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from Papa... My wife has decisions like "what should I wear." I have decisions like, " what should I drink" or "which tractor do I replace?!" Hey Mike...does this 702 make me look fat??? Does my 857 make my butt look big???

1st show that I've attended. What a great bunch of men. My wife and I made this trip - not knowing what to expect, and we ended up having a great day. Met Steve - and then it was like "like let me introduce you to all the other guys". These men are truly good people and represent RedSquare and what it stands for. Steve, Dennis, and Martin took pics SmokeyJo had a nice amount of horses there Both Terrys, Cody and Mike - and anyone else I met - My pleasure AJs jamboree was quite a site for tractor enthusiasts. As you can see from all the above pictures. Fun, food and a whole lot of metal. Quite organized with many collectors and machinery lovers. Good weather Unfortunately I wasn't there as long as I would have liked to have been - But yet thru all the hustle and bustle of my short day I was able to talk , sharing of ideas, listening to stories and (burb) (burb) excuse me, and bluberries (thanks Steve). Some of the guys I didn't see till I was leaving so to all I did meet , I wish you the best Rick

You know, there something about the sound of a Kohler cast iron engine that will just disappear if you do all those mods. I don't know if I'd like that. The K241 engine on my first B-100 has never had anything done to it other than oil changes. The guides may be a little worn, and the cylinder may be a little out of round, and it just might have a bit of wear on the crank pin. But when I turn the ignition at -10 degrees with a foot of snow around me, and she fires right up and plows my driveway, I listen to the sounds of that cast iron Kohler and am thankful for the most dependable, noisy engine ever built.

Well yes, its emotional (many times family history), but the true reason is that nearly EVERY wheel horse is exactly the same. You can divide them into a few functional categories (i am only doing the mid-size variety here): Early (RJ's seniors etc) Mid Engine Roundhood Front Engine Roundhood Late Model (C series, 300, 400, 500) XI Series With a few exceptions(GT series, some other odd balls) each category of tractor, no matter the model, are exactly the same with different horsepower. The only things that differentiate these tractors functionally are: hydro vs manual lawn vs garden vs compact (think B, C, D series) Gear Reduction on Later model 520's XI's are in a different league: power steering, dual range hydro, etc. Considering that I was able to summarize 60 some odd years of tractors with only 4 bullet points, that is why there is not a lot of 'objective' favoritism. You will find people that run two stage snow blowers or 60" deck need the power of the onan 20, but quite a few are happy with 8hp just cutting crass and even plowing the earth. All Wheel Horses are awesome for their simplicity and reliability, so you are down to the emotional "This one is pretty!" or "My dad/granddad had this one" aspect.

Just thought I'd add a few more pictures. Wheel Horse had probably the biggest showing there. Always nice to see that sea of red. In no particular order, here are some pic I took with my phone. Left to right: Mrs. Zeek (Sue), Mrs. Buckrancher (Jo) and Wild Bill Pearson JimT and Buckrancher look on as Zeek rolls the Cheesegrater out of the trailer Some really little guy's. Gas powered pedal tractors

No video. I don't have cool music like Steppenwolf, The Doors, or Death Leapord playing plus I don't have Steve's "Moves" ! But being home and down a leg I have been able to work on the "Horse Hauler" some to get it ready for the "Big Trip". Got some Tread Plate on the cheap and after 3 coats of Extend a couple coats of etch prime, some primer sealer and 3 coats of Rustoleum Pro Grade gloss black the painting is done. I have a water tight ammo box to mount for the tie downs and I have to install the anchors yet. Then it will be finished. I should have taken a pic of my Geo Metro Hubcaps Fuel Mileage Enhancers! :)

Paul...sorry...there is no cure at this time. I don't think anybody is even working on a cure.

Favorite? Very difficult to answer, I love Horses! My two most frequently "go to" Stallions, '90 520-8, simply 'cause it's new to me and I am impressed. 2nd, my '85 416-8, of course I believe a well maintained Kohler will be 'round after I'm gone. Grandsons love the sound of the Onan but, will "drive" any Horse. It's a Horse of course!

