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This winter I have been stashing some Wheel Horses at my brother's pole barn as it has allowed me to have more room working on the tractors at my house. This winter I asked him if I could use some of his space for some rent....he offered to store the Wheel Horses as long as I mowed his grass in the spring (6 lawn cuts of 1.5ac). Well the other day I was there and I looked in the barn and I thought....oh my, I just might have a serious problem with Wheel Horses 3-520-H 3-520-8 2-C-161-8 C-161-A 520Xi 518Xi C-145-A 314-8 3 dozer blades 2 Hardi Sprayers Grader Blade So I took this photo to remind my self to quit buying tractors....though I doubt it will work. As you can see from the photo of my 10 year old son wearing his Wheel Horse shirt.....he clearly has a genetic predisposition to have Wheel Horse Fever (He has 7 more Wheel Horses that he keeps at my Dad's house Thad (Needing Help, in Ohio)

I am going to try an idea I have and see if I can get the results. I will do a hood set for the 500 without the racing stripe to save on media in case it does not work. I will post a picture of the actual results when completed..

Now we can get serious. Actually it won't be long until it gets its first load. It is a Sure Trac 6'x12' Tube Top Utility..

Thank you for your response. I've included a few pictures this time. Looking thru the gallery I was not able to pin down the model. the hood and the deck seem to be square. the battery is under the seat. It does have a pulse pump and the symptoms are: runs fine for a few minutes then have to leave on choke to continue. I guess my main concern right now is to find out the model.

Good evening, My name is Tim. It's my first time on this forum, and hope to learn a lot from you experts. I have been handed down a 50 year old WH 855 by family, which appears to be in very good shape. It hasn't been run in a few years, but properly winterized and taken care of exceptionally well. I have a friend who can help me get her in working order, but im not sure where to start, where to find parts and how to find a local expert (central Ohio). These items have been recommended so far: points (I don't know what that means), plug, condensor, air filter, oil, grease zerks, clean the carburetor, sea foam fuel system cleaning and a fuel additive since our new fuels are tough on old systems...are these items all accurate? What else must I do/check/replace? All advice regarding the above topics, plus estimated total cost would be greatly appreciated. I am just a horticulturist, far from a mechanic, and want to truly understand my new machine. Thank you kindly, Tim

So while I was waiting for paint to dry...I installed Matts Hydro Pedal kit...It was fun and I can't wait to get it adjusted and try it out. Unfortunately it WILL have to wait, as I have more cleaning and sanding and painting. I guess you folks already know what I am finding out. In my first attempt at a refurb....The deeper you go the more problems one encounters. Found a broken seat pan bracket and my 48" mower deck has severe metal fatigue and a crack that is not going to last the summer....But anyway a few pics of the pedals and my feeble attempt at painting. I hope to learn enough this year, so I can take it down to the frame next year. So that gives me a year to learn to weld and paint...

I'm not an expert in these eras, but I can narrow it down to an 855 or 856, assuming the belt guard is still original. They are all pretty much the same tractor from different model years. They will have differences but they will be minor. The battery should be on a tray behind the engine, but it looks like the tray is missing. The seat has been replaced but all of that's no big deal if he enjoys it! And other than that... just the wrong color... Looks like its in pretty good shape! If you can still read the spec and serial number on the engine that will get us the year, also assuming its original.

I'll be the biggest kid there. Down to days and the weather looks good. Should be an excellent day to finally start the garden tractor season.

Sorry about the poor images. I finished my test and the following picture shows one of Mayhews decals at the bottom. It is a 3mil vinyl which looks screen printed and then a 9 mil thick heavy gloss vinyl laminate and cut with a die. the decal in the middle is made using a 4 color solvent ink process on 3 mil digital wrap air escape vinyl and 1 layer of gloss 3 mil laminate for a 6 mil thick decal. the top 500 special hood stand decal was made the same way but I added 2 more layers of clear gloss 3 mil laminate to make it a total of 12 mil thick. I find the 9 mil laminate on Ed's reproductions still have a deeper finished look due to it being one thick layer as opposed to three thinner layers? Anyway I am pretty sure the original 500 specials came with white wheels and white background decals. Hopefully someone can chime in that has a clean original to verify. Many of the tractors from the 60s were exposed to the elements and the white begins to yellow a bit. I am probably wrong but my theory is that if the wheels were white the decals were also and if the wheels were linen beige then they used decals that had a linen beige background to match the wheel color? THE COLORS ARE OFF A BIT DUE TO THE CAMERA ANGLE AND LIGHTING.

Everyone on this forum has a problem! And what a wonderful problem it is to have! Haha!! :-P

PM me with a list of what you want. Ed Mayhew works 2 miles from where I live and I will try to get in touch with him.

Yes you do have a problem! I didn't see any round hoods, or other vintage on your list; you have only scratched the surface.

Big ole shot of salt to an already painful wound there. Nice tractor though!

He makes Wylie Coyote look like Verner Von Braun !!

Shouldn't be long Brandon. All the mechanical stuff is done, and the only two pieces that haven't been painted are the hood and fender pan, although they are both primed.

