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They come with their own toothpicks...........

Today my herd grew with a 520-H that I bought from "Cable." It is slated to receive the Johnny Bucket that is currently on my 312A. I plan on adding a few inches of topsoil this fall to the front lawn and need the extra horsepower.

The Plain City Steam Thresher's Show was last weekend. Here's a pic of my buddy Packrat's (not the packrat here on Redsquare) and some of my WH's at the show this year. I had 8 old girls there and my buddy brought in 7 of the little buggers! This is our usual set up for most of the tractor shows we got to. Garden tractors were the featured machines this year and we took over the place pretty good! The VGTCOA was in town and there was a lot of cool old garden tractors around. Saw a few Redsquare members here too. I'll wait for them to post pics of their stuff. Glad to see my Redsquare buds and some of them even brought their wives! I left mine at home of course, hehe! Click on the pic for a bigger pic.

A lot of goodies at this show!

Hello been lurking for a short while, then decided to join. Not sure if I put this in the right category, but I'm sure someone will fix it if its wrong. Just finished restoring a 53' Pond walk away and its sickle mowing unit today. I'll try and post a picture here and see if that works. I'm a collector of mostly walk-behind tractors, so I wont be posting about any of the newer Wheel horse models,,,sorry. I'm still looking for more info on my tractor. Maybe someone out there knows someone who has some brochures or other items that would show the attachments, available for them. Thanks for your time. Jeff

Funny you mention the goat thingy. That came up during the conversation...that is supposed to be excellent also. I've tasted a few dishes they have cooked next door, and every thing has been out standing. I think after many beverages, I would probably be trying to mount that eye in the middle of my forehead.

Took a little road trip yesterday and all this stuff managed to followed me home sell three bring eight home isn't that hows it's suppose to work Brian

Maybe he needed the wheels and tires on something else? Could be just a young kid havin fun, if thats the case, let er rip tater chip!

Looks like you had fun! We went to a meal like this, but it was a goat that was cooked. And they cooked ever bit except the skin/hair. The gal sitting next to me had a plate full and I saw an EYE looking back, so I was done eating!

Thank You SOOO much to all who have given their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions in response to questions about starting my own business!!! I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would get basically 30 replies to this post! Just incredible! I really like it how each person gave their own thoughts on the the subject. All this information is invaluable to me for sure! When I started this thread, I had an idea but no plan how to get there, and now, thanks to all you guys, I have an idea and a pretty good plan to go along with it. I still have alot of "bugs" and details to work out and will need to get everything down on paper, but I feel like I am in alot better spot then I was prior to starting this thread. Definitely going to get my business going asap and hopefully, things will go well for me. I will give it a try fo a couple of years and then just assess everthing at that time and go from there. I am sure there will be days where I will think "What the heck have I gotten myself into?", but I think all in all, it will be a great thing for me and I will really enjoy it! Going to take a business class in high school this fall so that will for sure be a good start in my business education. After high school is over, I would like to get a business degree in college with a minor in American History or Government. I may also try to take some small engine classes too. Lastly, I will try very hard to make sure I keep you guys updated on how my business is doing as you all have helped so much and deserve to know. Thanks Again and Have a Great Week Everyone! Taylor aka The Wheel Horse Kid

Technically almost everything after 1960 and prior to 1973 was only made for 1 year if you look at it the right way. Especially when you get into the numbered series of tractors in that era.

