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Over the weekend we flew down to see my daughter in Charleston,S.C. and decided to go check out this museum. I must say that I was super impressed by the quality of the restorations of these trucks. Figured I would take a few pictures for you guys, I know how much you love pictures!!

Today I did something I’ve been meaning to do for years. Take the transmission and hydraulic system out of this 416-H. I took out the wiring harness and might save the spindles and steering wheel. This tractor was given to me and was already in rough condition. I lent it to a buddy to use around his farm. He is not known for taking good care of his equipment, so that’s why I let him use this particular tractor. Well after a few years of use he called me and said it’s making a funny noise. I went there and listened to it, it was knocking like crazy. Checking the oil I found none on the stick. I was not surprised or mad because I knew this could happen with this guy. Luckily the transmission oil was full so I drove it around and it worked fine. I brought it back home a few months later and it sat in my back yard for a few more years. So I decided today was the day to finally do this and junk the rest. While I was working on it my granddaughter decided that she wanted to clean and work on her tractor too! I was absolutely thrilled to have her in the garage with me! ❤️

The ol girl worked good today. Dug up a brick and mortar foundation and hauled it away with no sweat!

Got tired of robbing parts machines so, Made a few shifter grub screws on mini lathe. Now the other horses want be jealous and everyone will have a shifter that works .

There’s nothing more satisfying than using a Wheel Horse to perform a chore. Unless, of course you’re using two!

Construction began on the 515 West Ireland Road Wheel Horse Factory The rapid growth of demand for Wheel Horse Garden Tractors was too much for the building that Pond had occupied for twelve years. On October 11, 1960, construction began on a new 46,500 square foot steel frame and masonry exterior factory building situated on 36 acres of land on Ireland Road, South Bend, IN. The new factory was ready for occupancy in August of 1961, the move from the old Pond factory on South Dixie Way (near Pond Street, wonder if this was one of the subdivisions built by Elmer Pond) took place in time for the next year’s production. The 1962 models were the first built in the new plant on Ireland Road. They included the 502, 552 and 702. All three models featured the new front mounted engine and cast iron cased transaxles. The business was acquired by American Motors (AMC) on May 24, 1974. The company paid $30 million as it expanded into non-automotive markets. In 1982, Wheel Horse was spun off from AMC to Munn Investment Group. During this time some cosmetic changes were made, but frame and attachment design remained the same. In mid-August 1986, Wheel Horse was sold off from Munn and purchased for $8 million by Toro. Tractors were built under the Toro banner for the next two decades. The Wheel Horse name was eliminated from production after 2007. Today the building is occupied by Lock Joint Tube, a specialty fabricator of metal tubing products used by diverse industries such as office furniture, automotive, health care, display fixtures and exercise equipment. Chandler Sales and Service located next to the old South Dixie Way factory is thought to be the first Wheel Horse dealership.

Had our contest today. And the winner. And a pumpkin cake. Got some, post them here?

Everyone meet Jerry, Jerry meet everyone. my 5 year old stepson wanted to have a skeleton on a tractor. He went with his mom to go see his sister at her college this weekend. Can’t wait til he sees it. I’m going to get a different skeleton for the one who’s getting mowed up. Now the wheels are turning on getting Jerry some friends doing other crazy things. He’s temporarily mowing with my 12auto until I get the rusty 14-8 up from out back.

Celebrate the Navy’s Birthday on October 13 and recognize the brave men and women who have served our country — past and present. Established during the Revolutionary War, the original Continental Navy was formed, disbanded, and then reestablished nearly 10 years later. Today it’s the largest and most capable navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage. The Navy also boasts the world’s largest aircraft carrier fleet, over 300,000 active personnel, and nearly 100,000 in the Ready Reserve. A few fun-facts about the US Navy; General Washington commissioned two small schooners to patrol in and around Boston Harbor as the Revolutionary War heated up — eventually leading to the Navy we have today. The Massachusetts cities of Beverly and Marblehead have long argued over which was the birthplace of the Navy — which takes no official position on its place of origin. All submariners are volunteers, those serving on submarines are among the most highly trained personnel in the military. If not for the Navy, James T. Kirk would have been captain of the USS Yorktown Star Trek’s USS Enterprise was originally called the Yorktown. After some debate, creator Gene Roddenberry eventually renamed it. SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group — along with Delta Force — are the most highly trained elite forces in the U.S. military. On a personal note, if you travel through Fort Pierce, FL, visit the UDT/SEALS Museum. I had the honor of being one of the founders of this museum and am proud of the way it represents team members past and present. This was the birthplace of special forces in World War Two with the formation of the Underwater Demolition Teams, UDT.

