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I wanted to stack my 854 ever since I restored it, so I did. Here are photos of this bad boy and some of the support bracket I made.

Something cool for your shop door if you guys wanna do it. How about a glass etched logo? Yeah I know, we changed the waiting area colors and haven't painted the door yet... I had a minute early this morning so I fired up the decal cutter. Not really, just a decal with etched glass vinyl, but it looks real.

Hot on the back of my diy tacho I made last year, I finally bought some cheap $10 parts from china and did a quick mod... Firstly a few stickers to cover the cheap white faces on the dials Which gave me these for bendy, shame I could get the tacho in black bezel... Might have to spray it....

Transmissions are like a box of chocolates, you just never know what is inside until you open one up. The world according to Stevasaurus.

All I have to throw are monkeys, but they are known to throw a few things as well!

There are collectors and then there are hoarders. Hoarders can't let things go. I knew a great older fellow I had the privilege to know and work with. A millionaire who would wear bibs and crap-kickers that enjoyed going to auctions and buying things. He had three Gravely Walk-Behinds and a bunch of attachments for them. They sat outside in the rain. Year after year. Season after season. I begged him to sell me just one so I could mow my steep side hills safely but the answer was always no. He just couldn't part with the stuff. None of it. It all rotted in the fence rows. Everything from an old Packard automobile to an old REO truck, farm tractors and farm implements, a neat old Autocar semi and a Mercedes sedan and bin after bin of stainless, brass and copper fixtures, appliances, tools, etc were sold as scrap by the family after his passing. Oh and those shows are heavily scripted. Still is neat to see what Americans have stashed away on their properties. I watched it last night. I'm sure the show's staff look at what collectors collect and if there is any fringe collectible that they can somehow drop some historical facts about. Look for more Garden Tractor "purchases" once or twice a season for IH, JD and Simplicity. Maybe a Sears also. MTV was a music channel! Comedy Central isn't funny anymore! National Geographic is all over the place and Godawful bad and the History Channel is now.................history!

It means that is life. Sandra likes the new one better and it was hers so... Gotta keep her happy. No Craig I'm not a flipper. Buying most of them and restoring them, mechanically fixing them, sandblasting, painting them and putting new decals etc, on them to keep them alive I think is the most honorable thing I can do in the name of the . I also warranty them. Also, in case everyone forgot, I had 1 horse about 5 months ago. I now have over 100 tractors and attachments and am in the middle of working on buying 25 more pieces this week alone. Picked up 5 last Sat with the opportunity to buy 15 more tractors plus attachments. That's 20 tractors alone in 1 day.

WHkid I think its great you want to work on a 30+ year old garden tractor and want to make it right but also want to make to personal. I to was asking myself that exact question when I picked up a '64 654 with the wrong motor, seat, and no hood. The more I studied the pics of the other guys tractors of the same model there were many differences and not all were factory options. My earliest memory as a kid was playing on my dads round fender craftsman tractor which had a steel seat, so when I saw the 654 had round fenders I just had to find a steel seat. and with the wrong motor and hood that needs some holes welded in its not going to be OEM ... but it WILL be MINE!! And the joy of knowing I have rescued a great tractor from the junk is a great feeling. Not to mention the memorys I hope to be making for my son. So good luck and have fun with your New WH tractor!! Dont forget the pics!!

Some of my babies are gone... I will miss them dearly but they are all going to fantastic homes, some of them I will get to see when I'm out and about. I haven't put them on the board because I want to cover my local area in red first and enjoy actually seeing my babies still working, and also being the one who works on them if they need it. 3 of them left so far this week and prospects for 3 more this week. The little 68 Lawn Ranger was Sandra's tractor that she's replacing with the 64 Lawn Ranger. The 68 we sold still had the dealer sticker on it and still had nubs on the original rear tires that said Wheel horse on them, the fronts just had the nubs wore off but looked new and said Wheel Horse also. That tractor hadn't been used hardly at all since new.

Here's how I installed the defroster in my new cab. Sent from my tractor seat.

Well, this is a tough one. Even being an Irish fan I have no issues with any of the Big 10 teams. I have forgiven Northwestern Steve , just don't let it happen again! With family in Wisconsin that gives them an edge in my heart. But I've always liked Ohio State too. Now, there's one thing I don't like about OSU and that would be their coach. Sorry OSU fans, ya gotta be a SEC hater living in Florida to fully understand. Now let's see here, Wisconsin is playing good and worthy of the title, Ohio State is playing good BUT they lost another quarterback. Wisconsin is a slight favorite but the only thing I know about football is Notre Dame. What to do, what to do......... I'm going with Ohio State! I think that they stand the best chance of knocking off Alabama IF they make it to the championship rounds. How's that Steve? I counted the words and found a longer way than Rob!

I will see you tomorrow Geno. Looking forward to meeting everyone, and sampling Blues cooking.

Rob...I have to say...I like how you are direct and to the point. I don't know if there was a longer way around picking this game. It really does look like a toss up. I think if Ohio St. can win by 7 to 14...they may get a shot at the National Championship. Brrly1...you don't really believe Bowling Green is going to beat NIU...do you?? NIU all the way here... I think you thought...awh...never mind....do not want to jinx these guys.

You sometimes need to make room and, knowing Geno from the forums, we can all be sure the old Horses went to good homes. Keep taps on the Stallions, in our old age we need love and carrots too!

O.S.U.

GO BUCKEYES

It has been a while since I could actually contribute to this thread....

Yes it is.

I sent the store an email yesterday asking if the tractor was still for sale. Still no response, we shall see. Hopefully it did not go to a scrap yard after the show was done filming.

Well Geno you've got some work to do on that little tractor and the first thing I would do would be to get rid of that monstrosity back rest. I'm sure you can find an original which was about a third that size. Working that many hours for that long, it's a wonder you aren't dead! I'll tell you what though you have the addiction bad, seems every day when I come to the forum you bought 4 or 5 more. I would have never thought there were that many down your way. You are on a pace to corner the market on Wheel Horses in another couple years, at least in the middle of the country. Actually I think you already have! With all those tractors you are still working 16 hrs. a day and 7 days a week man you better slow down because if you think 50 is tough wait till you hit 60. :laughing-rolling:

Is this the foot lever? The red piece, not the brown and black fuzzy thing.

I just saw this thread. I think you would be OK with the 2nd/3rd fork gear...pushing snow with a blade in 3rd gear at full throttle is when you may have that issue. Rebuild looks nice.

ready as we can be. And hungry too.

Thanks Ken and all. After being in this for 5 months I think that is what my mission has become. These tractors must be saved and the brand as it was should continue. I guess what I will become is not only a collector as over a dozen of them and many attachments are not for sale, but also an "old" Wheel Horse dealer complete with sales, service, and warranty. Thanks Ken for helping me see what my true mission is.

Don't forget to take some pictures so we can feel like we're hanging out with you. Sent from my tractor seat.

I think what you are doing is prettyl cool Geno and in fact a pretty good idea. Looks like you are the only Wheel Horse dealer still in business, with a warranty to boot!

Between $1.00 and $1000. Depends on a LOT of factors. Generally collectable or rare horses bring more money if they are in decent unrestored original condition. There are some guys on here that can restore a unit and driving it will be like new off the showroom floor, they will bring high $. If its a Rustoleum job generally it will bring less. The devil is in the details.

Gotta' keep the gals happy Geno. Nice replacement!

Me me me me me... and, are we there yet?

HO HO HO hang in there Mike you have many more shows you need to go too Brian

I have known people like that 85 year old seller. Won't make a reasonable deal, and will end up dying and leaving everything to be auctioned by his estate.

I caught this shot tonight...a full moon at the top of the 50 ft white pine in my back yard... picture deleted because of below...maybe later. Merry Christmas

God bless you, Keith! Attitude is everything so keep it up and get back to 100% soon!

Thanks Nick! I should've updated. I used a harley coil on it. Runs like a champ, I got it locally for around $40.

Paul, i don't like using chains on my driveway, so the weight is all I've got. the ags really don't grip that well and i thought about getting a set of the all trail tires i have on the other 416. as far as the weight bracket goes, i just gathered a couple pieces of steel and welded them together. as far as being my idea, i stole it from Scott Moreau, he posted above with a pic of his and the same weights. the bracket is made from the following pieces....... 2" square tube 7 inches long, need to drill a 5/8" hole for the drawbar pin to go through. 3/8" (i think so) x 2" flat bar approx 15" long. weld the 2" square to the middle of the flat. then weld a piece of plate say 1" x 4" to each end to stop the weights sliding off. i don't think you really need a bar across the top to hold the weights down. that would be handy if the tractor rolled, but if that was the case, i think i would have more important concerns to deal with than the weights coming off. they are a snug fit on the bar and some finesse is needed to pull them off without a little resistance. i don't have any more bar here, it was just a piece i had laying around and the 2" square can be had already with the hole drilled in the right position from one of the towing equipment suppliers that stock them. its the most basic of brackets i could think of doing and seeing that pic Scott posted, prompted me to go ahead and make one. i was going to spend $120 +ship to get a Heavy Hitch weight bracket that would hold 6 weights. I seen one on the back of one of John Matthews' tractors (shallowwatersailor), they are a neat bracket and i may even get one in the future. but for the time being, I'm being cheap, Chrismas is coming along quick and i have a large family!!!! Glenn, i would see if somebody close to you could whip one up for you, could probably get it done for what it would cost for me to ship you one...... heres the Heavy Hitch.....

Looks like a D-250.

I am glad I caan't buy any more right now. There are a lot for sale around here and I just can't make myself sell anything. Of course if I had the room you ahve there then I would be buying everything in site.

Hey there fellas. I havn't been on nearly as much as I have been on in the past, nor do I currently own any wheel horses at the moment. But Id just like to thank all of the people on this forum for being great and personable. Especially those who I had met in my travels, trades, and deals. You guys and gals are definitely top notch 1st rate people, most of you anyways haha. Next year (2015) I will be starting a new chapter in my life as I will be moving to Wilmington NC from NJ to pursue a career since I graduated from college this past May. So for the time being it will be the end of my wheel horse days for a quite awhile. But Ill be back someday, and I will stop on here from time to time to add in my . Charles

Well chaps, no going back now To stick the axles back together, I starting with a bit of notching.. Like so.. Not quite the perfect fit but better to notch out not enough material than take out too much at this stage.. Using one of the old fashioned thick cutting discs as a grinding disc I could remove a little metal at a time and keep it flat.. Until I had a perfect notch.. The overlap is 1 inch by the way.. That's a much better fit To make sure the welds had something to really bite into and fill up all the edges of the joins very deeply V'd. Time to start welding, but it wasn't me who did the welding!! As Nigel's boy Karl is a coded welder and he happened to be about today I asked him if he would be kind enough to weld my axles up for me.. And a grand job he made of it too.. Thanks Karl A finished pair of half shafts The plan was to shrink fit some sleeves over the join but as Karl knows what he is doing with a welder and the extra heat caused by shrink fitting then welding a sleeve could well weaken the shafts, the sleeves will be staying off..

Hey Kerry, what size trailer is that? Exactly what I want to build. Sorry Geno, didnt mean to get off topic or hijack your thread.

Not a critical transmission usage wise. However if you know of any available differential old type or new I would like to make it right. Brass bushings on it were worn down to absolutely nothing.

Forum member COD (Steve) submitted an interesting electrical item for dissection. A "Deere style" rectifier regulator tagged "output is stuck at 12.3 volts". After removing the potting compound from the regulator body, unsoldering the leads from the SCR and removing the circuit board SCR is press fit into the outer housing The regulator circuit board - ready to give up it's secrets The B+ and one of the AC terminals are indeed physically - and therefore electrically - connected together. Some analysis and possible repair work coming next.

Very nice... Exactly what I want for the back window of my truck...

that's just how life goes some times you cant keep them all or take them to your grave but people will try

This is the one that's replacing it. The new tires + tubes are already here and we'll get started on sandblasting on it next week. Kinda like the little 64, I think it may be the only one of a kind Lawn Ranger but I could be wrong there... Plus the fact Sandra really likes it a lot from the little tires to the little headlamps which is always good. Just found out last night it has a recycler deck on it too.

That was awesome! Thanks Lane!

KOHLER M18, because they put me in my happy place

Who says you still can't be a member? That academy needs the lawn mowed, maybe there is a wheel horse stashed away in a shed someplace that someone forgot about. Your first job, investigate the grounds and see what you find! . Wishing you all the best with your new chapter in life. Rob

I would pay to see the Dino riding the Ranger with some checkerboard pants on holding a putter!