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My dad is 87 and has stories about growing up in SE Missouri during the depression.He talks about them going hungry and living in a barn,then in a tent,then in a boxcar.He said the boxcar was the best,because it was the warmest. He told me about not having enough to eat, and sometimes while talking about it he would say "we went on starvation" After he used that phrase a few times I asked him what that meant.I said do you mean you got help from someone.He said no,that just means we didn't have anything to eat for awhile. To this day if you go to a restaurant with him he always asks if you want something more,or desert.He will not let you pay,a couple times I would catch the waiter and give her money before he did,but he didn't like it. I never thougt about it growing up,but we always had plenty to eat He told me about only going to school for 3 months as a child,because they didn't have the money, and even the kids had to work if there was work to do,just to survive.He taught himself to read by the newspaper.He says he could pick words from the photos and headlines. He tells me about working in the fields as a little boy.He had an older sister and brother. Because he was little,he got 75 cents a day,as did his sister.His dad and older brother got 1 dollar a day. He talks about plowing fields for other farmers.He tells a story about them both plowing side by side and the farmer coming out and telling grandpa he was only giving my dad 75 cents a day because he was just a kid.My grandpa said, he is kepping up with me row for row,and told my dad to take the mule to the barn. The farmer relented and he went back to plowing. He tells another story abou share cropping. They had gotten the crops in and were waiting for their share.Things were pretty bad and there was an apple tree in the farmers field.My dad climbed up the tree and was picking apples.The farmer came out and told him to get out of the tree,that those were his apples.Well grandpa said,"the apples are rotting on the ground".Grandpa told dad to come down,and after he came down grandpa started beating the guy with a pole he was using to knock down apples.My dad said he never saw grandpa do anything like that.When he was finished he told the guy,I know what day the money comes in and if you don't bring me my share you will get it again. But he also tells the story of the family that gave him a sack of flour one winter,because she knew they were starving.He said they lived on that sack of flour that winter.And he talks about the uncle from up north who worked in the auto plant.They would come to visit and his uncle would but bologna and cheese and they would have a picnic. So I look at what people are given today,and complain that it's not enough. It fall's kind of flat with me

I was born in 49,and had 3 older sisters.I heard a lot of the music they played on their little phonographs,actually they were 45's.My mom would buy them a record at the grocery store for 99 cents.I remember the talk about evil rock and roll,but not around my house. I remember my sisters wearing those scarfs ariund their necks, and of course the bobby socks. Their were no shopping malls at that time,we would go to town to do our shopping.There was Ben Franklin 5 & dime,Woolwrths.There were dept stores that were about like dept stores today ,only a lot smaller.It was a big deal to go to Sears,the biggest sears store around was in E St Louis. Home life was a lot different then.Most mom's were stay at home mom's.They would fix three meals a day,we virtually never ate out.I don't think I ate a meal in a restaurant till I was 16 yo. I tell people,I don't think we had keys to the doors in our house,we just never locked them.People would leave the keys in their car.You could ride your bike to school,or to town and never lock it. We were taught to respect other people and their property. If you said you would do something,you did it.People would shake hands and that was better than signing your name. Life was so much simpler,no pc,no tv ,mom would say get outside and play.Of course with no ac in the summer,she didn't have to tell us to go. I remember feeling fortunate at that time.We were not a wealthy family, my dad worked at a steel mill.I had some friends that still heated their house with a wood stove,and had an outhouse. My childhood was so happy I have said I am sad that my grandkids could never know that. Well I could tell stories for ever but I guess you had to be there.

I was born in 1942 so I remember the 50's. It was a great time. The road by our house was paved in 1947. I lived on a small 10 acre farm growing up. We had cows and hogs, dad sold his chickens about the time I was born. We always had a large garden, canned tomatoes and beans. Some time in the 50's dad bought a 20 cubic ft. freezer then had home grown beef. No one locked there doors back then. We rode our bicycles around the neighbor hood. Would not ride a bicycle out there now. I live beside the home farm it's 28 acres and for sale. We usually made a weekly trip to town for food and supplies we did raise. I learned to shoot the 22 rifle when I around 10 years old. We cut wood with a crosscut saw and hauled it to the wood shed with a mule and wagon. The road from the woods around the garden made turn on to the drive way and making that turn the wagon broke into. Dad went over to granddad shop and made a new pole the connects the front and back of the wagon frame. Dad had a 40 model Ford and in 1950 he traded it for a New 50 model Mercury. Took the only vacation trip I remember to visit mothers brother who liked in Hialeah, Florida. Back then the school buses were drive by high school students, and they still were until after the 60's I had a bus license but never drove one full time. They built I-85 through out county in 1957. It was used by the local people for a drag strip before it was finished. Safety back then was left up the the person using the equipment or product. No required safety devices or warning labels. We had all kinds of thing in the garage that we knew not to play around with. Dynamite, Dynamite Caps and Fuse, DDT, Arsenic, as kids we were told what it was and not to mess with it. We all survived with out the help of our government. Didn't need a Building Permit or an inspector to build some for yourself. I'm old enough to remember Cokes and candy bars for 5 cents. Bought gasoline in the late 50's and early 60's for .14 and 9/10 cents a gallon. Drive-in Theaters were a big thing in the 50's as teenagers we would pool our money to get the car and two of us in while a couple more would slip in.

I was born in '57 and still live in the same town in SW Ct. I think the biggest thing that has changed is how much more freedom to go places alone has changed. We also used to go out from dawn to dusk and our parents didn't worry about us. We were always safe. If we rode our bikes a good distance to someones hose you just needed to call home when you got there. My whole town has changed so much with the loss of manufacturing. We made brakes, airplanes, roofing shingles and much more. All are gone now. Most have been replaced with retail and housing, My Dad has lived here all his life and is 92. He could write quite the book and my Daughter is always asking him to write down some stories. If you have a ton of time check this out http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?s=ee1dcf001144995034c5485328e2e6b3&t=428585 . I usually go and pick a page or 2 from time to time. Very cool. Jim

I have ran into some of these Moron dealerships also, seems like more and more of them are becoming this way. For the life of me I can not figure out in todays tough economy why they would act this way. Seems to me that making a sale and satisfying a customer would bring them back for more sales. When we were a dealer years ago I remember my Dad and Granddad bending over back wards to make sure the customer was satisfied. After we closed the dealership we still had some customers come back for parts and service. With the net providing even more competition it's got to be tough. That's why forums such as this become more valuable than it really appears. If people are going to continue to use,restore Wheel Horse's. Parts along with knowledge will start to become harder to find. Red Square is not just a forum it's a very valuable to tool to those who work, restore and just plain mess around with Wheel Horse. To ever loose this forum would be a handicap to all who use it not just for socializing and entertainment but to those who seek answers.

These stories are just amazing , these stories should be told of how good things were & how bad things were also & what it was really like . It is really interesting to hear what people had back then & how simple life was . I listen to my own father who is now 75 & what life was like back in the 50`s here in the UK , when he was conscripted into the Army to do his National service & had to go to the conflict in suez canal My Mum & Dad got married in a seaside town of Blackpool & as a wedding present to them my grandfather gave them a few pennies to go to the movies for the evening . They had nowhere to live so went to live at my dads parents house & struggled to bring up me , my brother & sister by working night shifts at Ford motor company building tractors We didnt have much food in the house & we used to live on milk & cookies & hot bread that my dad used to bring home in the mornings when he finished the night shift. things were sometimes tough & we didnt have much but i had a wonderful childhood & i only wished that things were still the same as they were back then.

Well i bougth a LXI for a while ago.. On the left side they had done som uppgrade on the hub whit 2 extra set screw's.. i thougt it was ok.. but i was driving it around i could notice that the wheel was (wobeling) a bit.. So i went back in the workshop to have a closer look at the fix they had done on it before.. the axel is 1-1/8 so ill started to pull the hub off.. it needed some fight to get it off but i won.. and when ill got it of the axel was really bad... and here are the hub it was broken from before.. but you can se they have drilled it up and put a sleve innside the hub.. i have asked around whit a some "tranny guys" and they are not sure on the axel in this tranny is the same as older horses .. so i had to do something whit it.. to fix it now.. and let's se how long it works before ill need to change the axel... so here is what ill did to fix it for now.. ill turned the axel 180 degrees and found a square keyway pice i had and marked the axel so i had some to cut after.. i tok my dremmel whit Cutting blade on and started.. have also did some filing whit a airtool on that pict.. almost done whit the new keyway did a test whit a hub that was good..and it's fit just need to do some fine filing on it and it's ready ill guess.. last pict shows how long the new keyway is.. this is just a test hub yo see how it fit's need to pull of a HD hub to put on this tractor and to fix the axel on the old keyway im gona try to clean it up really good and use chemical metal to fill up the old broken keyway and file that to a so it follows the axel.. and ill hope it will work good for a long time... Lars

Thanks to all for sharing. Thanks to Neil for starting it. This was one of the most enjoyable posts that I have read in a quite while.

