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Another shot.

Some of you will remember this redo I started in March 2014 under the "New ?....Find" topic. Thanks to many of you, we got her running like new. Please keep in mind when critiquing the body and paint work, I was making a worker ... not a parade horse. There was no attempt to make anything original , just a clean and functional snow blower. Some of the mods were venting the belt guard, raising the fender / seat pan 2" and moving the running boards forward 1.5" to get more clearance for the tire chains, adding the rock shaft and clevis hitch, adding the foot control. I wanted to try a one continues movement with the thinking If the control was not there, I would add a neutral detent and a reverse pedal. The pedal is now spring loaded to go to reverse when the foot pedal is released and to forward when it is depressed. The control is good and the brake pedal can at any time be depressed to go to neutral and stop the machine, so I do not feel there is any safety issue. I only had to alter the shifter cover plate to allow the shifter to move from full forward to full reverse. I locked the shifter to the yoke so it can not move left to right. You probably guessed , I am partial to the 70s C-series Wheel Horses and their ivory wheels. The silver wheels and maroon graphics just don't say Wheel Horse for me. I even thought about putting a C hood on it but gave up on that mod as my body work is pretty poor. There are a few other mods, but we will see who can find those.

Thanks to all you great people for the comments. You guys are so welcoming, I talked to the wifey when I got up a bit ago about going to the Big Show in Pa. to meet some of you. The tractor is a 1948 Farmall H. Have had it for about 20 years now. Used to sorta farm with it. Got pretty sick over the last few years with bad rings, etc. Tore it down In January, and have begun doing a restoration. Completely reworked most of the bolt-on stuff, head, etc. Now I need to split the tractor, and send the block off to the machine shop, also need to buy the overhaul kit. As far as using that old farm equipment again, it will only to play with. With commodity prices as they are, land is just to pricey, even here in southern Indiana which is hilly as hell. Want to slowly restore the picker, my trip plows, bush hog, cultivator set, etc. As for the mowing, it was ghastly. In several places, the grass was higher than the hood of the Horse, especially on the old garden spot, which was in the flat area to the left of the driveway in the second to last photo of the first post. Had to drop down to 2nd low in many places, and the chute of the deck kept getting clogged. Would make a pass with the left mower blade engaging the tall stuff, while the other two blades re-chewed the previous pass. Went over some areas twice. The way I mowed it, the drive was one big windrow of cut vegetation when I was near done, so I went up and down the drive, blowing the hay toward the garden. In the photo I mentioned, you can just see the windrow I created at the bottom of the driveway slope. The clump in the foreground is brush that needs torched. It was getting dark when I took the pictures, so I did not get shots of the finished product. After putting camera away, and loading the Horse, I broke out the trimmer and went around the light pole, mailbox, trees, and picnic table. Will go out again Saturday and do some more mowing around the pole building, and start removing the briars and multi-flora rose from the old house. If we get rain tonight, will torch the brush piles. The paint on the truck is not original. When Dad bought the thing, it was painted it's original "Meadow Green", which looked more like "olive drab". Dad couldn't stand it, so shot it one weekend at the family machine shop with that John Deere looking green. Rustoleum "Forest Green" is a pretty good match. If you look closely at the rear of the truck when I am preparing to load the tractor, you can see where I painted around the backglass. Replaced the glass and seal last year, and cleaned, primered, and painted the opening. A lot of folks tell me I should just leave the truck as it is, and apply a preservative. That is not my plan. While the rust and faded paint gives it character, it is not as I remember it. I remember it shiny green, and it is going back to that condition someday god willing. Here is an old photo of me, my dog Ruby, and the '49, taken in March of 1983.

When I recently painted some bolt heads I drilled holes in plastic jugs and screwed them in for a tight fit. This held them secure so I could easily move around to paint all sides.

Just got in from work, so too late to post any pics. this morning. Got to get to bed. The truck is a 1949 F2. The 48-50 ford trucks all looked the same (except for the cabovers). F2 means it is a 3/4 ton. Not too many of them around, most folks restore the 1/2 ton. The F2's rode awful, steered worse, and drink gas. Thing weighs 2 ton empty. The rear is 4:86, so that limits my top speed significantly. After I broke it in years ago after the rebuild, I took it on a country road and put my foot into it. Top speed was 70, and the engine was screaming. The only time I ever did that. Only take her to 50 occasionally, cruises well at 40-45. I sometimes forget how old the truck is (65) since I have drove it for some 43 years. Has duals and glass packs on it now, and folks think I dumped a 302 or 351 in it. Unless I am talking to a motorhead, or someone north of 50 years old, most don't know what a flathead V8 is. Ford made millions of them for 32 years. Guess I'm just getting old.