I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary as a Wheel Horse owner, and also nearing completion of a refurbishing project on the 854 I bought a year ago. While I'm waiting for the paint to cure before I put it all back together, and since it's too hot this week to work in the garage anyway, I thought I would put up a thread documenting the progress the past year. I always find motivation and some good ideas from other people's project posts, so I hope I can return the favor. Some of this is repeat from a few of my other posts, but I thought it would be nice to have it all in one thread. I will add to the post as I track down the pictures and get it written. To recap, late last July I bought the 854 as a non-runner. It was all original, complete, and other than surface rust, in pretty decent shape. It had a mower deck, rear slot hitch, and snowplow bracket on the rear axle. I had admired the round hoods for a while, and hadn't seen that many come up for sale on Craigslist in the area. I paid $200 for it, which I felt was a little risky not really knowing what it was going to need to get it running, but I convinced myself I had to have it. After getting it home and getting it cleaned up, I did a little more detailed inspection. It didn't have any major signs of abuse, but the hood was cracked at the seam on one side, and the seat was cracked too. I got a different seat for it from the seller, so the seat wasn't really a problem. Getting it running also turned out to not be too difficult, it just needed some fresh gas and the spark plug wire connection cleaned at the coil. Once running, however, it did smoke. It would somewhat clear up if sitting idle or cruising around the yard, but under load the smoke was persistent. Also with fresh fluids and gas, I could could see that the gas tank seal leaked (surprise, surprise) as did the axle and brake seals in the transmission. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlFowHy9zjY I like all my tractors in my collection to have a purpose, and this one was to be my "garden tractor". Part of the attraction of this one was the slot hitch and Wheel Horse attachments that could be used in tending a garden. My initial plan was to stop the leaks, and eventually rebuild the engine to clear up the smoke, but otherwise leave it original. I liked the patina and original decals it had, and I knew I wouldn't feel guilty about using it if I left it in it's "work clothes". The axle seals were easy to get from my local Toro dealer (Part No. 100863). Getting them installed was not so easy. One hub came right off, but the other was stuck. This explained the chunk it had out of it, likely from an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to change that leaky seal. It took alot of heat to get it off, but it did eventually come off. While I had the torch out and the rear of the tractor partially disassembled, I replaced the pin for the slot hitch. It also took alot of heating and beating, but it did come out. New seals on the axles and brake were successful in keeping the oil in, and I put on a new shifter boot to keep the water and dirt out. Following the advice I found on here, a 6" hitch pin did the trick as a replacement for the slot hitch. As luck would have it, around this time I found a Commando 8 come up for sale nearby for $100. I bought it mainly for the decentbar tires it had on it and the hopes that I could just swap in the K181 Kohler from it to resolve my engine smoking problem. As it turned out, the engine on it was a K161 from a 753. It ran OK, but smoked worse than the engine I already had. Still, the tires were good, and it provided me with a drawbar and a good hub to replace the one with the chunk missing. My repair of the leaky fuel tank resulted in only limited success. Fortunately, all the screws came out without breaking any. A couple were missing, and there looked like some kind of caulk or form-a-gasket on there, so obviously this wasn't the first attempt to fix the tank (nor would it be the last). I could have bought the tank gasket (Part No. 4452) from Toro, but since I already had the supplies on hand I decided to make my own gasket and seal the tank with Red-Kote. I traced the tank and cut out a gasket on 1/32 gasket paper. After installing the new gasket, I coated it with the Red-Kote. Despite my best efforts, it still leaked. Gas was no longer cascading down the side of the pedestal, but it was still slowly seeping out. Still, that was enough of an improvement for the time being to feel comfortable using it. Working this tractor is what I got it for, so I was extremely happy to find a plow and cultivator for it to go with the disc I already had. A fall plow day nearby provided me a good opportunity to give the old 'horse a little workout. It didn't impress anybody there with it's rusty complexion, smoking engine and yellow wheel weights, but I was pretty happy that the little 8HP tractor could plow with the "big boys". Shortly after the plow day, I plowed up the garden at my house. It was still fun, but neither my wife nor the neighbors seemed to appreciate the engine smoke much. The hood also was rattling some, and I was concerned about the crack getting worse. I decided my next projects on the tractor would be to address those issues. I took the hood to a local weld shop to repair. They did a decent job, but it had obviously been repaired. So much for that all original appearance. I also inspected the engine. Tolerances were within spec, so I planned to just do a hone, new rings and new valves/guides. Before I got around to that though, Christmas came and the 854 slid to the back burner for most of the winter. That's probably more than enough for now. I'll continue my story to cover the work on it since then in the next few days. Dave

Thought it was time for me to make my own account. Basically use my wifes when i need things. im josh and my beautiful wife is amandarae i own a d series and also other bigger non wh tractors. look forward to meeting more and making friends

Ebay has been good to me lately! Check it out....

I got a nice 1958-59 Wheel Horse snow plow mounting system for $40.00. I need this for my very nice condition RJ58 snow plow that I bought for $20 from Craigslist. It had a mangled up rear mounting bar and no side plate brackets. So now I have a very nice RJ58 snow plow set up for $60.00! Can't beat that. I also got this rare early WH reel mower mounting bar, or so that is what the seller told me. I didn't need it but if it is a reel mower mount, it is pretty rare. I couldn't beat the price at $20.00!! I may end up selling the reel mower mount and side plates. But not for $20.00 hehe! I also got a 1960-61 WH steering gear for $20.00. Not too bad, I'll just throw it on the parts shelf! KJ

Just a bit of a picture update, for the most part this is how it will be at the MI WH show, I have a temp fuel tank mounted, I may swap the hood for a nicer one, I have a few new gauges on order should be here this week, got the aircleaner mount done, just need to tighten the bolts so it sets level, seat is not what I want but it's in good shape and fits for now, starter is giving me fits, needs replaced but will be weeks to get one, so crossing my fingers it holds out for now, any way here it is ugly but drivable, I'm so glad I did the GT14 fender swap, it was a bit of work, but I'm VERY happy with it and the way the footrest turned out.

Here is a not quite right WH I did for my Daughter, mostly a restore with a bit of spin on the color. I know it's not done in this pic but I love it for the color the camera got it just right here with the flash.

Somehow I wonder if I got this right or not? Vette Horse.jpg Hay, those are my wheels and mower deck!

Ryan is a lucky boy to have a dad who will share his hobby with him and you are lucky to have a son that shares your intrest; keep him involved in all you do.

I put a tri fuel kit on my portable generator several years ago, I got it from US Carburetion in Summersville, West Virginia. I don't remember drilling anything, It'll run on gasoline or propane and it still has the choke hooked up. I haven't used it much on propane but it seems to run good on it. I have a 250 gallon propane tank dedicated to it so I don't have to worry about keeping gas on hand should I need it.

My neighbor's daughter turned 14 yesterday, so they had a party. I think they invited Chris and me so they could be noisy and we would not call the cops. We fooled them and showed up. We had a ball, and I was even dancing with some of the women there. I did not take a lot of pictures, but I did get a few before the party started. They made Carletas (sp)...WOW. All the parts of a pig (except the head) boiled in lard with spices that included cinnamon (for color). You put this on a flour tortilla with salsa, beans and whatever else you want...unbelievable good. Check this out... Augustine and Megiel Jose keeping a close eye on the cooker. He has done this many time before. He stirs it with a good sized paddle. I just love Mexican cuisine...and it does not get more authentic then this. I hate to say it, but I pigged out.

Ed, I'm thinkin' you probably read it right the first time.

Thanks for the info Jeff! I was not aware of that about online schools. I guess I will just have to do some more research before I make a final decision (Still got plenty of time though). Girls are not much of a problem for me as I am homeschooled (I do an online academy), so it is probably going to be awhile before I have a girlfriend. But when I do, I will heed your guys advice! LOL!

Wild-arse guess, had nothing to do with your avatar, or the fact that your name appears in your signature. Between you and Jeffpicks, and wondering what it is that you guys are picking, you'll have to pardon me if I occasionally wander off on tangents, especially musical ones. Go ahead and change your name if you must, we know where to find you!

I had to read that a couple of times before it sounded right...

I'll put my money (of which I don't have a lot) on it being a 1964 854. It is definitely a 1964 and out of all models produced that year, only two were configured like your tractor: the 754 and the 854. There were only 421 754 models produced and they apparently all had serial numbers in the 48000 range.