I was born in 1951, and I believe I have just relived my entire childhood. Thank you all.

I put this thing on mine. It's got a ball, hitch pin, and hooks for a strap or chain.

just come in from applying all the new decals. I'm very happy with what terry and i came up with.... a big thank you to terry for putting in so much work....... alright, the pics that maybe one or two of you have been waiting for........ because i polished up the paint, to help the decals stick to the paint i wiped down the areas where they were going with wax and grease remover. tackle the hard stuff first, terry cut these in half for me to help apply them around all the critical areas, you need to make sure the throttle slot, the steering and lift/motion control lever holes all line up. would be easier to remove the dash console to apply them in one piece, but that looked to be a bigger pain, so this is the way i went..... right hand half..... left hand half on, had to make sure to line up the halves and the red lines at the same time. again a pain to do assembled like this, but the decals are easy to pull up if you start getting off of where it should be.... rest of dash panels/ covers done, all holes /slots cut, gauges, switches etc installed.... started on the hood with the front, making sure to line up the ends/sides etc all even. approx. 1/4 gap all round decal. left hand side hood decal applied, try to juggle all the gaps to find a happy medium here, you will notice that the front and side aren't exactly in line, but i try to get the bottom gap right with each other and since the blackout on the front of the hood never lines up with the bottom of the side of the hood, you've got to sort of fudge it a little. i start at this point and get it how I'm happy with it and then follow the bottom of the decal/bottom of the hood margin the same all the way right to the back of the hood as i position the decal. pop riveted the hood catches. will paint the rivet heads black so they blend in..... plow decals on. we came up with a warning decal the same style as the lower dash/motion control linkage cover decal but with the wording from the late 70s plow decal..... i also wanted the 90s style id tag for this plow even though its a late 70s plow, i used the model number and serial from my metal tag.... seat pan decal on..... and a pic for steve, used the little stool quite a lot today! saved my back for some abuse another day, I'm sure there will be something stupid heavy to lift and screw it up a little more..... all done... ready for some snow.....lots of it, please......

Born in 1931 in New York. Its been a ball all along the way! "Naturally, I can only cover these things from memory. If I've left anything out, why, just ask me specific questions and I'll be glad to answer them one by one." -Captain Queeg in "The Caine Mutiny"

Yes I forgot to say how much I enjoyed this thread too guys, You all were a bunch of fun and the ribbing was cool too. Thanks to all of you for making this a fun and successful thread. Wow. 414 posts and all in good spirit. Special thanks to my buddy Stevillinisaurus for all your hard work.

Makes you wonder how many of these places are hidden all over the U.S.A both completly wrecked and fallen down and it this sort of shape. I saw a post asking what the U.S.A was like in the 50's.... well i wasn't born till '71 but all I can imagine is that it was 1000% better than what we have now. Deer Camps, a Chevy, Ford or Dodge in the driveway, not worrying about getting shot, blown up or otherwise by some jealous/pyscho anti Ameircan type.... post war prosperity and no P.C. B^&*(%%^%IT!!! yep I would take living less but living in the 50's versus living to 100 now with the medical advancements. Theres my little rant... but thats what thinking about this camp and seeing that 15 + people where together in the camp on Thanksgiving day 1965 made me feel. Tony

Part of the problem is some of the Toro dealership never sold a Wheel Horse. I deal with a local Toro dealer like that he bought out an old Wheel Horse dealer and he stocks some parts and will order any I need. Haven't asked about service as my C-120 hasn't been back to a dealer in 36 years. I have stop at a few Toro dealers when needing parts that don't stock any Wheel Horse parts. They started with Toro after they stopped making Wheel Horse tractors, they have all offered to order part for me.

I was born in 1951 in Chicago and raised there, the third child with an older brother and sister; and a younger sister born in 1958. We lived on the North Side. My grandmother on my mother's side lived with us. My father worked six days a week for a clothing store, Lyttons, and my mother watched children for families that had both parents working. Both of my parents worked hard to send the four of us to Catholic school. At that time, people associated the local parish with where they lived. I can remember "Duck and Cover" drills plus when they were doing sonic boom testing over Chicago. Living two blocks from school, I would go home for lunch. We would line up in the classroom to go home, either Church Corner or School Corner. My father never drove (he did during the war though) so my mother was the family chauffeur. We had a 1948 Studebaker that my parents had purchased from a neighbor who was related to the Stromberg family, of Stromberg carburetor fame. It was rather innovative for its time as I recall. It had been modified to run with two six-volt batteries because they had a home in Northern Wisconsin. It always started for us. We had a black and white console TV that would blow a tube every once in a while. My father would pull the tubes out and go down to the local Rexall drug store to test them on the Tube Tester. Just like Bob, I watched the same shows plus some local ones such as Romper Room, Garfield Goose, and Uncle Johnny Coons (he ran Tarzan and Jungle Jim episodes.) I can remember before I was old enough to go to school that my mother and grandmother would watch "As the World Turns" daily. Our telephone was a "Party Line" and the number was LAkeview 5-1157. No area codes then! When we traveled somewhere (for example, every summer to Durand, WI which was a 14 hour drive before the Interstates,) we would call using an operator "Person-to-Person" for my dead grandfather, of course never home, to save spending money on the long distance phone call! Unthinkable back then with today's cell phones. Summertime we would play outside until the street lights came on. The street would be the softball (16" clincher) field until "Car!" temporarily stopped the play. We played in the street as there were hardly any parked cars in those days. In the winter, we would play in the snow and flood the backyard for a skating rink. I can remember eating buttered Cheerios and fresh snow with maple syrup. I belonged to the NBC ( Neighborhood Boys Club) for organized sports where I broke my nose playing baseball in 1961. We had two neighborhood movie theaters, the "Northcenter" and "The Bug." Both are long gone! I delivered newspapers for the two local papers at various times using my wagon. I would also use that wagon to go to the local lumberyard for supplies that my dad used working on the house. Before I turned 12 (half fare), my father would take me on streetcar and bus rides throughout Chicago on Sundays. As Bob said, simpler times (hard to think that way with the Cold War going on) for a kid back then. Ah yes, then the 60's!

Hey everyone, here is the article that we ran in LAGT, Volume 3, Issue 5. A lot of controversy about this. Very interesting story though. Enjoy!

Been down in the 20's the last few days and went out tonight to swap out the 30w for some 5w-30 in the 314-8 (Kohler M14). After wrestling with my IH Cub Cadets and Simplicity, it was a pleasure to simply unscrew a pipe plug, drain the oil, refill. No subframes to remove, drain plug on the side of the engine, easy access to drain. Other simple things come to mind - like no speparate subframe for mower deck and front blade, heck - no subframes at all. No need to pull the engine to replace the clutch or hydro fan. Crazy simple PTO, easy to service and adjust - no special tool required. Flip the hood and almost total access to the engine. Problem with the driveshaft, pull the engine to service. Problem with the drive belt, easy replacement - engine stays put. Pretty simple. Am I missing anything? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Bill

I'm thinking of grabbing this to use my plow attatchment for and from the pics it looks like in good shape, what's a fair price you think runs and goes good

ONLY 24 more shopping days!!! Anyways.... I went hunting on a brand new piece of property the State of Connecticut purchased in 2011. Its just under 500 acres and is nice for walking in and sitting quietly. I was mopeing along slowly looking around and being quiet when i stumbled upon this abandoned deer / summer camp. I did find on the door frame the date November 25, 1965 and a list of about 15 names. I looked it up and that was Thanksgiving day. The stories and memories in this little 12x20 camp must be amazing. Sad to see it slowly rotting into the earth, it is all cedar and is incredibly well built including a solid cement slab---HOW MANY BAGS OF CEMENT DID THEY CARRY IN / MIX!!!!! Yes I did sit in it for an hour or so both to check out all the scribbles and stuff the kids have done over the years plus as a cool "snipers" nest if a deer strolled by---none did. Tony

Got a call from a buddy and fellow Red Square member a couple weeks back. He and his family were moving and he has less place space then he had. While he took the majority of his tractors and parts,there was one project tractor and some parts that he didn't have room for. David,wanted to know if i wanted the old Commando 6 and some B80 parts. I didn't waste time getting over to pick up the tractor and parts. He said he had put a little gas in the transplanted in Briggs engine in the Commando once or twice a year and it always starts in 3 or 4 pulls. we loaded it up and when i got it home i put a little gas in it and it started in about 3 pulls ! So i took it for a test drive. It runs and drives great. I did have to swap the front wheels out because it had tiller or trailer style wheels with no bearing in them. ( The same wheels that i sent to David on another Wheel Horse earlier in the summer lol.) Thanks again David.

I think a good Sundstrand is at least as good as a good Eaton 1100.

Well the weathers getting a little colder every day as we come closer to christmas, so I thought I best not hang about, and hurry and build too keep myself warm, must I say, I did have my little one going whilst making this one you'd be surprised of the heat they chuck out......

Hello all, The slightly bigger/better one is here now, currently as a patio heater, but will be installed into the shed ASAP, Now for the good bits, PICTURES!

I'm a 1963 model and wasn't around in the 50's, but I grew up in a rural-suburban (at the time) part of New Jersey. Everyone seemed to know one another, we still had real drive-in restaurants with car hop service. Across the street was a drive-in movie theater where us little kids would be dressed in our PJ's and play on the little play ground under the screen. My school was a mile from our home, and we walked to school every day. My kids though I was exaggerating about the distance until I showed them and they were amazed. Things were inexpensive, but we never seemed to have a lot of money. My father used to send me to the store to buy him cigarettes and they would always sell them to me no questions asked. The same store also sold candy and gum cigarettes, I guess to get us little ones started early! I used to like the bubble gum cigs because you could blow through them and it would look like there was smoke coming out the other side. I suppose that some of the things that people thought were great, maybe wasn't. I remember driving in the car in traffic, the exhaust fumes were NASTY since many cars had large 400 Cubic Inch engines or bigger! Smoking was allowed everywhere including grocery stores! There was no such thing as a non-smoking section, and it seemed like everyone smoked (except my mom). Us kids were allowed to build carts out of plywood and ride it in the streets! I'm sure that tons of kids were killed but it was never advertised because it was a dumb kid issue not a failure of society or our parents. In my town, it wasn't unheard of for someone to have chickens, cows, horses and pigs and although there were farms, these were at people's homes. During school we would have air raid drills. When the siren would go off, we would have to go into the hall with our head against the lockers resting on one arm with the other arm behind our necks. If a kid misbehaved in the store ANY mom was allowed to smack the kid on the rump, and they were usually thanked!

As a younge girl my mum used to work in the city of Stoke on Trent in staffordshire ,the city is world famous for its ceramic pottery of Royal Dalton & Wedgewood pottery, Her job as an artist was to paint the designs on quality plates , cups & figurines . During the early 1950s my dad lived in North London & was trained as a Bricklayer & spent alot of his younger years rebuilding houses around London that were Bomb damaged during the blitz from WW2. Then went on to work in Fords Motor Company building Fordson tractors & that is where he stayed for over 20 years. In our kitchen we only had a small larder cupboard that we would have our food in , which wasnt much really . I remember as a treat we used to have bananna sandwiches or sugar sandwiches . but we allways had a proper Roast dinner cooked on Sundays , which still happens to this day . We had a newspaper shop at the top of our street called Toddy`s that sold candy ,cigarettes , knitting wool & small hardware stuff & pink parrafin for the oil heaters . My dad used to send me to Toddy`s to buy him a packet of 10 cigarettes & a newspaper & if Toddy`s was shut, which was half day on thursdays & all day on Sundays we had to buy the cigarettes from the machine outside the shop , I was about the age of 6 when i had to do this chore .

So, I have been a RedSquare member for about two years now and I just want to share with y'all what I have collected so far. My collection started about 2-1/2 years ago when my uncle found my dad's old 1962 Wheel Horse 552 tractor and gave it to me for free. Then... and now... restoration in progress... same tractor but now with a 502 model Lauson HT55C-3088 engine and new front tires... My 2nd Wheel Horse was another 1962 model 552. This was a clist find that I basically bought so that I had one to refer to when tearing apart my dad's 552 for a full restoration and putting that one back together... My 3rd Wheel Horse was an RJ-58 (early S/N) that I bought from JDog's Horse Ranch. She has the original Kohler K-91T 3-1/2 hp engine and still runs great. I refinished the front wheels and mounted new front tires... Then my 4th, I saved this 1961 model 551 that was abandoned in a wooded lot about 25 miles from my home. This was a clist find for $75. This photo is from when I got it home. I already had an original Lauson H55D-2113 engine for it which is shown here just set on the frame. Since then, I have acquired new wide rear wheels/tires, and a hood for it. Not posting new pics now as it is in the back corner of the shed patiently waiting for serious restore time, but the plan is to build a rat rod out of this one... I got my 5th Wheel Horse about a year ago, a $500 clist find, this 1995 314-8 is in great shape with a mower deck and snow blower. I sold my 11hp Crapsman so this is now my worker... and a hard worker she is... I bought my 6th Wheel Horse earlier this year from RedSquare member Big Jake. This is pulling tractor... a 1977 C-120 WH chassis with a 1965 hood and a 22hp Robin Subaru V-twin engine. I went to about four local pulling events this year and had a ton of fun learning about garden tractor pulling... And my most recent addition to my herd about two months ago is another 1961 551 Wheel Horse. This is my 7th WH, another local clist steal. This tractor is nearly complete (also came with a heat shield not mounted) but does need some engine work and a new red coat. A rare feature on this tractor is an NOS replacement hood with the horizontal open slots you would find on the 1962 models... So, that's my current 2-1/2 year Wheel Horse collection. I am now a serious Wheel Horse collector, and yes, I do proudly admit it. There are a few other models that I have on my wish list but as you can probably tell, I really admire the late 50's-early 60's round hoods, So, I am always looking for more if and when the right ones come along. I am also very proud to be a member of the RedSquare forum where I have found so much more information about Wheel Horse tractors than I ever imagined. I have attended the last two Big Shows in Arendtsville, PA just looking for parts and admiring everyone's tractors. I hope to maybe bring a few of these fellers along with me to the next show in 2014. Dave from south central PA

Ambition and ingenuity, you are an inspiration! I'll bet it works for a long time! I often wondered why a full flat key wasn't used. Not sure which LXI you have but the 520LXI axel 79-3340 shows crossing only to around that series/style/year group, probably something different on spline count or length.

I have one of the heavy duty receiver hitches Scott and Tom make on my 314-8. I have used it to pull my 5x10 Holmes (995 lbs) with my grandsons 185 John Deere lawn tractor on it. Had to feather the clutch taking off to prevent a wheelie, but the pull was easy, on a gravel drive up and down hill. I would like to find a nice 4x6 or 4x8 to use behind the 314-6. it would be nice to haul my "stuff" around the property. I have WH rear weights, chains and the frame mounted WH front weight, plus my 265 lbs. There is no traction problem, yet!

Mal - exactly....and for the life of me, I am still baffled a "Green" dealership ,that has no ties to Toro/Wheel Horse, tried to help me by thinking outside the box...They went well above the definition of customer service and provided some options to work with. < I am also not so naïve to think they were not trying to sell something else that day... But the genuine service to provide a solution, that was not even their worry, well that is just amazing. Still contemplating the offer they made on the CG 2600...The problem is the time of year...

mark....no, I didn't keep track of the hours. you know how women can be.my wife keeps track of the golf because she likes to justify the price of a private golf club. it really didn't seem like it took any longer than any other one. I get all the missing and replacement parts before I even start. also, they are at my shop, so during work I can take a few minutes and prime something quick, or mix up a little batch of body filler. I still cant find a gt14 muffler.

ping pong balls vs....

WoW!! Now that's what I call a great find I could live there very happily

We have a drawbar hitch on three of our 1054 Wheel Horse tractors. This hitch attaches to the snowplow hitch which has the same angle iron as the drawbar hitch and attached with carriage or hex bolts. The drawbar is made to operate with and clear the rear lift slot hitch and the beauty of this is that you can add a ball on the drawbar, a clevis and use the holes to place a pin for a Wheel Horse trailer or other attachment.

I can tell you Tony that the fifties were a great time to be a kid growing up. Life was slower and appreciated more than now. Little tings like my Dad giving us a 50 cent allowance most weeks was just the greatest memory. Taking us to the drive in was a special time too. I miss those days. I'd love to be able to take my family back to that time to live.

My Bud Jon had two last year and swore never again! But here we go again! He has one from Thialand, and his boss brought others from Germany, Finland, Mexico and Columbia to learn how to snowmobile. As their insurance does not allow them to drive anything or shoot anything, they could only ride with Jon's oldest daughter towing the others on a sled. Jon promptly hit a 3' boulder at the driveway while warming his old 377 Skidoo, re-aggrivating a torn thigh and forcing him to the house. I was left overseeing 6 excited teen girls speaking as many languages! What a trip! I could not understand a word, but they could and were having a blast! 3 had never seen snow in their life, let alone a snowmobile and sled. They went round and round the property for hours, so much for me hunting tonight. In between rides they made snow women. When they went in for hot chocolate, I beat feet as I was hours overdue at home. Today is one of those days that just happen, and you will never forget!

Man, I was born in 1965 and thought that the 70's were cool. The 50' s sound awesome!

I was born in '45 and grew up on a farm in central New York. One of the greatest things was being able to go anyplace and feel safe. We would ride our bikes to the general store a mile away and drop off eggs and produce and bring home the groceries, didn't need any money, it was all on the barter system. If the account had a little extra on it I would get a Coke. ( if not I think Mr. Wright would tell me there was and give it to me.) Growing up all of the boys in the area would work for whatever farmer needed help, most of them paid us well and would take us out for pizza or burgers when the work was done. From time to time we would all ride our bikes to the city bus stop ( five miles ) and take the bus into Syracuse to see a movie. As a teen I played drums in the School band. That gave me an opotunity to go to all of the events and home games. Our little town had one social hang out, soda fountin/bowling lanes/barber shop/diner. We would all go down to "Archies" after shool on game nights and then after the game some one would take us home, parents never had any concerns, we were safe as could be. I can not remember any crime at all in our little town. My mom would put any excess produce out by the road with a change box and sell it on the honor system. ( try doing that today ) Every adult was treated with respect and if we got out of line they made sure you knew it, long befor your parents found out. I once made a go cart from an old door and the motor from dad's mower. That thing seemed like it went 100; Dad didn't mind as long as I put the motor back on the mower and cut the yard.Yes, they were the good old days!

Many happy returns Brian.

Way to be part of the solution Mike...

Plus you could wash parts with gas and it didn't burn your skin!

I was born in 1950. My family consisted of mom, dad, and an older brother. Life was simple. As kids, we played outside almost all the time. Rarely watched TV. Shows like Howdy Doody, Romper Room, I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks, and of course Saturday morning cartoons were watched on occasion. TV was so bad that my mother used to drape a blanket over the TV and my brother so we could see the image. When we played outside, we were cowboys, indians, pirates, soldiers, and anything our vivid imaginations told us to be. We came in for lunch and supper, but were back out until dark. We camped out under the stars, and played in the puddles during rain storms. On rare occasions, we went to the movies. Old Yeller, Davy Crockett, Bambi, and Godzilla were a few that we could see for 25 cents. 5 cents bought you a Bonamos Turkish Taffy or a bag of popcorn. Dad filled the old 52 Ford pickup at the Sinclair station for 15 cents a gallon and got the windshield washed, oil checked and tires inflated. On Sunday we went to church, then to grandma's for Sunday dinner. No stores were open on Sunday. Where I lived, life was centered around the family. We got a telephone in 1952. Our number was 53M. Mom always had a garden, and we were never hurting for food, even when times were tough. I always wore hand-me-down clothes, that had been handed down to my brother by my older cousins. A trip to go shopping meant a bus ride to Baltimore City. There we had Sears-Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, Macy's, Hutzlers, Hochchild Kohns department stores. In our town, we had a real hardware store where you could buy anything. My dad would typically buy a bag full of nuts, bolts, hinges, screws, wire, fuses, and other stuff, and for less than $1.00. I was not into music when I was a child, but I did take piano lessons, and learned to appreciate real music. In 4th grade I played the trumpet. We were not allowed to listen to Rock and Roll, and my mother thought Elvis Presley was evil. But life in the 50's was simple and good for an All-American boy. I could go on and on, but then came the 60's, and everything changed.

You didn't waste any time amassing a good collection! There was a time a few tears back when if something red showed up on Craigslist or e-bay within 100 miles of my house I was all over it like it was the last red tractor out there. Seemed like every WH tractor guy in Connecticut was in a race to get it! Now I've slowed down the hunt and only look for certain stuff...(makes the wife happy for some reason ). Mike............

Nothing is missing. The "engine is missing". (Sorry for my slang). You used the term, and I quote; "after running a few minutes it seems like it might be missing and backfires when you shut it off". I simply wanted you to not stress out about the backfiring. Magnums do that. Just fix the miss in the engine. (Carb cleaning, new plugs, new gas filter, etc etc). You know, Ibskot.......It's going to be OK! Thanksgiving is over. Christmas will come and go. You'll find the gifts you need to buy everyone! The bills will get paid by June of 2014 and everyone will be happy! And you'll get your horse running like a champ! You seem like your maybe a little stressed! I know I am so I'm heading to camp tomorrow. Monday is deer season! (This translates to watching movies, drinking beer, smoking cigars, eating bad things and falling asleep under a tree). Hopefully I won't see a deer! Dropping one ruins everything then I'll be stressed again! Good Luck!

Not to hi-jack this thread but this is a really good opportunity to say that it is nice to be able to work with a dealer in case something is wrong. The problem that I have run into is cost. Yes I like to support my local dealer especially the one I have used for years. The fact is the dealers price is sometimes 20 to 30% more than what I can find it on-line for. I just recently bought some Toro/Wheel Horse OEM items for 40% less than what my dealer was charging and that included shipping. I have in the past gave my dealer a chance to match or at least come close but he said he just could not do that. I understand business and know he has his cost, etc. but when you are faced with pay more and in some circumstances a lot more in order to support a dealer, it just does not add up for me. I have to get the biggest bang for my buck and unfortunately going the Internet route is being route I have to take. I don't like it but circumstances dictate it. I fully understand what flyovrcntry is saying and I am sure there is times you just should work with a dealer but the price they charge now a days you have to look to the net. Just kinda stinks to me. I guess the old saying "What it is, is What it is"

Where my little red tractors stay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_rRJIAQapg

The problem disappeared when you replaced a defective ignition switch with no conductivity between the two terminals needed to support the charge function.This makes sense. Not a "ground" issue as there are no "grounds" in or through a coil based ignition switch. The troubleshooting you performed by measuring the resistance between the R and B terminals showed solid evidence of an issue with the charge circuit. I did not see any real measureable evidence of a "ground" issue. Here is an easy method to check the quality of your ground connections. Set a DC voltmeter on the 20 volt range. Place the negative meter probe directly on the battery negative lug - not the negative battery cable terminal but the battery negative lug. Place the positive meter lead on any clean metal on the engine block. Crank the engine and note the reading on your meter. Any reading less than 0.5 volts indicates ALL the connections from the battery to the engine block are clean and intact. If you see a 12 volt plus reading, you have an OPEN connection in your ground circuit. Any voltage indication between 0.5 and 12 volts indicates some degree of degraded connection in the ground circuit. I intend to create a "voltage drop" troubleshooting tutorial to assist in locating exactly where the bad connection(s) exist. Shotgun methods of troubleshooting involving just unbolting ground cables and polishing the terminals does not assure you have done all you can to eliminate a "bad ground". What if the bad connection is the crimp of the termnal to the groiund wire copper strands? Cleaning the terminals does not resolve the issue. Making a measurement on the voltage drop across the cable will indicate where the issue resides and does away with the shotgun methods that cost money and waste time.

I like the ones that say " will post pics tomorrow" No pics and the ad is a month old.

When I was out plowing today the tie rod came loose on the GT14. It looks like at one time the joint had wore out came apart, so somebody drilled a hole through the joint and then put a bolt all the way through it. it worked but the nut worked its way off. I fixed it by using a shoulder bolt a couple of nuts. But I would like to fit it correctly. Where is good place to buy these joints?? Its the joint that connects to the wheel spindle by the way. Thanks in advance.

Paul, I took your info, reformatted a little and posted a download-able copy in PDF format. Hope you don't mind. If you'd like, PM me and we can discuss. This would be a fantastic resource to the community and adding to this and keeping it up to date would be a huge plus for those to follow. I'd like to help you with this if I can. Wheelhorse Seal and Bearing Cross Reference (PDF)