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My dear friend George Sleezer gave me this beautiful viper red 656 that was his pride and joy. I’m so grateful for this, but sad to see he’s getting out of the hobby due to old age. It came with a sickle mower and tub cart. More pictures to come.

TRUTH!

It is just math! there is girl math there is guy math and then there is tractor math 2+1=7

As our treasures pass between us, I have pondered on several occasions that our motto should be "in good hands we trust."

Nope, not an Eaton or a Sundstrand transmission. Just some information on the US Army Corp of Engineers hydro projects. I had the honor of working with the Corp on the development of most of their hydro plants. My son managed the recently completed Ice Harbor project. https://www.facebook.com/WallaWallaUSACE

It must be fun to celebrate your birthday when you never age! Mickey Mouse first appeared in the short film “Steamboat Willie” on November 18, 1928. Ever since then, fans all over the world have celebrated this day as his birthday. Mickey reminds us of the magic of childhood — a time when dreams had wings, and our imagination made everything possible. Besides, everyone loves Mickey! Mickey's full name is Michael Theodore Mouse. Mickey Mouse wears white gloves so that his hands can be distinguished from his entire body. Most U.S. presidents have posed alongside Mickey, with the notable exception of Lyndon Johnson. "Hot Dogs!" were the first words Mickey Mouse said. In fact, he was the first cartoon character to speak. He is the first cartoon character to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Scored some decent tools from a local online auction. Pick up Tuesday morning.

The last panel should ask "So, ya still married?"

I walked by my wife years ago at the grocery store and was "drafting" a respiratory atom bomb. She had my infant daughter in the baby carrier on the shopping cart... There were several strangers within earshot of her, so I declared rather loudly "Mam, I think you should change that child's diaper" and walked straight out to the truck. ...it took several weeks for the bruising and stitches to heal, but I am still here. So I have 3 daughters all these years later. When (not if) I get drafted to go pick up "feminine products", they ALL remind me of that single occurrence so I have zero room for embarrassment. As Red Green says, "I'm a man. I can change... if I have to... I guess... As the oldest member of my family, I plan retribution through them changing my diapers one day. They all tell me they will just call the rest home nurse and wait outside. I fear that I have created monsters!

What a beautiful machine. And such a wonderful gesture as well. We are all fortunate to be part of such a great group of people.

Here it is, from our files section.

I been told that the 953 steering wheel center cap is almost impossible to find?? Bought my 953 from @Buckeyes. I was shocked when he told me how much he paid for just the cap. Since I have an open trailer I secure the cap with a small bungee cord cause I'm not taking any chances. The seat bottom just sets on fender pan between the seat bracket & fenders. I installed a hinge at the front. Again, because of having an open trailer I didnt wanna forget to remove seat cushion before transporting it.

And here is a list of what I call "The Wheel Horse Devil's Trifecta". In no particular order - You have not had the full WH experience until you have attempted and succeeded on all three - and you do not earn a Merit Badge either! Strap in and enjoy the ride!!! Removing a Steering Wheel from the Upper Shaft. Some models are much more difficult than others. The goal is not to damage either. Removing the rusted in place slot hitch and hitch pin. The goal is to salvage and reuse the hitch. Usually, the pin gets sacrificed and replaced. Removing both rear hubs. The goal is to do so without damaging any components. Honorable mention: Replacing all 4 seals on the Unidrive with it in place. Removing the exhaust stub pipe on the engine. Removing the center pulley on a later 3 blade deck.

I participated in yesterday’s festivities and didn’t even know it! 4 loaves of pumpkin bread, one loaf of bread bread (that one was my first attempt at making bread bread…. It was a hit!!) I like using flours, meals, cereal, and pancake/waffle mixes from an honest to goodness grist mill that we are blessed to have in our local area. Look up War Eagle Mill. All of their stuff is organic and non-GMO.

As the title suggests, I bought a 953 and 1054. Did I need them? Nope. Did I want them? I guess. Was the deal too good to pass up? Yep. These are both non running units and both need some TLC, but I’ve have my fair share with small and big block Kohlers. I need to find the seats because they both have the bracket, but are missing the cushions, along with the steering center cap. I’m learning as I go, so thank you for any advice or help. Thanks

Very funny to read this, as my wife just baked a fresh loaf of sourdough bread an hour ago!! Used it to mop up the sauce that was on our freshly caught bay scallops. Mmmmmm