4th order harmonically damped peltier based cooler with current controlled switch mode power source

Here is a few looks of my one and only horse. I received this tractor along with a house I'm living in and it has cut a lot of grass over the years. It never had much red paint since I've known it and it had gotten to using a fair amount of oil. Last winter, I overhauled the Tecumseh HH160 engine, but didn't do anything with the rest of the tractor. This winter I decided to give it a complete refresh. Since joining REDSQUARE, I've discovered that this is a somewhat rare, love-it-or-hate-it, tractor with the ovh Tecumseh. Just my personal preference (don't flame me for this), but I kinda like this thing. Impressive power and great fuel economy, and you never have to adjust points. I started off with some new Deestone rubber. 23x10.50 in the rear and 4.00x8 tri rib in the front. Thanks to Matt (Bowtiebutler956) for pictures of his tractor and tires. It makes a perfect match on the original rims. Finally in March, I got the time to begin the teardown. No picts of the actual work, but it was hours of cleaning, sanding, priming, painting, etc. A shout out to Terry (Vinylguy) for working up a decal set. A few things were different on my early 160, but he replicated everything perfectly. Definitely a class act. A shout out to Dave Meyer (chev0545) for the absolutely mint '73 48 in. deck. It still has some original paint on the bottom. I didn't paint it, the paint is original. My old deck was very thin and warped and growing a few holes. There are a few other mods and upgrades as well, but we'll see if y'all can pick them out. More picts on that later.

Over the past few weeks I have bought 18 tractors and a full 18' car trailer plus full of parts, my parts lot where I park tractors is over flowing, I need to strip the chassis's that are well picked over, so I have room for the new ones coming in, I think I will be later this summer, having a yard sale tractor style, I need about 30 tractors to leave here, either whole or in pieces, anyway, here is lastnights haul I bought the little 246H with a 38" deck, 48" snow blade and chains last winter, and had a buddy pick it up, and hold it till this week, I plan to use it for parts for my personal mower, the deck and blade will be for sale, the Electro I picked up on my way home, it was a 250 mile round trip so I scouted ads to see if there was any deals on my trip and found this jem, I thinks is a 70 I have not ran the numbers yet, I havn't messed with it yet but the engine I think is toast, but I see lots of parts.

When I was a kid, my dad had a little horse that he plowed the garden with. He barely fit on the thing as I remember. Wish I had that now, whatever it was. dwc

I like the Red and Gray ones!!

Lost a lot of mowin' time 'cause of WHA (Wheel Horse Addiction). Sittin' in the barn sippin' suds thinking, "Which Stallion needs the most excercise?" I often map out the lawns; i.e.: 520 here, 416 there, 414 and a grandson over there, son with the Auto12 there, Ms. peeved, "When are you going to trim the hedges?" Anyone have an overhead WH sickel mower? Oh myself? Raider 12 and mo' suds.

1.How to cure a John deere addiction? Thats easy, buy a couple of John Deere lawn and garden tractors. I'm down to one of those now. 2.How to cure a International Harvester Cub Cadet addiction? Thats easy, buy a couple of IHCC lawn and garden tractors. I'm down to one of those too, and too upside down in the one I have to sell it. 3.How to cure a Wheel Horse addiction? As Steve put it, "There is no cure". My own personal thoughts are there will never be a cure. Paul, you have been addicted for three years now and already are short on space for your tractors. Thats natural. Soon you will be building a storage building or buying a ready made storeage building. My advice is to roll with the addiction and enjoy the journey. See you in June.

well heres my pics from today, not many. i know there were others taking pics, so I'm sure more will come..... beautiful day, little on the cool side when the sun went behind the clouds, but the sun was out most of the day, i got way more than my share of it........

PaulC I can only speak for myself and as you can see I oonly have 3 ,, But I AM NOT an addict I can walk away from mine in a minute and go help my friend with his,,

I vote for painting the grille black. It carries the "theme" through with the hoodstand and seat. The black wheels with hubcaps looks great! Nice Job!!!

I am with Wheel-N-it, Shine does not go flat and when the tractor needs that little extra RPM while in tall grass you can just add a we little bit to the gas tank.

I just drink enough beforehand so that the grass already looks cut.