​ Sorry for your loss... here's a pict of mine to ease your pain.

Early last year I learned that my grandparents were Wheel Horse dealers from 1966-1974. Since then I have devoted a lot of my time to researching the brand and beginning my own collection of Wheel Horse tractors. Since the time I learned of my grandparents connection to Wheel Horse, I thought it would be neat to find a tractor that they sold new. Last summer I got a lead and went to look at a tractor that was supposedly sold by my grandparents. The tractor was a nicely optioned 12 Automatic that the owner used primarily for plowing his driveway. Despite my attempts to purchase the tractor, the owner was not yet ready to sell. Last week he got in touch and told me that he just bought a new Toro zero turn mower and was now ready to part with the old tractor because he didn't have any more room in his garage. The only catch was that he wanted to keep the original snow plow that came with the tractor to mount on a newer 416 he had. Wanting to keep the tractor and plow together, I offered to trade him an NOS classic series snow plow for his tractor. Yesterday I went and picked up the tractor and today I bought a new battery and started working to clean it up a little. The tractor was used extensively and has a few repairs here and there, but overall is in good mechanical condition. This tractor still remains the only one I have come across so far from my grandparent's dealership. It was kind of special to return the tractor back to my grandparents store (where I work on some of my tractors) where it was sold new over 42 years ago. I plan on keeping the tractor as-is for now, but will eventually try to repaint it and at least give it a cosmetic restoration. Here is the tractor after I started cleaning it up. Here is an ad that ran in the local newspaper in 1973 for their store.

We have collected paint recommendations for Wheel Horse Tractors. The color changed in 1990. 1955-1989 Wheel Horse Red - Valspar Restoration Series International Harvester Red (paint code: 3344) - GM #81 matched at an auto paint store - Rustoleum Regal Red (paint code: 7765-830) - Krylon Cherry Red (paint code: 2101) available at Wal-Mart - PPG Paint code --- PPG Wheel Horse Red DAR 4021 ALT H ---- DMR 478 149.4 ---- DMR 490 7.0 ---- DMR 451 286.6 ---- DMR 474 533.4 ---- DMR 475 507.8 ---- DXR 495 40.0 ---- DMR 499 536.4 Wheel Horse Linen - Duplicolor Wimbledon White (paint code: T205) (Autoparts stores) - Valspar anti-rust Gloss almond (Paint code: 21935) - Sherwin Williams - Controls Rust - Antique White (paint code 140-2486) - Rustoleum gloss Ivory (paint code: 249110) - PPG Wheel Horse Linen Beige DAR 8799 ---- DMR 486 8.0 ---- DMR 490 3.0 ---- DMR 487 19.0 ---- DMR 400 200.0 ---- DXR 495 20.0 ---- DMR 499 870.0 1990-2007 Wheel Horse Red - Toro Red - New (eBay and Toro Dealers) Wheel Horse Black Wheel Horse Silver (Pewter)

here is a schematic of the 42" side disch deck.

This is a most unwieldy apparatus ever designed....accordingly, almost impossible to describe how to put it together. You only need one of the half-moon shape parts and onlyu one of the idler pulleys that have a 'stem' on it. I will try to chase down some schematics that should help.... my direct email is: daveoman@fwindstream.net contact me there as it is much easier for me to send pics and stuff in regular emails.

Here is a better quality pic. I also received the original snowplow attachment.

Why the extra height on the Bell Crank? Will you be parting out the PTO on this tractor or just saving them?

replacement switches are pretty cheap but like Pacer said, make sure you get one that is for "battery ignition" You can also go cheaper and clean your existing switch. Open it up by prying up the crimped edge of the metal body so the insulator board holding the prongs can be removed. Be careful of the springs when you open it. Pretty simple design inside there so just clean all the copper contacts and reassemble it. Make sure to pay attention to how it comes apart and where the springs are located. After all contacts are cleaned, Hold the parts together and tap the crimp back down to hold the board in. It won't look like a perfect crimped edge when done but you'll never see it once installed. If the swith is junk as it is anyway, you have nothing to loose by taking it apart.

Found all the 520-8's

The cable is the same length on both of them 20 1/4" the difference is the clevis on the end of the cable the B-80 will need the short clevis witch is 2" long and the C-175 will need the long clevis witch is 3 1/8" long.

FYI. In that era the numbering system went like this: 1st digit = horsepower (could be 1st two digits like 10, 12) 2nd digit = 0 was recoil start, 5 was electric start (3rd digit if horsepower was 10+) 3rd digit = model year This is correct for the majority of the models in that era but Wheel Horse threw some anomalies in there a few times.

Will this blower fit an 877??? How long of lift tube does it need? AND....Will this blade (once reassembled) fit an 877?

Sounds like a fun show!

I hope I can make it. I used to live not far from there, Chadwick Il.