I haven't forgotten anything, everything is in there someplace, my memory is prefect, but my retrieval mechanism leaves a bit to be desired.

Just returned from our first trip to England and most likely the only one. Friends who have been to London about twenty times said let's visit there so off we went for ten days. Did many of the newbie London tourist stuff. Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, theater, Churchill War Rooms, Bletchley Park, British Museum, Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey was filmed. Also a neighborhood pub with the son of another friend. We only scratched the surface. One could spend ten days in the British Museum alone. Our friends knew how to use the Underground (subway) and we traveled all about using it.

Wheel weights put extra stress on hubs. After sliding it back out and tighten it, does it have two set screws my C-120 just had one, The second helps a lot. Replace the key with a new one also helps. I added a two piece collar behind the hub on my 312-8 help keep it in place. We miss you, drop in more often.

That was it I. I forgot to tighten the set screws. love you guys. Instant tech support and reassurance for a tired mind.Too much going on here health wise. Can’t think straight most of the times to the point that I am becoming dangerous.

Test fit some vredstiens on the C-160 (still need paint) and promoted the tri rib Deestones to the 856. Made a 3/4” wrench ( forgot pic) to adjust governor speed on the 857.

Fatigue crack / break repair on the 12 hp belt guard. May have been a candidate for "JB Weld, but I like brass. My question is what's happening to the old art of Brazing? Don't let it become a lost skill!

Since selling my dxi and trading my Kubota side by side set up for plow duties a few weeks ago I decided to set up the new to me Polaris XP900 for plow duty. Local dealer had a Polaris plow built for another model. A few mods and here she is ready for plow duties…

Today I got some quality seat time getting the leaf situation under control until another ton or so hit the ground. I used the 310-8 with 42" rear discharge deck to GRIND the first accumulation of leaves to a powder. About 90% of the leaves from the Poplar trees have come down so this is just the first of many such operations. Weather has been dry so the leaves chopped up so finely that the leaf sweeper wasn't even needed. They will just compost in place.

The 42" mower deck wouldn't clear the 10.50's on Dino so I put the 8.50's from the Reborn B-80 on it. Put a pair of 16-6.50's on the front of the 854 sickle tractor. No real reason other than I thought they looked cool. Took a ride through the woods to check them out. Put the 10.50's on the Reborn B-80. Rather than buy another set of rubber chains in the correct size I decided to modify the set of 8.50's that I had. A handful of additional chain links and two additional cross rubbers per side did the trick. It took a bit to get them just right cuz I never like to use chain tensioners. Mounted the heavier set of weights.

I have these on my 953. https://www.millertire.com/6-70-15-goodyear-sure-grip-traction-4-ply/

Trina's family has a look looonnngg standing tradition of Goin' apple pickin' 🍎 every year... for DECADES. They figure they haven't missed one in at least 30 years. Even then it was because some folks were 1000 miles away but some folks still went... My own past was also into the tradition but not quite so often or steadily. Well this year the grand baby is 16 months old and starting to walk/run explore. Most apple farms in this area have the standards in place. Apples in trees. Apples on the ground. Apples in bags for sale. U-pick. They pick. Whatever. Then some attractions like a playground and/or old machines to stare at. Cute little farm stand or store with various apple or other products for sale along with an assortment of ... various variables. Trina's daughter wanted to try a more "retail" farm with lotsa stuff to do. Ricker Hill Farm is all that & then some. The place is it's own destination. All of the above and on the grand scale. They even run a literal tractor & hay wagon commuting service for the whole day. Yesterday we happened to be there during a Craft Fair as well. All local. All home made items. This is Jaxon eating an apple his way. 1. Peel with teeth. 2. Discard peel. 3. Eat the nummy section below ridiculous annoying peel. This is how we hunker down below a tree and really set to munchin' Don't mess with him in this mode. We tried to get the kid to make a funny face but only the Bear succeeded. This bouncy house obstacle course was HUGE. Trina - being an average 5 year old - had to go through it. So she took the kid. These red standing pieces would bend towards you and knock you sideways. Jaxon kept going near, getting knocked over, and laughing really hard. Repeatedly. So eventually Trina stuffed him through. Here's the hay wagon ride settin with "Pappy Bear" nice n comfy after a busy few hours...