There is a great deal of wisdom in all of these posts. Let me add another option. I'm a college professor and can plainly state that most college freshman should not be in college. A huge waste of time and energy and money just to "find themselves" or to putter around without direction. Students that enter college after a few years in the real world are much better focused, learn a great deal more, take advantage of the opportunities they have, and are much less stressed. I suggest you take 1-2 years to work the tractor business and evaluate from that point. Save money to enable a debt-free education. Get a better handle on what you might want to study. Take a few community college courses to (1) explore areas of study, (2) get a few prerequisite classes done cheaply, and (3), keep your head in the academic arena. Do not, though, get complacent and ditch the college idea just because you may be making some money. The notion that you can always go back to college is much more difficult than it sounds. Ditching a business to go back to school, especially with a wife, kids, mortgage, and so forth, is incredibly difficult. Last year the unemployment rate was about 8.5%. Broken down it looked like this: High school degree: about 15% unemployment College degree: about 5% unemployment Graduate degree: about 1.5% unemployment. If you get the college degree your lifetime pay and job options are increased markedly over a high school education. Not saying you will be happier or wealthier. But it is easier to go to college and then go back into the blue collar labor market rather than the other way around. Good luck, Jeff

I emailed the seller to congratulated him on his sculpture. He said "haha, why thank you. I put a lot of time + thought into the presentation."

Bumping this up again, less than 2 weeks till the show, Raffle prize is looking like a set of 23x8.5x12 Carlisle tru power ags, mounted on blasted and powder coated rims, AND as a bonus this time, I have a pair of 4x8 Deestone tri ribs and I will have 2 sets of rims powder coated so the winner can pic the style (model year) rims they need, I only have rims for the 65 up tractors, but there are 2 so I will have both, I should have new sealed wheel bearings to go with them, this will be about a $500 set of wheels and tires to be raffled off, more to come this week.

So could J.J. Cale's original, off the 1976 Troubadour album. Clapton's version is very close to the original and got tons/kilos more airplay than Cale's, Cale's is a little edgier/grittier, love 'em both! Agreed! -------- I guess this thread is officially hijacked now, sorry Craig!

We used to have a neighborhood pig roast every yr. up until 5 yrs or so ago. Roughly 35 familes. We'd hire this old southern gent to do the cookin and let me tell you this, by the end of our party between all the beer I drank and all of that delicous pig I ate I'd go home probably 10-15 pounds heavier! Man I miss it!

Nice, Steve! Apparently alcohol was involved, please don't feel any obligation to share photos of you dancing...

In that first pict...which one is Steve? Steve's wearing the orange shirt with the yellow star. The camera didn't get him "all in"

Without any doubt, It's a 1961 model 551. The only mid engine tractor with the 2 pc trans, Hood stand has the area for the battery. The original engine would have been the H55 spec 2113. A 401 would have a 3 pc trans and a different hood stand.

In that first pict...which one is Steve?

Then in 1977, Eric Clapton recorded the song "Cocaine". That could explain the "High Hopes".

Just a tip on screwing it off, (that sounds bad) put two washers in the hole on the end of the crank with lots of grease on them for the bolt to press on, some come off VERY hard.

You're 17. Have you discovered girls yet? When you do, this will all become a distant thought. She'll be cute, and she'll like you. This will be her... and this will be you... Get yourself a job, you're going to need it. I hope I'm wrong and all your dreams come true Taylor.

I appreciate the comments guys, although hopefully I don't disappoint you with a few changes I have made since then. I am finding I thought I took alot of pictures, but don't have the ones I wish I had to help tell the story. Thankfully, I did take alot of detailed ones to help me get it put back together right. Anyway, back to the story... Through most of the winter, the 854 sat in a corner of the garage untouched while I worked on a few other projects. Starting on the engine rebuild remained in the back of my mind though. One project that delayed the 854 was the purchase of a John Deere 110 fix-er-upper. It was one I bought to resell to add a little cash to the garden tractor fund. The plan was to sell it whole if it didn't need much repair, or in parts if it was too far gone. It ended up being the later. However, the engine in it appeared to have been rebuilt and ran pretty well. My plans for the 854 quickly evolved from an engine rebuild to an engine swap. Some might cringe at the thought of a "Deere" engine in a "Horse", but truth-be-told, there was blue paint under the green, so this engine wasn't a "Deere" to begin with either. Regardless of where it was installed when it started it's life, it is a Kohler K181S and I figured it would work just fine in the 854. As often happens in this hobby, my "free" motor probably cost me more in the long run than just rebuilding the original one. I was OK with a rusty red engine in a rusty red tractor, but a (mostly) green engine in a red tractor just didn't seem right to me. Just repainting the engine crossed my mind, but I thought a shiny red engine in a rusty red tractor would look odd too. No, if I was going to repaint the engine, I figured I may as well do the rest of the tractor too. So, I started planning for a more comprehensive overhaul of the tractor. In late March things started to thaw and I started working on prepping the 854 for some new paint. I took the tractor completely apart. Tear down went well and I thankfully I only had one bolt twist off. I don't have a sandblaster, so my main tool was the angle grinder with a wire wheel to strip the paint off. On most parts, I went down to bare metal, although on some castings I'm sure there was some paint left in the crevices of the rough cast surface. After spending most of an afternoon with the grinder and still having a pretty sizeable pile of parts left to finish, I started to get discouraged. I had the main chassis parts done, so I decided to finish those out and come back later to finish stripping the rest. The weather cooperated and I was able to paint this round of parts outside. It was ideal with moderate temperatures, little wind, low humidity and no bugs. I used Rustoleum Regal Red rattle cans. I was very happy with how the paint turned out, and the color was really great. I didn't want gas to seep out of the tank and make a mess of a new paint job, so I re-redid the gas tank seal. It was not fun to strip the Red-Kote back off the tank, but I knew I needed to if I stood any chance of getting it to seal better this time. I made my own gasket again, but this time I coated the gasket with Red-Kote as I put the tank together. I then coated the inside not once, but twice with Red-Kote. After letting it dry for a few days, I tested it and thankfully, this time there was no leaking or seeping. My first milestone was to rebuild it to the rolling chassis stage, so to get there I wanted to redo the tires & wheels along with the rest of the tractor. The original turfs held air (with tubes), but they left something to be desired for traction when trying to turn the tractor with an implement on the back. To help that, I ordered some tri-ribs. I liked the look of the 23x8.50-12 Firestone's from the Commando on the rear, but I came across a great deal on a set of 6-12 bar tires and thought those might be better for general use. I will definitely keep the Firestone's for when I need a little more flotation or just want a beefier look though. The 6-12's had very little wear from use, but were weathered and cracked. To be safe, I put tubes in them when I installed them. I used Rustoleum Canvas White for the wheels. The Almond seemed too dark and although the Canvas looks light in some of the pictures, it seemed to match some of the original paint on the wheels.

Of course it'll be the last place you look....why would you keep looking if you found one

Somehow I wonder if I got this right or not?

Hi Here is my hitch, with weight bar, just need some paint. /Mike

Restorations are fine if you want a 'Show Queen' that you never do anything with but put it in the trailer and go from one show to another. Personally I prefer doing a thorough refurbish and enjoying them for what they were meant to be, working tractors. Now don't get the wrong idea. I do strip the paint off, sand and primer them before the final paint goes on. I do fix whatever needs to be fixed, change oil and filters. I don't however rebuild engines and transmissions, I will replace them and sometimes not with the originals. But when it's done it will be reliable for many years. Your time investment is an unrecoverable expense but is what it's all about. Starting and finishing one is what makes it worth every minute you spent.

To tear one down, do any body work, painting and then reassembly I would say into the thousands of dollars and that is without any needed parts. There is many hours in these restored tractors. The most economical way to have a restored tractor is to buy one already restored.

Actually I have been thinking about doing something different. But then again I can get kind of carried away when I go on a paint binge. I have never done a Wheel horse yet but I have done a few as evidenced by my old Craftsman hot rod. It was back when the Iraq thing had everybody patriotic that was Desert Storm. It also was almost the 4th of July. Once you get started it takes on a life of it's own.

Nothing like a Bow Tie with a Wheel Horse!!

Is your motor going to be out of warranty by the time you start it up?? :hide:

Sorry Craig, I haven't got around to taking a pic of the Horse in my rearview yet, but here is a pic of the back seat of our minivan on the way to church this morning. Matt :flags-texas: