Leaderboard

Saturday we got around 8-12" of snow here in western Indiana. The most my little Suburban has ever pushed in one day. Cleared the long circle drive twice plus the neighbors once. Here are a few pics of the little beast after the first run.

Rob, my brother lived out in Burlington...just a few miles east of that picture. They were out for days and nights rescuing people that were stuck in there vehicles. He told stories of running the roads with his snowmobile...going over buried cars and pulling people out. These winters are dangerous...you can die out there. We have one of those winters going this year...be safe my friends...and smart....spring is only 70 some days away...you don't want to miss that. Here is one from 1978...my Dad with his 857...

In 1977, the Chesapeake Bay froze over. Look at this picture of a tractor pulling a wagon and a sled across the frozen saltwater.

Round 1 Boys. The koi don't mind the weather! Also noticed the wooden fence theres about another 20 Wheel horses buried under the snow. The other good ones are in the barn nice and warm..

OUT OF BEER??? What the HELL is the matter with you????

Window pictures so far I will be going outside soon....

Well the lake effect snowstorm is in full effect just south of buffalo and suppose to get 3 feet of snow! First time in 20 years where under a Blizzard warning. We have over 600 closings,roads close,power outages and Erie county in a state of emergency. The winds are over 60mph and tempatures wind chill is like -45. I have a long day ahead thank god I have the D-160 with snowblower and the Wheel horse 160 with Blade ready to tackle the storm. I will try to get pictures later for you guys right now I can't even see out my window! Worst part about the whole storm is I'm out of beer!

And the winner is Eldon's C595 !! Very nice and well deserved for sure !!

Only got 1" to 2" of snow here in the southern part of the state. Didn't get enough to even get the WH's out. Kind of glad, as it was below 0 and windy....would have froze my extremities! We are not use to these kind of temps....Now I remember why I like summer better!

Ok....crisis over lol. My brother convinced me to set these weights on the rims correctly. We used 1/2 inch by seven inch carriage bolts. They each have 2 beefy washers with a beefy lock washer and nut holding them in place. Being as these cast iron weights are so heavy we wanted to make sure of attachment to the rim. That's why 4 carriage bolts per weight. Also by the carriage bolt head being locked into the rim " square fits into square hole " we felt that would cut down on cavitation and the weight wanting to roll in the rim. The manufacturer of the tire rim had to put that square hole into the rim for this reason. 2 pictures below. Thanks for the advice though. It's much appreciated. Glenn

