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Hello all, my name is Rick Robinson and I have just been bitten by the the Wheel Horse bug!! My father taught my how to mow the lawn in the early 1970s and my very first tractor experience was on a "Wheel Horse". As a 7 year old boy who loved anything that had 4 wheels and a steering wheel this was a thrill. Then in about 1974 my dad traded the old Wheel Horse in on a new Penncraft 8 H.P. tractor from JC Penny. I actuall cried the day the old Wheel Horse left our house on someone else's trailer. I don't remember the year or model tractor we had, but that ol tracter left a lasting impression on me. I am a Corvette & Classic Car Dealer and got a lead on a old Corvette that had been sitting for years that was available. When I drove to the gentleman's home, I couldn't help but notice how neat and well kept the property was. Well, I looked at the car but sitting in the corner was this beautiful Wheel Horse tractor. He told me he bought it new in 1965 and always kept it nice. He updated to a new Wheel Horse in the late 1980s, but couldn't bring himself to sell the old 65. I bought the Corvette and told him if he ever wanted to sell the 65 Please call me. Well, about two weeks ago I got the call! He and his wife sold the house and were going to relocate in Arizona. So I am now the owner of this extremely well kept, original 1965 855. The hood and seat pan and some sheet metal were painted in the early 1990s, but the original motor, tires etc. still remain. I just need a decal set. Oh, I hope someone here can shed light on this, but Jim, the original owner said the wheels on this tractor were silver when he purchased it new, but I have never seen this before as I thought they were always a off white color. So that's my story and I look forward to growing in his new hobby. Thanks in advance. Rick

Thank guys, here are a few more pics. Yes TT , Jim had the lights installed before taking deliv. when he purchased it new. He also replace the seat with a newer genuine Wheel Horse seat, so I would really like to find a original seat. I also have ALL the original paperwork and maint. records since day 1, Not pictured is the original mower deck which is in beautiful, near perfect condition. I will be ordering decals from Terry very soon. Thanks again guy's.

here is what started out as a suburban rat,from this to this

Ya the fenders are now on a black hood someplace, but I never seen a set of plastic ones on a older tractor, they are even uglier than on the C-xx5 tractors.

At the least, if you put a grader blade under it's middle, when the welds do go, it won't snap all the way to the ground!

Ok, here is my way of installing tire chains start by laying out the chain, making sure the cross chain tie links are facing down(see pic 1 ,2 and 3) Set tire on chains(remove air from tire, as much as possible) and wrap chain around tire and loosly attach tighting bar.(see pic # 5) Flip tire over and connect oposite site as tight as possible.(see pic # 6) Now flip tire back over and tighten other side as tight as possible.(pic # 7) Now adjust cross links so they are straight across from each other.(pic #8) Now air up tire and your done, well mount back on tractor, then your done. Pix # 9 and # 10 are of tires mounted with weights(home made brackets)

Last night I went to see my 75 year old neighbor whom I knew had a nice push blade for a Wheel Horse. I was hoping he would sell it to me because i was pretty sure he had no need for it, and I could put it to some good use. While we were sitting by the fire talking about Good Moonshine and Bad Women, he happened to mention to me he thought he had a Wheel Horse sitting in the barn, and instructed me to go look and see if it was still there. So with Maglight in hand I walked out to the barn in a light drizzling rain. I entered the barn and lo and behold sure enough there in all its dusty glory sat a 1980's model Wheel Horse, and that in itself was good. But upon close inspection I discovered it was not just any old Wheel Horse, it was one just like I have been searching for over the past two years. The Wheel Horse right n front of me, and only one mile from my house was a Kohler K-341 powered 416-8! After a few minutes I was able to regain my composure, I studied this newly found treasure, and decided right then and there I needed to give it a new home. I then left and went to my place and tried to get some sleep without thinking non-stop about what I had just found. Today during my lunch minute I went to see my friend and with the blessing of his son (who is also a dear friend) we struck a deal on the 416, the push blade, and a 42" SD mowing deck. I brought the blade and deck home tonight. The 416 is still under roof waiting for me to pick it up this Saturday. Here is a pic off the blade and deck, and a sneak preview of the 416. I need you guys to tell me what year model you think this is. Any and all feedack is appreciated. Thank you. Van

My father passed away on Oct 30th 2012 after a long battle with kidney and heart disease he was 81,dad was the first to collect the Wheel Horse tractors and passed it on to my wife and I and our two sons to this wonderful hobby.Dad and my mom really enjoyed driving around at the shows looking for treasures and sharing time with our friends and family. As you can see from the photo that they really enjoyed themselves,dad's tractor is now in my collection and will be at every show that we attend in memory of him,he will be truly missed...

