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Spring time in Texas and my wheel horses are out of the shop for a couple of photos, thought I would share.

Hi everyone, I thought I would share a few photos I took while out in Bloomington, MN. I am in charge of equipment repairs for a golf course management company on the east coast, and went out to Toro's headquarters for a week of training. They really are a top notch company, and you feel like your walking through a museum as you go down their halls. They seem to have every product ever built on display! Here are a few to start. Bill

Final update on this project of which I am dedicating to my father he and my mother brought me into this world in 1964 and he left us on 9-29-14. I have always like the hood stand on the 64's and since I did not have a serial number for this one I made my own 92914 this tractor will always be close to my heart, this one is to date the best one I have restored. Dad if you are looking I hope you like this one. Will be taking this one to Pioneer Power this year and every year, as my father had come down to see us for the years I have been going, he loved to people watch and spend some time with the Wheel Horse faithful. Thanks Guys Enjoy and thanks for looking

Well the tractor is just about done. Stopped at TSC today to pick up a few small speed nuts I needed for the rear tail lights but they are too short ... Everything is done except the tail lights. I am not sure if I am going to wet sand and buff in a few days or if I am just going to buff. I also need to repaint the wheels as they have some rust on the fronts. Terry's decals are top notch as always. Here she is... Used her to pull the roller around the yard today (and my neighbor's yard too ...

My new 2015 work truck arrived here today... sitting in my driveway with a total of seven miles on the clock. Wanted the full size bed, as I'm tired of only being able to rustle home one at a time. The only drag being...I'm gonna need a new rear window decal, really hated to see that go.

Today, I brought out the late 60's tractors! My 1277, Charger 12, and Work Horse 700. I'm going to change the oil on them soon, engine and transmission, probably put in some new fuel filters, and the Charger 12 needs a good carb cleaning. I'm prolly gonna order the kit to do that soon, and I want to order some new fuel line and change that on most of my tractors. I also accidentally found out today, that with the new small motor on the Work Horse, and no attachments on it, it does VERY serious wheelies if you take off in third gear too hard. I scared myself quite a bit (and the girlfriend ). I am certain that I will never do that again. But regardless, It was a beautiful day, and it was nice to get some of the tractors out and stretch their legs!

My first NEW car was a 1987 Nissan 300ZX Turbo. In 87, there were only a few options available, Electronics package, Digital Dash and Leather. Mine had all 3 plus a 5-speed manual and a Garrett T3 Turbo. What makes mine even rarer is it has a limited slip rear diff, which according to the Z31 enthusiasts wasn't available until April of 1987, mine is a March 1987. Like a few of the others, this is NOT my car. My car is sitting in my garage and in awesome condition with 87K miles! Still a blast to drive and love when the turbo winds up!

My first car was actually a truck, a 1964 Ford F-100 handed down from my brother Dave when he joined the navy. It was his first ride as well. I got my balls busted all the time about it in school. all it took was one kid to say it looked like a milk truck and that was it, EVERYONE called it the milk truck for the next few yrs.. Sure wish it was still around, it was a lot of fun.. Yes, this is an actual pic. My second car was a heck of a lot more exciting.. Since we are on the topic of first cars.. This is my father in law Joe's 61 Ford Fairlane, it was his first car. He special ordered it when he was 19 yrs. old with every speed option you could get. The largest engine you could get from Ford at that time was a 400 hp 390 which it had along with a 4 speed and 4.56 gears. My father in law did everything he could do to max out the hp on the 390 (within the gray are of the rule book.) He could easily handle hangin and beatin the 409's and 413 Mopars but when Chevy came out with the 427's he started to get spanked. So.. He was able to purchase a 427 side oiler new from the dealer which he built from the ground up. Bye bye Chevy's as he put it.. So where is this car today? It is sittin up on blocks in his garage as it has been since 1968. Why? Father in law said the car became outdated and he wouldn't be embarrassed so he built race cars for his friends and when they were too chicken to run them at the track he did the drivin as well. The Fairlane never spent a night outside, in fact it was never even registered, it was a track car only. It has 2500 miles on it, mostly from flat towing it to the track. My mother in law wouldn't let him sell it because she said she never even got a ride in it so until that happens it ain't goin anywhere. My father in law died this past September. It is now a PRIORITY of my mother in law (and the rest of the family) to make it happen for her, hopefully this summer. If there is one guy in this world my father in law didn't like it was the guy that owned this Impala wagon. Don't kid yourself it was a full blown race car, 427 with dual quads and a 4 speed. The owner of it owned his own speed shop, the House of Speed out of Norwalk CT. My father in law and this guy wound up having to race each other all the time and the results were always the same, The Impala beats him off the line (no lack of traction out of that wagon) and the wagon would lose by a car length. Then the owner of the wagon would force my father in law to tear his engine down(for a fee) to have the officials check it out to make sure he was within the rules. The guy would always shoot off that a legal 390 could never beat him. Well, never caught cheating and that really pissed the Impala guy off. The one time the Impala beat my father in law Joe decided to return the favor and forced him to tear it down. Guess what, he cheated! They never raced again, once the guy heard there was now a 427 under the hood of Joe Walko's Ford he disappeared.

