for sharing 🇦🇺

Taryl, That is The Coolest Tractor Ever, You Absolutely Must Get it Running And Make A Cultivator For It, Would Be A Blast Cultivating in A Big Garden With It!

That implement bar reminds me of a farmall. I'd check into it and see if you can't attach some farmall cultivators to that bar. Cool old Bolens!

That thing is pretty cool Taryl, can't wait for part 2!

Louisville Craigslist Has A Ridemaster With Front Grader Blade And Painted Up Nice.

Love watching your channel. I get a good laugh every time .

Hey Taryl, That’s one sexy piece of machinery you have there.

Hey Taryl, You and Elkskins should do a restoration and paint job on that bad-ass Bolens. (Said in a high pitch voice)

Had one used it for cultivating strawberies The reason the axils move is so you can adjust for row spacings

You da man Taryl! What a score

That thing is really cool!! Wish I had one with the grader blade!!

Oh dang son you was lucky to find one of them they are really cool and I don't think they made many of those I know bolens made a whole bunch of 2 wheel garden tractors with these are kind of scarce as hen's teeth but I can't wait to watch the rest of your video but I can't now cuz I got a honey do list to work on but keep up the good work I love these old equipment videos that you made because that's my cup of tea and there's your dinner!

looks like a fun project. great video.

I grew up mowing grass on a Gravely Model L tractor. That thing was as tough as an anvil. Rope starting was always interesting. I’ve seen a lot of different garden tractor designs but nothing quite compares to the build quality of those cast iron monsters. If I could still buy most of the parts I would get one to till up my garden because my little Troybilt works me harder than I work it.

Awesome Taryl never seen one of those before thanks for sharing

I see a new channel in the future, "Taryl Farms All"

Awesome Taryl 👍

Learn something new everyday. Never seen one of those before. Looks like you would have to weight the drive tires heavily to get it to work well. Dad gum engine didn’t smoke a lick on startup.

Love old equipment

That is the coolest thing I ever saw!!

Wow it came from the same era that cyclops from the old movie did.

Fire it up!! Fire it up!!

Back in the day, when using this kind of equipment, we learned how they worked. For the Darwin fans out there, this is how we got rid of dummies.

Man!!! that things awesome!!!...& you can fix it no problem!!!

Ive seen those before they are pretty nifty pieces of equipment.

I've always had dreams of restoring an old Gravely tractor because they had those cool looking cowls like a 1940's Streamliner express train. When stuff had some style, a little class, and built to last.

Always good to light things up when your doing horowin !

Exciting! Looks like fun!

Taryl if you like this machine you should look into an old gravely l 2 wheel tractor

You can use any modern-day attachment on that. I use u-bolts clamps for my plow set-up.

It really is cool

I have a set of eight point sockets that are about 75 years old. They were called square-drive sockets then and used on heavy machinery which had a lot of square nuts on them.

Is that a new Wisconsin ignition module? "I want no part of that part."

That thing is all kinds of cool!!!!

Awesome Score Taryl 😀😮😊😎

That thing is sweet!

Those front fenders could be a shade wider to keep sweet Mother Earth out of the engine mount. I'm betting this thing is super capable for a moderate sized garden or homestead.

6mph was a good move, 3pmh is pretty bad. You made a good move getting that one that’s 99% complete. 375 isn’t truly that bad, considering it’s an antique tractor, 3-6mph isn’t terrible, got a tractor that’s a turtle, but it’s a true work horse.

Brilliant video thank you,, 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Super cool

Hey taryl you got yourself a gem there ride master wow

Interesting project and good choice on the auction per your description. Too bad you don't have any implements - something like this you will have to keep looking as they will only be up on ebay every so often. But thats the way to find what you are looking for. Or maybe craiglist global search which are different web sites than craiglist. Sickle bar would be cool - must have some kind of pto to run the sickle for power, like the light kit. Seems in the design they saved - key switch, starter motor, reverse gear, cowlings,

That's Awesome

Taryl purchased a vintage death trap....and supplementary life insurance, lol! I saw 20 different ways two loose a digit or a foot, darn! That bicycle chain looks scary

grass rat restoration ..Good luck

What a nice find! And the price is well worth the dinner!

....moldboard plow attachment...grader attachment....tourniquet dispenser attachment...

Looks good Taryl!

Thread gear - I wonder if they are talking about single, double, and triple thread worm gears? That would make sense that a single would be slow, a double would be faster, than a triple even faster again? Very interesting. Wisconsin engines are built like TANKS. Double tapered roller bearings, oil pumps, very nicely engineered.

Taryl, I found a picture of the light. It mounts by using the two bolts above the large steering gear and shines over the gas tank. It looked to be at the same height as the steering wheel.

Taryl, maybe switch this to the official Grass Rats "Mow Tow"? $375? You came out smelling like a rose! Those AG tires & wheels are worth at least that.

That thing is really cool 👌! And it's a good piece of history too. I hope you will restore it to where it looks like brand new. 👍 Speaking of exhaust, where can one buy pipe to be able to bend their own shapes without using the galvanized or black pipe and screw on fittings ??

Cool looking equipment. Looks like a tricycle on steroids lol 🤣 but I like it👌👍

Yep, I bought one of the last good Craftsman tool sets. Came with SAE and metric, 6 and 12 point sockets plus five or six 8 point sockets, 3/8" drive. Got a whole set of 1/4" and a fair amount of 1/2" drive SAE and metric. Allen wrenches and an "ignition" wrench set in a big durable plastic tool box. They all fit better than brand new snapoff sockets. Why doesn't anything fit anymore?

All you need now is a few attachments.

"Taryl's Emporium of Rickety, Dangerous Shit".

I love it

Need longer videos!

Sweet!!!!! Good Deal!

Yes

Nice find, Taryl!

Reminds me of the board game "mousetrap". Cool machine!