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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.

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.

Hi all as most of you may know I'm a bit of a wheelhorse Nut , and we all like to make and design our own attachment and adapt our machines to be as versatile as possible I've seen some original wheel horse generators on the net but they are very rare so I've decided to build one . I first started by sourcing a 240v Generator off that site . Then I've now been designing my own quick release cradle for it to sit in . Attached Thumbnails

Those Lawn Ranger front tires gotta go....................way far away.

This thread was started to give us all a chance to "show" our stacks and maybe give other a few ideas. The question about HP, torque, single vs dual, gain loss etc.... has taken this thread way off its intended path. If ANYONE has a question on HP, torque or anything else engine related please start a new thread in the proper category (Engines). I'll will be cleaning up this thread. Please keep it on topic. Mike............

A new Fastenal just opened here in my town about a month ago and I never thought much about it. After all the comments from you guys I opened a commercial account with them today. Thanks for all your help guys!

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

Regardless of what you decide to put on, if you have severe conditions, you will need chains... There are no said tires that will serve your purpose without some sort of support, ie-chains...... Snow and ice are extremes that no 1 tire,without support, can deal with. I run turf tires with chains, it works well. I live in Cleveland, we had some 45" of snow along with freezig rai and ice last year. Any tire with support will work well.... BTW I am going to try some new treads this year.

LUCAS... in the verry bottom of my list. Here are some good and popular engine oil. They all meet OEM minimum requirements, and some are exceeding them. Witch is the best of the best ? It's hard to tell because it always depend on the way you are using the equipments, the temperature conditions and the kind of environment you are driving in. There are 3 synthetic groups; - Group V (Ester base) true 100% synthetic, - Group IV (PAO "Polyalphaolefine") true 100% synthetic, - Group III (Hydro-cracked mineral oil) 100% synthetized mineral oil. True 100% synthetic oils Prolab : 100% synthetic, Groups IV/V PAO/Ester blend base, 2000ppm Zinc Amsoil : 100% synthetic, Groupe IV PAO base, 2000ppm Zinc Red Line : 100% synthetic, Groupe V Ester base, 1000ppm Zinc 100% Synthetized mineral base oils Castrol : Hydro-cracked synthetic, Group III mineral base, 1300ppm Zinc Mobil 1: Hydro-cracked synthetic, Group III mineral base, 1300ppm Zinc Royal Purple : Hydro-cracked synthetic, Group III mineral base, 1000 ppm Zinc Valvoline : Hydro-cracked synthetic, Group III mineral base, 900ppm Zinc LUCAS: Hydro-cracked synthetic, Group III mineral base, 900ppm Zinc Engine oil is sensitive to so much things; idle vs. high speed, heat vs. cold, humidity vs. dryness, altitude vs. sea level. An engine wears at a certain rate - sometimes slow, sometimes fast. The rate at which this wear occurs can indeed be influenced by lubrication in many ways. In certain exceptional cases, wear can be nearly held in check. Nurture your oil and you nurture your engine. After all, what comes in more regular contact with the engine’s critical frictional surfaces than the lubricant that bathes them? Of course there are those fortunate few who can afford the best of everything. They are surrounded by all the high-quality possessions of a life of luxury. As such, they would not settle for anything short of the best for their equipments and accessories, including the best motor oil and the best filter. However, when it comes to lubrication, the best is indeed a foggy concept - after all, don’t most of the major suppliers of lubricant claim to have premium products that are the best? What defines the best? Cost? Aggressive advertising? Many enthusiasts peoples are totally preoccupied with the love affair they have with their equipments. They belong to clubs, hang out at garages and auto parts stores, have an extensive collection of tools, and of course take great pride in talking about the specific motor oil they use. Their lubrication decisions are often rooted in tradition, loyalty and the habits they have formed. A surprising large number of us are controlled by fear of criticism and embarrassment. We want to know what everyone else is doing so that we can go with the flow. If our father, brother, sister and best friend all use a conventional Brand X motor oil, we wouldn’t dare consider anything else. After all, we can’t be criticized if we follow the recommendations of our network of personal advisors. Finally there is a category of peoples who really don’t care. They trust that any oil sold commercially by a household-name oil company is good enough for them. They don’t want to be bothered with the details of having to analyze the available alternatives. To them, ignorance is bliss. So... like I always say, you probably have tried many brands and finaly found something that really fits your needs? Stick with it!

Nick, i think Don is talking about these......

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

If you have a big box like LOWES nearby they may have them in their polishing wheel section I tools.

Geno good job on the Trailer!

Thought the exaust valve was stuck but I was wrong. . Pulled the head and no movement of the piston... more news to come.. but I think im gonna say goodbye to the briggs and shelf it for a later project. Gonna be starting a restore thread before to long

If your at 199 tractors let me know .. I can probably bring my '74.. Keep in mind I have zero show queens. Just workers in their "work clothes" at the moment.

Well with your collection growing you should be halfway there! Hoping for good weather!

They were much more expensive 2 months ago!

Dang it.. [emoji35] Fixed

yup i second the 1/2" NPT pipe thread. Sorry no your BSP will not fit

My first stack! It sounds real throaty with 2 mufflers.

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

Great find on the cart.... Steve beat me to it... that's an extremely rare to find cart. From the 58 brochure....

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.

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.

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

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.

HMMM, I think Fastenal someday may be my new avenue to finding stuff out east . Minnesota .......................east coast

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.

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

Lookin good Kyle. Sure is nice to have a talented seamstress in the family. You both did a great job. My wife has altered my cab to fit around the housing I made around my vented belt guard, and she has done the sewing of several cushions for the two piece seats. What blower are you going to use ?

For sale: Ouija Board

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

Looks perfect!! She did great! Mike..........

That looks GREAT, what a good job. Glenn

Fitting the drive belt cover. Now I realize I should have test fit this stuff before I painted.....Oh Well.....Fender had to be massaged to fit around everything and will need some paint repair. or I will sand it again and respray....Live and learn