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Stevebo gave me a call that his cousin Toddbo was looking to sell his Commando 8. I really didn't know where this tractor would fit in with my collection but after thinking about it over night I decided to grab it. Besides it was only a two mile trip to Toddbo's place to pick it up! I decided to part ways with my 657 wood hauler. The Commando 8 has factory lights and a charging system with a battery, something the 657 lacked. Though the factory lights aren't the brightest they'll do when I need to clear snow at night with it. No need to light up the neighbor hood, just a few feet in front of me will do the trick. I'm only going to throw a new seat at it and call it done.

After a few months of tinkering I was finally able to hitch up my rebuilt tiller to my trusty 310-8 today, worked great! Special thanks to Kelly for the dial-a-height and Dennist for the hitch, pulley, and input shaft. Tillers seem to be a bit rare in Missouri so I had to convert a RT-366 to work with the newer style tractor (hence the hitch, and input shaft). Can't believe how well these tillers work! Now that everything is in working order it will get tore down once more for a fresh coat of paint!

Yikes!! That's not what I was thinking you were doing at all!

Pull off the air filter so you can see Carb Throat. Have a can of carb cleaner or (gas in squirt can ready). Then start up engine run it till it starts to die then squirt carb cleaner or gas in the carb throat, If it try's to run then it is most likely lack of fuel ie: (Fuel System Problem). If it dies right out then it is most likely (Electrical Problem). Doing it this way is your cheapest systematic start, as your not just replacing parts. You will also know which direction to go, then follow every ones trouble shooting suggestions that are mentioned. ~Duke

I just bought this tractor earlier this week. It was said to have a bad motor , major leaking, and needed a rebuild. The deck was just rebuilt 2 years ago with all new spindles , paint, blades , and reinforced. I have since fixed the leaking and have her runnin really well for the most part. Just a little miss when revving up to different RPMS. I got the engine back in today and presher washed the tractor. All gauges work and the hydro seams strong as well. Im looking forward to using this beast. It was garage kept all its life except for this winter because the PO bought a zero turn and had no room in the garage. I am glad he sold it , instead of leaving it rust away. Its safe to say I got an awsome deal considering the shape shes in and the engine now runs. What do you guys think... Sent from my Event using Tapatalk

well as we all know the winter has been long and cold, so buying stuff has been limited for me, but now with the weather warming a little (it was 23 deg today) and snow melting, I'm getting calls from people wanting to sell stuff, this is a deal I picked up today, nothing great but still a good deal. Tractor needs a head gasket that is why the PO stopped using it, it has been spray bombed but don't look to bad from 5 feet, deck has been patched, but works. I havent ran the numbers yet but I know it's a 76 or 77 B-80 8 speed with 36" deck. This was the bonus part getting a box of goodies, blades, chains, PTO parts, deck parts, and more, a very nice homemade set of weights about 75lbs each, extra set of ag tires, weathered but good tread, the orig. rear tires and wheels and a mid grader, that we found digging stuff out of the barn. All in all a good deal, even though it was COLD and windy out.

C-125 brought some logs from my wood store today.

I'm not sure I would touch any of the things you mentioned unless you are having a problem. I'd have a good look at everything while it is apart, and do a thorough cleaning of the cooling fins, but that's about it. I would fit new valve stem seals on the inlets while putting it back together. Not sure what you mean by the gasket on the oil cooler? Do you mean the filter? If its not leaking now, and the bolts are tight, I would leave it alone. The 2 piece intake manifolds can leak, but if your engine is running well then I probably wouldn't screw with it. Martin has described how he did his in one of his threads. I've never had to buy a carb kit for an Onan. I have always managed to remove the top, clean out the bowl and blow through the jets without destroying any of the gaskets. Mind you I have never had a major carb problem either, if your motor is running OK now, I wouldn't get too carried away.

Nice plows, both of 'em! I used a plow with my slot / sleeve hitch years ago. Worked like a charm!

Heck, I'd be happy with" What are you using to clean the yard" thread

So I got home tonight and fired up the 520 to run it some..... and maybe just to play a little I only ran it for a few minutes yesterday because of my nieces Birthday party. Today it ran much better. No more miss at all. It was missing and would puff a little ploom of smoke when it would hiccup. It must of been the old gas. I drained the fuel and put non ethanol gas in it yesterday. It must have worked its way through. Now shes purrs. The planets must have lined up in a row today. My girlfriend said can I drive..... "me" ofcoarse you can.... "her" I dont like this leaver to make it go, I want a gas pedal. Do they make a tractor like that? ..... "me" Well its funny you say that .... There is a kit you can buy just for that, its only $200. lol Its really hard not to get some seat time on it but I must be patient I guess and pull the heads and adjust the valves. Thanks again guys. Great group here. I am a member of other forums and it can get pretty high school. Kyle

Yikes !! is right. Here is how I hooked up a slot hitch on my 12 /8 spd. I bought 2 5/16" yoke ends from TSC. Then I went to Lowes and bought some cable, crimp ends and cut loose and bought the crimp tool. I crimped on an end ran it through the rear yoke and then through the tube. Slid on the front yoke figured out how long it had to be and crimped that one. Secured the yokes to the hitch and lift with clevis pins and clips.

