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my c125 gets just as much love as the others. i think they are a good looking model, no different than any of the other wheel horses i own. can't resist posting a pic or two of mine.....

Needed to till up the garden and had to get most of the tractors out to get to my Troy-Built tiller out of the garage. My 10 year old son loves tractors and got most of them lined up...so I thought I would take a quick pic. Don't mind the green thing on the end 522Xi C-161-8 520Lxi 518Xi C-161-8 520-8 2320 Deere Still had a 520-H, 520Xi, and another C-161-8 that I didn't get in the picture. Thad (Ohio)

SEEMS LIKE MOST OF THE 300-400 AND 500 TRACTORS THE HOOD HINGES ARE SHOT. THEY CAME WITH NYLON SLEEVE BUSHINGS THAT WORE OUT OT MISSING WITHIN 300 HOURS. THIS IS HOW BEEN REPAIRING THEM FOR NOW. THIS IS THE 1992 310-8 I BOUGHT JUST A FIVE DAYS AGO. THE STEEL BRACKETS WERE EGGED OUT AND MY STEEL ROD WAS GROOVED BAD. I JUST USED A PIECE OF 3/8" OD STEEL DOWEL ROD AND SOME 3/8" ID STEEL BUSHING AND WELDED THEM IN PLACE, THEN I COTTER PIN THE ROD. HERE SOME PICTURES. BOWTIE IN OHIO

Some photos of my dad's original 1962 552 model tractor which I restored as a 1962 502 model.

Picked up a real nice 522Xi. These models are really starting to grow on me Thad (Ohio)

Paint for the show this weekend!

Day two...finally got to meet my neighbor...Ericj. Thanks for the test drive on your 520H w/reduction steering. Quite different from my straight axle 520. Eric had a few on display My string Nice Panzer Gravely puller

Engine is wired and all tins are in place. I will be setting on the frame after dinner. I want to hear it run tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!

And they double as a work bench with that nice flat hood....well mine do.....

So I was in the shop today off and on between posts on here and eating dinner. I spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out how to mount the darn coil. I knew it filled a hole somewhere and I lined up the wires leading to it but I could not find that hole to save my soul. Then it dawned on me that the hole is in the front engine shroud. Picked it up and sure enough there it was. Another lesson learned. Here's an update on what I have done so far. Put another coat of black on the engine shrouds. Painted the black on the hood. Put the decals on the hood. It's a good thing those decals are a bit forgiving. I had a tough time lining them up and took a couple of them on and off several times until I got it where I thought it should go. I like the way they look. Terry should be very proud of his craftsmanship. He does a great job on them and a big service to all Wheel Horse aficionados.

Don't tell me you bottle that too!!!!!

I'll be bringing the sunshine.

For their intended purpose... a cab shouldn't have to be complicated to work well.

This post reminded me of this cab on MTF from a few years ago: http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=90539#/forumsite/20477/topics/90539 Definitely a source of tractor envy. Steve

Not usually, but this time I had my wife and my two daughters on my backside. Throw in the cat and there is no way I could win this one. Besides, I really do want to see this kid get married.

I want to see a video of someone getting in and out of a cab. I have enough trouble getting on and off a horse as it is. I may have go take Yoga classes!

Always thought a really functional modification would be... moving the air in there with a small electric fan so as not to fog up the windows. Can be quite the PITA, when the conditions are right.

The engine is installed and it's alive. I am so proud. I got all the electronics hooked up properly and it started as soon as fuel got up to the carburetor. Engine sounds great. I must have got the valves adjusted properly. No video at this time, I never even thought about it. Last time I tried to upload video, I couldn't get it to work. Must have done something wrong. I can't wait to try that foot pedal. Now I have to get tires and paint the wheels. As this tractor will never cut grass as long as I have it I can't decide what I should do about choosing tires. I need help on this subject. Already planning on what to do to the 417-A. That will be the next project. At least I don't have to tear it down, I did that last year. But first I have to install the electric wench in the attic so I can haul a lot of stuff up there and get it out of the way. I won't be able to get in the shop tomorrow as my Grandson is getting married and my wife says I have to go. And then Sunday is football.

It does look like a Pope Mobile. The fit would have to be better than that for me, I wanna keep warm too.

My C-125 is my first WH. I've only ever owned JD lawn tractors (not the Home Depot consumer stuff). I never expected to get "excited" about a tractor... sorry guys... but, the simplicity and heft are so elegant I couldn't help myself! Now, according to the OP, black hoods aren't considered to be a real WH by some? WOW! I must be REALLY missing out. I can't imagine making a better garden tractor. It continues to impress me every time I take it out. Nice to see so many people chime in. I'm hearing a lot of luv out there for the black hoods. Enjoy your C-145. In my inexperienced opinion, the only way to beat a C Series WH is with a BIGGER C Series WH!! I know, WH makes a lot of fine tractors and everyone will have his/her favorite. That being said, did Toro continue the Black Hoods? Could it be THAT is the "different brand" that the OP has read being talked about?

What does the 'Lost In Space' robot have to do with this thread?? Seriously, we all need reminders. I almost lost sight in one eye from a blast of bleach at least 20 years ago, now I've have gotten lazy about eye protection. Glad you were one of the lucky ones John.

Never hurts to poke around and ask what they're gonna do with them. Don't tell them you're shopping, just looking. You may get them for free or close to it. If I was up there they'd probably already be gone.

I'm down with the whole eye safety thing... but, do they go out of their way when designing this stuff.. to make you look like a dork when wearing it? Just sayin'...look at this guy here? If they made 'em so everybody looked like Thor... then every one would be wearing 'em.

Wow nice guys, and thank you all for the info. Mine is not anywheres near that nice "yet" it was sitting outside for a few years. The guy that owned it thought the motor was seized so I gave him 50 for it. I got it home and when I started on it the starter was lodged , I removed it cleaned the gas tank put it all back together and it fired right up and drove it around with no problems. I will post some pics once I get it back together but everything was so crusty I wanted to get it all free and clean before to much running. The only problem I have with it is my wife seen it and said "is that a hydro?" I said yes why, she goes, well that ones mine!

Yes some very nice tractors on this thread!! I am intrigued by black hoods myself and also don't know very much about them. A neighbor of mine has one that unfortunately just sits out in front of his garage and hasn't moved since the day I noticed it. I have never met him but often think about stopping to ask about it. There is also a 520 near me that has been outside for over 2 years now that moves randomly and occasionally that I am always scoping out, can u say addicted . Anyway if I ever meet that neighbor I am going to find out about it. If I had the room and an understanding wife id probably be like Geno I put that wrong shes understanding just accuses me of being crazy.....and I only have 2

83 16hp Backed out from going to Scotts

Nick, there might be a clue in your analysis. All your tractors are twins. Mine were single cylinder. It is a sure bet that the vibration amplitude at the hinge pivot points is different with the different engines and the direction of the vibration is different as well since the twins are horizontal opposed while the singles are vertical. I never would have considered the difference!

Plate and shield is in, starting on the live circuit first. Battery cables are installed, the 8 gauge hot and ground feeds are at the blocks. The alternator wire is also run. I'll also put some pics at the bottom to show how we do connections.

There are those that will look at this and start to wear safety glasses, and there are those who will still say that it won't happen to them. I have been lucky in my 64 years. Even when wearing safety glasses, last week I managed to get a tiny bit of aluminum in my eye while cutting with a sawzall. It came out with eye wash. We also read all the warnings on here about proper breathing protection when painting, but I bet many still ignore it. A lot of these problems don't show up right away, but later in life when you can't breathe like you used to, you start to think about the dumb things you did earlier in life. Please listen to John and those who have warned about proper safety equipment. You only get one set of eyes, and one pair of lungs. Protect them! Thanks for sharing your experience John.

sorry, no free lunch, you choose fix it right or do a hack job and cross your fingers. My opinion is that the real problem is/was caused by a lack of maintenance keeping the engine clean so it could cool properly

Was that from a wire wheel? In younger, dumber and indestructible days I opted not to use saftey glasses... but once I started picking pieces of wire out of my shirt and cheeks I put them on and never looked back. You just never know when it can happen, and it only takes one piece of debris to royally foul up your eye.

I'll look around squonk ... maybe we'll get lucky for you.. If so I'll get some. My first trip there ,, getting anxious,, are "green bottles" supposed to be returned to the gifter ??

Blackhoods, I have two words !! My first tractor was a C-100 then I joined this forum and saw a blackhood for the first time.. Now Im obsessed with them... I have my eye on about 3 of them that will make it to my stable eventually! I love the design!

This is a C-161 with the initial Fiberglass Blackhood and Briggs 16 Opposed Twin......Now that I have most of the mechanicals worked out, I really like it so it will be getting the full spa treatment in near future. I really like the ride and profile of my new to me GT 14's. Feels more steady and the hydro speed more consistant yet it is slower max speed than the C-161. So II will keep both!

There is a drain plug in the bottom of the transmission just to the left of the hitch. It should use a 1/4" Allen wrench to remove. Drain the oil by lifting the front end of the tractor to get all the oil over the hump in the bottom of the transmission. Refill with 2 quarts of 85-140w gl-5 gear oil. The oil can be poured in through either the dipstick tube, or by removing the shift lever and putting it in there. Do not use the plug on the side. You will not get enough oil in through there. If you find that your oil has a lot of water in it, there are many threads on here about how to flush the transmission. Just do a search for "flushing transmission".

My first and only 'Horse is a C-85 Black-Hood. Still working on it and still loving it. It's a love-hate relationship sometimes, but still loving it! When I brought it home... After a little TLC.

Currently my '80 C-105 is what I grab for the odd-jobs around the house, like moving my woodpile. I did mow with it one summer with a 42" RD.

I've got an '83 C-175 here... hands down, one of my favorite workers.

Might have to resort to fabricating the hitch " pipe" from a bit of pipe to try and make it look original. The welder has seen a lot of use recently fabricated a new deck shell from 3 mm steel:) If anyone knows of the castings or a whole trans please let me know.May be willing to pay shipping from USA? Thanks Thomas

Ok, since last year I have been hunting a snow cab. Wouldnt mind having one fro my 416 and for my 5xi as I have snow throwers for both. I know from reading some of you guys just dont like them, thats ok, to each his own. Other fellas, like duke,,, (sorry duke, had to mention you) they make thier snow cab like a mini oasis. Extra lights, heat, controls for snow thrower, etc. I could sit in there all day long jn whatever the frigid freezing snowy windy damp weather. Did I make my point. Then yesterday when I saw fun engineer sell his tractor, I saw the cab he did for that. I seem to remember a thread he had on installing that cub cadet cab on his horse. I forgot how great that turned out. THAT was a cab. Now my problem is,,,,, what alternatives do we have for cabs? Some of the manufactures want to charge welllllll over a grand,,,,, for what??????? A couple bucks of steel and some flimsy vinyl,,, with vinyl windows....upgrade to tempered glass with a HAND OPERATED wiper and the price goes through the roof like a rocket. NO WAY RAY,,,,,,,, not when I can spend some of that money on another wheel horse. I like the cub cadet cab conversion,,,,, seems really sturdy and built like a brick outhouse. Who has ideas on other cabs? Even the vinyl ones for cheaper, or something. just wanted to throw this out there as winter is coming,,, if you have pictures please post them. I would guess maybe others think about this to, with ol man wjnter heading our way soon I am looking to be outside on my horse, clearing my driveway, but I want to be in a cab and feel like I am on a beach in Florida. Lol ok,,, lets see who has what ideas. Thank you

The worst thing Nick is that there seems to be no standard in the tire size world.

I like them all my least favorite is the newest style Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have interest in anything that would sell but quantity is going to become an issue for them to produce them at a reasonable price. Even if they did some less popular sizes I already know this would make the price too high because the tooling would have to be amortized somehow, and line changes still cost them in manpower and time. I spent 3 years as a Director of Sales and Marketing for the 2nd largest speaker company in the world and learned a lot about the manufacturing end. It gets back to what I said earlier, no one carries anything other than the most popular stuff, a lot of them have even quit making the odd sizes because of demand in this wonderful economy we have. I will still check it out, never hurts to ask right?

Its sounds like the electrode is bad in the plug try a new plug and see if that helps

you could pick up a used cam on flea bay or from a vendor on here. on the up side if you do go for the rebuild you "should" have a motor that will last a long time to come yet. one more thing did you consider getting a 2nd opinion on what is wrong and make sure they are not trying to sell you a bill of goods. some dealer unfortunately if they don't know what the problem is or just don't want to be bother charge a high price and over kill to try and discourage you from doing the work and try and sell you a new and " better" mower eric j

My intention wasn’t to just let this thread die, but updating this has taken a back seat to actually working/playing with the tractors. I’ll try to get this caught up with my progress. For replacing the 1533 bearings, I thankfully had resisted scrapping the rear end out of a Commando 8 with broken-out axle keyways. The bearings weren’t pristine by any means, but definitely usable. They came out without too much trouble. I soaked them good with penetrating oil and then used a combination of a slide hammer and mechanic's pry bar to get them out. After leaving the bearings in the freezer for a couple days, they went in without too much difficulty. In fact, pretty much all the putting it back together went smoothly. A few things to note: Got the 5999 gasket from the local Toro dealer for $9.00. Probably could have made it myself, but it's nice to support the local dealer, and keep some demand for these old WH parts. I ordered several of the 11124 Chicago Rawhide seals and one of the 6449 seals from my Toro dealer. CR seals were $6.50 from Amazon, the Toro one was $9.50. As noted by others, I think they will both work OK, but the Toro one is wider and fills the full recess in the end of the axle housing, whereas the CR one only goes half the depth. After assembly I filled it with 10W30 and replaced the filter with a NAPA 1410. After getting it all back together… Drumroll please... It worked! Well, mostly anyway. It did make a couple strange noises. The first one took me a few minutes to figure out. It was the PTO pulley floating on the PTO shaft and sliding in and out of contact with the friction material. Took it off for the time being and that noise is gone. The second noise only occurred under load and was a rattling sound that seemed to be coming from the belt guard near the tensioner pulley. After seeing me putting around the yard on my test drives, the boys begged me to let them drive it, so I let them get a little seat time idling around the yard. The lady I got it from had the seat mounted way forward, so it's a little tight for me but perfect for them. They had a great time, and it was a great way to circulating the transmission oil, to get it ready for another fluid and filter change to hopefully get out any residual contamination.

There are rear hitches that bolt only to the axle tubes....not as heavy duty as Scott's but pretty stout....if you can get the tranny to seal.....

When I did my 312H, I used Ace hardware brand Banner Red, a bit brighter then RustyO, but looks great. I could spray on 5 coats in about 2 hrs and within 1 more hr I was handling the parts and bolting them back in place the next day, Never seen anyone else mention this paint before, I am happy with the way mine turned out.