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Trying to find out what year and model this is. My dad bout this in the 60' s sold it in 1983 and I just bought it back. Plan on restoring back close to original. But need to get more info. Are there numbers somewhere to tell me the year? I'm 99% sure it had a kouler 8 hp and I'm thinking from looking at pics a 1964/654 ??? Any help would be great.

He's getting my vote http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/22430-nominations-now-being-accepted-for-featured-tractor-of-the-month-for-may-2013/#entry301125

I recently posted about where I could find 'Ag' tires (always called them 'tractor' tires!) or even turf tires in 15" sizes that would fit my newly acquired 1054, and was given a couple leads... I ordered a couple of 5.00-15 and when they came in it was quickly apparent that they would look very odd on the 1054 being much to 'skinny' - The shipper graciously agreed to take them back thankfully. I then decided to try the 7.60-15s from "Stop and Go Tires" - http://stopandgotires.com/modelsize.asp?ProductCode=%27FA512%27 knowing they were a good bit larger than the 6.40 -15s that was originally on the tractor - from to skinny to too fat?? They were shipped promptly and on arriving I anxiously set one of them beside the tractor -- hmmm, they are big! Couple days later I was able to get them and my rims down to the tire shop and mounted, again anxiously getting home and sitting one on the axle to see how it fit up...well they are a fender full, but theres about 1/2 - 3/4" clearance on the front edge and maybe 3/4 - 1" on the top, the height of the tire on rim with air is exactly 30" - and by golly I like that agressive look! and we dont have springs to contend with Thought I would post these pics to give other owners of the models that take 15"'ers an idea of the way they look on on a tractor and be better aware of the size - you know "a picture is worth a ......" (edited to add height of tire)

I think maybe you have a weak battery or starter, I have a 12 horse in a cub that did that once and a new starter fixed it. And since this is a new rebuild the engine should be tight and the old starter just cant handle it.

It was nice meeting your wife Tammy & would like to thank her for taking the pictures. Its a good thing you forgot to mention there was more tractors for sale because my wife Tammy thinks I have enough. dont know how she knows that because she doesnt even know how many I have. I told her about the parts tractor & she was ok after I told her how much & what for. thanks for every thing.

Here's what I started with in August, and here is where I am now. I took the winter off and am about to start back up, but can't find a wheel that'll fit on the front. I have one but the other was rusted completely through ... where do I get another rim? Or can I get a pair of universal ones that'll fit and look good? Thanks. Ron

Its 62-533.

Wow guys, sorry for the late thanks. Been haveing issues with our DSL again, mostly stick to browseing Facebook from my phone with the webs being down. Anyways thanks for the birthday wishes even if I'm several weeks late to my own party.

Great time had by all when my Ohio Wheel Horse buddies come down for a visit! Great to see Mike(55rj35jr) and Tim(speedyleedy) again. Met another cool guy and fellow collector Derek(octfst), I've seen his WH's at the Findlay Ohio tractor show and he has some nice one's! Glad to help out with the future project, sounds cool! We had a good time and talked tractors all day. The tractors are awesome but the people are the best part of this great hobbie! I guess I forgot to mention to the guys that most of these tractors were for sale! Oops! My wife Tammy even came out of her woman cave to snap some pics of the boyz! Good job TJ...Hammerhead

I'm probably all alone here, but I really like that paint scheme and the small racing steering wheel. I would be tempted to leave it as is and just bask in the fact that I own my dad's tractor regardless of the paint and motor. Mike..............

Once we nail down the model, members here will be able to help you find parts. There are a number of options as far as paint is concerned. The best source of decals by far is our own member Vinylguy52. That sure is a nice machine you've recovered! Duff

McMaster Carr has a number of sizes, materials & sealed units. The first link are identical to the original used on many tractors with an added seal on the ball joint. Others are greasable, stainless steel etc etc: http://www.mcmaster.com/#end-links/=m8dgns http://www.mcmaster.com/#end-links/=m8dh2h

The upper bolts are stated as 3/4" long and the lower bolts 7/8" long. The lower ones take the greater load. If I recall correctly, the threaded holes in the Tranny are blind. Regards

Don't give up on eventually finding a round hood. Every WH collector should own one. Four of my six ponies are round hoods and they are my favorites. I have a similar limit issue as you do with my six ponies sharing a shed with my early '60s vintage dirt track race car. Collecting Wheel Horses is kinda like drinking tequilla... If one is one too many, one more is never enough.

The extra buns are for the tent workers when they drop them on the ground because of those crappy clear gloves that they wear. Needs spare buns. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJyorgHxvLA

Thank you fella's for the warm welcome. This is truly a great support forum and hope to one day be a part of such a friendly network. Like mentioned above I went today to look at the GT and it rode great. Smooth trans, tight steering, great idle so I took it home. The ol' lady hated it at first, but once she got behind the wheel she wouldn't get off. When we went to park it unfortunately it started to leak trans fluid pretty heavy so I contacted the seller and was told to bring it back and he would refund my payment, fix the leak, and discuss transferring ownership again once the repair had been made if I was still interested. Seller is truly a genuine guy as I wasn't expecting anything other than advice. Looking forward to dealing with him in the future, and hopefully have the Wheel Horse back soon. What a machine. -Sixes

Getting the roll pin out was never a problem. Now getting the wheel off the shaft is a whole other story!