I put my Wheel Horse logo tractor umbrella on the Wheel Horse 314 this am. I like it very much. I bought it from Heritage Farm Power online. It is very well made -heavy duty like the big tractors and adjustable to height and pivots side ways, back and forth, etc. The main pole brace attaches to the rear hitch with a 3/4 threaded rod, lock nut and hex nut. Two braces can be attached to the rear snowplow/tiller hitch carriage bolts if the lock nut sides are on the top of the transmission. I like it a lot and look forward to using it this summer for gardening and mowing the lawn! It is very sturdy when the tractor is moving also!

Tom- Thanks- Before and after photo.

Outstanding job Shynon. I'm sure your Dad is smiling looking down at the love you put in it. I want to find a 704 myself. The first Wheel Horse my Dad bought was a Suburban 400 in 1960 when I was five years old. I stumbled onto one about a year ago and I'm in the process of rebuilding it now. The second Wheel Horse he bought was a 704. Exactly why I want to find one to fix up. The memories are priceless.

You know...I could have sworn I tried this just a short while ago Racinbob...again, thank you and I assure you...I will definitely head over to the become a supporter option once I get settled from this trip I making. I greatly appreciate everyone here. Thank you!

Thank you. I think the Vanguard will be a great upgrade. There is a lot more room around the engine than the Onan, especially at the back in front of the console. Today I hooked up the throttle, the old cable fitted straight on. I found a battery earth lead and fitted that as well. Started on the fuel line and the drive pulley. I need to cut a key for the pulley. Yesterday I cleaned the transmission linkage bushes (and a couple others that were laying around) on the wire wheel on the bench grinder. Then I soaked them in phosphoric acid, washed down and dipped in black oxide. They came out ok but next time I might try warming up the solution, as they say that penetrates better on harder steels. Today I bolted the transmission linkage back together. Not a lot of progress but the little fiddly bits take time. I also learned that you should fit the throttle bracket to the dash before fitting the wiring harness. Racinbob - there are many more of the later Toro models around than earlier Wheel Horses, but they are by no means common. The 3 / 4 / 500 series were the first models sold in Australia, I have never seen any earlier than these over here.

Thanks Nappy Not much to report, the left side foot plate thingy is taking shape. As you can see it needed quite a bit of extra metal to get it to the right shape. And a slight change of plan. The frame I made to be welded under the fender pan is now being welded to the chassis. And the latest Why Not video for ya all..

My first car: 1994 Pontiac Bonneville. I loved that car. Packed a heck of a punch with that 3.8L V6 too and could haul 5 friends comfortably. Got her at just under 40K miles and had to sell her at 161K because an idiot in pickup truck decided to eat my trunk at 35mph as I was stopped for a passing emergency vehicle. She had a maroon velvet-like interior, my wife (GF at the time) was happy to see her go. I still miss her, but I sure do like my truck!

My first car was a 1981 Mustang: Had a 255 V8, the smallest V8 ever in a Mustang.. bought it used in 1988, from Elmira NY, when I was 19 years old. drove her all through college and a few years beyond.. I LOVED that car! By 1994 it was time to take it off the road..13 years old was quite elderly for a car of that era, it had 150,000 miles, and lots of things were starting to go wrong.. I tried to keep it, but had no where under a roof to store it.. so I parked it in a back corner of my parents property, covered by tarps.. By year 2000 it had turned into a pile of rust, and I had to have it towed away to that great junkyard in the sky.. RIP Mustang, I will never forget you.. Scot

Hello again. I just thought i'd share a photo or two of my recently acquired Wheelhorse. I found it locally (Sussex) & will hopefully get the plough & possibly bade to go with it. It needs a repaint, new front tyre & has been fitted with a different steering box. The previous owner found it difficult to control when ploughing. Hopefully he's got the original somewhere. The engine turns & with slight compression so hopefullly shouldn't be to bad. Hope you find it interesting. Philip

Current restore is a 704, traded for this tractor from Prondzy (my son) he picked this up in Iowa from a Redsquare member. It was all in a box when Prondzy received it. To date complete motor overhaul, need fuel pump rebuild. Trans has all new bearings and a few new gears. Have purchased all new stainless hardware, decals. finishing up paint work then final assembly and bring this beauty back to life. Can't wait to hear that Kohler sing. Enjoy Thanks for looking Tom

Just put gas in her today and she fired right up. It's been a labor of love, when I first got her everything was shot.Thanks to everyone on the forum for all the help. Looking forward to the next round hood project.

How do you guys make your coffee? Woke up early this morning at 5:30 to check in for a Monday morning flight (and get upgraded seats ). That took just a couple minutes and then I made coffee. During the week I stop at 7-11 for a cup each morning but on the weekends I love it from my old camp percolator. Its permanently stained on the inside and the pour spot has a dent but she make the best cup-o-joe ever! We have a Kurig machine but the coffee is never quite strong enough since the water passes thru the grounds once....and its not as hot as I would like it either. I've been a Chock-full-of-Nuts brand coffee drinker for 15+ years now, tried a few others but this brand became my favorite. Ol' trusty! Mike..........

Found an image of what my '71 300 looked like. Mine was Maroon, then I had a green one. The Green one inherited the 440+6 when the maroon rusted a torsion bar mount out.

My first car was a 1962 Chevy II station wagon, which I got in 1969. My parent' s bought it from the estate of a relative. Mine was tan. The previous owner smoked like a chimmney. So getting rid of the nicotine was a challenge. And it was a Flintstone car, step one was get a piece of sheet metal so you could no longer see the road under your feet. And rust every where, front, rear and sides. But it would hold full sheets of plywood inside, something that only the largest SUV's can do today. And Chevy II was called a compact. I lived in Chicago and my girl friend always took her new Buick Wildcat UNLESS we were going to see the Bulls at the old Stadium. The neighborhood was really bad there but my rust bucket just blended into the surroundings and disappeared.

My girlfriend is an artsy one, she's really good with a camera, and took this awesome picture!

Even the good quality wire wheels will shed. I have now adopted using a full face shield. More protection and if you are wearing a dust mask too, there is no fogging up like you have with only safety goggles. For about $12 at home depot, a full face shield is well worth it. Plus if you are weed whacking and you have a pet, you are fully protected from the inevitable flying poop!

Oh and by the way, the fuel line wasn't in the muffler when I got it I was getting ready to pressure wash and took the fuel line off just to start this old motor off a primer

Thank you all. Garry, once again I think you are correct. You have helped answer questions of mine in the past and I really believe you are correct on this one as well. You have confirmed what I suspected. The 7478 belt is too long and I need the 7473. Thanks Garry and to all that replied. Anthony

Craig, you can hit Terry up for one of these!

After a lot of hammering with a punch and getting nowhere with the roll pin in my '58 WH steering wheel, it occurred to me that I had a wonderful 20 ton press in the form of my log splitter. With a little clamping and careful aligning, the splitter pushed the pin right out.

If I don't have my first cup of strong coffee bt 8am I wake up grumpy . Then she can go and make it

Hi All, Here is an update: Rear wheels, frame, toolbox, fenders sandblasted and primed. Seat front axle and and other small bits on the agenda today. Purchased 2 sets rear tires (1 turf and one AG) and 1 set of AG fronts. Also tore down tranny. I think everything is good in the tranny. Looks like someone was in it not too long ago. Any sugestions to make sure I don't need to replace any bearings? Still looking for hood stand and steering rod and 1 front wheel. If any one has these, please send me a PM. Here are some pics:

When you come to the WHCC show this year Mike, I'm always up early and I will have a pot of coffee percolating on the stove.

I'm an old school baby.

Mike- There is nothing as good as the taste of coffee from that old perker. We have gotten lazy and no time to wait so we use the kerig with dunkin donuts one cuppers. Having one right now

I use this one cup brewer, lately I've been drinking Paul Newman's coffee.

I bet you are happy about all that overtime plowing snow now ..

I finished the painting this morning. I am very happy with the paint. Not perfect as a few little bugs decided to land on the wet paint and the darn compressor wanted to spit out some water though the line into the gun. I made a point to drain the water out of the tank prior to painting. Overall looks really nice and hope to get it back together tomorrow. The rear set pan and tunnel need to be connected prior to putting it on the tractor so.......... I am gonna need some help (hint hint)

Yes Mike, I was real pleased with the DVD and seeing it when new. The Deck (same as the L/Ranger 5-2322) is the original. Modified to fit the Tractor at the Assembly Plant in Belgium. Euro models were adapted to use up the old versions unsold in the U.S. Belgium also used up all the old Short Frame Hood Decals from the Named Models. This Raider 12, being one of the new (ish) range of Long Frames had the front Tach-a-Matic mount, but not used. Also the rear pivot Frame holes for the 'T' bar Lift, near the Transmission were undrilled. It had the Belt Tensioner unit fitted where the rear bolt fits in the Mid Mount Bracket on the R/hand side. See next pic- Here's another blurry Screen Shot of it in 1982 (best view I could get) where is was used for Stump pulling !. It is now looking a bit of a sorry state with no Deck or Lift Lever and the rear light is damaged and obviously used for general labouring/towing before being laid up around 1988 - And just a reminder of what it now look's like and the only change is the use of the U.S version of the Long Frame Hood Decals (Ed Mayhews) and Stainless Button Head Screws on the Grass Screen-

Reassembly is fairly straightforward, a lot simpler than the eight speed. All of the parts cleaned up ready; As recommended by Mike I used only clean oil for lubrication during the assembly. Note that the pinions are staggered. A bit of masking tape over the keyways so as not to nick the axle seal on the way through, plus plenty of oil to help it slide through. I used all new Grade 8 bolts, locking nuts and washers to secure the centre. note the special thin washers go under the bolt head, not the nut. Torqued up to 35 ft lbs (thanks Martin); and slide the assembly back home; next in goes the intermediate shaft and gear; the brake shaft with its' gear; and finally the input gear also slides down over the brake shaft; I used a new gasket between the case halves with some hardening sealer and dropped the left half over to close the assembly. There are a number of through bolts and two or three that are tapped into the case. Those are 3/8" UNC but I discovered that 10mm bolts would fit the through holes. These are slightly bigger in diameter and easier to get here where most fasteners are metric. I was able to use Grade 8 zinc plated bolts with nylocs torqued to 35 ft lbs. Seat the new brake shaft seal with a bit of sealant, and here we have it, a refurbished rear axle assembly ready for at least another 25 years of work. These Wheel Horse rear axle assemblies are a very well built heavy duty unit and I think it would take a fair amount of abuse to break one. next - the Eaton 1100 refurb.

That would have been appropriate Mike. A friend had a 62 Falcon with the 170 and he split the exhaust manifold and installed true duals. Cool little car. Here's the car I bought new right after graduating in 73. 73 Pontiac Venture Sprint (actual scanned picture). Paid $2750 off the showroom floor Had a 350 and I milled the heads to raise the 7.3 to 1 compression ratio and installed an intake manifold and quadrajunk from a ram air GTO and duals. It's the car that caused my friends to give me the nickname 'Racinbob'. The truck (1985) and trailer was just scanned with it. It had the 300 inline six and pulled that trailer with ease (almost). The pic of the truck alone was sent to me by my daughter in Indiana a couple months ago. She thought it was my old truck and she was right. Apparently it still is running.

I built a pulley setup for my new tiller. The two pulleys, spring and belt used are the Toro or equivalent. The shaft is 3/4 plain steel which I threaded the end. A few bushings and spacers to line it up the pulleys. The black 3/4 stop collar just lines up the belt as I just slide the shaft in from the drivers side. Tension seem to keep it there in use so I did not add not to the other side. The spring just slides over the stub as the setup is slid in. The eye bolt is left on the tractor and can be turned to adjust tension on the belt. I guessed on the spacing on the pulleys and it works well. Pics for those who build one. The tiller is setup on a 417-8 in the pics. Comments Welcome

A trying NHL season has come to and end. But top pick has been secured! I haven't been to a hockey game in like 40 yrs. Back in the day of the Memorial Auditorium. I thought the game would be a wild one with the Sabres having nothing to lose by winning and Pittsburgh fighting for a playoff spot.but it wasn't. only penalty was Crosby for shoving the goalie Lindback and Lindback popping Crosby back. That happened early and nothing escalated after that. Best thing that happened was I got on the Jumbotron during the first intermission. The positives: Sellout crowd! Jumbotron 2 Zamboni's! 50 % off all Sabres shop goodies Pulled pork at Essex St. Pub! Crosby got blasted a few times Negatives; Not enough penalties no fights 3 players got hurt but 2 did return Too many Pittsburgh fans! subway trip down. The train was full in no time too many Penquins opening Face off Big hit! Zamboni's ! Empty net with 3 min to go Sabres thank the fans

Must be a late 60's day. I had Skonk out pulling a wagon load of pine cones today.

I am planning on using this on the 701 Craig. I may bring to the Big Show too as it is an attention getter ! There us an added tab with hole on the back side of the umbrella pole for attaching a cart , etc with a hitch pin. See the third photo for reference.

yeah he is pretty awesome! His just glad its being used and not just sitting around... thats the worst for these things.

1929 NASH WITH WOODEN SPOKE WHEELS. 1944

If you really don't want even the little mini HVAC Oxy/Act setup another option is a hand trigger Turbo Torch with the Mapp/Propane mix

I restored this one almost 15 yrs. ago... I'm not a big John Deere guy in any way shape or form but the round fender 110's are just plain cool. The variable drive is a nice feature as well. I did mow with mine and it did a real nice job.. Go to the Weekend Freedom Machines website, its where all the green guys hang out, there should be plenty of info about them there..