Same deal with my 1864. I'm right at the limits of the alternator with everything running. I may unplug one of the headlights. They suck, and one is right behind the chute anyway.

Sorry guys for the delayed response.

I got the lights on Amazon. $15.99 each.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Like you guys thought, I cut off the cast aluminum mounting point from the light. This allowed me to slip the lights into the factory mesh. It did require some slight massaging of the mesh for the light to rest flush. I then made a bracket that uses the holes on the back side of the lights to hold them in place with the mesh and front grill.

I'll get some pics tonight. Thanks for the compliments:beerchug:

Finally got the tractor out to play in the snow and got the pictures of the light bracket. You can see in the pictures it's just a piece of flat steel I bent to hold the lights in place. The rubber bumpers (made from grommets) are resting on the grill housing. The mesh grill is held in place by the original mounting points which keeps like lights centered. When the screws on the back of the lights are tightened down, the lights pull back against the mesh grill while the flat steel presses against the grill housing. There was a little trial an error to get the compression I wanted. So far they have stayed solid and haven't moved at all.
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6057249d.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0884f827.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psf3ef4f7e.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps458e72a7.jpg
And a few shots of the tractor after playing in the snow.
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d2f94f2.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psca99214e.jpg

Did you have enough power for the blower? :beerchug:

Haha, just barely :biggrin2:. I love this blower! I'll have to be careful in heavier stuff or else I'll be smoking belts and replacing shear pins; that engine does not bog. So smooth compared to the single stage I had on my old 782.

Wow, this is the first I'd seen your post. I don'tusually read all of the replies when they go this long. My hat is off to you! You have done an excellent job on all of your build, I didn't have any problem reading along, couldn't wait to go to next page! You are a very good fabricator. Thank you also for putting up the links to amazon, I have been looking for some type of temp guage to use and its great that it also contains a volt guage. Also, I mean no disrespect to anyone else who posts something they have built. The ingenuity of all the people who post on here is what makes our hobby a joy to follow. Roy

Thanks for the pics! I like the bracket. With a few squirts of paint, it would look factory!:beerchug:

Thanks Roy:beerchug:

Thanks Shrew. It's about time I paint it. I initially didn't just in case I needed to modify it :beerchug:

Time for the spring overhaul and upgrades! Over the winter somehow my brake shaft broke in two, easy enough to make up a new one though.
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...pslhh6kbvu.jpg

After checking everything over; greasing, changed the hydro fluid and filter (first change after rebuilding everything), I noticed fluid leaking from inlet to the spool valves. I was looking into fixing it when I came across 782CC's post of putting a 3 spool valve on to make the rear lift independent. I decided that was an awesome upgrade and went to work this weekend.
Got the tractor all torn down Friday.

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psyelahpbk.jpg

Dual spool valve. Doing this mod will also let me clean up my rats nest of wiring that I scrambled to get finished last spring.

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psqivag3wl.jpg

JD 420 valve body arrived a few days ago

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7bbka3bg.jpg

Fits pretty good! I'll actually have more clearance between the tank an the valve body with this one than the original dual.

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psnqg3lq5t.jpg
Got a good start on the control handles before my welding gas ran out (Note the booger weld on the middle :bash2:) I'll have to finish welding it up on Monday.

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psgcfpt8kb.jpg

I still need to mock up the rear hydraulic cylinder, order a few fittings, and make up the lines going to the rear. Thanks to everyone who has done this modification before and for posting their builds! I couldn't have done it without using the other posts as reference. :beerchug: