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Some of you members who go to the Wheel Horse show, know my Grandson Mason. Well on December 14, we had our first snow, and Mason has his first time driving in it. Unfortunately, he and his Subaru Outback had an untimely meeting with an F-350 pickup truck, his own. This was in the driveway. The F-350 won. He was quite upset but said that it would be back on the road in time for reopening of schools. So, Mason did not want to report it to insurance for obvious reasons, and he did not want to take it to a body shop, so he proceeded to disassemble it. After determining there was no frame or engine damage, he started his search for parts. He found a bumper cover, left fender, and hood, all the same color. He purchased a new core support and radiator, two new headlights, and a grill. He brought the car over to my house yesterday. The whole job was done outside in 15 to 35 degree weather. Total cost? $1400. That's perseverance.

Did something crazy today! Drove 735 miles from Andover Ct to Shippensburg Pa (round trip) took me 13 hours and 10 minutes, spending $130.24 on fuel…to come home with a C-145 Hydro. My wife packed me a lunch, snacks and a couple waters so I only had to purchase a coffee. Left my house at 5:30am and pulled back into my driveway at 6:40pm. Was supposed to be a clear day…hardly! Hit snow on I84 west headed to Scranton Pa, and hit it again on the way home . But no hiccups or truck issues so I’ll say it was a win!

Don't want to jinx anyone here in Maine but have not seen piles of snow here this high in a few years. This was cleaned up with multiple machines. Good ole time Maine Wintah.

The right-rear axle seal in my 522xi failed rather suddenly, as evidenced by the oil slick that appeared overnight on the garage floor. I jacked up the rear end and checked for play in the bearing, as well as end play in the axle. All was snug and smooth, so I figured that the rubber portion of the seal probably split or became detached from its metal ring. So, off with the hub. I loosened the set-screw jam nuts, heated the set screws just enough to soften up the factory-applied thread-locking compound, and removed them, using a 3/8” square (4-point) socket. I was going to use a three-jaw puller to remove the hub, as shown in the service manual. However, the hub appears to be cast iron, and I saw that some forum members had broken a hub flange with a puller. I could have used a bearing separator to pull the hub by flipping the jaws front-to-back and placing it directly right behind the flange, contacting the hub reasonably close to the center, but I opted for a more ‘elegant’ solution: I made a custom hub-puller that I could use again for future repairs if/when needed. It didn't take long to make. I traced the wheel hole pattern onto a scrap piece of 3/8" steel plate, drilled five 15/32” holes (for 7/16” bolts), drilled a 25/32” hole in the center, and welded a 3/4” grade 8 nut to the plate. I would have made the plate round, but I didn't have a wide enough piece of 3/8" plate, so it's in the shape of a pentagon. I figured that pulling from five points instead of three, and with those points closer to the center of the hub than its edge, there wasn’t much chance of breaking the casting. Also, before applying any pulling force, I snugged up all five of the 7/16” bolts finger-tight to make sure it would pull evenly from all five points. It worked “slick as snot on a glass doorknob,” as an old employer of mine used to say. As I suspected, the rubber portion of the seal had partially separated from its steel outer ring. I pried the seal out, being careful not to scratch the axle or transmission mating surfaces. I also checked for burrs on the axle, to avoid scratching the new seal when installing it. I made a simple seal installation tool by turning down a piece of schedule 80 PVC pipe in my lathe, which worked fine for installing the new seal. I’ll improve that tool later by inserting a thin sleeve inside it for a closer fit over the axle. Here's my hub service 'kit,' consisting of the puller, the 3/8" square socket, and the plastic seal installer, which I'll keep together in a bin for later use. I re-installed the original plastic thrust washer, which had a few thousandths of wear, but was still in good condition. I also installed a new key, even though the old one looked fine, and I cleaned and dried the set screw threads in the hub, so that the Loctite would work properly. The hub was still a snug fit on the axle, and I tapped it into place with a dead-blow plastic hammer to the point where there was only about .002 or .003 inch of end play in the axle (in other words, I tapped the hub far enough on to the axle to make up for the slight wear in the plastic thrust washer). I then installed new grade 8 square-head set screws with Loctite 271, torqued them per the service manual specs (28-32 ft. lbs.) and tightened the jam nuts. Done, no leaks, and I have a tool that will make any future hub work easier.