Howdy! I found this site while looking for parts and literature for my Wheel Horse Classic 312Hydro. I will post pictures later as it is only half torn apart for cleaning and inspection. It was dead when I got it almost 2 years ago from a friend who was moving. He got it from a friend who was moving... 😁 So it sat in the back corner of the shop as an "get to it eventually" project. So, now it is the project to do .. 😁😁 So.... Cleaned the carb, installed new crankcase breather and substituted a 1/4" vacuum hose to connect to the air cleaner. She fired up and runs like a champ. Drive it around the yard and scared a couple mule deer. So anyway, waiting on a couple new belts and I will have pics of the complete machine. It came with a 42" rear discharge mower deck. Looking for plans or parts to build a snowplow for it. It has the hydraulic attachment lift installed, so I'm guessing I can run the 48" plow. Looking forward to using this beast. Joe

@Ed Kennell It would take 27+ of our new 3.25Mw generators ( each burning over 500 gallons of diesel per hour ) to equal just one of the smaller 90Mw turbines at that site. They are powering three 90Mw plus three 111Mw turbines at the Ice Harbor plant. The power of water and gravity is almost unbelievable. For those that aren't into electric 1Mw = 1,000,000 watts

I have owned my 1976 C120 now for 30 minutes! I bought it to do some driveway leveling, so now I need to start researching blades and blade attachments. The tractor appears sound, and it starts and runs ok, but it moves very slowly. I need to explore belt, clutch spring, etc. I think. Any suggestions for reasonably priced blades would be welcomed!

So nice to have this club/site. Still using my 1996 314-H. In the late 80’s I worked in the Wheelhorse offices/factory in South Bend. Didn’t work for them but for the finance company Borg Warner Acceptance Co. our office was in their facility and we financed / Floorplanned all there dealers. I had all dealers in the NE PA up through Maine. Remember walking the assembly line etc. John Munn was running the company at that time. Knew most everyone in the offices. Solid people! PA had some big dealers. Only after moving to TN in 1989 I purchased my tractor as I knew Toro was going to eliminate the old quality stuff. The last National Lawn and Garden show I attended in Louisville Toro had 4 or 5 of the “real” Wheelhorse units there but they were stuffed in the corner. You could tell they didn’t want them front and center. So, I went to the local TN dealer and ordered one before it was too late. Recall the dealer asking me why I wanted a 314-H just to cut grass. My answer was because I never wanted to buy another tractor. This to date is true! I’m in Ohio and gave the yard one last cut today and put the old girl away until spring. Have only posted once when I joined a number of years ago but wanted to share my story and love for my tractor. She’s a great machine! Thanks for allowing such a long message. Mike

Yeah but the hornets would be gone!

If you have the hub well supported a second sledge hammer and a friend helps. Hold one hammer on the nut and hit it with a second hammer. This prevents damage to the spindle and threads. And don't be afraid to hit it. One good slam is more effective than a few taps.

Yes @grnlark makes great seats.

what fun is that? I do the same but my max is usually on the cheap side.........my wife says I still got money from when I was a kid! Well maybe!

exactly! precisely! spot on mate! perfectly said! I do have a fine thread nut welded to a piece of 1/2" square steel that is put on the top of the threaded shaft when the BFH comes out of the drawer.

@grnlark is the guy for seats I hear. I need to order some cushions for my raider soon, actually.

Clearly you have not experienced my genetic luck line...

Pictures!

Not really. Round are somewhat stronger but not all that much. The force simply must be applied very close to the shaft. Remember this is a casting, not a forged item. A rare few have made 5-bolt pullers and had success. Many, many, many posts here on the adventures of hub pulling. Pretty much everyone considers it a rite of passage.

These two locating pins were screwed into the two lower threaded holes in the rear axle where the frame bolts on. Frame slid onto locating pins and held up by a 3/4" rod slid into the mid Tach and supported on jackstands. Jackstand height adjusted until frame and rear axle meet up nice and even. Top two bolts loosely installed. Locating pins removed then lower bolts installed. Frame fully bolted to rear axle. Bolts torqued to 26 ft/lb.

Kinda like a hobo that was given a pair of new shoes...

Never had any sort of reaction except two encounters. One with cicada killers that made me kind of blotchy. The other was when I was a young arborist. Removing a storm damaged silver maple. About 2 story house up and cut through hollow wood. Drenched in foul smelling water then a zillion honey bees boiled out. NOT happy. I got stung on every part of my body except kevlar boots and where my climbing saddle was. Got out of that tree quick. Guys called my lady and an ambulance because I wasn't making and sense and could not stand. Ambulance came. EpiPen benadryl (that junk makes my hair grow) and some chemicals sprayed from our truck and I finished the job. I had all but forgotten about that day. Thanks @kpinnc

I had a pro come to take my nest (I discovered it by accidentally brushing against the tree and getting stung in three places--I nearly fainted from the shock). That evening, the tech, fully garbed in protective clothing, “smoked it” similar to what beekeepers do. He then very carefully removed it intact by cutting the branch and placing it in a heavy clear plastic bag. He said the bees would suffocate and starve within a few days whereupon his company sells the intact nest to a supplier of high school and college science labs!