Well it was 50 Deg. here yesterday so I worked on getting the team ready. I have made some up grades since last year. The 1st is I went from 8.50's on the 76 which is the plow tractor to 10.50's. I loaded them with beet juice. The tire, wheel, & juice add up to 103 lbs each. Also got a new set of chains for the 10.50's. 2nd is I picked up a tall chute single stage blower from Kelly awhile back. Got it mounted up on the 75. I have a short chute, but am not a big fan of the cable turn. Have a few things to do to the blower yet. I want to install a new chain, fix some dents in the auger, & then lube every thing up. Hope we get a little more snow than last year. Used the plow 2 times & the blower 1 time last year. Not alot of seat time.

The checkered flag Kohler decal was associated with snowmobile engines. I saw those tractors on Craigslist and hope you didn't pay what they were asking for them. :disgust:

No matter if you ever get it running or not, you did a good thing by saving it. That thirty dollars was well spent. I would have done the same thing.

Got my first 312-8 (the one in my Avatar) five years ago and could have just started using it, as all it needed was a good cleaning and fluids changed. But it was late in the year and I wanted to learn more about how these machines were put together and how to work on them (like a lot of folks here, I don't have the money to pay for many repairs). So I put it in my workshop and over the winter did a full frame-off rebuild [not restoration - I'm not that good!]. It's now my main mowing machine with a 37" SD deck. 312-8 #2 came three years ago from a member in Massachusetts. It was very rough but the price was right and #1 had taught me how easy it is to work on and rebuild these machines, so that was another winter's project. Members here and Joe's Outdoor Power got me all the parts, advice and guidance I needed. That now has a grader blade on it and ags all the way around. She's a real worker! 310-8 #1 came from a member in NY last fall, and I've since learned it has a lot of history with another member here. Although in very good shape when I got it, I still touched up/replaced a few things, mostly cosmetics. My wife has adopted this horse as her pride and joy, and she uses it as her personal ATV even though I do have a nice 42" deck for it if I can convince her that it was really meant to work for a living........ 310-8 #2 with 42" deck will be arriving later this month from the same NY member. This machine is a one-owner and aside from a few minor cosmetic issues is represented to be a really nice original machine. I'll respect that pedigree and not tinker with it unnecessarily. I expect I'll move the 37" SD deck from 312-8 #1 to this one and put one of the 42" decks on the 312. Still in the offing is the "mystery build". I've managed to acquire (including a complete 520 swept front axle and gear reduction steering set-up) everything but an engine and some 8" front rims to put it together. The final result is, as they say, still a "mystery"! Duff :thumbs:

Champion or whatever is on sale...I'm cheap (thrifty) too, Matt! :rolleyes:

Are you talking about the tractor or the 5 week old baby??

Browns get a road win, first this season! Woo Hooo!! Somebody needs to start a Cheese-Head thread.

Good to hear! :handgestures-thumbup:

Like the fellas have said, Welcome to !!! That's a fine looking machine you got! And welcome to Horseaholics-not-Anonymous. Meetings are ongoing here on the forum and cater to all manner of addictions - round hoods, square hoods, maroon stripers, pullers, customs, rats, and on and on. All are welcome, and, "My name is Duff...and I'm a Horseaholic!" Duff :thumbs:

I bought a GT-1100 with a Briggs motor figuring when it blew I would put a Kohler on it. I stuck a 48" deck I had on it and was amazed how well it did. I still prefer Kohlers but that Briggs was a great motor.

