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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.

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!

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!

Needs a little TLC... I was left out for 4 years with no cover over the exhaust... OUCH... Pulling the head off this week to see the extent of the damage. 82' B8200 with Ford model 951 Bush hog, scraper, and box blade.

Not much progress to report other than stripping the hood stand and tool box. I have a game plan for the hood stand repair that I can do with what I have available. I did receive the shifter ball and throttle/choke knobs from Glen today. Outstanding!! With my homemade levers being .010" thicker it will require just a touch of work for a proper fit but my quick test fit tells me there will be very little to do and then I'll use a little adhesive to make sure they stay in place. I also received the carriage bushings today so I'll be able to get the tranny back together. Unfortunately, another house project I got myself into this morning will keep me from playing until probably Thursday.

It is a good question though. Sometimes this situation becomes too much for me. I have come up with a dozen "final tractor plans" that always get crunched up and tossed because some tractor that's cooler, newer, better, comes along. Right now I am going through this and it gets a little annoying: annoying only because I want to limit myself to 3 or 4 tractors because that is the number that I can comfortably store in my barn and still have room. I would love to be satisfied with only 2 or 3 but that isn't the case with the many different models WH had to offer. Currently, I have dibs on a beautiful 1998 314 BUT that means that something will have to go. Which one is it now and when I find another beauty, which one will it be then?

Anyone who has followed my posts regarding my "new" 1985 312-8 Wheel Horse, knows that there has been several relatively minor problems I have addressed with the tractor since purchased. Headlight bezels, cable routing, missing knobs, blades, hood hinge refurb., taillight installation, etc., etc. I have moved progressively and methodically through them all, and have continually improved both the appearance, and the operation of my tractor. But this problem has me absolutely at a loss as to how to correct. I first noticed the problem right after I got the tractor and mowed for the first time. It was noted again last evening when I mowed. It occurs whether it is hot or cold out, daylight or dark. The problem is that I can only get about half way through a beer while driving the tractor before it goes flat. The vibration and bouncing of the tractor just destroys the fizz. Anyone else have this problem? What did you do about it?

Thanks, Gerry. I have the Hi-Lo fork out and there seems to be a rather positive click when I move it up and down manually. I have new detent balls and springs on order, so if they are out of spec, that should cure it. The "L" -shaped shifter connection looks good too - I actually thought the slot might be deformed wider making a longer travel, but it seems ok. Then again, it wouldn't take much, I guess. The only other thing I can think of is the hi/lo shifter fork wasn't seated all the way down, but that really doesn't make much sense. I'm also going to retrace my steps and go back to Steve's suggestion that the slack may be in the shifter itself - outer holes may be larger than the shaft holes. I'll let you know what I find.

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

Never have that problem here. Moonshine does not go flat.

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.

its funny,every tractor I have is my favorite when im driving it

Here are the pics I got...great day for a show and it was good to see all you guys again. Tried to get a picture of the snow the day before the show. Mike, Roger, Martin and Terry M. Picked up a few transmissions and a plow.. Some of the guys plowing...that small cat was awesome. That's Jordon on the pink horse...Smokin'Joe 2 tractors back. Martin and Denny Clark Denny, Martin and Rick (jackhammer) Jackhammer...great to meet you sir... Jeff, Joe and Jordon Mike from Aurora had some pictures of an Amigo...took some pictures of his pictures...check this out... These were neat...RUGG...chain drive, B&S engines...never seen these before... Terry Dennis kept busy all day.. Thanks for looking...

I like the Onan models for a rich deep tone, phenomenal power and smooth running. I'm sure had I bought a 520, that would have been my favorite, but I have a 416-H which is my favorite. I am also partial to the C-160, but Wheel Horse really improved the seat and steering wheel on later models.

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

I think you got a pretty nice tractor there. I just picked up one like it 2 weeks ago. The tin on that engine is difficult to remove. Make sure you remove the hood to make it easier to do. Like you I found so much junk inside the engine covers I could not imagine that it would run long because of the heat buildup. How many hours on the meter? Had a few ele3ctrical problems but finally got her running and cut grass with it yesterday. Today I cut part of a field where the grass was 16 inches high. Had to run it slow so as not to miss any but it sure did the job without a moan or groan.

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! [

jdleach, I believe you're talking about the axles sent to me for my Suburban 400. I had to cut one of the originals off to get the hub off. The axles I received were perfect. I don't have access to a mill nor the skills but if you do I'm sure you could turn the 1 1/8" down to 1" (only back far enough to fit them through the carriers) and cut new keyways. I had a delay in getting a couple of bushings but I should have the tranny back together with the new axles by the end of next week.

Thank you guys! I have known Stephen since my beginning here on the Square. He is a great guy and has been a big part of helping this forum grow. I will try do my best to help support you guys and promote this hobby in a positive way. This is a great resource and one that I am very proud to be a part of. See many of you next month!

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.

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.

I went the don't paint em route. I used all new. I figured if I painted them, I would just chip them tightening. Good Luck with your restoration!!

Mentone is a much more layed back close knit show.Portland is MUCH MUCH larger more people but not as friendly and relaxed.I will be going to both.