I would have loved to be in central Ohio with you guys. My Grandparents took me to Mt. Gilead and Mt. Vernon before I was a teen more than a few times. That's where my Grandfather was born. I had quite a few relatives in the area(Morrow County) back then. I remember an oil well, and it was pumping, between the house and the barn, in the middle of the yard-and the smell, terrible. A city boy like me, I was just thrilled to see life like it used to be, when everyone had a farm. Everyone has passed on now, I have no idea where I was at, as it has been 40 plus years now.

Great Idea!! Looks very nice

A scholar!! Not even close! The angling lever moves back by way of an angle or offset bent into the lever which brings it closer to the operator by 4"+ or -. The lever mounting point on the plow frame doesn't change. Unfortunately my old computer "passed away" this winter and I have lost all my pictures of the kit. I know I posted them on here somewhere, I'll try to find them. Mike................

I bet people will even vote for you! LOL

I found what I'm looking for; look at the attachment and you will see the diodes soldered in. Under $1.00 vs $29.00 for the NOS rectifier I found on Ebay!!!

. Nice job restor.it looks like you will have a real looker when done something to be proud off keeping and Americana a live..... Gary B.......

Hi Gang, Thanks to Karl, I am going to have the books available on the Red Square Site at the exact time the Wheel Horse Show begins. There will be payment instructions and I will ship them when I return home. That way it is fair to everyone. I will make sure that plenty are set aside for those who can't attend the show. As I said, I want everyone to have one or two. It is my last and best book and there will not be a reprint. I ask that you do not wait to order when you see them posted. Once they're gone, that is it. Hope you enjoy it! Michael Martino

1958 Wheel Horse Ride-Away Jr. RJ-58, s/n: 101916 Started with essentially just a rolling frame (first image below), and ended up here after !3 calendar months, a lot of parts searching, and a whole bunch of hard-won restore work. First shown at the 2010 Wheel Horse Show in Arendtsville, PA. This machine has been restored to 100% correct mechanical configuration. Shown with the RJ-58 is a fully restored and functional 1960 model CBR-32 - 32" Sickle Bar Mower. Enjoy!

This is my early original 1958 RJ 58. This is my favorite tractor. The K90 runs flawless, It sat all winter and just the other day I pushed it out of the garage and she fired on the first pull. I had to take it for a good long cigar ride thru the trails in the woods after that.

The only thing Seafoam doesn't work good on is Cornflakes!

UPDATE: I heated both the crankshaft and bearings to +/- 150 degrees for several hours. Then I returned them to room temperature and let everything sit over night. I applied a light coating of Teflon lubricant to the journals, and everything went together like butter. So my conclusion is that the problem was mainly due to differences in temperature between the bearings and the crankshaft causing the bearing to contract slightly. Returning everything to normal solved the problem. I have enough movement that I can accurately adjust the end play. Also, if I had just waiting until this morning to start assembly the engine, the problem would not have existed. Sometimes a good nights sleep can solve even the most perplexing problems.

Rat: Messing around: Low: Cleaned shop up a little. Getting more space as the truck goes together! The best part now is I have Thursday-Monday to kick butt on this stuff. Charlie

Well I have been replacing alot of axle seals. Have been lucky using a 3-jaw puller and have not broken a hub. I figured my luck might run out one of these days. So I thought it was time to make a puller. Went to the local machine shop to get the stuff I needed. Well I ended you just having them make it for me. For the price and me not really having the time. Here is some pics of it. Got to use it yesterday and it worked great. I don't know why I waited so long to get this done. Here are some more pics.

just found this thread. i think some info on tire sizes needs to be cleared up first. the 1054 came with 6.40-15 tires originally. in my opinion the 5.00 -15 tires wont look right on there. you really need to try and find the same size or maybe wider, i know 6.70-15 was another size thats been mentioned in the past. these tires (in the right size) are hard to find and expensive. thats another 'unique' thing about the 953/1054 tractors. again, this is just my opinion, and you dont have to listen to it if you dont want to. i was lucky enough to find a set of nice 6.40-15 originals for mine. i got them from kelly, a vendor on this forum. another thing many people dont realize is that 'new' tires dont size like they used to. you really arent getting the same sizes as back in the day. every new tire ive purchased in the last 12-18 months (admittedly they have only been carlisle brand) are undersize compared to the older ones they have replaced...... edit: heres how standard size 6.40-15 tires on the standard rims look, i dont think any narrower would look right......

impact gun everything else is a PIA (pain in the A**)

i use a craftsman 19.2 volt impact, never had any trouble with it gettin the blades loose.