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This thread will cover in detail the history of how one 1965 model Wheel Horse garden tractor affected our family. This will be a back ground story thread that begins in the summer of 1975, before I was even born, and will go as long as it takes for us to finish a complete restification of this tractor to better than new condition. If you aren't into detailed stories, you probably won't enjoy this thread. My dad has receipts for parts that he purchased for this tractor over thirty years ago! I intend on scanning those and including pictures, lots of pictures. We lovingly call this tractor the "Iron Horse" because it is built tough out of a block of iron and it was a work horse in our family for many years! I have so many memories of this machine but I intend on including excerpts from my parents and brother in this story. They often used it as much as I did! Feel free to comment as much as you like and ask any questions that you may have along the way. I'm really excited to open another chapter in the history of this machine and our family, hopefully one my children can enjoy. A third generation embracing the Iron Horse... Then Now Future...?

Here are some of the Items MJ will be selling at Mentone this Friday and Saturday. I cant tell you how much work this is. So much of this is so intricate and time consuming many of which she has over an Hr in 1 glass. For instance the Speedy Leedy doode, This is her first one, and was very time consuming. Some of these Items are lead crystal and are expensive and very high quality Glass. Anyways here are some pics. Here are some of the Items MJ will be selling at Mentone this Friday and Saturday. I cant tell you how much work this is. So much of this is so intricate and time consuming many of which she has over an Hr in 1 glass. For instance the Speedy Leedy doode, This is her first one, and was very time consuming. Some of these Items are lead crystal and are expensive and very high quality Glass. Anyways here are some pics.

Picked this up about a month ago. Hoping to do a complete restore.

Saw this intriguing tractor at a antique engine show in NH last weekend. Dual Motors.. The belts from both motors connected to one shaft. Then there was another belt from the center shaft to the transmission.

Thanks Geno, It really takes a lot of time because the decals that we make have to be a reverse image of what a std decal is when applied. So that means she has to use a pick or very small blade on the exacto knife and litterly disect the image to get what she wants to show. There is no guarantee the vinyl will stay in place cause it might blow or fly off when put in the etch cabinet. All I can say she has a hell of a lot more patience than me. I would have got sluggo out a long time ago. :)

Craig, You are so close! It was a 1966 IH Scout 800! I'm impressed, and only one quarter panel to go off of. That was great vehicle that dad shouldn't have ever sold. Oh well, at least he still has the Iron Horse! Fast forward to the summer of 2011, the Iron Horse had been sitting unused and not even run for about five years. I got it running again, brought it to my house for a couple of days and here my oldest son is driving it hauling weeds, just like I did with the same tractor when I was his age! He has grown enough now that his feet would comfortably reach the footrests today. He will be helping dad and I on the restoration and so will my second son! My dad had home made a spring tooth cultivator/digger back in the late 70's. I brought that along to rip up the garden. As you can see it did a great job!!! You can't imagine how it felt for me to "work" that old K301. It had been over a decade since I had even sat on it, let alone worked it. Boy, everything from the feel of the controls, to the sound of the engine, to the smell of the exhaust, it all brought back a flood of memories...

Beautiful 64(i think) lawn ranger. Has the original wheel horse tires, seat, steering wheel, and decals. Think I'm just going to wipe her down with wd 40 and keep her original. Will get more pics and the tags later. First plan is to get the engine( maybe a Tecumseh 6?) running.excited to have my first round hood!

they were a design change to stiffen up the hood. not sure when it was done, all my 90s tractors have them.

Heres pics of the frame done in black...I was nervous but after see in it, I think its going to look great. I have chosen a color for the tins too. International Harvester Red #50. Its a bit more deep red instead of the lighter tint Wheel Horse red has. Hope to have red flowing this weekend.

My Fastenal store has pallets there, I have shipped 2 times now with them (a wheel horse transmission each time) and they have been excellent. I just drop it off and put it on one of their pallets and they have tied it down. I definitely call the store and give them a heads up. They call me back when they get the paper work. I think it helps that the guy's Dad has an old Wheel Horse in his garage that he wants to get running. I gave him the link to this site, and he was thrilled. The reason, I think, why it takes some time for them to ship sometimes...is the pallet does some traveling. From my store, it goes to their hub (Minneapolis), then it goes to their main hub (Indianapolis), then to the hub for the costumer store and then to the destination store. My store has a truck come there every day...some stores may only see a truck once a week. I don't think you can beat the price though and you do not have to build a box for your shipment. BTW...this was my store's 1st time doing 3rd party shipping...they did not even know they would do that. It was a painless and learning experience for both of us.