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!!

its not perfect but it looks a lot better than it did were going to fire it up tomorrow and see how she goes we'd upgraded the engine size from k321 to k341 kohler changed the tranny fluid to 20w and new filter 1100 series eaton mated with a peerless I believe, here some pics see what you think also brand new aggs all away around I like them

Just started some sandblasting on my C-120 and I have a stupid question. How does everyone take care of the bolts when reassembling the tractor? I plan on painting everything while it is apart and was wondering what to do with the bolts. Most were originally painted from the looks of it. Do they get painted separately and if so, what is the best way to do this? Thanks again for all the help!

Squirrel season just started last weekend here in Missouri. I'm out here camped out getting ready for my first day of the season, on my phone. I know squirrel hunting has kinda fallen by the wayside, but figured there has to be some old school types out there somewhere. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Heres some pics of a couple horses getting some work done this weekend. Little man was in heaven driving his Charger 12. Burned a tank and a half of gas...first since we parked it after the winter. I threw in a vid of the 18 Auto running the 60 inch deck from the 520 as well. Its in pieces again and all mowing has been done with the 1974 C-160 with the 42 inch RD deck. Makes for about 4 1/2 to 5 hours of seat time every week since the 18 croaked. This weekend we moved 3 big loads of rock and built a great fire pit we enjoyed Saturday Today we moved about 6 tons of fill and topsoil to fill a ditch and plant grass. We got about 2 tons moved before my buddy Matt came and moved the rest with his backhoe while the Charger did all the rough and finish grading. And here is the 18 running the big deck..not the best as the PTO bearing was on its way south....

Thanks so much for the GREAT responses. And "YES!" it has a huge semimental value to me as my father was a Service Engineer for Caterpiller Tractor so by default and osmosis I QUICKLY learned the value of taking care and working on your own machinery. When I was in Jr High or early HS I tore apart his spare engine for his Toro push mower, so he made me rebuild it. What a GREAT learning experience, and the things my father taught me are really priceless when it comes to machinery. I'm also now privvy to using his Atlas Metal Lathe, what a GREAT piece of machinery. OK, OK, I'm rebuilding it, but I sort of wanted to do it anyway for the challange and knowing that my father would be proud of me for doing so. Besides as many of you have stated I only have ONE Wheel Horse that was my fathers, and they SURE don't make them like they used to. You guys are GREAT, now I'm off to see if I can dig up the manual somewhere around the house and hope it has a wiring diagram it it. Thanks again guys, David

Spent a few hours in the shop today pulled the transmission apart. Removed the old seals and bearings and cleaned out the cases. Most of the gears are in excellent shape with just 2 or 3 with slight wear on the edges. I received most of the replacement parts. I should be able to get the case with all the gears back together tomorrow and then just need a few more parts and I will be able to close it up and give a new coat of primer and paint.

The factory paints them because it's easier to paint everything when things are semi-assembled and probably keeps them from rusting. They are not painting individual bolts. I polished the bolts or go stainless. If a particular piece looks better with the bolts painted, then I paint them. Personal choice.

Glad to see it all together. I really dig the simple pedal control. I might just try something like that but leave the notch in for neutral. To me the main use of the pedal is for forward. Depending on the pedal design , reverse can be cumbersome and uncomfortable to use. Like our Kabota at work. You have to literally push down and back with your foot for reverse. And don't get me started on the Hydraulic controls....... Thing has air conditioner , radio and heat but then they slacked off in operation comfort. So when you want to use reverse , just pop it over and the pedal spring will take it to reverse. Almost like a reverse safety on new mowers. You still could use the pedal to bring it back to neutral from reverse. I worry I would slip off the pedal in a tight situation and wipe something out in reverse when it takes off backwards. But hey, I might like the functionality the way you have it also. This could also be a way to bring pedal control to the older Sunstrand transaxles. Hope your charging system is working right finally . I know that stuff can be a pain. Quick update, My Amazon RR is working flawless and It charges great

Oh Craig wrong direction... no...

I tend to be more sentimental, so I would keep it. There is only 1 mower that was your dad's. That makes it pretty rare.

No, father's day is coming... and you only get one Dad.

Well I guess its finally done. Well 99% anyway. A few loose ends to tie up yet and I still have to locate a muffler so the PTO is accessible. Hope to find one at the show. The decals arrived from Terry and they are top notch. Been a long project for someone as slow as me but it was fun!

Very nice! Always liked the look of Ford blue too. Grew up around a Ford 3000.

I think that ford came out very good.I hope your going to work that

I have several implements that have a sleeve/clevis hitch mount, but do not have any horses with the sleeve/clevis hitch, so I have been collecting/preparing to build an adapter. I have attached photos of my adapter, but please refrain from laughing out loud at my welds! I can weld pretty (won't hold) or wooly looking (holds tight) so I go for strength!!