I hesitated to use ‘resto’ in the title as neither of these carts will end up exactly factory like but to me it is a ‘resto’ in the sense of ‘returning to an earlier state’ i.e. functional, looking reasonable original to the casual eye, and having an active useful life in front of it again. The story really began with the purchase of a 10 cu ft dump cart which looked sort of ok from the outside. What attracted me to this particular cart was that, unlike the few I’d seen (as they’re not exactly common here), this one is not the bolt together type but the tub has a one piece floor and a tub assembly that was welded up at the factory. I’m guessing that at least one other bidder was attracted to that as well so I ended up paying what was really too much for it. C’est la guerre! It had stood so long out in the weather that both wheels had rusted through – hence the Westwood wheels that I had spare and to hand being fitted in the photo. Although the outside looks ok the inside tells a different story – I knew that when I bought it and as a project it was always going to be a challenge. A few weeks later a haul of attachments came along which included a small dump cart which was going for scrap if nobody bid on it – you’ll see why in a moment. It had good wheels that I thought might do for the bigger cart but it turned out that the bigger cart has slightly wider wheels and tyres. Like the bigger cart it looks quite good in the above photo but the rear end of the tub had basically rotted out. Whilst considering the options my son came across what I think was probably a Westwood trailer that had been rotting away under a hedge in Devon. The owner didn’t want it so it was recovered despite being absolutely rotten because the wheels and tyres were in still good shape. This meant that I now had a pair of non-original wheels but about the right size and appearance for the bigger dump cart so what to do with the smaller one as its wheels weren’t now going to be used? Despite the condition of the tub it looked from some angles as being too good to scrap and so a second cart challenge was in the offing, well maybe, as it needed further investigation before committing to anything though my first thoughts were to scrap the tub and turn it into a water bowser which would be useful. The cart had obviously been stored for some years upside down with the result that the axle mountings had filled up with water eventually causing the tub to rot through. It appears that it was then stored the right way up with the tub in the tipped position causing the rear end to rot out. A good clean up revealed that much of the tub was still ok though a bit thinner than it had once been. Shot blasting it was a no-no or there’d have been very little left in places so it was long patient work with a dust mask and abrasive wheel in the angle grinder and various other abrasive wheels to remove as much of the rust as was practically possible.. The tub was then anti rust treated with a phosphoric acid based product but what to do with the end that was by now paper thin and had a quite a few pinholes in it? Cutting the whole end out to weld a new panel in was a possibility but would have meant losing the ribs as I don’t have the skills or machinery needed to press ribs into a new panel. I’d thought about using glass fiber matting but that would have looked clumsy, pretty awful in fact so decided to experiment with a fibre glass repair paste (basically resin mixed with finely chopped fibre) A first layer was brushed onto the tub then sanded when cured. A second and third coat was added brushing in random directions aiming to achieve a uniform thickness after which as much of the end of the tub that could be save had become as rigid as the rest. This was followed by a coat of oxide primer to protect the inside of the tub. It was then time then for the next experimental stage which would decide the cart’s fate. It was now possible to take the outside of the reinforced skin back to bright metal, treat it, fill the pinholes and again give it a coat of oxide primer to keep it good for now. That’s as far as I got by the end of the summer since which time I’ve been otherwise occupied and the two carts have been stored in the dry. Seeing what other WH friends in the UK were getting up to made me feel guilty about not actually getting on with this so you can guess what my New Year resolution was. I actually began straight after Christmas by getting the wheels for each dump cart cleaned and painted as a warm up exercise but now the more challenging stuff is under way (well challenging for me at least). Cutting the rotten parts out above the axle mounts revealed just how corroded the insides of these had become. Not an easy place to work but patient work with a hammer and sharp screwdriver as a kind of manual needle gun managed to dig out the carbuncles that had formed. The supports are made from fairly thick steel but none the less once the carbuncles were removed the second side had pinholes. The metal was treated with anti-rust, one advantage of having two carts on the go being that while there’s waiting to do on one you can get on with the other. Time to dismantle the larger cart (still with its temporary wheels on it). It’s difficult to date this cart, or the other one for that matter as neither has an id tag or any evidence that it ever had one. Based on the decals used on it the larger one is possibly from about 1978 in that it has the silver on black warning decal. The small cart has the small Wheel Horse on silver foil decal so it has me guessing 1960s ‘somewhen’. Perhaps someone can help on this. More photos of the larger cart will follow as I start to work on the tub but this one shows the one piece floor that is part of the welded tub assembly and the undercarriage which from memory is different to the Agrifab style WH carts I’ve seen. So that’s two carts on the go here now. I must be mad to be doing this! If you’re wondering how I intend to tackle the majorly rotted end of the small cart tub, I have an idea that involves steel but I’ll save that for later. Andy

Sorry no video but here is a still. This is the GX690 Honda. The limiting factor now is the clutch and belt. The motor never slows down. so you either smell burning belt or the squeal of the clutch slipping. Or a little of both.

This is not cold and really not much snow... Here is a photo of what it could be..... This was taken in 1978, in Kings Illinois. Just a little over 10 miles from where I lived in Oregon Illinois. This is snow and cold at it's best. You could call it an artic freeze/ Post a picture from your area in 78 - 79, will make this seem like a HEAT WAVE////

Way to go Bluffhunter, Congrats! I had a great time playing along with you all in this thread this year. Thanks to Steve and all who participated and made it a fun thread. Hope to see you all again this fall!

• Chose to use just regular 9" bolts with my two sets (one plastic pair for the 312 Snow thrower and one steel set for the C-101), ....and let the excess threads stick out on the inside side (1/2" bolts, with washers each end). • The plastic ones just can't hold the square head of the carriage bolt secure, and I like all four nuts & bolts to be secure, now ....both ends of the bolt can be held secure when tightening. • It takes me about 2 hours each time to clear 6" of snow, and the work gets rough on the weighs, they have loosened before, ....so now I'm using nylon lock nuts (the rears are also full of RimGuard, giving over 100# per wheel extra), plow 10-12 times/year.