We just got in our new custom trailer yesterday that we are going to turn into a "Wheel Horse Hauler". This is going to be the small one, 6'4" x 12' dovetail with gate. Next spring we'll be doing a larger double axle one. It's already going to pick up 3 more tractors, 2 blowers, a cab, and other things tomorrow so we don't have time to do it all at once. We have already painted the hubs and wheels but that's all. We still have to paint the trailer red and stain the floor Ivory for starters, then the fun begins. More Wheel Horse logos than you have ever seen. I have a friend named Scot that has a Computerized plasma cutter so I called him this morning. He made me the 2 prototypes and had them here by lunch, pics are below. He is making 1/4" steel or stainless or who knows what yet horse heads and written logos for it. They will be recessed into the bed and be about 45" wide x 45" long. He is also doing the older italic Wheel Horse written emblem for below the head (pic is below) but it will be the text only, not the horse head. The smaller ones on here will be on the drop gate facing each other when done with the written logo in between. There's a lot more but you will see it as it is done. There is a poll to which horse head logo you guys think will look best. I had him cut each piece of the logo separate for easy painting and touch up. Each piece can be painted separately then screwed or Velcro attached into its recess. They can also be removed for repainting without taping. I'm gonna use this thing so it will get scratched up I'm sure. He just left here after making a couple of prototypes and said I could put a link to his website on here, there is nothing he can not do. It's all kinda fast but I hope to have him here as soon as next week as a supporter and vendor if the leadership here allows. Here is what he can do - http://www.phoenixcreativemetal.com/ Look through the gallery and you will be amazed. If you guys have any ideas for this please let me know! The construction will start next week.

Revamped the old shed today, Jacked up the shed, placed 4x4s under the whole thing, cleaned out the inside, put down new treated stringers and placed a new deck in there, gotta give the Horse a nice dry stable for the winter. What a pain in the a$$ job that was.

Those were the old heat-housers on the IH's and if you were lucky they would prevent frost bite on your toes but didn't do much from the waist up.

As long as mom is in the sewing mood she can make a flap that goes a little over the engine to blow some heat into the cab. I remember those on the old Farmalls dad had growing up. It's something I was gonna do before Winter on mine, I hate the cold.

Yes in agreement with Steve , I approached our Fastenal and (this was last fall) and they were unaware of any handling of shipping. The clerk did some checking and immediately handed me a form, asked for my email addy , and gave me another number. By the time I got home there was an email , with more info . They were quite accommodating., and most helpful.

Looks truly awesome Kyle! Make sure to put up pics of the pimping!

Looking great! I agree about getting a great paint job with Rusty Regal Red. Under the right conditions and done properly it comes out great. Can't wait to see the patriotic decals on it. I'm considering them for my 2005.

You may be on to something there Martin, my 417 is an 86, and the other 3 are 87 414, 89 520, and 90 312. If this is true it would help us narrow down a year range by simply looking for the bar, if the hoods were original that is.

I've seen them both ways, my 414-8, 312-8 and 520H has them but my 417A doesn't. Something new to learn, which ones have them and which ones don't.

It should look pretty cool, can't wait to see it when it's done!

I love it in black! The Workhorse series have black frames and they look great in my opinion. Mike.....

Here is an illustrated parts list Garry

Well here she is all mounted up to the 416H. The blower I'm using will be the short chute I rebuilt last year. That's still tucked away in the shed. Now all that's left is to pimp it out and add a few luxuries.[emoji106] [emoji12] That new door blends in just fine. Thanks again for the compliments. Kyle

I know we should support our local dealers, but sometimes this is hard to do. I live 17 miles from town and it's hard to justify making a 34 mile trip to pay 3 times more for a part that I can have delivered to the door for much less.

They were much more expensive 2 months ago!

ordered one of these yesterday from outdoor concepts... $18 and change, free shipping company out of Indiana

Is there any way you can get that shed up in the air by about 6 inches? There is no ventilation under it and it is really drawing moisture. I'm surprised it didn't draw termites. We have lifted whole sheds using timbers going through the bottom of the sheds. You'll have to dig it out but if it's sitting on blocks and off the ground, it will last a long long time.

Dang it.. [emoji35] Fixed

Dad used this thing to plow his garden for many years. Lots of stories to tell about that later. See if you guys can figure out what kinda plow he adapted from another GT manufacturer to work on the "Iron Horse"... It didn't have any adjustments which made it difficult to work in the ground like it should but he found a way! Circa 1976. Also try to figure out what he used as a wheel weight on the land side tire (Hint: it is a farm implement part...)

