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So this weekend I turned 40. On Friday afternoon, Mrs. P surprised me with an opportunity to jump out of a plane at 17,000 feet in Grand Haven, MI. It was a blast! No regerts, no hesitations! We dropped 12,000 feet in 85 seconds. It was quick, but totally awesome! Yes, she jumped too! I

My trigger for picking up my first Wheel Horse was seeing my neighbor's Raider 10 buried back in the corner of his shed, along with a host of attachments. It has a hole in the side of the block, and he says he's saving it for a retirement project. When I brought home my C-120, he was almost as excited as I was. Well today he came rolling up on a '76 B-100 8-speed he picked up from the original owner who is heading for an assisted living facility. It was listed for $650 and my neighbor was going to give him the full asking price (w/snowplow). The gentleman showed him receipts for everything that has ever been done to it, including a recent one where his mechanic pulled the head and carb and gave it a full service. The old boy wanted to drive it one last time, so my neighbor let him drive it up on the trailer. When he went to pay, the old man says, "Well, I think it's going to a good home so just give me $500."

This receipt for a Wheel Horse purchase in 1960 was posted on Red Square several days ago! i was up in Lake County. Indiana at my mom and brother’s and stopped by Terpstras. This was the Wheel Horse ( now Toro and other outdoor equipment) dealer we used when i was a kid. The Terpstra’s place was only about a mile from our house and it was a feed , seed and farm store before they accepted their first Wheel Horse but they were an early dealer! If you search Tersptras in the Red Square search box more old posts will come up! Anyway Tuesday i stopped i to the store and showed Don Terpstra , the son of William Terpstra, the original owner, the 1960 receipt photo. I emailed it to Don and he was pleased to see it! Don showed me a photo of his dad William on a wagon with a four horse team ( 4 Wheel Horses linked together) . He told me Wheel Horse in the early days loaned this four horse rig to dealers to promote Wheel Horse sales! I have seen several over the years and i always thought they were homemade rigs set up for parades. But Don indicated at least one set was made by Wheel Horse and this was probably before they had their factory building on Ireland Road in ghe south side of South Bend . The RJ picture is the one they still have displayed in the store ( the original feed and seed part of the building). It was sold by Tersptras in 1959 and traded back in later. The Terpstra family restored it in the early 1990s and Don said they just used what extra decals they had at the time!

I found a classified ad on the Square a couple of days ago from a member only 20 minutes away. It was for a 1971 Raider 10 with accessories. FREE. How could I turn that down? So I gathered up grandson Mason, hooked up the trailer and off we went. We brought it home and put it all behind the pole building. It hasn't run for years, didn't have a battery, and worst of all, it's a Tecumseh HH100. Mason asked me what was I going to do with it? I knew what he was thinking as he just bought a Raider 12 at the show in June and may need some parts. I answered, nothing. Just going to use if for decoration. With that said, Mrs. M promptly decorated it. I guess Mr. Bones will be sitting out in front of the house on Halloween. Meanwhile, today I went out and bought a battery. Oh my goodness, what was I thinking?

You get to see some extremely interesting stuff sometimes doing this job. This morning I met a man who has retired from Trucking but still owns a couple of his old rigs. One of them is a 1979 Freightliner cabover that is a piece of history for sure. It was bought new by Cummins Engine Co. Originally ordered to be able to use a queen size sleeper. The bedding was deleted at the factory and two extra seats added. It was set up as a test vehicle for new engines or changes on existing engines. Loaded up with old school large heavy computer systems and sensors. The four seat setup was for engineers and mechanics.