Here are a few more pics of assembly. Since I was going for that Big Tractor look, I had to put an exhaust stack on it as well. Just for a size comparison, I took a couple pics of the 444 next to my C-160. Matt

Im still watering my garden

Live by the 3...die by the 3.

One more for Regal Red. I found that it took a little while to harden up for me. Wish I had been a little more patient. Don't look too close.

the 875 is a great little tractor. i picked one up a couple years ago. it now belongs to my son, Kent. we spent some time doing a full rebuild on it just recently..... heres how it looks now..... heres the thread on it and a little about when i first picked it up...... got any pics for us?

If there is a guy out there that will put a front blade on his Senior when it snows for a little fun, its the Duke.....

Sorry, too far from the show to make it. Here is a picture of just one shelf of "stuff" the other side of the shed has a larger shelf that is also filled up. I also have shelves full of parts and engines in my shop.

I'm not much of an expert on the pond and wheel horse walkbehind's, but i saw a picture of a pond walkbehind with a plow similar to mine. Has anyone seen a plow like this or does anyone know anything about it like what model it's for or what year it is? Maybe I'm completely wrong with this too. lol

I almost forgot. Here is a more recent video of it. Thanks Matt

I'm currently working on a weight bracket for the front of this beast, as its to light with the tiller on the back. Can you say Wheeeelie?! So I picked up 5 suite case weights that weigh 22lbs each, and using the old mule drive bracket for the mower deck, I built a bracket to hold them. I used alot of 1/2 steel plate that I have laying around to build this bracket, and the bracket weighs 45lbs all by itself. So, I'll have over 150lbs on the front. I've had to do some grinding on the weights as they were cut out of 2" plate, and they weren't real precise, but all thats left to do now is paint them. I'm also working on the Brinly which is very rusty, so I have it soaking in my e-tank. Its going to have alot of rust pits, but thats ok, as I intend to use it. It will look presentable when done. Here are a few more pics, and this brings us up to date. Thanks Matt

Thats what happens when you go several days without posting any new pics Martin! While my stuff isn't nearly as high quality as your stuff is, it gets me threw the hard times. These do seem to be really well built machines, and about the only thing I would change if I could, would be to build a hydraulically controlled foot pedal so I didn't have to control the forward/reverse with my hands. Matt

That is a sweet case Matt, you did a great job on the resto! I am going to have to find me another one this year. Almost bought a really nice 226 this weekend, but it was gone by the time I called.

looks like somebody is creating tractor porn all by themselves? Matt, that 444 refurbish turned out real nice. definitely a real capable tractor. the colors of the case tractors and their design has always gotten my interest. maybe down the road i will find one in my shop, who knows........

Fantastic job Matt..... I had a 220 and a 446 several years ago, they're a well built tractor. I've always been sorta partial to Case, that's the garden tractor my Dad had. Thanks for the pics.

The next order of business was the paint, and body work. This is the part I dislike the most, but it can be very rewarding when done. The hood, and fenders were the only parts that I stripped down to the bare metal, as I really wanted them to turn out nice, and smooth. The chassis, and wheels got a couple coats of Case Power Red, which I mixed myself using IH Orange, and IH Red, the color I use on my Horses. The Desert Sunset color for the hood, and fenders I had mixed at my local paint supply, as I didn't have the necessary colors for mixing that. I used hardener in the paint for added durability, and shine. I then picked up a set of decals to finish it off. Thanks Matt

I like the attachments that came with it.those are powerful tractors

Duke has the right idea

Kelly! That B-80 and grader blade sure would look spiffy sitting in the back of my F-150, dontcha think??

OK....Michigan is not overrated... Anyway...the Big Ten has 3 teams in the SWEET SIXTEEN...

FYI and this is with an internationally recognized top quality industrial multimeter. The effects of external interferences can be very specific to models within a brand name and dependent on the proximity and type of electrical radiation. Makes you think about holding the cellphone to your head all day long.