I recently purchased a snow cab from a private owner, for my 416-8. I finally got it all cleaned up & assembled, & I'm not sure how to mount it to my tractor. I'm really trying to avoid drilling any holes in my tractor if that's possible.

Nice looking tractor! Here we all have WHD (Wheel Horse Disease), welcome to the infirmary! My first Horse was a basket case! Sure glad it was dropped off in my driveway. Forget the model but, was a pull start. If I remember a Briggs. Rear discharge mower. Was a great machine.

After experimenting with a few different headlight options we like the HL-5's the best!

Consider doing a "reverse Phone Lookup" with the White Pages, sometimes a drive-by if they are close. 'Most common misspelled item in the classifieds, one's own phone number'. Good Luck, and stay on it. They may have used their cell phone number in the ad, see if you can text a message to them.

Congrats Craig! 5,000 more to go!!! :D

:text-yeahthat: Jo's covers are very well made.

Very nice fine and I think those old briggs engine are just as good as the Kohler. They are lighter in weight and not as much torque but they are good for wat they are. Way better than a tec in my book.

Who rebuilt the carb? If the main needle valve is not cleaned inside of the tube, you will have rough running. Also, is there any slop in the throttle shaft? Was a new bushing installed when the carb was rebuilt? A carb that is just cleaned and has a "rebuild" kit installed is not really rebuilt. There is a bit more to it than just replacing the float valve and bowl gasket.

I have nothing bad to say about the Briggs engine. You will need to make sure that the bearing behind the engine pulley is intact and functioning correctly. Service bulletin 326b: http://www.wheelhors...ing-preloadpdf/ Without that bearing, the crankshaft gets forced into the flywheel side of the block when the PTO is engaged. I have actually seen one smear the block so bad that oil couldn't get to the main journal and the crankshaft seized in the block.

How many out there, besides me, are pulling for the Vikings today. :) DA BEARS Who is Cleveland beating up on today???

Yep. black-hoods are my favorite's minus the nasty fenders. I have swapped all mine to metal ones off a 300 series. Some people love those Briggs motors and some hate em. Its probably a good motor, better than a Tecumseh any day! Mike..........

Looks like they had a lot of neat old junk, I like them places, reminds me of home.

Traction devices for the dirt floor............ Sorry no idea, buts Jims sounds good.

It's not hard to figure out where the original fender went. Those 'Tupperware' fenders were definitely a bad idea..... and we all know who was in charge of Wheel Horse when they appeared. :silence:

Come on out I'll let ya loose in the barns for a bit.

What Rock Farmer said. But then again sir, we aren't in the northeast. We are in Canada according to the rest of the country..

All- Thought you may find this interesting. This was an email from the previous owner. As I said he was a really nice guy and straight shooter. Hi Steve, I'm so happy that you are enjoying the SR. I knew she would run fine. I enjoyed meeting you and couldn't be more pleased that she will be shown at the shows. After talking with you , I consider you "OLD SCHOOL" which is refreshing nowadays. As for the paint, I don't recall that it was ever painted or primed. In your picture where you oiled the right hand side of the hood is the color that I remember . For history I believe the tractor was bought new by Joseph Ventura of East Bridgewater, Ma. He owned and operated the Shawnee Nursery on rt. 106 "Plymouth St" . Bob Andrews,my dad, bought the property in 1960 and with it the SR. He was a gentleman farmer as a hobby and enjoyed many years driving around the property on the SR for relaxation. The tractor was never really worked hard. When he passed in 1995 I brought it here to Middleboro and until about 3 years ago I also enjoyed driving her around my property and talking to the many people who would stop to check her out. I can't count how many offers to buy her that I have had over the years. Well, that's my story and I'm very very happy to have you as the new owner . If I come up with any more info I will get it to you. Thanks again, Bob Andrews, Jr. Bob, My buddy and I were able to work on the SR and get her running perfect. I changed the tires with a set I had on another machine. They are the exact match. Here are a few pictures of how she sits now. In a few hours I plan on taking her for a ride. Believe it or not we were able to date the engine to a early production 1956 engine which leads us to believe that it is a 1956 model. The hood has been primered at some point. I am considering removing the primer back down to the original patina. If you don't mind, can you send me any other information on the history of the tractor? From a collector standpoint it would be great to know who the original owner was then you and your dad's full names and when he purchased it. I do not think it was used all that much.