This is a gang I’d join if I were closer…

I bought my Wheel Horse 312-8 nearly a year ago at this point. I bought it primarily as a firewood tractor, for moving wood to and from the splitting station, racks, and house. I figured I'd find other uses for it but wasn't sure what! Well it's been coming in real handy this summer. With a hitch installed and a cargo carrier on the rear, this thing has been indispensable for my latest project: rebuilding a retaining wall. Over 100 blocks and dozens of bags of paver base and gravel. Of course the closest place I could have the supply delivery dropped off is about 50 yards from the project site. The Wheel Horse has made it easy to load blocks and gravel back and forth! Such a godsend

I had to step away for a little bit. Found out that my best dog Milo has cancer and was given days to weeks to live. We unfortunately had to cancel our vacation, and put all trips on-hold for the big guy. My other dog has cancer as well, but has a little more time than Milo does. So been spending a lot of time with the dogs, and not being able to go on vacation decided to brush off the old boat sitting in the back yard for the past 6 years It took a LOT of work to clean it up, replace the bellows, fix the engine, trailer and a host of other things. My oldest daughter gifted us a slip on Candlewood lake in Connecticut, so we can get out occasionally. Milo is still hanging in, and we are enjoying the time we have left with him. Now that the massive boat work is completed, I hope to spend some more time here and get some hats out the door. If you read this far, Camo hats are available in the store and I will order some of the others shortly. Apologies for the delays on this, I needed the time though.

We were in northern Connecticut today to look at purchasing a camper( which we did!) and had some time to kill, so this is where we went. I took some pictures for you folks!

I posted a 'what's in my mirror' shot yesterday and here it is. A super nice 400. No, it doesn't belong to me. I met up with @stvski80085 a few weeks ago in Crawfordville when he latched on to my tub cart. He mentioned he wanted a mid engine oldie. There's a place a few miles south of here called Random Crap. Everything is behind the house. Sheds, trailers, etc. filled with......random crap and constantly changing. I had been wanting to stop by but every time I passed it I didn't have the time or they were closed. Their open hours seem to be......random. A few weeks ago the stars aligned and I pulled in. I'm thinking I got a grin when I saw 4 red tractors lined up. A Lawn Ranger, a mid 60's round hood, a B-80 and this Suburban 400. Of course I had to look them over and the conversation was lengthy. Steve came to mind so I told him about it. It wasn't long before he became the new owner. He lives in Missouri so I'll babysit until we can get together. Paperwork came with it including the original receipt from 1960. Cool! The original (supposedly) engine was included. Somebody apparently rebuilt it but screwed it up. It was replaced with a NOS K-91 with almost no hours. Along with a box of parts. Fresh snow/dirt blade and mower deck. 7 new blade tips are in the parts box. All the guards are in place. Note the tires, shower cap muffler and rear hitch. Is this a Fairbanks? I couldn't resist taking it to my personal favorite picture setting at the north end of our property. You guys have seen this setting many times. I'm thinking Steve will be happy with it.

First time to use the grave yard 704 it did good still have some bugs to work out

So I buddy of mine who I got into this hobby twenty years ago called me and said he was done. He kept his 953, and his B-80 that we restored many years ago. I bought the rest of his stuff, including two C-160’s, mid-mount grader blade and dozer blades which will be going up for sale soon. I really just wanted some of the stuff he had but he wanted to sell it all in one shot and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse! The things I wanted were a clock that we were told hung in the factory at 515 West Ireland Rd., a NOS high back seat, NOS hubcaps both red head and the newer style, and a couple of sets of cast iron wheel weights. The rest I will be selling at some point, including some D-series items and a lot of parts for 70’s and early 80’s tractors. I’m going to post it here first, but I’m not sure when? Probably after the summer as it’s a lot of parts to go through. The tractors may be up for sale sooner. Stay tuned or PM me if you see something in these pictures you might like!

Headed to the town transfer station this morning and saw this at the end of someone’s driveway. Had my favorite price tag on it as well! Investigation has shown it to be an International IH#2 cart.

A tip I learned from my Amish neighbor. Put a dab of peanut butter every couple of feet on the wire. They stick their tongue on the wire one time and never return.

Finished the headlight mod.

i’ve had this one for a few years, I picked it up in a fall show at Zagray show in October. It is a 1057 I have not been in a hurry to finish it because it’s pretty much original from what I’ve seen. Yes it has a lot of scratches on it, as the old timers used to say it’s only original once. Gotta finish the Valves. Do the points and then finishing the rest of it. Should be good to go. I use those 612s when I’m working on a project they don’t take up much room plus I still like those 612s. Hope you enjoy your projects. The last three is the day I picked it up. Enjoy all your projects.