When I got this tractor, it only had a round, can style muffler on a 1 in. pipe straight out the side. I never did like the thing and always hated how loud it was. Mowing after dark, I could see fire coming out the side. I wanted a more original muffler that would be a little more effective. I had thought about a stack, but decided I wanted to keep everything under the hood for clearance under trees and a cleaner look. An original Nelson muffler was non-existent and pricey, so I decided to make one out of stainless. Here's what I came up with. The main shell of the muffler is a piece of stainless from a submersible well pump housing. The in and out pipes, as well as a small piece inside, came from a 1 1/2 in. shower grab bar. That stuff is an art to weld, but I was very happy with the way it turned out. Nice and quiet with a pleasing burble under load. No, I'm not going into production. It took way to long to make for anybody else to afford one. What else do you guys see different?

My daughters ranger has a nice little k161 that works Great!

Easy solution, get one of those hat holder thingies with the straw. You mount it to your head, hands free then sip and mow as you go!

All of mine... plus a few more. Hears my favorite yesterday.

I just aquired this Rj58 here in the UK from a friend, i pick it up this week Its a Runner although there are a few cosmetic things that are not quite right with itbut i intend to sort them out , so i will be asking for some RJ parts off you guys the first thing i need is a rear tool box & fenders if anyone has any

Here is some more pics of my custom Army Wheel Horse tractor, Model # 762. Formerly the very first 702 ever made, I added a 6 Speed High/Low tranny, hence the 762. It has alot of custom made parts on it and rare WH parts as well. Some of the features are custom front bumper with attachamatic brackets, 100 year old barn wood push pads, HL5 head lights, dual 953 tail lights, dual rear hitches, 1045 front tires and monster rear tires, NOS 701 dual belt set up and NOS 701 belt guard, Army oil can with leather strap and custom battery hold down bracket that holds the oil can, 2 grenades just in case, widened drive belt guard, new style brake band and pulley set up, step down foot rests and the Army paint and decals. I used a copper fuel line and a few brass nuts and bolts. Custom Fuse Ignitor (NOS WH Cigar Lighter) and head light switch box. A ton of work went into this tractor to make it look original. I forgot how hard it is to restore a garden tractor, especially when we started to assemble all of the parts on the tractor! It is a matter of trial and error for sure. Put a part on and take it back off. If you get parts installed in the wrong order of assembly, you have to take them back off to install some other part! It all came together late in the evening one day before the Sugar Creek Tractor Show. It was received very well at the show and made quite an impression on those who saw it. A very special thanks to my buddy Larry Packrat Eads for all of his help with fabrication and assembly! He knows his stuff for sure! I still have some paint touch up to do on it and some US Army Numbers to put on the sides of the hood. But for the most part it is finally DONE! It took more than 5 years to finish this top secret machine and now the cat, or Horse is out of the bag!

