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I picked up this, what was left of a 1961 model 551 Wheel Horse, out of a wooded lot about two years ago. This was a local c-list find for $75. She was pretty much a basket case left for dead in the woods but I really wanted the square pan seat for my dad's 1962 restoration project. The seat you see in the first pic is now on my dad's restored 1962 502 Wheel Horse that I have shown in my avatar. Everything was rust locked solid on this tractor. The transaxle/drive pulley/brake drum does not rotate even though the gear shift is in the neutral position and won't go into any gear. Found a lot of issues to fix including three holes being busted out of the transaxle mounting flange on the back of the main frame... I was pretty much undecided what to do with it until I saw a 1961 Wheel Horse hot rod tractor at the big show this past June. That was all the inspiration I needed. So, I have since started tearing the poor thing down and am building what will become my one-of-a-kind 1961 Wheel Horse hot rod tractor. I have been working on the front end and have painted everything so far in metallic black paint... You can't see the metal flake in the black paint in the pics but up close, it really looks cool. I have mounted 10 x 4.5 x 5 quarter midget wheels/tires on front and installed a racing go-kart steering wheel so far... Next, gotta work on disassembling the transaxle to figure out what the problem with this is...

I just picked up a D160 last night and 520h last week I think I'm packed now!!

The C series Black hoods with Kohler engines where the ultimate Wheelhorse when Wheelhorse was still Wheelhorse. They were the last of the breed. I have a 83" C145 hydro and a 84" C165 8 speed. These are my go to tractors for everything. Today I am hauling firewood with the C145. I use the hydro for mowing and snow blowing and the C165 for rototilling, snowplowing and 2nd mower if needed. Personally with the steel rear pans they are just aggressive! Anyone putting down or steering away from Black hoods, probably isn't into rugged well built tractors. I like the part about the using the hood for a workbench. It works great and keeps your beer from sliding off.

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

So, I'll make this one short and sweet. I found a 1967 1277! She's not pretty, but she's solid! Runs and drives great! I'll have to make a tie-rod adjustment though & I just wish the rear fender pan wasn't as bent up, but I think I found a new winter worker! OH MY was it wet and rainy getting it though.

Not sure if this turned out or not but here is a pic toward the end of the day. I'll fix tomorrow on the computer if it didn't turn out.

Nope you are correct it can be done.

We are all cursed once we buy the first one!

Where's Jake's mug?

Looks like you need a bigger barn, there are still a lot of horses out there

I actually got it to break free with the "hub to remove a hub" trick! It took about forty five minutes of tightening downs bolts, but it came free. Now I start cleaning and priming!

Is that Geno trying to cast off his last purchase?

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

Picked up this Hardi 30 gallon sprayer at an auction today. Has a spray gun and fold out booms. Going to use it to apply liquid fertilizer in the garden next year. Thad (Ohio)

Hope it's a good snow pusher.

Prototype Prototype too In use DON'T look at the welds. OOPS, too late you already did. As I get older I have to be more careful about how I do things I am past the stage of invincible. I decided I needed something to help me install and remove the lock pins ont the stabilizer legs of my hoist. This works for me and takes a load off my back and legs. Marvin

GREAT time had by all. Pleasure meeting the Man the Myth -----Mr. STEVASAURUS!! Sure hope he made it home ok.

From Mr Peabody's Way back machine ..... I was bringing home my B80 ... first WH purchase actually.... Can't see it for the snow blade ... little trailer was pretty full Not exactly a mirror shot but you can actually see what's on the trailer

i went with tubes because the rims are old and i thought i would have issues with slow leaks. for $15 bucks I wasn't going to deal with the potential issue

We all need tractor racks!

When my wife thinks I have too many, I'm going to send her a link to these pics.

When my wife thinks one more is one too many, I'm thinking one more is never enough. You can still squeeze another one in there!

Looking forward to some pics. Next year we may have to get a New England caravan out there !!

Seeing your pix reminds me of 30 years ago when you could go to the local WH dealer and that is what the showroom looked like...and the guy knew you by name!. Yep, those days are gone forever.

Yeah...chock full o' the old there.

Access is a problem. I'm 6" #200, and I feel a little cramped. Stepping over the center tunnel is not easy, especially when you have the seat jammed forward, the chute director handle and other related goodies in the way, and you are wearing winter boots. I was considering converting the snowbeast to one of Matt's foot pedals, but between the space and boot issues, I think I will stick with hand control for now.

That's a great collection!. Come on now. I see where you could jockey a few around and fit a couple more in there.

Man Shaun, I would say your packed to the gills. But boy does it look great. Glenn

i've you cursed me, came home with my 2nd horse last night

I just received my new vinyl cab from OTC. The plastic roof seems to be constructed well, the vinyl fabric looks to be just as durable as what was on my cub cadet cab. The steel frame does seem a little light but overall it appears to be well designed. I opted for the glass windshield for a total cab price of $1052.00 shipped to my door. I already have LED lights and plan on buying a wiper made for golf carts. I really didn't think the price was that bad for what I got, considering I expect his cab the last a minimum of 20 to 30 years. Oh, and it's specifically designed to fit my tractor. No modification needed. When I get Home from Scott's I'll take pictures of it and pictures of it installed on the tractor. I should add that it was packaged for shipping well. No shipping damage.

Glenn, I'm at the cabin, and don't have the cord to load pictures. I'll put a bunch up when I get home Sunday.

As much as I prolly should, I WILL NEVER BET AGAINST MY TEAM... As far as this year goes... I'm getting SCREWED more than Hue Heffner! ILLINOIS, MARYLAND, INDIANA, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN ST.

No way to win Nick, the cat was the deciding factor.

4 quarts of homemade apple butter just got done making it now bring on the biscuits Tim I love apple season Tim

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!

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!

I have my Wheel Horse C-120 ready for my first competition pull this Saturday at the Dover Old Tyme Days (PA) tractor show. You may remember a previous post by Big Jake who built this pulling tractor over a year ago. I bought it from Big Jake earlier this year. Getting excited to find out what she can do.

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)

Day three Was a pleasure to met Buckrancher, Maynard, and Cruisnblue48 today. Today was garden tractor pulling We had heavy rain all night and the track was really wet early, but dried out as the day ended. Had every thing from the 12HP Kohlers to the 600HP Chevy.

Martin, This is perfect, I needed to know how the front headlight portion routes under the intake manifold. Thanks a million! John

Well just came in and I am as ready as I can be. Is everything perfect??? Nah......but we will sure have fun tomorrow. Plowing is a big iffy. Hope this wind will help dry things out before morning. We have about 40 tractors on site right now. Biser is asleep in the barn, others are in town in hotels, and even a few more are in the next town over in hotels. You guys are amazing and your dedication is top notch! Everyone drive safe in the morning and thanks so much for coming!

short update... New RHS engine mount and combined Clutch pivot has allowed me to move the clutch arm to the right side of the belt So now the clutch works Went to start it so I could test it - and the carb decided to pack up, so it's been stripped and cleaned. I'm going to have to pull the head at some point as its really badly coked up, the engine knocks and smokes a little. Best decoke before I look at a major overhaul...

I, unfortunately, am guilty of the same thing and will second that!

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!

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.

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

"To me other then the hood and fenders its the same as the others "well for the most part the same". You have that right. I like the C-175 Automatics with the twin cylinder Kohler engines. This one only has 278 hours on it.

It's time for the fall chess match in the garage , you know where we service the summer stuff , move it to the back & bring all the winter things forward ? Somebody poked their head out & wanted to say hi ... so ....HI EVERYBODY !

I have one: Mine began as a 1968 Charger 9. I built it about 8 years ago here in my own shop and didn't have access to fancy machinery, so everything was done with my hand grinder, sawzall, Dremel, hand drill, Miller 135 welder, etc. Unfortunately I did not document the build, but I do remember some of it. I removed all of the original front axle brackets and welded a piece of channel iron under the frame rails. I used a modified late 60's (iron) mower deck spindle assembly to mount the wheels to the tractor. All sprockets, chain, (#40 single-row) 3/4" flange mount bearing and upper steering shaft with u-joint came from various eBay sellers. To "slow down" the steering, I also built & installed a reduction (cluster) sprocket midway between the steering shaft and the front end. Using roller chain / sprockets allows maximum rotation - which in my case is infinite because I never got around to installing steering stops.