Did a few things today. New wheel on my B-80 36 inch mower deck. working on a transmission to change on a RJ. Cracked the drive pulley but had a couple extras. Also put Schnacke recoil back on my new to me RJ. With one of the new 1 1/2 inch hex nuts i had made. 7/20 fine thread on both ends of the 1 1/2 inch long 7/8 hex nut. Made so you can turn it around and use again if the hex gets rounded by the three recoil fogs!

ML3……. Congratulations. You are the winner. Please send me your address and I will get it out to you this week. Thanks to everyone for being a supporter of this great forum.

Decided this C-141 needed some taillights. Upgraded the headlights while I was at it. Still contemplating how I want to setup auxiliary power for some beacon lights, with winter coming. This $300 tractor has turned out to be a really solid unit! I had to double check the fluids since there were no oil spots on my garage floor - I thought maybe everything had run dry!

Over the last few days in between work I’ve got my spare M12 buttoned up to possibly be run on the C-85. I also finally added a missing bowl gasket to the K341, once I brought them back from my parents house. I started to take off the shaker engine mounts. I’m going to set up the C-85 engine mount wise like the other three. And once I confirmed I had all the right and parking brake parts. After work I replaced the stretched parking brake spring and added a helper spring. I also lubed up the idler and rear end drive pulley.

World Post Day is October 9 and we’re pumped for a throw back to communication methods of the past with some good old-fashioned letters. Mail carrier services have been in existence since ancient times, and even though we can communicate almost anything (literally) at the touch of a button, there’s no denying the importance of our local postal services…or the excitement of receiving a package in the mail! World Post Day marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union, and it’s from this humble wellspring that the global communications revolution started and continues to this day.

By far the best thing I've found to keep a deck solid is to do very little. My routine after every mowing it to blow it off, jack it up and just scrape the clumps of grass off. No hosing. The clumps hold the moisture and that's the problem. I purchased the 48" deck on this tractor new in the late 70's. Since 2009 it's been used on this 2005 Classic. Zero rust. Once a year when I put it to bed for the winter I do pressure wash it and give is a light mist of whatever oil I happen to have at the time.

The winners were Ed and Mrs. K watching their grandchildren having fun together.

I have had several dealings with Wheelhorsepartsandmore and have been very happy with their products and service. Sometimes the suppliers they obtain parts from will be backordered but if you give them a call they will bring you up to date on your order. They are good people and an important part of our hobby.

Those are just bright LED bulbs off of the jungle site. They look bright but they really don't cast very far. (search 1156 LED) Better to add tractor lights if you need them for vision. I found a vintage pair in a box of crap I picked up in a barn sale, then replaced the bulbs with LED. They light up some ground!

We’ve had this full bumper replacement for an 88-98 Chevy sitting out in the weeds behind the tire barn at work for years. Brand new leftover from when we were a Ranch Hand dealer back before I even came to work here, and that’s been just shy of 8 years. Asked the boss a couple months ago what he wanted for it and he told me to just take it he was tired of mowing around it. Had a slow day so I rounded up some help from the young stout kid I work with and we pulled off the old grille guard and bumper and put the replacement on the old 1992 K2500 feed truck. Made a huge difference in the looks of the old truck, will look even better after I get around to putting the new tires and wheels I’ve got for it on.

Flux core welding can do most of what brazing used to handle steel on steel. No gas. Cheap equipment.

Didn’t even think of that. Checking that now. I recently put weights on it. Perhaps that contribute to it or I forgot to tighten something. Forgetting stuff has been an everyday occurrence lately.

Swapped a new to me Big Show seat to the 856. Also adjusted brake on same tractor. 1st pic after swap, 2nd pic before seat swap, and 3rd pic notice price and date on nos seat. I payed a penny more than that at big show from @Handy Don if I remember correctly.

@Handy Don I’ve been to the museum and the firemen’s home. I’m also a member of FASNY- Firemen’s Association of the State of New York. There is a beautiful library in the home that was paid for by a donation from a friend and deceased member of my fire department. My wife has threatened to send me to the firemen’s home more than once!! I tried to donate my own antique fire truck to that museum and they told me it was full and they had no more room. 1962 F-250 4x4 with a 250 GPM Barton-American pump. I got it with 1200 original miles and sold it with 1800 miles. Had lots of fun with it, parades, decorating it to take the kids trick or treating and even won a drafting competition with it. When I lost my indoor storage space I couldn’t bare to leave it outside after it had been stored inside its whole life. I ended up selling it to a fellow firefighter from New Jersey who gave it the home it deserved.