Hey Guys, I am nearing the end of the process on redoing my 1990 312H. It is not a restore as I didn't take every single part off the machine but I did take it down pretty far and its definitely going to look much newer when I'm done. Sorry but I am the get it done now type of guy so I don't seem to ever have the foresight to take good before and during pictures, so unfortunately I only have a handful of before pictures. I should have started this thread sooner but to late for that so I will post the pictures I have taken to this point and add more and update until I am finished. Here is the before of the tractor(one pictured left, the 312A on the right is currently for sale as I don't have room for it) Here are two befores of my 42" rear discharge deck, it was in pretty rough shape but solid with no holes or rot at all A short back story on how I got into Wheel Horse. My Grandpa who recently passed away bought a 312-8 new which is still around and is a 1985, he also had one sweet lawn sweeper he always used with it. Well when him and my grandma got to be older the 45 acres they had got to be to much for my gramp to maintain so they sold the property to my dad which is where he currently lives. I got married in September 2012 and moved into my first home in June of the same year. I have 3/4 of an acre to mow so I asked dad if I could have the old wheel horse as he now has a zero turn that he mows with. That 312-8 was rolled down the bank of the pond on that property at one point so it looks pretty beat up, but I got it to my house and my dad did a quick carb clean and that thing purred like a kitten and did a darn good job mowing my lawn. I used it for that summer and as it got close to winter time I started to look for a blower attachment because I knew the wheel horses had some attachments available. I hopped on CL and there was a 1987 312A with side discharge deck and 42" blower attachment on there. I was psyched for the hydro tranny as I hated shifting the 312-8 so I went and met the guy and bought it. I then began some research which brought me to redsquare where I learned a lot of the history of wheel horse and how awesome these machines really are. I continued to troll CL and came across my 1990 312H, had a lot lower of hrs hydraulic lift and the 42" rear discharge deck that I really wanted so I decided to pull the trigger and go buy that one too . It is now official I am a Wheel Horse nut at least that's what my wife says The main reason for that back story was to explain my next photo which is my Grandpas beloved lawn sweeper. The leaves started to fall at my new home and I quickly realized I needed to do something about it. I asked dad about gramps old sweeper and sure enough it was still in the weeds where it had been for the previous 5 years or so. I brought it home PB blasted the pants off of it and got it going. Its the baddest lawn sweeper ive ever seen and have just recently learned its made by a company named Wilco? They are still available today as well as all the parts for it and retails for a whopping $1295 !!! I did not take a single before pic of the sweeper but here is the after. Painted it the same "Wheel Horse Red" as the rest of my equipment I'm doing and plan to put a Wheel Horse sticker from Terry on it even though its not I don't have the bag on it or the attachment bar, it will be shown in a later post when the tractor is done and out for duty Here is the picture of the deck all finished. I removed all of the attachment linkage did some work to the sheet metal and bent myself some new belt and pulley covers. Then sanded and repainted everything. Bought all new wheels and a new belt. I brush and roll painted the sweeper, deck, and frame of the tractor but knew that wouldn't fly for the sheet metal. Fortunately I have access to a spray booth here at work so I brought them in and sprayed them with the same Rustoluem Farm and Implement IH Red I used on everything else. Needless to say I impressed the heck out of myself and laid down one sweet paint job, well at least I think so. Here are some pics I painted the wheels, engine covers, and all the other black Rustoleum flat black here are the pics, first one shows how far I had the tractor disassembled. I apologize for congesting all of this into this one long post and not starting this thread earlier but like the old saying goes better late then never. I welcome everyones comments and look forward to completing my project and will post updates as I get further. I think my plan for this afternoon is to finish installing Matt's foot pedal kit, man am I pumped about that!! Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoy Paul

I have two announcements to make regarding moderators. First, one of our original Moderators, Stephen (Rollerman), is taking some time back in the collector ranks of the forum. Stephen has been a valuable moderator who was always professional and ethical in everything he touched. His guidance through out the years has been an inspiration to me, and his suggestions helped build the forum as it is today. I value his opinion highly and will miss the daily interaction. The door is ALWAYS open for him to return as a moderator here. Stephen, thank you for everything, from the forum to personal I truly value our friendship and all you've done. Onto the second part of the announcement. I am very pleased to announce that Scott (whfan74) will be helping keep the peace. Most, if not all of you know Scott and the amazing things he's done in everything he does. He's often featured in Lawn & Garden Tractor Magazine, is the owner of Wheel Horse Junkies on Facebook, founded a tractor program in the school where he teaches and least us forget hosts an annual event which rivals the best put together shows in the world. I have always appreciated Scott's calm approach to issues and I had the pleasure to meet him at the WHCC show in 2013. When he said "Yes" I was elated. So, Stephen, thank you so much for everything, and Scott, welcome to the Moderator team!

Ok I have now been into wheel horse for close to 3 years it all started with a physically beat up 312-8 which was originally my grampas. I now have an 87 312A and a 90 312H both with mower decks and blower attachments, and the 312-8 is still in my dads possesion. As im sure some of you have seen my recent thread I just redid my 312 H and am trying to sell my 312 A because I don't have the room. Im completely thrilled with the outcome of my H. It looks great, runs great, and performs great but here I am still searching CL and thinking about more tractors. A guy I work with has a neighbor who just did similar to what I did in redoing 1 horse and selling his other, so the guy I work with came in this morning to ask me jokingly if I want another horse and wouldn't ya know I already looked over the CL add haha. And here I sit very intrigued about this tractor. Not sure of the year but my guess its late 80's and its a 416H with 525 hrs on it, looks decent from the 1 picture that's posted. There is also a 520H which I believe to be in the 90's that has been sitting in the middle of someones yard nearby for over a year and I am always keeping my eye out on that one thinking it will go for sale for cheap someday and maybe I could save it, it would need a lot of work though as I assume something is wrong with it and its been sitting outside for who knows how long. So my main question is how do you curb this insane addiction? I just put a ton of time and decent money into my tractor and its all I probably need and is now just how I always wanted it. Next question haha is what is the "IDEAL" tractor in the 3,4,500 series, hydro is a must. I mow 3/4 of an acre and blow a decent sized driveway. The 12hp is sometimes not enough but manageable and that is only a few times a year. Maybe you guys will tell me my 312H is the ideal machine for me and that will kill these two birds with the same stone