I live in MO to!! The mid mo meet and greet is next week you should come

I am not sure what I am going to do with it. Right now it's going on a back burner. Like I said the motor was bought with the intension of more or less a bolt on and go. I have rebuilt several before and never cut corners believing in when you do that your just shooting yourself in the foot. Since this motor was bought with the idea in mind of not racking up money in it, it may just sit for a while. Having trouble convincing myself to just throw rings in it and not rebuild it OEM or aftermarket. After the last one I rebuilt I told myself no more OEM, prices are just getting too far out of line. Don't need the tractor to last another 20 yrs. Won't be able to get on and off of them by then. Lol

I have always told my three boys, "Son if you get your legs cut off in that there mower don't you come a running to me!!!"

that cart has the same kind of hitch as the walk-behinds used for the sulky. Must have been dual use.

Wish could do more,anything we can do please let us know..like Tim said it is a honor sir,,this is what this great hobby is all about the friendships...in our continued prayers Mike & Deb

Moving right along, I painted the hood today. Last big painting project for this tractor. I will wait a few weeks to mask and paint the black. I don't want to take a chance of marring the paint with masking tape. I am really getting torqued over this project. Can't wait to finish and start the 417-H. I also want to take the motor off the 520-H and open it up to check it. Life is good here on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

We all think your a really great guy Keith & Its a honor to be your buddy ! Get well soon your in my prayer's ............Tim

I dont know about the master craftsman title. I like building things and try to do the best I can with what I have. I like things right, at least as right as I can get it. Thanks though.

Well a heart felt Thank You to all of the guys who got together a donation for me at the Mansfield show! Mike and Deb, Derek and Tammy, Tim Leedy, Doug Hout, Allen Meadows, Bob Burroughs, Ripley Stratton, the Fox Brothers and many others! It brought me to tears and it still does!! Makes me miss you guys even more. I hope to get cured but when you sit around for long periods of time, you just think bad thoughts! I need to sell a bunch of stuff to raise more money so selling the herd is the best way to do that I guess. I'll keep a few good one's but will have to sell several good ones and all the spare parts tractors I own. Several Lawn Rangers will be for cheap if ya like them. I have engines, attachments and more to sell. Maybe get a sale going from this site and have everyone show up at once. But my buddies will get first crack at the stuff. Lets get it going after the Centerburg show Sept 20th and 21st. The last show of the year for us. So thanks alot to everyone at the Mansfield show that donated money and signed my card! Great group of guys and gals! Love ya all! Keith

You mean to say that you did not have the hood on the dinning room table waiting for her to see it???

Fastenal is indeed a great relatively inexpensive way to ship our 'stuff' --- but... there are some points to consider with this. It is strictly point to point, you have to drop it off and your buyer has to pick it up (no home delivery, no tail gate, etc) and there is no time specifics for delivery, it may get there in a few days and it may be a bit lengthy (a mower deck from Fla to La took 2 weeks) and it would be wise to contact your store to verify their ability to handle your shipment (to avoid something like Mike points out about the forklift) and also verify that there is a store where you need to ship to and their ability to handle. The online form is dead simple to fill out and get a quote, but its just wise to talk to your store.

If it's heavy and you need a fork truck to move it make sure their forklift driver will be there when you arrive. My Fastenal store the guy is only there in the morning so I have to take time off from work if I want to ship anything.

I shipped a K241 engine from the Fastenal store in Westminster, MD to Fastenal in Crossville, TN for $75.00. As mentioned above, I put it on a pallet and they unloaded from my truck. They attached shipping documents and had it delivered in less than a week.

Necessity is the mother of invention! Great little ...uh...well....uh..."Screw-Up" I guess!

I thought I would get the senior citizens of my herd out today

Just got my internet back & I'm wore out took 9 WH & 9 other brand garden tractors to Mansfield. Also hauled 6 WH for a fellow collector. Hammerhead you were missed but glad Larry brought your tractors. We will see you soon. Thanks to every one who showed up We had 82 Wheel Horses & 16 collectors on Saturday. About 1/2 left Saturday but A few more Showed up Sunday.

For sale: Ouija Board

Wow, mom to the rescue! What would she charge to do cab parts, there may be a business brewing there!

That looks GREAT, what a good job. Glenn

I got the thrust bearings from McMaster-Carr yesterday. They are very fast at filling and shipping an order. Had to try them to see how they would fit. Will have to grind .015 inches off the top of the axle in order to get the top washer and cotter pin in. That won't take long and if what I hear is true it will make the steering a lot smoother.