World Octopus Day is annually marked on October 8 and we are drawing up plans to celebrate the existence of one of nature’s most iconic sea creatures. Octopuses are remarkably intelligent and adaptable. With some Octopus fossils predating the era of dinosaurs, they are known to be older than most creatures currently existing today. One thing you can be sure of is that there’s more to this amazing sea creature than a bulbous head and eight legs with suction cups.

I mowed with my modified 48 today. Distributes clippings so much better. Definitely worth all the work that went into it! You can see the tip of the blade at the chute. Only 1/2 inch to the edge now. No height adjuster. I always cut the same height anyway...

Installed some steps and side covers on the 418-A that I had cleaned up and painted over the summer. The removed set will eventually get cleaned up and painted and put on the 520-H. Before: After:

A little late but this was taken on Sunday and its our whole horse herd at the moment.

Finished the electrical. Made up the exhaust manifold. Made up a better hood pivot thingy. Not much time for anything else.

@Ed Kennell that seat was originally for my daughters and in what sometimes seems like the blink of an eye it’s now for my granddaughter

Ethanol Pearl sacrificial annode???

National Chess Day takes place every second Saturday in October and is on October 11 this year. The royal game has been played for centuries, and despite its limited pieces and simple layout, chess is a complex art that has captivated players and viewers alike. Former President Gerald Ford said it best: “For both professionals and amateurs, chess is a game that sharpens the mind, tests human faculties, and encourages healthy competition. It has captivated the attention of players and spectators worldwide and will continue to do so as long as competition and excellence challenge mankind.”

I’m glad you forgot to tighten that set screw Cas! It makes my day to hear from you!

I liberated a 520H from a neighbor's shed after probably 18 years of dormancy. Think it is a '93. They parked it because the ignition coil was bad. I spent a few hours searching for any parts that may have been removed before. After I got it home I started troubleshoot everything. First thing I did was track down service/owners manuals and parts diagrams. Ignition coil test confirmed it was faulty. It was only sending spark to one plug. With that confirmed, I moved on to check out fuel system. Tank doesn't leak. Lines are surprisingly good. Fuel pump, no pumpy. Ordered one of those too. Also threw a prefilter in the cart too. Thanks to the speed of the jungle megacorp, I got the parts by noon the next day. I installed the not-so-perfectly fitting coil, and the near perfect fitting fuel pump. Thankfully I knew well enough to pump whatever the fuel pump sent out first into a jar instead of the carburetor. It was unholy. After I was satisfied that it was good gas, I hooked it up to the filter and gave it a crank. It fired right up like it was parked the day before. Smoked like a sonuvagun for a minute, then it stopped and just ran beautifully. After I was satisfied that the engine was good I moved around and started looking at everything else. Tires were dry rotted. Headlights didn't work. Gauges don't work. Hydraulics work. It moves forward and reverse. I spent the better part of day 3 trying to get headlights sorted while I wait for new tires. After all, this is going to be a snow mover first. I started with the bulbs. One good, one bad. Switch was also toast. Jumped the lines to bypass the switch and got 12v to the lights. Still no light. Power to fuse block was good. Fuse was good. Still getting 12v to lights, with no light. Figured loose connection was to blame, squeezed every blade connection and added a bit of wire to the fuse legs to fit the block better. There was light! Installed new switch and lights still worked, success. Gauges still don't work. Well, the HP% Gauge works. And voltage moves, but is wildly inaccurate. Oh well, it runs without them, they will have to wait, unless y'all know some easy fixes. On to the PTO. Here is where I am having a real issue. I can figure out a fair bit on my own without outside guidance, but the PTO setup is all new to me. Is the outer part that attaches to implements supposed to free spin until activated at the lever? I don't really know. Here are a few pictures I grabbed this evening. Serial number is pretty hard to read.

Is the axle sticking out that same 1 1/2" on the outside of the hub? Perhaps the hub has loosened and slid inward...

Yep, again on Sunday. I'm too old to drag-em.

Nice! No taxidermy spotted dog to help find the hydrants??!!

Oh BTW. I am one of the few with only one tractor and it is a Wheelhorse. Love the little beast. It was my father's who bought it new in 1988 and only last winter did I replace the engine. Except rear tires, brake lining, axel shaft seal and engine all parts are original. Always being stored indoors helped tremendously.

Another fast forward for real-time progress: