Leaderboard

Nothing a good wax job wont fix!

Well I think it would be a shame to restore that tractor. People at tractor shows flock to the old original condition machines. The more I look at your tractor, the more I think it should be left dirty and in as found condition. I see a lot of original condition WH's that people tear into and restore them right away, rather than just backing off and letting it be. You do lose a lot of patina when you clean up such a time capsule. To me, it takes away the history of the tractor. Like Stevebo said, if you clean up the hood, you may take some color off the decals and that would suck since they are so original. I would try to get it running though and I would fix the rims or replace them if they are fried. A descent welder guy could probably fix them without charging you as much as a new set. I'd even keep them old raggedy rear tires for history's sake, just throw them in the barn, there ain't none around! But it is your machine so do what you like to it, we are all behind you on this one. Good luck with it, she is a beautiful old lady! KJ

Update!!!!! Well it is again Wednesday night which means TRACTOR CLUB!!!!! We have finally hit a stumbling block. I went out during my lunch break and turned on the two heaters full blast. Much to my amazement, or should I say disappointment, they couldn't keep up. It was darn cold in the barn tonight. Our group was small tonight and about half focused on the cold, while the other half was focused on working. I tried to encourage them to keep moving while sanding and that would help, but it fell on frozen ears! The kids didn't complain but I could tell that it bothered a few of them a bit. Now I am in the brainstorming process and trying to search for available grants that could possibly help remedy our situation. I have some creative ideas brewing in my thick noggin that hopefully will work. I am going to do my best to figure out how we can get that pole barn insulated before too long or we won't be able to stay on schedule. We can't afford to have this winter a bust! Transporting kids over to my dad's heated building is out of the question so we will have to come up with a solution, and fast! I didn't get any pictures taken tonight as I was working away to hopefully set a good example for the kids. It was still a productive night but not as good as it could have been. We will adapt and continue to move forward. Hopefully I will have some good news that will pop up around the corner. And oh yes.....for those that know me. Yes I was wearing shorts and a sweatshirt and felt fine!

LOL no hard stops I want to take the top half of the chute off and make a video blowing the snow over the cab and label it Polish snow blower. The motor is call a globe motor. I got it from doing high school robotics competitions. I did fab it all myself. That is the exact reason I did this was the worm gear screwing up and not engaging the ring gear. Drives you nuts. As for a kit I'll talk with Matt and see if he wants to do one.

I paint my engines with the same paint as the rest of the tractor. The only part of the engine that gets hot enough to effect the paint is the area around the exhaust, and that will eventually turn dark even with high-temp engine paint.

No reason that I know of, but on the 312's an H meant you had an Eaton 1100 with hydraulic lift and an A was the less desirable Eaton 700 with manual lift. On the 400 series machines the A on a 418-A does not mean an Eaton 700 is under the fender pan but rather an Eaton 1100. On the 500 series all the 520-H's came with the 1100 while the 516-H and 518-H came with the 700. Must have been a different guy in charge of naming tractors each year.. . Mike.............

Looks like that truck met it's Waterloo in Waterloo.

Worst record this week buys the donuts for the boiler room . Penn St., Wisconsin, OSU, Northwestern, Mich St.

After much deliberation, I can finally present to you... The Mrs. Rules first RJ ride.

As well as tractors I am a casual collector of flashlights. By casual I mean that I am not always on the hunt for more and usually stumble on them somewhat by accident. This past weekend I hit a local flea-market, had my eyes peeled for any kind of Wheel Horse memorabilia but as usual there was nothing. Then I spotted this 70's era Ray-O-Vac Sportsman on a sellers table and it was love at first sight . Its a nearly perfect light with the cardboard sleeve still intact inside of the barrel. It holds 7 "D" cell batteries and when full is somewhat heavy, wouldn't want to take it on a long hike. It can be broken down so that you only use 5 batteries or 3 batteries. HOW BRIGHT IS IT YOU ASK?? I wish I knew, I loaded it tonight and the bulb flashed for a nano-second and blew. I wonder if the bulb has to be rated for the number of cells? Maybe it was a 3 or 5 cell bulb? Oh well, I'll hit Radio Shack one of these days. The priced tag was $20, the seller saw me eying it and immediately shouted out "$15 and its yours"! I looked inside, saw no battery corrosion and offered $10 and he took it...sweet!! In mint shape and with the leather shoulder strap they bring around $50 on e-bay (I dont have the leather strap of course so mines probably worth $5 ) Not an exiting thing to collect but way cheaper and easier to store than Wheel Horses!! Mike.............

While checking the craigslist ads I found this: 856 model 8HP with snow plow. Runs good - needs clutch ($200 or B.O.) Do you think it's missing the belt guard?

It doesn't look quite as nice as the pictures but it is a nice tractor over all. Its missing the mid Tach and has the wrong pulley on the engine but then thats another story too. It had a K301 big block engine from the factory and when it was "redone" they put a K181 off of a "pump" on it. The small block sets too low to be right with the belt guard so it does not stop the belt so it can be shifted. It just grinds. When i asked him about it ( after i already had it ) he said it always shifted fine. All i can say is i don't know how it ever did with this engine. I think instead of changing belt guards i may just try raising the engine. Any here are a few pics, I was messing around with different exhaust setup's in some of the pictures.

I think I would try to save the rims.Maybe electrolisys or vinegar,not too much sanding or wire wheel.Shoot them with a couple coats of filler primer.Even if you have to patch a little,it would be worth it.

The brakes are ford model A. there's parts suppliers on line for model A parts. but may need to tear down to know what you need. the rims were 16" car rims with no centers & tabs welded on. could probably find some David Bradley rims or other tractors or old car rims that are 16" & cut center out & weld tabs on. or I think Miller tire sells new ones with out centers. don't think you will find anything to just bolt on. I would go used for visible parts so you can keep the patina. the stuffs out there. put want ads on CL & other web sites. go to junk yards, car & tractor swap meets. I found a Model A rear end at a local junk yard with brake drums. bought it cause I need the drums.

Thanks Guys, Yep she is defiantly a different beast. well I'm gonna show some closer Pics of the tractors condition. It looks like someone down the road did a lil painting on the hood. Also the hood has 3 holes drilled in the top of Hood, The tires are dusted and the rims look mucked up and I'm not sure they can be saved. Can A Guy get these rear rims? The tractor is filthy with grease and I would think the whole thing should be cleaned wherever Grease or oil is seeping should I replace seals and gaskets? I am also thinking of cleaning up the brakes (Should I Install New?) My Muff is awful RUFF So I need to find one of them. Any leads on Parts? Rims, Brakes Prolly can get bearings and seals and so forth from Motion Industries. How far would you guys go on this? Thanks ~Duke

I would love to have a 12HP back on it or even a 14HP-16HP but for now it will probably be cheaper to fix the situation with the 8HP that is on it. I'm really surprised at how many of you like the tall stack the best. I really though it was too much. Anyone else have thoughts on which exhaust looks best ?

I believe the new seal is flush with the axle housing I will have to check when i get home. What concerns me is the lack of the old seal i pulled out. There just wasn't much there and as mentioned above if there wasn't that much seal left it should have been leaking at a faster rate.

Two things you said concern me, First, the statement that you removed very little seal material. If there was that little of a seal remaining, you would have been getting more than a slow seepage. Secondly, you said "I checked the axle movement and it was very little". When you say "very little", there should be virtually no movement, up or down, front to back. You can have about 1/8" movement in and out. Any other movement indicates a bad bearing, or a worn axle. Having said that, always make sure that the recessed area where the seal is to be installed is clean and free from debris. Make sure that all of the old seal (rubber and metal) is removed. When installing the new seal, be sure that it is pressed in squarely. One way to do that is to start it into the recess, then slide the hub onto the axle and drive it in with that. That should assure a nice even, square insertion.

The Decals??

First time for everything! Wait stop hold the phone, what happened to the Fighting Illini in your picks? What's up with that?

Harbor Freight has 12" x 12" adhesive rubber treadplate for $1.00. Just cut it in half to make two pieces. Seems to work well on mine.

I needed one tire for my SR. I put a add on CL and found a pair that came off a Economy tractor.

You need to get a mirror up under the hood and look at the top of the motor for the serial number then look it up on line to date the motor. Your tractor does not have the flexible brake lines so I would say it is either a 54 or 55 and NOT a 56 but then again ..... who knows?? Be VERY careful when you clean the hood. I would not use any strong cleaners, especially on those hood decals as they look really good. Mine were good and then after cleaning it up...... I damaged them a little...

Nice score Duke and congrats! I bet that will clean up real nice..

great video ian!! we need more of this sort of stuff. i have thought about a few different ones, just can't seem to stop riding them tractors around long enough. when they need fixing, the last thing i think about is juggling the camera as well. hard enough to constantly remember to take pics to help me get stuff back together without left over parts...... hey steve, don't worry about driving on the other side of the road, its not that hard, i do it here all the time..........

The suspence is killing me , to hear the story

Is that a flip phone? thought those went out with AMC's?

Thanks Guys! Well maybe its luck, maybe a little patience, Lord knows like everyone else I have looked high and low. Sometime they can be right under your nose. which was in this case. I promise I will give the full details when I can, but other deals are in the works. Well... I got her home tonight and she is now in safe keeping and will be giving her some needed attention over the next several months as you can tell it is has indeed seen better days, and will need a lot of fixin. The engine has compression, But I have not heard it run only time will tell. Anyone know a good place to buy rubber? What have you other guys used? Thanks ~Duke

Is that the Rodney King model?

Didn't you ever get the lecture to stop tugging on it or you'll go blind... and your bicep will turn purple. Great pics and videos. Thanks for sharing. Feel Better.

that's a beast of a set up there!

Nice plow rig 633 looks great and the nice part about it is you don't need to worry about a dead or weak battery. I have the same plow on my 502 and 552 they are kind of a pain to use compared to the ones that have the trip lever on the handle, I think they need a little longer foot lever, takes a little getting used to. My 552 was my primary snow machine last year and I had a lot of fun using it, I went into snow drifts that I though for sure I was going to get stuck in but it pushed right through. I was not stuck in this pic I just got off to take it and jumped back on and went right through this drift.

OK....time for a come back...Penn St., Wisconsin, Ohio St., Northwestern, Nebraska. I am only unsure of the Penn St. and the Ohio St. games.

Lane, That snowplow on your 633 looks like its a modern new unit right out of the box.. very nice and may I ask where did you find that. ( Just curious and you don't have to say if you don't want to)

Im pretty sure i ended up with a 1056,857 and the commando 8. I have all the reciepts and original invoice for one of them. Ill post photos of them soon. My wife wants the 857 and I am going to restore the commando because both of them are complete. The 1056 is rough but rat-rodable. Its going to get the custom touch along with a 20 horse Kohler Command twin. I ggot the idea from another member althoigh mine will be somewhat different. Hope to get started on them in the next month or so when the honey-do list gets smaller. Thanks for the information.

I had the honor of attending an amazing Veterans Day program at our elementary school this morning with my little kindergartener. I have never been more proud to have served in the armed forces of our country. The program was fantastic, it's very clear that patriotism is a very high priority for our school and our town. It was very well attended and supported. It brought tears to my eyes to have 700 little Kindergarten-4th graders stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing "God Bless the USA" and "Thank You Soldiers" to the large group of veterans that were there. After the program, then all the kids who had veterans there took them on a hand in hand parade through the halls, which were lined both sides all the way through the school with students and teachers all holding/waving little flags, and who were saying "Thank you for your service." I have never been more proud, and my little girl just beamed. She was so proud to be walking through with me. To all my fellow veterans. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. This continues to be the Land of the Free because of you. Semper Fidelis. Edit: received a copy of the teacher's picture today.

On Thursday, our local High School will be putting on a Veterans Concert, with all the bands, and vocal groups. BOTH of my girls have elected to miss their Varsity Football / Cheer dinner celebration to participate in the concert! Thank You!

Nice addition!

what a sweet oldie that is!

its just lackin a little finishing! thats all, Great fine

Great find on that one Bob! I'd clean it up and keep it in original condition, but I always do that! Soooo jealous! Rear rim may need some work but the rest looks awesome!

A Winter Month Photo She's Itching For A Fight!

took the 416H (sporting the new decals ) out for a few shots this morning.......

A few edits to entertain you.

Here's a few of my tractors.

1964 604

My 50th anniversary 314 and my Son's custom pedal tractor.

1968 commando 8