Repainted and with new decals. She still looks real good!

Sudden death, castrate your Horse! Ok, at least you apologized. Now we won't send you out to the BIG pasture in the sky....for now!

Check this out these people are claiming to have what you want so if might be wise to send pm, if that doesn't work then put a thread up on the wanted section http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/10-wanted/ James

Ya Mike and I didn't even have to take off the pullover for you to see the Bear #40 jersey I had on. Probably before your time but I'll help you - - Gale Sayers. You would have had to bring reinforcements with ya, there were 2 of us

First...Welcome to Red Square. I would say take a look at the past years of WHCC pictures in the pictures section on the main page. That will give you a good idea of what to expect. Yes, there are good running horses for sale at the show. Will there be a good 520H?? Finding a good sickle bar for whatever horse you decide on "could" be a good trick. Sickle bars, and don't quote me on this, will probably be in the $300 range. I do not know what a 520H might go for. You may want to get there on Thursday to check the place out for what is going to be available this year. If something is priced too high, the price may come down Saturday...if the seller does not want to take it home. One thing to do...place an ad in the want ads section on the main page for pick up at the show. It is possible you could have the deal worked out before you get there and just pick it up and enjoy the show.

Seems like you are in the early stages of the disease but from the sound of your post it could be progressing rapidly. Soon you will be watching CL and the infamous Ebay ( you know when you can't find them close to you ) through out the day. It will be the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night. "LOOKING FOR" deals and the next project. It won't matter how sorry the tractor looks because " I can save that"! Everyone here has gone through that and it seems to be a never ending process. Of course life can throw road blocks in the way to slow it down or (heaven forbid ) bring it to a sudden halt. You know like divorce, flood, fire, loss of storage space, acts of nature but I believe DEATH is really the only sure cure. What is a guy to do. On the bright side, look at all the fun you have, the satisfaction of a job well done, to say nothing about the envy of your peers and neighbors. A happy man is a man with enough Wheel Horses in his barn, shed , garage and life.

i can't choose a favorite that's why i have so many eric j

I bought a nice running tractor once for $150....sold the seat just like that off of it for $151

Great pictures Zeek...I mean really excellent. Glad to see you guys are still bundled up out there...hate to think it is going to be 90's at the show in 4 weeks. A perfectly tuned Tecumseh is an oxy-moran!!! I would bet Bob has to adjust it before it runs like that in June. Did not know Brian had a Bolens...that is gorgeous.

Sweet! Thanks for the pics. All the guys at Portland got a wet a$$, literally a good soaking. Saturday was the best day for us also

Another seal Luke. There were two styles of bearings and seals on the brake shaft. If you have needle bearings you'll need a SKF 7410 (right seal in pic). If you have ball bearings it will be a Timkin 741643 (left seal). Pull the brake drum and it's easy to tell which you have. Again, this can be done without splitting the transmission. As already mentioned, stevasaurus rebuilds these things in his sleep and is always a great 'go-to' guy for help. That's do-say, not hear-say

These are the only pics I got before my camera battery died and of course my spare battery was plugged in at home. ....... What a nice day for a show and several members there.