Changed out the powered worm gear snowblower chute with a powered chain drive.

I’m absolutely loving the 520hc with the 2 stage!

I love your AI paint job, and it inspired me. I've been having some fun playing with Photoshop and AI, and I thought I'd see what my GT18 would look like if it had a small V8 with a four-barrel, headers, mags, and racing slicks. Current (real) condition: After some AI-assisted modifications and a bunch more tweaking in Photoshop: And of course, it would be irresistible to the local bears:

Decided ol' Johnny needed spruced up a bit, so I slapped a quick paint job on him. AI paint job, that is.

Happy New Year everyone !!! With the day off I figured I'd take advantage of getting paid to work on my own stuff. A little progress report for y'all. First off I degreased the parts so that they would be ready for the blast cabinet. With the dishes done it was time to move on to repairs. First off get the drag link that a PO welded to the fan gear removed. Hood stand had some fatigue cracks that needed to be addressed. Tool box also had some fatigue cracks. Drilled some holes at the end of the cracks, beveled them out & welded them up. @AlexR was recently asking about spindle repairs. The spindles on this tractor had some pretty severe wear. I welded these then trimmed them back down to size with a grinder & a file. Bearing now fits snug on the spindle. That's all for today.

Put some bushing in a hydro belt take up. The old ones were shot. Got some bunting flange bearings at Amazon. reamed out the hole with a 5/8 drill, but started in straight with a step drill first. Worked okay was trying to keep it simple. I did add a keeper bolt threaded in the end to keep it all together due to eliminating the e clips on the shaft to accept the thicker flange bearings. Bearing were $3 and change each.

When I got the 312-8, I searched for Wheel Horse forums. I picked this one & I'm glad I did! Lots of great folks here and there must be a couple hundred years of combined knowledge, I greatly appreciate all the help & guidance I am receiving. Thank you!

Update: It’s a 1984 and has the original/correct Kohler 14 under the hood. Hubcaps are off and undergoing a cleaning (they will be up for sale soon). It’s nice to buy a tractor that has no rips in the seat, a battery that’s still good after you get it home, tires that aren’t flat after you get home, working head and tail lights (LED tail lights ) Wheels will definitely need to be cleaned up and painted.

This is a good spot for this. You may remember me struggling to get a lug bolt out of a wheel a while back. It was a regular 7/16" bolt apparently driven in with an impact wrench WAAAAAY too tight. It was from a 68 Raider 9 that I have parted out. I tried everything up to welding a nut on it that was my last attempt at failing before I just set it aside to regain some form of sanity. Even though I doubt that I will be needing them I try real hard to save wheels that have the correct setback for Wheel Horses. They are a bit of an oddball. The same goes for saving hubs. These especially as they are the heavy hubs with factory double setscrews. Over the weeks of it just sitting in the garage I decided that the hubs were more important if I couldn't save both. I already had the bolt drilled out to something under 3/8". This morning I went ahead and drilled it to 3/8" which was as far as I wanted with hoped of not damaging the threads. It looked like this. I set it on 4x4's and smacked the hub opposite of the stuck bolt. It actually didn't take much. It snapped off clean and the culprit came right out. The hub threads didn't look bad at all. I chased them all with a 7/16" tap and a 3/8" for the setscrews and these hubs are in dandy shape! An added bonus is that the wheel is fine as well. You can see where the jammed bolt was but it's not harmed. Bottom hole. My only New Years resolution is to never make resolutions. But I'd say this is a good start. Happy New Years!

This one is from years back on the road to the family farm in upstate NY.

My nephew and I displayed at the Badger Steam and Gas show this year, he went into the swap meet unattended and came back with this 855 horse, I'm not the best documentor and we have it partially torn down now, but after using the site to get the wiring and voltage regulator sorted out I figured maybe you guys would like to see what we are up to.