The boys and I picked up our new going to project yesterday. They were both quickly to claim which one they wanted! Both seam to be all there and pretty original. Looking forward to bringing back the old paint on the 1966 Lawn Ranger and some fresh red on the A-111 which is a 1982. Can’t wait to spend some time working with the two and teaching them like my dad did and dose with me!

This was a trip up to Maine I made this weekend . Which consisted of 3 machines .#99 420-LSE with 20 hours , #82 420-LSE with 475 hours , fully restored commando 8 , N.o.s 48” Deck .

Excellent show this year with the best weather. This was the Saturday show not Sunday. Nice temps and not humid for a change. There were a lot more heavy trucks than I have ever seen this year. Bi-Planes taking off and landing was nice as well. @Handy Don Tried not to overload you with too many Chevrolet pics. Enjoy

Father bought My L-107 22 May 1967 $469.35 Still use her most every day... New HH70 back in early 90s.

So with the destruction of the transmission is my suburban, I have decided to build something a little different and it's a little safer and easier for my kids. So I am building what I call a doodle horse. Ideas are from the doodle bug conversion in the past. I am extending the frame rails and mounting the engine behind the seat. I went with a belt drive tourqe convertor that drives by chain a forward and reverse gear box to a soild chain drive axle. It has one mechanical disc brake which I will use the original brake pedal. The whole tractor will be much longer then original so I wanted to make it look not goofy so I am cutting some rough cut oak boards and building a simple bed frame, steel frame wood sides and flooring. Here's some pictures. Don't mind the mess things have been crazy and I'm trying to finish this before the local show. I'll post more. I'm still waiting on the axle frame rails need to be finished tonight.

Here's the 400 I went and pickup in Florida just needs a little of TLC to get it going again

Took Artie out for a ride yesterday. Need to drive it more battery was low.

Continued with the deep cleaning of the C-85. A few before and after pics:

This came from a local former Wheel Horse collector. I’m awaiting his name but I heard he was on this site. The gentleman who built this or owned this passed away in April of this year. former owner/builder: Thomas Evans Edit: Found Him Member Name: TJ out of Burlington, MI.

Although there's plenty things that need done around the house, I chose to clean up the tractors instead. Wash & wax all 3 along with a few cold beers & a cigar. What a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

I was able to find a nice 854 close to me. Its in good shape, all pieces are there and he had a mower deck for it. Also had lights but I dont think they are WH lights but I picked them up anyway.

SCORED!

I had my surgery today. The surgeon said there were 3 hernias and it would be a 1 to 2 hour surgery. 3 1/2 hours later he reported there were multiple hernias he repaired that did not show up in the MRI. All went well and I was sent home with a pain management pump that I will have fo 5 days. Now I have to follow orders for a timely recovery. 5 to 8 weeks is the target. Jay

Several times last week we saw this rather expectant doe grazing and napping in our back yard. Yesterday she and her new baby were passing through and today she rested in the shade while the fawn played for a couple of hours. This video and photo were taken from our bathroom window less than twenty feet away.

Bats moving in..........Whew, I thought your MIL was coming for a long visit.