A comment of Wheelhorse / Toro OEM belts. In 1973 I bought new from a local Wheelhorse dealer a 1972 Bronco 14 tractor with mower deck. The Bronco 14 is an automatic with full hydraulic lift...thats why I bought it. At the time of purchase, the dealer's mechanic (also name of Dave) told me that the primary and secondary belts and related V pulleys are proprietary and, as such, do not have after-market equivalents. That is to say, the geometry of the V in the pulleys has been designed specifically for and by Wheelhorse engineers. The belt size is between that of a typical A or B industry standard belt, and made specifically to match perfrectly to the faces of the V pulleys made by Wheelhorse. Therefore, as he told me, "when you replace belts, it is necessary to use only the OEM belts". Using after-market belts not specifically designed to match the V geometry of the pulley(s) is usually a futile effort. The after-market belts do not PRECISELY mate to BOTH surfaces of the V shape and, whats more, they are of different thichness and will ride either higher or lower in the "V". This, too, is often detrimental and will lead to the belt roll-over and premature belt failure. To draw more tension on the belt to overcome the roll-over only exacerbates the issue. Three years ago, I had to replace the drive belt in the Bronco 14 (7478 I think). Belt only lasted 40 years..... 'nuff said....

We worked on the vegetable garden today. Set up a series of poles for the pole beans and then planted pole beans under each pole! Garden is growing fast for only the beginning of the third week! It was still a little wet today but good enough to work on the pole bean plantings! [

My RJ-35 Update... Just finished painting the front wheels silver, front tires with Miller black tire paint, seat, belt guard, front axle, and other miscellanious parts this week. What we now have here is teaser pic peak in the big shed of a really, real nice 1955 Pond Wheel Horse RJ-35... and KenB, new hood decals from Vinylguy just applied today is the finishing touch... More pics to come tomorrow from The Little Guys Show at the Rentzel Farm in Mt. Wolf, PA. Again, I can't thank fireman Jeff enough for selling this beauty to me earlier this year. I am very happy and proud to be the new owner of this '55 pony.

I agree completely. When looking for a new car, major appliance or any high price item, my opening line to the sales rep is "I'm accepting only one price quote from you for this item. One and one only. Make it your best shot." I can't tell you how to describe the look on their face when I start to walk away from the initial bogus quote. The ONLY time I bother turning around to give a second chance is if I cannot possibly find the same item elsewhere. I have always taught my kids the most powerful bargaining tool is the ability to walk away from any deal.

When a polite no thank you results in follow up emails telling me I'm stupid, my stuff is junk, criticizes every thing I have.... I'd like to post some of the emails but they would be deleted. I don't need that, I'm no longer going to expose myself to them. If you want to counter offer a reasonable price, fine,but when I ask for no low ball offers, WHY ask? It's just a waste of time. If it's felt my price is too high, ignore me, don't criticize me. The last item in question did sell. It sold a little below asking price to someone who showed respect. Who made a reasonable counter offer. I should add, there has been a few good people through all this. One guy in particular who just happens to collect Wheel Horse snowmobiles bought some stuff from me during my divorce at asking price. He later admitted to not really needing it. Eventually I bought the stuff back at the same price, essentially giving me an interest free loan and free storage. If only there were more people like him! I'll say one thing, if he ever needs a 520 axle and steering for one of those snowmobiles..... I remember those who have been good to me as well as those who weren't!!

I've had 4 tractors on Craigslist now for several months. They have been "sold" four times since January. First guy had to cancel due to 2 feet of snow. That's understandable, but he never rescheduled. Another said he was on the way and would call me when he was 30 minutes out. No call, no show. The last guy said he would be here after 12:00 noon Saturday. I had no problem since I was home all day doing yard work. 6:00 pm rolled around and no show, so I texted him. Again at 7:00. At 8:30 I get a text saying "sorry man, I was in a serious dirt bike accident and I'm in the hospital with a broken leg and collar bone". Yeah, right. So yesterday I got an offer for all 4 tractors that I accepted. I suppose that they will still be available this time next week. Curmudgeon - you have every right to feel the way you do. There is something going on with society today that is just not right, and Craigslist brings out the worst of them. Edit: May 29. Two weeks after the offer for all 4, they are all still sitting.

Here's a couple of photos after I cleaned the cylinder up a little bit. Reseated the valves with a little valve grinding compound and will check the clearances before I button it up. I used a trick I found on here for cleaning up the aluminum head, using the flattest surface I have, a table saw, and some wet sandpaper. It worked great! I forgot to take a photo of it though.