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Here we have a couple of mine up for consideration, Both arrived into the UK this year 2013

gotta include the INDY 500 SPECIAL

So yeah...why is it some models such as the 603 have "special" in there title? I'm thinking it must have something unique to that individual model run... like the 603's one year only steering wheel for example.

Well, I've been out of town for a few days, and just got back last night, so I hadn't got much done on it. However, when I got back I had a couple things that had come in the mail. I got a care package from Glen Pettit, including a repro throttle knob, and a few other items. Glen does great work!! I also got some 23x10.50-12 AG's, and some tri-ribs. The clutch pedal came in as well, so now it drives. Here are a few pics. Matt

I have had a lot of postive feedback about this photo from our show............

should be all good to go now....... i just took out all the nudity, i think.........

If you make it to the cellar, you have to buy!

Thanks guys - for the votes and especially to all of my fellow D owners on the other side of the pond who helped in so many ways. Without you guys photographing parts, providing dimensions, forwarding bits on to me, or just simply sharing in mutual D resto problems, frustrations and solutions it would not have come out as it did. So give yourselves a pat on the back for what together WE achieved as It speaks volumes for RS as a community. It was nice to see D's & 18s take center stage for a month but I realise that they are a minority interest for variety of reasons including perhaps their lack of 'charm' but beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say and there are a fair few of us who love them to bits even if they do seem like money pits during the resto. Thanks for voting my D-200 tractor of the month. I really didn't expect it to win. Andy

I worked at a gas station my senior year in high school back in 1973. I had to work every Friday evening and that's when the big truck would come in to fill the underground tanks for the week. I then had to call the owner and tell him what was printed on the receipt from the tanker and he would call me back and tell me what to change the pumps and sign to in order to charge the correct mark up for the weekend. I remember sometimes the truck would not get in to real late and put a damper on my Friday night activities and I would be so mad. Now days the price changes hourly and without even a delivery!!!

Well, after a consultation with the old (man is it foggy in there) I've come up with my picks for this week... Penn St., Iowa, Ohio St., Indiana, Nebraska, and Michigan. I figure there has to be some risk taken here and there to pony up to those bragging rights, that, or end up in the basement crying in squonk's beer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ADeB6V1rQ

My block is about 7 miles to get around it, maybe do one around the perimeter of the zieg72 homestead.

sorry if i have offended you Jim , i didnt actually say OLD , i said Older .

Here is a Halloween trip around a very scary block... I know we have done this before...but this is counter-clockwise and on Halloween with just about peak in colors.

This is an interesting article on how to keep the mice away. It seems easy enough to make also if you're inclined. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/28/mom-makes-millions_n_4171299.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Caim%7Cdl20%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D398978

I've been using vinegar to clean rust from the inside of gas tanks and it works very well. Since the vinegar was just sitting in a bowl after recently doing a tank, I decided to throw in a rusted pulley which shows the results much better than trying to get a pic of the inside of a tank. These 2 pulleys looked just about identical before soaking one. I let it soak for 2 days and wiped it off with a cloth. Using baking soda afterwards will neutralize the vinegar's acid. There are quite a few other posts on the subject, just type "vinegar" in the search feature.

I have got myself a Wheel Horse 551 I think and a Wheel Horse tiller, these are something that I want to rebuild and bring back to life if I can find the parts to do so.

Just thought I'd post up a couple pics I snapped the other night in the garage. Sorry for the mess! The horses I currently have: First, my 854. It now sports a red and white cover to hide the ugly weld job on the seat. This is my most poorly running Wheel Horse. I've gone through the carb a couple times, checked fuel pressure from the pump, etc, but it just seems to have no interest in starting when cold or staying running. Next up is "Big Ugly," the 1975 D200. I just put the stacks on after plowing snow with it for the past two years. I've lost enough hearing, thank you very much... The D is my best running Horse, that K532 fires up immediately every time. I wish my truck was this reliable! You might notice that the fuel tank is missing. I'm currently resealing the tank, and have a D180 tank for a spare if needed. Here's my 1976 B80. According to the ID tag, this one started life with an 8 speed transmission. I got it with a blown up 4 speed installed (with correct shifter plate). With a bunch of help with advice and parts locating from the members here, I just got it put back together and running well this past weekend. This is probably my favorite of the lot. Last up is my newly acquired RJ-58/9 basket case. There isn't a whole lot that's right with this one, but I like it nonetheless. I'm currently in the process of freeing up/rebuilding the steering system. Another night or two of work and I'll get to swapping out the motor and fitting a more correct style of gas tank. Not pictured is my 1969 Raider 10 that's largely a parts tractor. All it really needs is a hood, one tie rod, and a correct motor, but I have enough projects to take on right now... Well, that's it. Thanks for looking! -Dan

If you volume is turned up you can hear some distant voices from the boat. Happy Halloween

+1 - simply chain the blade in the up position and you are good to go! Sent from my E270BSA using Tapatalk

I don 't own one, nor do I have a picture of one, but I do know of a model named the 420 LSE (Limited Special Edition) that I think was only made for one year.