Chicken...

Its a great example of an original tractor. You're going to love it once you get her running right. I know how you feel about the oil burning. Mine has its original engine in it and running that 60 inch deck is making it use roughly a quart or a bit more every 10 hours of mowing. I would love to get it rebuilt but there aren't many parts for them and I was told that it would be 2 grand in my area. The only thing that keeps going through my head is it will get more expensive the longer I wait. Do your best to keep her running. Ask lots of questions here and if you ever want to sell it, let me know. Im definitely interested in the tiller and possibly the whole package. Even if it years from now.

Yes, I drilled all the way through the steel. I may have made the tongue part a little short....one of the bolts may hit the cable lift attachment point on the slot hitch. I haven't tried it as of this time. Guess we will find out later today!

Well the geeker that wanted to trade a pile of my yard sale stuff for his 416H tractor showed up with it on Sunday! It was actually a 516H for crikey sakes! Has the original 2 cylinder Onan engine on it! It is missing some parts like the ignition switch, throttle cable and some engine tins. I will need a manual to figure out the wiring. I traded a nice Toro push mower, a #50 JD dump cart and a junky Cub Model 80 for it! Not a bad trade deal for sure! I will clean it up and it will look even better! Why is it every time I sell a few tractors, even more show up soon after? How's it look guys? KJ

I second Bob's recommendation. Here are a couple pics of my 18 Automatic without the clutch and pulley, so you can see the hook assembly (pivot pin) in the bearing plate on my K582, Mark.

Looks like I'm reading a script from an Abbott & Costello bit. Who's on First? What's on Second? 13 x 7 =28. The Horse is a Mudder and eats it's fodder ect ect ect...........

Every Memorial Day we roll out some tractors, meet up with some friends, and drive through two local parades. We had amazing weather and a great line up for both parades. One of my students in the tractor club, Thomas, came out to drive my 701 in the morning parade. I hooked up the 4 wheeled wagon and he pulled my kids through the parade so they could throw candy. Here he is all ready to roll..... My good friend Lewie Bolinger showed up with his new "rat rod" today. This is the first time we have seen it. It got a ton of looks today! So cool! It has a shortened frame, weed eater engine, lever steering, hand throttle, etc...... The morning parade was very nice in the small town of Leesburg, IN. Here are some shots of us getting prepared. Thomas controlled the 701 as I navigated the infamous "Drags-tor" After a quick lunch at a local burger joint we unloaded in Syracuse, IN for our afternoon parade. Dad drove the 1045 with the 4 wheel wagon in tow. My daughter Addison is having some carb issues with the "Lady Ranger" so she took the 701 with LTD 24 trailer through the parade route. My son Zach hopped on his 500 Special and made it to the start of the parade and then it died . Not sure what the issue is but I am assuming the carb and probably fouled out plug. I felt horrible for the little guy. Had to push that thing about a half mile back to the trailer while he was on it. Here we are hanging out in the shade ready to roll. Finally here is a picture of a good friend, **** McNeal who encouraged me to get in the hobby a long time ago. He is sitting on his beautiful GT-14. Hope that every one else had a great Memorial Day as we did!

well we finally completed other than a decal kit for my Johnson loader its not bad but we had paint issues but it looks good from 20' but here she is see what you think?

Bob, you can "buff" the writing off of the tires with a flap disc on a grinder. It works GREAT!

Well do you find the gaskets yet?

I made a frame out of some scrap metal that attaches and lifts with the slot hitch that drags a section of wooden 2x4, I can lay a stripe in my yard as good as a golf course!

I have used a home-made flap on my ZTR Exmark for 10+ years... I used a piece of light conveyer belt-like material. Works well!

if you have good original bolts why not replate them? As was mentioned some bolt sizes/styles are unique. find a plating shop nearby (iff possible) and get them redone. prices vary, but way cheaper than buying new. i have gone both routes, less than a 1/3 cost to replate than buy new, and you can get all the other plated parts on the tractor done at the same time for the same cost. most places charge a flat fee for a certain weight. The place i use charges $40 for a 3/4 full 5 gallon bucket. In the pic below the parts make up less than half of that.... I've done two batches on my latest tractor, have way more than i need to finish it, most economical way is to pull the whole tractor apart and take everything in in one go and pay for just one batch....... i can get them done in yellow and clear, these are yellow....

I agree with Cleat. Where I can, I use stainless steel. One other thing to do is to use Never Seize just in case it needs to come apart again. Old mechanics always said that it was more for the next guy, especially after fighting with them!

Not a dumb question! Another guy said "I don't paint bolts" I went with that and bought mostly all new bolts. I painted a few like the tie rod nuts. You will have to touch them up with an artist's brush after tightening. If a bolt head turns on fresh paint it scratch or chip it. Be very carefully!