Oh yeah, some little things: Hood latches can be replaced with ones used on a simplicity tractor. I forget the number but they are nearly identical. You have to shorten them a little but they work great The seat on mine was from tractor supply. I modified the seat a little to work with the original D-250 seat bracket. Drive shaft U joints are the same as a BMW shaft driven motorcycle My coolant overflow bottle shattered while mowing and coated me with hot antifreeze... I replaced it with one from a Renault LeCar. The LeCar one was nearly identical and was made of plastic. Charlie

It was not a storm as such in 1978...it was the whole winter. It started out with a 6" snow (Elgin) on Thanksgiving and we never had a warm up to melt what was on the ground all winter. Every snow was just on top of the last one. Don't get me wrong...we had a couple of good snows that season, but it was the whole winter thing and no melting. I was a lineman with the phone company that year. I was climbing poles in back yards and working on the lines. We were wearing snowshoes to get to the poles, and I had a plastic to-bogon that I pulled with my tools and hardware on it. On some poles, you could just stand on top of the snow and reach the wires. It was a crazy winter and I was a lean, mean 29 years old then. I think I have some pictures somewhere.

Great pics! Always love seeing the older horses in action!

Plow your way to the local store,that much play in outside needs adult bevies when your finished!

its so bad up here because we had the severe ice storm just before Christmas,so you stop dead when you hit the banks,cant move it with a thrower or blade,had to get the bobcat out to make a path for the oilman to fill the tank

Try pulling it off and submerging it in a pan of "antifreeze". (ethylene glycol) I had a low-hanging shift cable freezing up on a utility vehicle at work and it hasn't done it since I gave it a soaking. Just a follow up on this issue. Yesterday while it was relatively warm (32 deg), I decided to look at my choke cable that freezes up. I would have tried Terry's fix, but found that I had no anti-freeze on hand. But I did find a bottle of HEET fuel line de-icer. A short piece of rubber hose over the (engine) end of the cable, and a syringe jambed into that I pumped HEET into the cable till it came out the dashboard end. I followed that with some Liquid Wrench chain lube that I had handy. Tonight the temp was -6 in the garage. As I walked past the tractor I gave the choke knob a pull and the cable was free. We shall see how long this lasts.