We have 7 grandkids, so my wife "Nanny" declared we need a larger dining room table so everyone could sit together. So now you know what I've been working on for the last month! I did some measuring and determined a 10 ft table would fill our space. We did some looking, but really didn't find anything we liked, and the prices were high. she asked if we could build a granite table for less that the store bought one. I had suggested I have some heavy antique cast iron legs and could build a metal frame for the granite. When I calculated that a 42" x 120" granite slab would weigh 1225 I knew this frame needed some engineering. I had a "strength of Materials" class back in collage 50 years ago. I remembered the basis, but never used the calculations part of it. It occurred to me that maybe AI could help me with the calculations. So I dug out my old textbook. So I use the free version of CHATGPT and asked if it could do steel design calculations. Of course it answered. I gave it the granite size and weight, the cast iron legs size and weight and asked it to design a frame using rectangular tubing. I went through several calculation iterations, giving it more information as I remembered various inputs it needed. I also asked it to include a safety factor in the design, Then even asked it to do a tipping analysis of what it would take to tip it over. During this process it told me it could make a drawing, build me a metal cut list, specify the welding requirements and even suggested designing some under table LED lights. First it told me I could download this design package at a "link" that didn't work Then it told me it could put it all on a USB and mail it to me and I pay for the USB and shipping using PayPal I asked it for its PayPal address and it gave me a copy of the instructions of how to set up a PayPal account. I again asked it for "its PayPal address and it finally told me it couldn't have a PayPal account because it was a computer. It did make a a simple sketch of the frame using "dash" lines to draw the frame and a material cut list. As this point I texted my techie son and he said it was having "AI Hallucinations" telling me it could do the mailing when in reality it couldn't A friend from when our sons were in Scouts together has a metal roofing and light fabrication business. I cut out the parts and laid it out on his large long flat fab table. I started to tack it together, but his guys are such better welders that me and they just took over. I payed him for a days work by one welder, a great deal. I had access to some leftover (low cost to me) 1-1/2 x 2-1/2 11ga steel tubing. so I asked AI to use this for the design. Cast leg set weigh 70lb each. its solid and heavy. The legs set have a 4" wide top that already had bolt holes in them. The legs bolt onto this flat plate. I welded the nuts since you can't get to them once the granites in place. After Sunday evening dinner with my sons and families, I had them help me haul the steel frame inside and bolt it together. Granite delivered and set in place by 6 guys yesterday. After they set the granite in place, my wife exclaimed "it's Huge" So I think I did good! I briefly wondered if I mad enough brownie points to buy another tractor- Not My existing 8 ft table and chairs are going to one of my sons. The granite guys were great, and carried it out and put it on my trailer. New chairs are expensive these days #200 - $300 each and up. I came across well build commercial used chairs at Restaurant Supply Businesses. We found a simple design we liked advertised on Facebook Marketplace and I bought 14 for $20 each. So my next project is to sand and paint the chairs a medium gray to match the colors in the granite,

Quick tip to fully lubricate your throttle or choke cables. Remove the cable from the engine side. Stick a ¼” vacuum hose over the end of the cable. Using some sort of a syringe which fits on the vacuum line, inject oil or grease into the cable. I used marine gear oil to help with potential water intrusion. Gently squeeze the oil into the cable until it comes out the other end. Work the cable back and forth and viola, cable is fully lubricated.

Every year, August 4 is celebrated as the U.S. Coast Guard Birthday, commemorating the military organization for its valor and discipline. Since 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard has kept the nation’s waterways safe, playing a critical role in national security. The U.S. Coast Guard patrols our coasts for drug smugglers, human trafficking and both domestic and international terrorism. As the bad guys (and girls) have gotten more savvy with technology, the Coast Guard has developed sophisticated, effective technology to combat crimes on the water and at our ports. It’s a 24/7 job. Today, let’s give the U.S. Coast Guard the love it deserves. The U.S. Coast Guard is celebrating its 235th Birthday in 2025.

Productive few days of doing an engine swap on my 418-A with one that I found locally that has a transmission issue. The original is worn out and starting to use alot of oil. It's all back together now and I mowed with it yesterday and the newer engine is working good so far. I also took the opportunity to replace the lift actuator with a unit that I rebuilt this past winter.

That is my breakfast. Onion, green, banana, jalapenos and tomato's. Some land raised chicken eggs, Viola good eating! Takes me back to when I was a kid, My dad made this pretty often.

I noticed during the last few months of mowing with the refurbed 312-8 that one of the fuel tank captured nuts had developed a seep. No worries, had some about to expire fuel tank sealant at work so I sealed up both captured nuts and add a flat washer. Leak check was good using the blue dinosaur juice.