Any way you look at it , for a small town that is devastating. Without any injury or deaths in those upper floors I think everyone was very fortunate.

My main question was by the pics posted I didn't see much. I wasn't implying there was a small response. The fire here was in a village offed than 1000 people And the buildings were surrounded. We had company's here from almost 40 miles away. I didn't Mean to offend anyone. It just looked stange from what I saw a week ago.

That is really tragic tp lose a building of that age . even more tragic to lose another dealership . Thanx for the pics Jim

Added a few vent holes to help cool the rear cylinder. May also be my heater when I get the cab built.

glad you can till as we are still blowing snow

I never was good at the "stick and ball" sports, but do enjoy watching the non pro finals for the sportsmanship and claim of accomplishment, Give me something mechanical to work on or compete with and I usually do OK, or just send me out in mother nature to enjoy and relax. The walleye capital of the world is in my backyard but the good fishing is in Alaska.

Update. She is back together. She fired right up and NO leaks . So the crank brearing plate was loose and all I did was tighten it down. It also had the wrong size oil filter. I even went and bought a crank seal and bearing plate gasket today thinking I could not get that lucky. It does not leak a drop! Now I am left with a tiny little miss. I drained the old gas and put fresh gas in it today. Hopefully some running will fix the problem. If not , I will be opening her up anyway for a good tune up and clean up. I just don't have the time for a least a few weeks till my remodel is done for all that work. Thanks everyone

Regal Red. Easy to work with, I use the rattle cans. Sometimes I coat with clear crystal after the Rustoleum Regal Red has dried for a few days..or longer. Foot rests get skateboard heavy duty grip tape. Great stuff!

Very nice find!! I would love to own an 8000, but they are very difficult to find. I look forward to seeing you get it fixed up. Here is a pic of the 3000 I gave to my son. Thanks Matt

No on the desulfator. The plug wire is new and it is an oem Kohler specifically for Kohler small engine's. Would it be worth trying an automotive grade plug wire? Wouldn't running it for an hour or so at this high volage ruin the battery?

The 96 first. The first thing you need to figure out is if its fuel or electrical. When it dies and wont start, pull a plug wire off and check for spark. More to follow when that question is answered. The 91, you need to check the solenoids. The frame mounted one is the most common culprit. With the key in the start position make sure you are getting 12v to the trigger wire( small wire) . Make sure there is 12v on the large wire coming from the battery. If you have 12v on both wires, make sure you have 12v on the other large wire. If that proves good move to the starter. You need to have 12v at the large wire and 12v on the trigger wire with key in the start position.

I agree... I have had nothing but issue with that Majic paints... I even say in one of my vids not to eve use that ^*^*&^^% stuff!

My C-101

this is what I'm using!

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This is how it's hooked up on my rj58. I'm not sure that it's correct.

Wow, some great stories there guys. Thank you for sharing No family related story here though, my folks have never had a garden big enough to get a ride on mower of any kind My Wheel Horse story starts around about 7 years ago when i moved into a rented place with my girlfriend at the time. Our landlord lived next door on a very small farm, but there stuck in the orchard was this poor little WH Raider (unknown engine size) looking sorry for it's self with 4 flat tires that had well and truly sunken into the mud. Try as i might the landlord would not sell it to me, truth be known i didnt have a garden big enough at the time anyway. Fast forward quite a few years and i had moved to a much bigger rented place with a big garden and space for a workshop and no girlfriend to moan at me Strange as it seems it was my new girlfriend (now my wife ) that encouraged me to buy my first WH that i spotted on ebay an old commando 8 with a non original and non installed 8hp Briggs lump. At the time i had spent a few years running Westwoods for grass cutting dutys and it struck me have bad a build quality the Westwood was compared to the WH. Step in WH number 2 the 1974 Raider 10 i bought from a local (very very local ) agricultral auction for grass cutting dutys Instead of putting it to use as intended, i pulled it apart for a rebuild that lasted a lot longer than i ever though it would do During that time my old westwood's cutting deck decided that it had had enough of cutting grass and spat its spindle bearings out Having no grass cutting machine prompted a look on ebay to find a suitable machine that would handle my abuse, and thus WH number 3 (the 312-8) found its way home It was somewhere at this point in time that WH number 1 was sold due to lack of space in my workshack as i have started calling it To cut a long story slightly shorter a 1971 Raider 10 followed me home after rescuing it from a life of rusting in some woods and a 314-8 has also been bought after what felt like an epic journey to collect it Hhhmm, I seam to of lost track of what this thread was about Oh yes, that was it.. Why do we collect these tractors? For me its the build quality, strength, and the wonderful sound a Kohler engine makes when working hard :D