Stephen, I sent you a PM, but am reposting here. I hadn't seen this thread until after our conversation. Hopefully this doesn't start a war... GO! D250's are a strange breed. They were Wheel Horse's Edsel and were a true international effort. American specs, German design, French engine, Italian steering gearbox.... They were extremely advanced for their time, but were sales flops. In 1976 1000 units were imported and sold over the next two years. 1978 brought in another 500 of a revised model, then 1979 brought another 500 of the improved version. WH listed them in the product listings into the early 1980's, so they weren't flying off the shelf. They even began to promote special credit terms, freebies, and rental store sales to move them. Anyway, the 1976 model is distinguished by its generator (as opposed to an alternator), single action hydraulics, and weaker transaxle. The 1978/79's had dual action hydraulics with 4 couplers on the front under the grille, an alternator, and a slightly revised transaxle mounting and linkage that greatly improved reliability. The dashboard on the 78/79's was also revised and improved and the engagement for the PTO moved from a foot pedal to a lever. The three point hitch on the 76's was not fitted with spherical bearing "eyes" on the draft links. Instead the lower hitch arms were just punched to accept the pins from the implement. Later model hitches had the eyes that were standard on every other three point hitch ever made... The 1976's in particular were plagued with self-destructing transaxles...especially when used for tilling or heavy ground work like plowing or loading. I don't reacall the entire set of peculiars, but the general explanation is that poor lubricant or low levels combined with excessive load caused the internal axle bushings to wear. The axle/differential would sag or move around a little bit and the worm gear teeth wouldn't mesh properly. Catastrophic failure would then result since the worm gear was made (as are most worm gears) of relatively soft bronze. The teeth would shear and the whole tranaxle would fail. Warranty replacements were apparently a huge cost for WH and Gutbrod. A real nightmare according to guys who were there at the time. In 1978 the revisions were slight - and again I don't remember everything - but the improvement was significant. I think the linkage was improved to make shifting more positive and engaged the gearing better. But the bottom end benefitted by a revised mounting angle of the transaxle housing to the frame that caused loads to be transferred internally differently. So the trans was much more durable. But still, if used too heavily they too were prone to letting go. One of the really critical things about their problems was the location of the oil fill plug in the transaxle housing. Going from memory, I think it's on the right hand side of the transaxle behind the right rear tire. To check the fluid, you almost have to remove the wheel. To fill the fluid, you might as well tip the tractor on its side since the framerail immediately above the check/fill port basically blocks access to the thing. So, many people neglected to check and maintain the transaxle. Coupled with the marginal design and high precision...you get the idea. Would I mow with one? Yep. Just be very anal about transaxle maintenance. Would I plow/blade with one? No. Would I run a tiller? No. Loader? No way! Apparently the tiller, which is pretty hard to find anyway, really was rough on these things. I'm not sure mechanically why, but I guess the constant pushing and pounding was hard on the axle and exacerbated the problems. In the old days before Redsquare, it wasn't uncommon to find random internet posts about blown D250 rears on tiller-equipped tractors. Really, the D250 was a precesion engineered piece of equipment. Unfortunately it was introduced into a market and dealer network that lacked the finesse required to keep 'em going and didn't even have the metric tools needed to work on them. The combinations of the machine's fussiness and bad maintenance and abuse probably did most of them in. I'm under the impression that dealers hated them. And man were they expensive. Like $5k in 1976. Charlie (Charlies D250) used his D250 extensively and even ran it in tractor pulls (I think). I know he complete disassembled and rebuilt his prior to any of this, so perhaps his was in perfect tune, a good one, or he was just lucky. Maybe he made some mods. Anyway, he ought to be on your contact list. Now, I really like the Edsels. They are very smooth running, quiet, and extremely powerful. The Renault engine used was rated at 19.9 hp, but the same engine configuration in other applications (Groundsmasters, forklifts, etc) cranked out 35+ hp. Same carb, timing, governor, etc. So the 19.9 hp rating was probably just a lie to get around the regulations that required seatbelts and ROPS. The 60" deck from the JD 400 used on these tractors mows beautifully and pumps a tremendous amount of air. The original intent was for the D250 to be an "estate" tractor. All it was supposed to do was mow and clear snow. But the size and power meant the desire to use it heavily was too great. So they got used as compact utility tractors. Fuel pumps on the engines tend to go bad over time as any mechanical/camshaft driven pump is apt to do. The Renault replacement is (or was last time I cared to look) hard to find and expensive, so replace it with an electric one if it dies. Other than occasionally on ebay, I've never seen a rebuild kit for the Solex carburator. Points, cap, and rotor are hard to find but I think Charlie has a source. By the way, I think one of the spark plugs cannot be taken out without removing the distributor...if I remember correctly. The ignition switch on the 76's is goofy with a really special key...push the key in to enable the ignition. Pull it out to shut it off. Rotate it one click for parking lights. A second click for headlights. I think the 78's have a more conventional switch. Waterpumps aren't a bad quality or bad design, but at this age they often go bad. I've been seeing them periodically on ebay, so somebody must have found a source. If you see one, buy it. The front/mid PTO shaft also serves double duty as the front axle pivot. Bearings here often get sloppy. Duane Baerpath knows how to replace them and I thought posted a source on here at one point. What else.... That's about the whole brain dump for now. If you want to rely on one for a weekly chore tractor I think you need to prepare yourself to be patient and creative. These aren't supported by WH anymore, so parts aren't really available. Engine parts can probably be found since Continental picked up the Renault industrial line a while back. But transmission stuff is extinct. Deere probably still has deck parts. The only differences between a 400 deck and a 250 deck are the hangers. Everything else is carryover from the Deere. I still have a 76 Edsel that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with. I wouldn't buy another 76. A 78/79, definately. Just a better tractor all the way around. I see that the one you're considering is a newer one. Go for it. If it doesn't work out then it will probably be an easy resell. End of sermon, Steve

My d200 tractor is next on the lst for restoration after I've just completed a full nut and bolt restoration on my David brown 880. any advice greatly appreciated . Thanks James

Browsing through CL last week I run across an ad for a "Hydro Wheel horse"I got a vague pic on my phone and it looks wretched.I venture out into the ice packed high country hills of Dimmock township PA and find a C160 auto frozen in a shed.Been there a year and ain't been started.The relief valve on the ol girl would budge and I had 50 yards of straight up hill icy driveway to conquer.I gave up!lol.He put a charge on the battery,I found my way back to his backwoods estate and this ol girl fired right up and drove herself on the truck.Came with a vgc rear discharge 43" deck but then he told me he abandoned a rototiller and snowblower at his last house!grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I am goin through this sweetie and giving it some love cause this is the first sundstrand with the parking pawl intact of the 20 or so I've had!woot woot!

Did you tell him about our little site? We have a huge member base in Europe. Mike......

Thank You Terry! The info is very much appreciated!

They had camera's back then??