Same problem here in Florida. I lived just outside of South Bend for 45 years and had a barn full of red. Sold everything when we full time RV'ed for 2 years before we settled down here about 10 years ago. It took forever to find this one on the gulf coast. It was filthy, neglected, banged up a bit and needed all new consumables like belts, etc. She runs great and looks pretty good now. Keep looking. You'll eventually find one.

I have been very lucky with my 312-8.. Ok, it might of changed shape and weight over the years, but bar a knackered battery and a broken drive belt it has never let me down no matter how much abuse hard work I ask of it.. On the other hand my little Raider 10 has given me nothing but problems over the years.. It's been through so many engines and is still giving me problems.. I can tune it and it runs perfect for the day... The next day it will be running like a bag of bolts again!! How well my 6X6 will do will be er... interesting.. I do expect the odd breakage/bent bit along the way. :lol:

This is a really interesting thread. This summer, I purchased a 1961 Suburban in really bad condition. However, I have enough here to save this tractor from going to the scrap yard. In fact, already bought parts I needed (wheels, tires, hood, belt guard, engine) to turn this tractor into my next resto project. Anyway, the tranny is locked up. Gear lever is in neutral, won't go into any gear, and engine pulley/axles won't rotate. Thinking the bearings are frozen since I drained a lot of water out of it first thing after I got it home. Apparently, I will have to tackle my first transaxle rebuild to get her running again. This thread has given me the motivation to believe that I can start taking my tranny apart and bebuild it.

Started on another winter project. Another 520H recondition. Tore a few pages out of the Duke's steering play removal manual, and the on the way I went……………….until, I wanted to remove the tie rod ends from the spindles and center steering link. I did not have a small pickle fork and the ends were about as tight in the fit as any I’ve ever seen. I made up this tool from a piece of 1 ½â€ pipe, ¾â€ flat washer and a small piece of flat bar. I used a 6 inch “C†clamp to provide mechanical force. Worked pretty well. I must say, I had to use a cheater to give extra torque on the C clamp and they all came off with a pop! Just wanted to share.

My '88 414-8 has the Kohler Magnum engine. The '85 416-8 is powered with a Kohler K engine. The 416-8 is powered! I guess after all the 12 hp and less, Horses I've owned, 16 hp is a treat. 30-40 years ago I remember rope starting a couple of my Horses. I want to rationalize a bit, the 12 hp Kohlers actually do everything I want to do (or play). Blow snow, plow, sweep, mow, take Grandkids ridin', get me out of indoor chores with the Mrs. In fact, anyone know where I can get a 12" mower deck? I'll be right in Hon soon as I'm done mowing the lawn. :-)

I do have a used one like the one in the picture i posted Brian

That wrecks that idea...... that tag is from a K-91 with gear reduction. (apparently from an Eska snowblower) Do you have pictures of the magneto? The hoodstand is a 'home-built' replacement. Not a bad job either, but definitely not OEM.

I had a 1979 K-91 that I believe had that magnet style. (been a while ~ sorry I can't quite remember) @Ken: can you post the spec and serial number from your engine, and/or does it have a silver ID sticker vs. a metal tag?

I may have a good used one I will look Brian

Use the German torque setting built into your arm.... Gootentite! :)

Ken, Check this bad boy out! I just came across it while looking for something else. Could be someone from here but I have never seen it before.

Massive Attack - Live With Me: !

Hey guys, I recently picked up a tiller (1960's I believe) and the setup is almost complete. I have two pairs of pulley's but not entirely sure it will work around the transmission. I have the pulleys that will bring the belt down below the footrest but I dont see much clearance for it to fit around the axle. I've seen pics while searching and saw that there might be a pulley that would eliminate the belt from going over/under the transmission but the one I saw was mounted to the tiller. I'm not seeing any holes where one may have been mounted... Any ideas how this would work? Or should I just fab up a pulley on the tiller to bring the belt under the axle? I'll try to get pics uploaded sometime tonight with all the parts that came with it... Thanks!