Regarding the items at the Stude museum. It jogged my memory that there was a roped off section in the area between my office and the wheelhorse offices displaying a number of items just like those. Cannot say they are the exact pieces but logic would assume that they were. A number of the Wheelhorse crew transferred to MN when they shut down South Bend. This included some co workers I had at Borg Warner the finance co. (By this time it was called Transamerica Commercial Finance). A number of their credit and upper level sales people went to work for Noma Outdoor Products in Jackson, TN. Assume many here know that American Motors owned Wheelhorse prior to several AMC executives took it over as a private company. I also recall the dealer base being very upset that they sold a gray (not red) version of their tractors through Lowe’s. I’m a bit fuzzy on this subject but not a good move. Dealers were the heart and soul of the operation and they were not happy. Rightly so. Don’t think that effort lasted very long. Again others may know more about the Lowe’s think than I. Thanks

I had many encounters with those things over the years. The last one overseas with Asiatic Hornets. Those things are over one inch long. I am highly allergic to any hornet or bee sting,and almost died a couple of times. I have EpiPens in each of the vehicles, one in my wife’s purse, one in the shop, and one in each shed. Wherever I go I carry one. As per the emergency room doctors over the years I have less than ten minutes to deal with when it happens. It immediately stars lowering my blood pressure and I go into shock. Not a fun occurrence with each one resulting with a stay in the hospital. I suggest that you get a professional to deal with them.

My father would have ended me and just made another one...

If I can take it in one piece? Agreed 100%. That was my thought exactly. Same here. I got stung on my lip over the summer because that particular nest wast 10 feet off the ground near my outdoor faucet. It bled for a few minutes and looked like it lost a bar fight. These guys are stupid aggressive! Yeah it's eye level. I found it while mowing. Rounded the tree and almost injured myself. Luckily it was early and not warmed up so they weren't really active. If it had been warmer I might not be making this post. Had a friend find one on a hunting trip early one morning who decided to take it down and stick it in his car. When he returned to the car he couldn't see in the windows. He had to leave the car until the next night and come back. Somehow I think I'd be paranoid of every sound it made for the next few days no matter how much bug spray had been used!

Red with cream colored wheels

I love your story and about the financial info, you most likely helped our small dealership in Vermont! Getting easy financing for our W/H customers was difficult at our local banks, and when W/H started offering it through Borg Warner, that really helped our business. Before this we were at a disadvantage because places like Sears offered very quick and easy financing, with this, we no longer had that issue. C-85

That is just the clutch damper. I don't have one on either of my 8 speed machines. So long as you gently lift your foot from the clutch pedal it is not really needed. None of my standard shift cars or my larger diesel tractor have had dampers on the clutch pedal. If it were mine I would just remove it.

And patience. And money....

Diesel is slowly going back together. Eventually I'll have to pull it to the front and pull the engine to replace the starter and some annoying to reach gaskets. Going to be doing some fab work, taking a firewall from a parts tractor and modifying it to go in front of the battery to do three things: keep the battery from walking off the tray due to the front being cut off, give some support to the hood to prevent it from breaking the top of the dash again, and also to keep the battery from shorting against the hood if the hood breaks the dash again. Shame the hood (not pictured) is so bad looking, they seem to have sanded all the red off and then shoddily painted it white. I don't have the kind of money that people want for an original diesel hood, nor do I really think that it's a huge priority thing to buy given the leaking injectors and the completely gutted and rotten muffler...

Guy here used to make the seats but he since retired. Best advice is find a upholsterer? Center caps I may have.

The Case no resistor required will work

Ok fellow horsemen and da ladies! I recently rounded up a D-200 with a blade at auction. I have been going over it. And think I've got the booby prize.🏆 First ...can't run the numbers as there don't seem to be any. As I recall? Plate was suppose to be below steering column? It's not. It does have a single brake on left side, might indicate an early model 1974? The steering column itself needs support badly! It's wobbly. The oil was overfull and I'm really worried about that. Wrong gas tank. Wrong oil filter. Two screws missing from air cleaner backing plate (hope not mashed by cylinder or caught in valve.) Hood was carved up. It pops off, but doesn't stay running. I have not done compression test yet or checked fuel pump. Plugs were sooty (valves)(missing screw) 🥺 This will be for sale eventually as I just don't have room and was impulse buy.

I saw price of 1974 D-200 on Tractor Data com. I think tractor alone was $3,400+. That could have bought you a decent middle of the road new car in 1974.

Heart beat replacement for the C175. Met up with Lincoln from A to Z and picked up this KT17 series 2. Most likely will be after the holidays before I get the chance to install it. Looks to be a 1995.