Thanks Lars, and I am glad I finally got a C-160. Thanks Martin. I really like the AG's, and Tri-Ribs, as they just give it that "Big Tractor" look. I have had the Deestone's on my B-80 for almost 2 years, and lots of hours mowing. So far I've had no problems whatsoever, and I'm not even using tubes on the tri-ribs on my B-80 like they recommend. I just mounted them, and never had a problem. I went ahead, and used the tubes on the C-160, because they came with the tires, but if I ever get a flat, I'll probably just remove the tube, and install a valve stem. Who's John? Thanks Jake, but its happy in its current stable, and if it saw the size of your stables, it would never want to come home! Matt You got me there.....I'm wondering the same thing now too. LOL

Thanks Lars, and I am glad I finally got a C-160. Thanks Martin. I really like the AG's, and Tri-Ribs, as they just give it that "Big Tractor" look. I have had the Deestone's on my B-80 for almost 2 years, and lots of hours mowing. So far I've had no problems whatsoever, and I'm not even using tubes on the tri-ribs on my B-80 like they recommend. I just mounted them, and never had a problem. I went ahead, and used the tubes on the C-160, because they came with the tires, but if I ever get a flat, I'll probably just remove the tube, and install a valve stem. Who's John? Thanks Jake, but its happy in its current stable, and if it saw the size of your stables, it would never want to come home! Matt

What the hell..... I gotta change my underwear.... -BK

That tractor is looking fantastic matt! You are always welcome to store it in my barn...I'll put it to use.

Texas is beginning to look not so far away after all.

Looks Good Matt.. glad you finaly found a C160..

Here is a comparison of the 8.50's on my B-80, and the 10.50's on the C-160. Matt

Nice AG's and tri's you have there Matt!! And overall the tractor is turning out to look really sharp ! But Actually that's no surprise. Oh, I think your tractor maybe taken from behind your back by some small person in a red shirt. Be carefull pal...

sortof like Mr Bass-Man said, I made up a pair of 1/2" steel rods which are bent on the ends and hook from the plow to frame to hold it up while using the rear lift. Never bothered to do this out back because my rear implements aren't on very long.

Okay Jim, you've got too much free time on your hands.

When I was 16 my dad bought me a 56 ford ,black and white 2dr hardtop.I wasn't a crown vic and it wasn't an old cop car,it was just that color.I don't know what size tank it had,but I filled it for 3.00.I better make that clear,three dollars.By the way he bought the car for 100.,and I was working for 1.25 hr after school.I was one of only a hand full of kids that had a car to drive to school.I drive by the same school today and there is at least 150 cars parked in the student parking.

Thats the thing. This little tractor is for school. We have to do this thing called a capstone project and it entails doing a project on your own and you can only get help from people out side your family who can teach you something new. Fortunately for me I know Michael Martino (author of straight from the horses mouth volumes 1-3) because his nephew is my best friend, so he has helped me quite a bit. anyway my point is I have to finish this because it is part of my academics!

I remember when gas was .20 cents a gallon. I had just started driving then. A bottle of coke was .5 cents and a large candy bar was .5 cents. much larger than candy bars today. I'm pretty sure minimum wage was .75 cents per hour back then.

I agree that you should keep it original Matt as you have a fairly "rare" tractor there. I had a K361 on an Allis Chalmers 718 once and did not really care for it at all. It did not run as good as the other K series engines and it was a higher matience engine. I sold that tractor within a couple weeks of ownership due to not liking it. I think the lower hp K series were made better myself. There is probably a reason the K361 engines are hard to find! LOL! Ok, off my soap box now...There are probably people who disagree with me, just my 2 cents.

Really!?!

steve, the plow turned out really nice for brushing...... you got me motivated tonight to pull mine off the 416H and redo it...... its sitting in the back of my truck in pieces, waiting for an early morning blast and paint at work tomorrow, thanks a lot, now i gotta get up early........

And that's why the wifey won't let me ride my WH tractors around the block... she thinks the neighbors think I'm crazy 'cause I own seven WH tractors. I beg to differ however... I think the neighbors are crazy 'cause the don't own a Wheel Horse!

After the electrolysis, I put them on the charcoal grill to heat them up and dry them out. I then took my 4" grinder with a wire wheel brush and went over the springs. I had an old bread pan that was the perfect size for holding the springs...mixed up a batch of penetrating oil (2 parts ATF...1 part paint thinner (for oil based paint)...i part diesel) and let them soak in there for 3 or 4 days. I am looking for the oil to get into the metal and not rust. Maybe I will have to wipe them down in the spring. They do look like new. I am going to mount it on the B-100 today.

After the engine was removed I disconnected the frame, transmission, and the body from each other and i got right to work stripping the transmission and priming it. I also primed the body but i do not have pictures of that yet. .

Lars...actually, I enjoyed watching that paint dry so much...I gave it a 2nd and then a 3rd coat. I now consider myself a "watching paint dry professional". Anyway, the paint is now dry. Yesterday I cut and drilled the new scraper edge and I am painting that. I should be able to put the whole thing back together today. I will post a finished picture. The blade really came a long way in looking good after the 3rd coat. Here are the pictures of the blade. This is a WH # 6-4114.

Then i took off the gas tank and took apart the dash: Note: you can see what the front wheels looked like originally in some of the following pics. .

Here is the primed hitch and the primed belt cover. I will try to get the painted pictures of both of these parts up soon: The next thing i did was take apart the clutch and brake set up

Head bolts can loose their tensile strength properties over time and many heating cooling cycles. I have successfully replaced mine with Socket Headed Cap Screws witch are grade 8 by definition on my Tecky H-60's. I must admit that I usually do not get out the torque wrench for these small engines I think I have a fairly good feel for how tight they should be. I also use die washers under the heads(hardened steel washers 1/8" thick) this cuts down on the aluminum heads mushrooming out under the head of the bolt. These motors run fairly low compression so the head bolts that are used are a bit over kill. I actually have one motor that I used 316 SS bolts on the head which have a much lower yield strength then grade 8 bolts and it sealed up just fine. And btw 5/16-18 UNC bolts are a standard size, and are probobly the second most common thread size behind 1/4-20, you should have no problem getting them almost anywhere. I would recommend going to a real industrial fastener supply house such as Fastenal, their hardware is usually much better then the overpriced low grade junk sold at most hardware stores. I specify fasteners as part of my job as an Engineering Technician and we buy them by the barrel in certain sizes, currently we only buy bolts in either HOLO-KROME or UNBRAKO brands as both are US made and have successfully proven themselves in the field over many years. Most hardware store stuff is made overseas and you never know what you are buying or what steel was used to make them. Sorry for the rant

604 & 500 special

Matt, I remember a C-120 at the tractor show in jacksonville ,IL last month that was considered a "special" model because it was one of the few(I thought he said 200 C-120 tractors) built with a Tecumseh installed at the factory. The C-120 owner was explaining that a limited number of these models were built with the tecumsehs because during production, Kohler couldn't supply enough engines to meet/ finish the total number of tractors built... Which is why its labled a C-120 SPECIAL. and becoming collector items to some.. Matt I know yours dosen't say Special, but Just thinking Maybe thats the case with your C-160. Maybe somebody else has more info about c-series and Tecumsehs.?

I just got home, and I am whipped! That's a lot of driving for one day. I took a couple pics when I was at a gas station, and thought I'd post them. In the pics the owner sent me it looked like seat was a little tor up, but that was not the case. The stuff around the bottom of the seat that made it look bad was actually the original clear plastic that came on the seat when new. This seat is beautiful! Anyway, here are the pics. Matt

The WH part of your tractor is a 1964 could be a 604, 654, or 704, and with it having the Tecumseh in it and no key switch, I see the factory plug in the hole I'm going to say it was/is a 604 meaning 6 is engine size 6hp - 0 stands for pull start - the 4 means 1964

Your problem is that the shifter forks set high in the trans body...just spraying blaster on them through the shifter hole is not going to do anything. Short of tearing it down, the only chance you have is to fill the trans up to the top with diesel or kerosene and let it soak and gently try to move the shift forks once in a while. The above post is recommending what is a home made penetrating oil (ATF & Acetone )...there are some posts about this mixture. This mixture is supposed to be an excellent penetrating oil...however...I am not sure I would want to fill up my transmission with it as the acetone may attack the rubber seals on your axles, brake shaft, and input shaft. Personally, with no pictures and little information, I would pull the shifter..drain the oil in the trans...fill with diesel to the top, and let it set for a couple of days. Once each day I would try to gently shift each of the forks (one at a time) with a large screw driver...do not force. Any movement is a good thing...work back and forth. once you get movement...it does not take too much to free that shift fork up after that. Remember, there is a second fork to loosen up...same with that one. My 2 cents. BTW, if you end up tearing it apart to free it up...the ATF & Acetone mixture is an excellent penetrating oil applied to the right area.