Heart transplant

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

Back in August, the neighborhood "junk man" called me about a Wheel Horse he was thinking about scrapping. I told him to bring it to the house so I could look at it. He showed up with a "cosmetically challenged" B-80 in the bed of his old Ford and offered it to me for a good price. I talked him down to an even better price and helped him unload it. He said he tried to start it, but the gas he dumped in the plug hole ran out the muffler.

I sorta figured it was blown up, but had a spare "universal blue" K-181 upstairs in the shop that was supposed to be good. It was recoil start with a magneto so I knew I'd have to change the ignition and stator stuff, but everything else looked good.

I tore the old engine off and apart last month and found an oil pan full of connecting rod! (as expected) Here's a Christmas day picture:

I finally got around to doing the swap Friday and Saturday and this is what I ended up with:

The next stage of the project is combining a shell from a nice B-165 36 RD deck and the brackets and center spindle ass'y from the B-80 deck to make one good deck. I should be able to have it ready by the time I can see the grass again. :P

[Rollerman 290]

Wow Terry...I'm impressed

Not so much in the B 80....but you get brought to you!

I do it the old fashioned way & chase after them

The B 80 don't look to bad though...got an 8 speed version here I plan on putting back in service.

It came with 2 K181's..both run ...but both have a differant knock to them

The tractor itself has a swaped in K241 that I plan on putting into a C100.

Also I see the welder in the one pic...nice....gives me welder envy :(

[combatmp29r 27]

OK thats it I have to build a bigger shop!!!!!!

As I said in my email earlier Terry congrats on the new (running) addition. My current shop is an 8'x10' shed with an 8' ceiling and 2' of work bench along 2wallsin an L shape. So that leaves me with 6"x8" to work in. Kinda tight. god forbid I try to fit a 520 or the likes in there It has a 4'x10' leanto on it, but thats FULL and then some of parts. Guess its time to go back to being a carpenter (had my own compant till Iraq Deployment in 03) and add on.

Joel with shop envy

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

Also I see the welder in the one pic...nice....gives me welder envy

That's my 3 month old Miller 140 with "auto set" welder. (120 volt)

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/mi...ic_140_autoset/

I had a 7 year old 135 before that, but a "nice" electrician screwed up a 120V receptacle rewiring job here and it got fried by 240 volts -- along with my hand grinder! The 135 is NLA so the insurance company bought me this nice new 140!

The shop is 14' X 26' downstairs and has a full 16' X 26' upstairs. The bad part is I can't get whole tractors upstairs, so there's 12 of them downstairs right now. (and I have to go outside to f t!)

This was taken a few years ago:

The two little Suburbans (400 & 401) are in the little shed and my '68 Raider 12 is in the neighbors garage. The rest of the stuff is either outside or upstairs.

[kpinnc 10,732]

Don't feel bad Joel, my shop is only 12 x 16. I have 5 tractors in it! 3 more out in the barn....

I like the B-80 Terry. Nice job there! VERY nice herd and shop there too!

Kevin

[combatmp29r 27]

Terry, how do you like the auto set on the miller? I'm planning on replacing my 12 yr old harbor freight 150 amp mig come tax time. I suppose I should step up to a 170 or 180, but we'll see them. I've been looking at a hobart, but Millers prices look better than I expected.

Joel

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

It's nice, Joel, but not a necessity. The standard 140 is just as good and the only difference is that you have to "tweak" two knobs instead of one.

If I need bigger stuff welded, I just go see my friend down the road. It was much cheaper for me to let him buy all the big machines.

This will be my next purchase:

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/wire_f...ate_100_series/

Then I can do aluminum the RIGHT way.

Oops! We better get back to tractor talk before we get moved. :(

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345]

I'm with Stephen here on his comment on the original post. I'm somewhat impressed with the B-80 living again, but I'm totally blown away that it was BROUGHT to you. I always have to go get them if I want it.

I also like the "barn" you got there. Nice. :D

[combatmp29r 27]

Good point didn't mean to side track you

Is the B80 in store for a Krylon bath? Thats how I do all mine too, but I use Banner red in stead of Cherry red.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

I'm somewhat impressed with the B-80 living again, but I'm totally blown away that it was BROUGHT to you. I always have to go get them if I want it.

I also like the "barn" you got there. Nice.

Not only did he deliver the B-80 (which I paid $80 for), he turned around 2 weeks later and brought me a 1983 B-115 vertical that ran & drove (needed one rear tire and a battery) for $35! (I scrapped it, except for the engine and some little parts I saved) The saddest part was when I asked him to watch for more Wheel Horses and he told me he had just junked a couple with "rounded hoods" a few weeks before he visited me.

As for the "barn"..... Thanks!

It really used to be a horse barn too. An ex-relative of mine used to keep two horses in it and the upstairs was a hay loft. (it even had a regular barn roof !) I bought it from her for $300, tore the roof off, and hauled it 9 miles to my place, where I built the upstairs on it again -- just a little different than it was before.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

Good point didn't mean to side track you

Is the B80 in store for a Krylon bath? Thats how I do all mine too, but I use Banner red in stead of Cherry red.

Here's my problem with this one....

I like to see decent original tractors as much as "shiny show queens". And it's not too often that you find one that hasn't been tampered with or modified in some way. This B-80 still has the original plastic dust shield behind the gas tank! It seems good and tight yet and everything works like it should.

Under the fender pan is still nice:

I think I'll just get this one "TLC' d" back to reliable operating condition, get that deck put together, and see if anyone wants to buy it. I might hit Terry Dennis up for ONE hood decal, and I still have to redrill the seat pan so I can bolt it to the springs. Otherwise, I think this one will be a work tractor for a few more years yet.

Besides -- I sorta like the pine pitch that's stuck to the hood! :P

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Terry did you ask the guy what scapyard he went to? Can't hurt to check and see if they just haven't gotten to them yet!

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

Yeah, I asked.

When he told me where they went, I knew they were already gone. That particular yard has a long-stick Cat with a big hydraulic shear. They "snip" everything as it's unloaded and process it right away.

[combatmp29r 27]

That is unless you have a scrap yard like mine. Midsummer I was sitting in wendys eating lunch with the family. We watched a truck go by with a load of odds and ends scrap in the bed and a trailer with 5 Horses and a couple Cubs on it. When we finished eating 10 min maybe we drove over to the only scrap yard in town to see if he had scrapped the tractors. Sure enough 5 horses 1 round hood a Bseries, 2 c series and a 875 I think it was atleast that style of tractor. I went into the office to wheel and deal and came out ready to kill. They wouldn't even consider selling them. said they were worked into their tonnage report for the plant they supplied and they don't sell things off their lot junk yards do that not scrap yards. Their words not mine. My wife thought maybe someone there just wanted them which made me a little less mad about it. A week later when i hauled in a bunch of scrap from around here I actuallt had to watch them (I covered my eyes) run 2 of them through the shredder So much for my wifes idea.

Joel wish the next scrap yard wasn't 40 miles away in OH

[Rollerman 290]

Terry are you sure you hauled the barn nine miles?...or did you mean to say the seller brought it .....

Either way looks like a good workshop & hideout.

I like the upstairs, good to have storage for the light items that can clutter up a work space & tractor parking.

Joel my local scraper is the same way...they absolutely will not sell anything off the lot!

But the guy who runs the scales must like the old simplicity since they are always saved & set along the back side of the scale house.

If you can catch someone on the way in or unloading they are okay with that.

A buddy of mine worked there several years back over the summer cutting up deuce & a half army trucks.

They came in on rail car, he & several others would cut things apart to render them useless or a more manageable size.

That went on all summer till he went back to school....lot of trucks killed in that operation!

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

Terry are you sure you hauled the barn nine miles?...or did you mean to say the seller brought it .....

Either way looks like a good workshop & hideout.

I like the upstairs, good to have storage for the light items that can clutter up a work space & tractor parking.

Nope, I had to go get it. It cost almost as much as I paid for it to get it hauled here, but $600.00 for a 14 X 26 foot shed was still a good deal.

It's nicer now that I sold my last Mercury Capri and 20 years worth of spare parts.

I finally got all that stuff out of the upstairs (4 pick up loads!) and have room to move up there again. Now I need to build more shelves and get the WH parts "squirreled away" better.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345]

It's nicer now that I sold my last Mercury Capri...

I thought I saw a Capri in that one shot of the barn. My brother-in-law would of like to have that one. :D

[Rollerman 290]

I seen that too MO Terry.....but couldn't decide on Capri or RX-7

So PA Terry...how did you move it...lowboy or equipment trailer?

Either way I like the upstairs over your shop.

I'm betting you have a stairway or a fold down?

I have a small attic over my garage, but almost as much trouble hauling stuff up & down as moveing around in it.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

There's a company close to me that moves the Amish-built storage sheds and garages. They have a special 30' roller trailer with a winch on the front. Just back up to the jacked-up end of a building and winch it up the rollers onto the trailer. Throw a couple straps on it and head up the road.

There's a pretty steep set of steps inside, and also double doors on the upper end. The biggest thing I ever put up there from outside was a Yamaha YZ 80 motorcycle. I wouldn't want to try to pull a tractor up there with a rope, but I suppose it COULD be done.

We won't get in to the Capri discussion here -- other than I've had 13 of them over the past 22 years. (and about 10 Mustangs from the same era) :P

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345]

We won't get in to the Capri discussion here -- other than I've had 13 of them over the past 22 years. (and about 10 Mustangs from the same era)

Yes, we can always discussed that in the proper, off-topic forum here. But, I will say you and my brother-in-law have something in common, Mustangs and Capris. My brother-in-law once put a 460 in a '81 'Tang. Now he would like to find another one, probably late '80's to mess with.

[BPjunk 184]

Terry,

I know you have heard me say this at the Wheel Horse Show during the parade but I have always felt the 8 horse powered model B-80 was Wheel Horses most popular model. The B-80 is a versitile tractor in both power and economy. I gave my father a B-80 ("Sponge B-80 Square Hood") for Christmas a few years back and it will cut the grass up the hill in the back yard in third gear where as the old 8hp Bolens could only pull the hill in second gear!

As far as a place to work on the Wheel Horses goes ....... I crawl over tractors in the garage to get to the tool box THEN take the tool outisde to work on a Wheel Horse in the back yard!

For a welder a Hobart 125 works well for me ..... and we have the same phillosophy ifn's a big welder is needed ...... I use the one at work!!

Bill in Richmond, Va.

[BPjunk 184]

Here's a picture of my father's B-80 doing ..... well fun work! And the sleigh I made with my Hobart welder.

Bill in Richmond, Va.

Attached Image

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

I do have to give those little Kohlers a LOT of credit!

I had an 857 with a 36" deck that I had to mow with while my 312A was being borrowed by a friend. (who later bought it) After I set the RPM's up to about 4000, you couldn't have asked for a better working tractor! You'll never get any complaints from me about fuel consumption either!

These people who think you have to have a 20 or 25 hp LAWN tractor just to cut the grass have never been on a "real" piece of equipment! (or a 4000 RPM K-91 running a 32" deck on a 400 Suburban )

The outside workshop has always been popular here too. I've done everything from oil changes to complete reassemblies of cars out under the sky. This is the only time of the year when it bothers me. (but the snow and ice sure makes a good multi-directional creeper! )

[combatmp29r 27]

I agree totally about people thinking they need to big of a tractor nowadays. My V8s will drag around my neighbors JD 23horse like its in nuetral. Can't wait to see how badly the V18 spanks it

Bill the sleigh looks awesome. I fabbed up a set of casters for a friend of the family a few years back to put under his. He pulls it with a team of halflingers and dresses up like santa every year. Goes around town with it handing out candy canes.

Joel in OH