I’ve had this for about three years now. I decided on a fall assembly. I started cleaning one part at a time that’s how I do things. I clean everything by hand. So I’ve been working on and off on this one for that much time. Did multiple restorations on other tractors over the last few years to by and sell,and this one sat in a corner so I decided to start working on it this winter to finalize assembly. Either keep it or sell it not sure yet. The last few pics are the day I bought it. The last picture is the lineup of the one I just bought. Also dockwheelhorse . I believe wallfish in there also AKA- Sparky and his son Bradley tractor. This was in a dirt pit where very old from the 30s 40s and up,in a pit in Colchester at Zachary farm in Connecticut. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Today I was gazing over what I hope to be a mushroom patch. For the past two years I have been able to harvest a few mushrooms but this year I stepped up the process. Starting about four years ago as I found morel mushrooms, I'd bring them home and wash them then pour the mushroom spore laden water in the area pictured below. A couple of years ago I found four and this past year I think I found six or seven. Last spring, I read about making a slurry with mushroom spore water, flour, and karo syrup. A fellow puts the spore water, pieces of mushroom and the afore mention ingredients in a blender for a few seconds then transfers to a bucket, aerate it for 24 to 48 hours, dilute in additional buckets then pour on target areas. I spread up and down the fence row and in the asparagus patch. The articles said it may take 3 or four years to be productive with maybe 40% chance of success. We ended the year 3 1/2 below normal rain fall. December was one of the driest on record. This past summer I watered the mushroom patch. I guess I'll know next spring. In the meanwhile, I had fresh pork shoulder, cured it this past week and smoked it today.

January 1, 1959, Johnny Cash played his first of many free prison concerts at San Quentin State Prison on January 1, 1959, a pivotal event that inspired a young Merle Haggard, then an inmate, to pursue music, kicking off Cash's lifelong advocacy for prisoners and leading to iconic albums like At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin.

Finished transaxle drain and refill on the 12hp-8 No Name today. New shifter boot, magnetic drain plug and swapped the 8.50’s for some 10.50’s on back. Oh yeah installed bolts/studs on back wheels. Made mounting the loaded Carlisle alot easier.

I still like a 16 Oz hammer for framing. Going in tomorrow for a rebuild on my right hand eyeball tomorrow. Opted for the de-luxe replacement lens with astigmatism correction. If it turns out as well as the left eye rebuild, it will make my accuracy much better when using the 16 Oz framing hammer.

I never did care much for the look of the plastic seat pan/fenders, although this one is flawless no cracks or breaks. I put the wheels and tires of a 520 and I gotta say it makes the plastic look pretty good now. Lol!! I might keep it for a while this way before I throw a metal seat pan on it.

I'll chip in 82.

Some of us might bump that estimate up another hundred or so - individually!!

More expensive more like original and holds on pretty well.

I see a new handle in your future ... SparkyX??

I’ve been missing my tractor family! I started a “job” volunteer coaching the girls’ wrestling team. It’s a bunch of fun and I’m getting another work out in when I need to grapple with un-partnered kids. For being only about 3 hours of my day, I feel like I accomplish nothing throughout the rest of the day! I’ve released less videos to YouTube and spent less time doing shop and tractor stuff. It’s rewarding though, when you hear the simple words “thanks coach”!

Cereal box and an Exacto Knife

Put juice to my new headlights on 1257 today. Halogen bulbs and pretty bright, 2nd pic is in shop and pitch dark. Dont remember what the watts are. Thought about going with led bulbs but IDK if it would be worth the extra coin.

I would suggest putting a shut off valve on it so that you can run the carb dry when you park it for extended times. A battery tender would also be a good idea. They do help extend battery life.

I'd like to add I'm one of those liars at the restaurant table ...

More sheet metal repair. The bolt hole in the seat was busted out, fact it was so big the the head of a 1/2 carriage bolt would drop right through it. I used a hole saw to make a washer out of 10ga sheet metal. Welded this washer in place plus took care of a couple of stress cracks. Ground all the welds smooth, Squared the hole to fit a 1/2" carriage bolt. The seat and front rims then made a trip through the blast cabinet. Moved on to the hood which had some cracks around the front mounting hole, plus plenty of dents. Spent a couple hours with a hammer in my hand bouncing back & forth between the anvil, a sand bag, and some hand dollies to get it as straight as I could. It will still need some minor body filler work to be perfect. After it was straitened out I drilled some holes at the end of the cracks, beveled the cracks out, weld & grind. Other than that all I have to show is a bucket full of sand blasted parts.

Not only is there a wealth of information available and freely given. There is also the friendly bantering and camaraderie. it's not unlike sitting around the liars table at the local restaurant. Good group and well run organization.

This is from a friends house last year just north of Oneida Lake

Scored a 1992 Wheel Horse 312-8 today with deck & front blade for 100 bucks. I got homework to do. Engine has no spark plug wire or left side engine cover. Engine does turn over by hand & seems to have compression. Can't get the PTO to engage, the shaft isn't sliding in. Choke cable stuck, throttle cable operates. Deck has minor rot on the right side, but I bought the tractor for snow plowing, I will sell the deck. I had 60s & 70s Cub Cadets & John Deere tractors. I know decks & mule drives were pricey in 2019 when I sold all my garden tractors & bought a new Cub cadet XT1 LT42 with rear bagger, brush guard & arm rests. I missed a garden tractor to plow with. A walk behind snowblower just don't get it done. Snowblower for her is in the future too. Maybe even a sleeve hitch and tiller.

We have made it to the end of 2025, prepare to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Toast to the past and look forward to the future with friends and loved ones. Party hats, confetti, and champagne, let's celebrate the arrival of a brand new year! The celebration of New Year’s Eve has a history dating back thousands of years. The holiday’s origins can be traced back to ancient civilizations, such as the Babylonians and the Romans, who marked the beginning of the new year with religious festivals and celebrations.

Controller, Alltrax AC2, was little bigger than I was expecting but got it mounted

Glad you made it home safely Mike. Now you know the rules, we are going to need plenty of pictures of that tractor once you get it off loaded. But judging from the pictures so far it looks like you got yourself a nice tractor! 👍🏻

January 2, 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. More than 80 other women have entered the hall since her induction was announced on this day in 1987.

Started transaxle change after pressure washing all the garden dust off the 12hp no name. Going to let her drain overnight. New shifter boot, Engine oil and brake drum seal next on the list..

January 4, 1847. Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. This marked a significant moment for his company, which was initially struggling. The first sale was for 1,000 of the newly developed .44 caliber Walker revolvers.

Congrats !!!!!!!!! ---- Really like the black hood C series - have two of the c175s --- and now trying to save a C165 which grandson and I rescued but likely needs engine rebuild --- have been looking for a C145 for few yrs - - hard to find - prefer the H model -- drove 3 hrs to see one in Pennsylvania 2 yrs ago expecting to bring it home, only to find when i got there a frame crack in the frame plate connection to the tranny -- decided not to take it - probably would have been worth the time and cost to repair the crack.

I'm a fan of a wider track width. Better stability. IMHO looks better too. Was it me I'd get spacers for behind the wheel as mentioned above. Can you cut the spindles? Sure.....

Old black hoods, I call them rattle hoods, I think are some of the best machines WH made. The C series with larger rear axles and the big Kohler engines, pound for pound, just plain tough. I guess my question, at what point in the trip did you say "what am I doing?" I know I have been there! Every tractor has a story and my C145, that still have, is a good one. About an hour trip to pick up. Myself and a friend went to look and buy a c145 that lived it's life moving boats. It was at the owners home and went to take a look. It ran great, but had the old plastic seat pan broken and it was weathered a bit. Did a little negotiating and was at a stalemate. Real close tho. It was a hot evening and I noticed the guy had just came back with a box of long-necks and put them on the porch when we show up. I told him to throw in a couple of the beers and he has a deal. Oh he was real happy. went down and put the case in the yard and we had us a couple. My friend told me we need to go or we are staying. So we got another tractor and made a friend. Picture from a 50/50 redo.

This afternoon at work I was helping one of the junior techs with a particularly stubborn brake job when I lost my grip on the torch and let the flame pass over my face. I'm fine, but I burnt off half an eyebrow (the other half was under my torch glasses). Just waiting for the wife to notice. Remember kids, wear eye protection when doing dumb things.

As long as the chute is pointed downwind!

Thank you kpinnc! The PTO issue is repaired for now. I found out the engine needs to be running @ idle to engage the PTO. I served 1970-1990/ Field Artillery- 105 towed, Armor & Cavalry-M551 Sheridan, M48A5,M60A1 &M60A3, I was also a Combat Engineer. Yeah, I loved blowin' things up. Welcome home brother.

It has new shoes on now and it roll

The transmission and frame are together

@953 nut my teenage niece put that on there and I just about wore my screen out trying to kill it also until I figured out it wasn't alive.

Fabricated some Heim joints for my steering upgrade. Always a good day when you get to spark up the welder. Will be nice to have some adjustability.