Frank C - I'm watchin' your trouble shooting with the head/head gasket. One of the things I need to totally figure out is engine timing, carb tuning and valve adjusting. I'm not there, but getting up to speed.
Harry B - gave the hydro lift bracket next to the RH foot rest on the 1650 a kick and sure enough, it rolled over to the down position. My hydro lift is good - and fast! I'll be putting the front blade on this tractor, along with chains for snow duty soon. I'm noticing there is a fair amount of speed-up/slow down going up/down the hills in my yard - much more noticeable than with the 109, so I'll be digging into that over the winter. Parts 1250 is already coming in handy, swapped a front tire that always goes flat on the 1650 out with the 1250. Might be some hydro parts will need to be swapped out with it too.
I'm going to try to get the 3 point lift and Brinley hitch over on the 1650 from the parts 1250, I've got a garden I've been waiting to plow for the winter and plant some rye on it. Don't know if I'll get to it this weekend - but that will be a good test for the 1650.
Quick question - #26 and #30 carbs. I've got a few of these from parts engines, some 10, 12, 14 and 16 hp. I know the #26 was used on 10 and 12 hp engines and the #30 used on 14 and 16 hp engines. Question is - are the carbs the same between engine hp? In other words, is the #26 used on 10/12 hp engines identical? Same for the #30 carbs on the 14/16 hp engines or were there specific configurations/jet combinations?