I got my issue a couple of days ago and have been reading one or 2 articles a night so it would last. I think overall Brandon, Kate, and the rest of team are doing an excellent job on the magazine! I am under 18 still and saw the essay competition and may enter it! Would be a good excuse to go out the Wheel Horse Show in PA if I won the tractor! LOL! I have always liked the B-80's alot and I already have a nice 36" rear discharge deck just waiting for a tractor. As mentioned above, I am a Wheel Horse guy as well, but have enjoyed learning about different makes of garden tractors through the magazine. Always look forward to getting our copy in the mail and definitely will be subscribing for years to come!

I use carriage bolts, square head in the square rim holes. Hey, as mentioned above, square holes in the rims for a reason. Darn cold out there today, lucky my stallions are in the barn!

I would still use Nylon Lock Nuts with flat washers instead of the lock-washers....Just my experience and ! I just hate "re-work".

Nice picks Shawn! Nice D160. After seeing all that snow, I do miss it! Thanks for posting bro! Digger, where in LA are you? I used to live on Franklin, 2nd Ward. Just want to picture what the ole house would look like in the storm!

That big D out in the snow sure looks

What will you be using this winter to clear the snow?

Opps, spoke too soon!! Got another inch in the past half hour and it's coming down like gangbusters!

What??? Didn't you hear what he said?? He said, dare I say it again, he is "out of BEER"!! I would find a new place to live!!!!!!!!!! GET OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Cutlas, only about an inch of snow so far here in Rochester, but cold as hell. You might want to make yourself a "hot toddy" today instead of a cold beer!

Good luck.

In Gerry's link above, if you just look at the drawing, you count 4 pinions...but if you go down one page the number of pinions you need is 8. The 5091 transmission in the 1976 B-100 has 8 pinions. It looks like your GT has either 4 or 10 pinions. 4 pinion is WH 5086...10 pinion is WH 5073. The 5091 has 1 1/8" dia axles...the 5086 has 1" dia axles...I am not sure about the 5073 axle dia. Edit to say that the GT has the 5086 trans...4 pinion. I figured it out.

Congrats Bluffhunter and thank you Steve for getting this pool going. It has been a lot of fun.

The new chute design works very well. Heavy snow build up slows it down a little bit. This is a picture when I was dry fitting everything with out paint and covers. Even with a cover on a little water froze in the motor when I left it outside after blowing that day. Brought it back inside works fine. Not having a turn stop is Very nice!!! I can blow snow to the left or right almost directly behind me nice for tight spaces.

ty cutlas, cant wait to see the pics. we went from snow friday, freezing cold, 54 sunday, rain galore, now frigid temps. crazy weather, crazy. Stay warm. Glenn

Make a hole sweetie pie... there's more coming home.

See you smoked all them "gars" didn't you!

You may have gotten the kit for the Kohler built carburetor rather than the Walbro. There is a carburetor reference manual that is very helpful to have for ordering the correct kits for either carburetor. It is too large to upload but it may be in the manuals section or available at the Kohler website. You can call Jack's Small Engines 1-877-737-2787 to get the correct kit.

Sorry to hear of your bad fortune, With the out drive sprocket being mounted outside the brake drum you probably put a lot of extra load on the bearings. May need to fabricate an outer bracket with a pillow block to share the load. With all you have done I know you can overcome this. Good luck.

I am on it 20 times a day.It's an issue,I would get the DTs if I hadda go without.

I would have to respectfully disagree with the above comment... I really like LAGT but I would suggest they find better writers... sometimes its painful getting through a story... the subject matter is on point but, the overall article structure is way off target.

I remember that meadowfield was the first to respond to my first posting on RedSquare, I was seeking Information and didn't realize even made it to the other side of the pond. Since then I have enjoyed many postings by Euro members. The show postings have interesting euipment I had never seen and you got to love the 6X6 and Super Bendey offerings and the step by step tutorials offered by the members. Quite frankly I don't consider them as a seperate group, we are all members with an interest in .

A guy called me on Monday and said he wanted an appraisal on his old WH. He just inherited it from his uncle the original owner. It is in good shape but not running. Turns out it is a nice 1961 Model # 551. The original 5.5 Hp. Tecumseh engine is still intact and complete. They have a bunch of rigged up wiring attached to it, the motor turns over but has no spark. Most of the wires are disconnected. It has the original mower deck with no rust on it no where! It has a factory replacement hood with the slotted grill. The carb and air cleaner are intact and in vgc. Has all of the belt guards in place as well. I told him around $300 then he caught me off guard and wanted to know if I wanted to buy it! I said uhhhh Yes I do! He was going to ask his uncle if he could sell it and he'd give the old timer the cash. Now I am waiting to hear back from him! Dang, I hate to wait for a good Horse! I'll get some pics soon....KJ