Picked up a couple of 314's with some extras today in a package deal The one with the bagger is going to be my SIL's for her smaller yard and I think she'll be happy with it. I need give it some it some maintenance items and lots of grease and lubricant. Basically she'll get all the best stuff in the package and I'll have the leftovers for pickup and I'll be maintaining it when I do mine each year. There are 2 sets of chrome hubcaps, one set rough with some dents and lots of rust. and other set is nice. Lots of light scratches, but They will shine when cleaned up. It has about 400 hrs. Deck is very nice and solid. Both were from original owners and got to chat with the gentleman for over an hour even though i was in for a long trip back home. Such nice guy to deal with. I was able to get some original papers as well! Even came with a new iSaveTractors carb. Not sure exactly what I'm doing with the other one yet... it runs very good despite higher hours.

I think it’s wild how everybody comes from different backgrounds, upbringing, religions, political views, etc… and Wheel Horse is the one common ground that brought us here. Some maintain their city lot, some maintain their truck patch, some plow fields, some plow snow. We all have a different reason to stop by Red Square and chit chat, but it all seems to work great! My hat’s off to the moderators who keep it the way it is, and the supporters who keep the lights on! I began my Wheel Horse journey back in 2013 when I just needed a lawn mower. I found this really cool 1962 502 on Craigslist and it really clicked. Seeing my kids enjoy growing up with these little tractors around has been amazing, and watching them become responsible drivers has been a bonus! Everyone is happier on a Wheel Horse!

The interchangeability of parts & implements over many years and models of tractors for one. Because a Horse needs a companion, even if it's a parts donor..... very few on the Forum have only one WH tractor. Some have a dedicated tractor per implement......

For starters, WH has a very neat backstory. We all want the hobby to continue on. I can confidently say that this is the best forum on the internet. These tractors were overbuilt compared to their competition. We all wanna help out cause we love to see others enjoying the hobby also. Thats my take on it

Front tire on the C-85 goes flat, hoped for a valve stem issue but nope, it’s leaking thru the sidewall so it’ll need a tube. No tubes in stock here so I moved to wheel cleaning. Although the front wheels appear clean in the picture the insides were filthy! They cleaned up nice

elcamino/wheelhorse always told me how much he enjoyed my steam pageant pics. Here's to you Waldo!! 65th NYSEA Pageant of Steam featuring Allis Chalmers. " The Gathering of the Orange!" And boy they did not disappoint. Probably the largest feature showing I ever saw there. Opening Day Keeping the pizza warm! 71 tons of fun! Just purchased by the club. It came from Canada Gen sets!

This was recently purchased and once I saw the custom hitch, I was even more excited about it! This is supposed to be a self powered tiller that slides into the sleeve hitch of an RJ. The PO had built a mid mount draw bar for his C series machine, and the lift bar still slides into the sleeve hitch, but is on a shackle of sorts. Yesterday I cleaned the points and fuel system. I have fuel and spark. I think my points gap is off, it only fires when it wants to. I’ll get to that soon.

Started on the 314A project. Added Sta-Bil and fresh fuel. Tuned the carb ...opened low idle jet almost 1 turn, high jet was OK Started soaking fasteners with PB Cleaned up the hub caps and wheels Jack up one wheel and spin it while using the wire brush on a grinder, then aluminum foil rub. Ya think the fronts were well greased Pete?

Was doing some oil changes today and was getting frustrated trying to read the new oil on the dip stick. I'm sure that others have had this issue as well so I thought that I would share my cure for this. First off a picture of what I am talking about. The picture below shows the dip stick right after I pulled it out of the engine. Hard to see but yes there is oil on it. The solution that I came up with was to sand blast the end of the dip stick. This made the oil level very easy to see. Next question, would this still improve things after the dip stick has been saturated in oil ??? The answer is, YES. Even after the dip stick has been saturated it is still easier to read. Hope this may be of some value to those of you out there.

New front wheels and skins on the 875 for the Steam Pageant.