My family tree has some medical background floating around in it. So on the basis of medical knowledge by genetics, I legitimately offer the the following solution (at least short term) to your ailment. Load all the duplicate models up and send them to us poor fellas down here in Texas. I'll even help arrange a large trailer!. . We're going to have to start doing some Horse Rustling from somewhere! There's just not many down here

I've been looking for a little round hood that I can put to work. It will be mostly clean-up plowing in the winter and tow a trailer around in the summer without using 5 gallons of gas. I was able to work out a great deal with Devin for this sweet 854. I think much of it is original (let me know what you see, i dont have an eye for these older models yet). I'm not going for factory original, I just want mechanical soundness. It looks like the right rear axle has some up/down movement so I may be replacing the transmission with an 8 speed. Havent decided whether to do that or to dig into the transmission and hunt down parts. The hubs were replaced with 5 bolt, there is a cigar lighter that's been added to the gas tank (... ), the headlights are on a reproduction bar and are not original obviously, and there were 4 holes drilled in the top of the hood and two of them started ripping. The seam is also coming apart a bit. All mostly minor items (except the holes that bug me). I know there are a lot of people out there in the keep it original camp: what would you do with the holes (at least one has sharp edges which may cause harm to an errant finger)? It came with a spare 8HP block (the block on it is cracked a little at the exhaust) and accessories, I got ags, and tri ribs, a pretty good condition rear discharge mower that turns smooth and has solid metal all around. I even got a plow for my engine-less 551 project. I am very happy with this haul, and feel like I got a very fair deal. Devin's a good guy.

And you call this a problem??

I find with Matt's kit since it self sets itself to neutral position (as long as you have it correctly installed) that starting it and having the tractor run away is not a real issue.

Nice Wheel Horse Mels. Nice avatar too.

OK all joking aside thanks everybody for your encouragement. I am going to restore this little guy. It will take a while because I will do it as a fill in while restoring my raider 12. I have a motor being rebuilt for it now The fill in will be waiting for my son to finish the motor. He has a small engine shop and i am not exactly first priority. Lol.I will give him a month then remind him of my upcoming birthday. The upside is he also saves me alot on parts.

34 E (electric start); R would be recoil.

Got me another horse this week, 210-H

Yes, you'll be fine. There's always kids there.

These are some OLD scanned in pics. The bottom left picture is buckwheat being tilled in. As the different crops finished up in the fall I would plant those areas and then when the garden was done for the season I would till and plant the entire thing in buckwheat. It grew fast enough that I had a good thick batch to till in before frost hit. It worked great in both sandy and clay soils. The stems are hollow and soft and tangling in the tines wasn't a problem. I swore by the stuff.

Concrete floor, pressure-treated sole plate with sealant between it and the concrete. Sheathed with 1/2" plywood. All joints caulked. Finished with vinyl siding. The openings at the top and bottom of the vinyl corners are sealed with copper wool. There is no place where any rodent can get in. The door is a standard 8 x 7 steel garage door with a heavy-duty rubber seal on the bottom that extends 3" beyond the width of the door on both sides. When the door is closed, it is sealed at the top and both sides with tight fitting vinyl seals. When I was building it, I waited until dark of night and had my son outside with a 1,000,000 candlepower spot light, and me on the inside looking for any light leakage as he went around the door and perimeter of the building. The shed was built in 2006 and so far there has never been any evidence of anything that took up residence inside the shed. I did leave the door open all day back in 2008 and when I closed it at night, I trapped a chipmunk inside. He gnawed at the rubber door bottom seal, but never got out. So if a determined rodent can't get out, a less determined one can't get in. Another thing that I do when I close it up for the winter is to start my push mower and let it run with the door closed until it runs out of gas. All that carbon monoxide kills any stragglers that may have thought they had found a nice home for the winter. Therefore, rodent-proof.

Not a tractor but it is red. Picked up a Lincoln Precision Tig 225 yesterday. Been used three times and has just been sitting. Got the bottle, cart, filler metal. Time to go back to school and let my son teach me something. He graduates from welding school in June.

I'd love to have that tractor the weekend of July 10th. That's when the NYS 2 Clyinder Expo and John Deere consignment auction is held at our local Steam Pageant grounds. I could ride it around and show it off as the best GT JD ever made and reap the profits and sell it at the auction!

OOPH... I just threw up a little.

it's what all John Deeres wish too be

Who can resist the sound of Kohlers running in the morning!

About ten years ago I picked up this 400 Suburban near Geno's place, bet I couldn't get away with that today!

This is a reply to a post Brandon has removed so you guys don't think I'm being repeditive, or think I'm going crazy. Flipping is flipping Brandon. Definition from Wiki - Flipping is a term used primarily in the United States to describe purchasing a revenue-generating asset and quickly reselling (or "flipping") it for profit. Restoring and reselling is completely different from flipping. Takes a lot of hard work, time and cash invested to restore and resell. No one should ever even consider me a flipper when I am doing this - Before - After -

If you are mixing paint and dont like to spill thinner from those hard to pour from metal cans I have a solution. I took a plastic quart oil container and cut a 2" hole in the side, cut out the bottom and sliped an o ring over the spout. Presto, hands free operation of funnel and no mess!!

@Gary - there were at least four different "reds" used between 1946 and now - and that doesn't include formula variance, mixing error, application technique, and difference between brands/suppliers. Modern aersol paints may be close, but none are an exact match to the actual paint used by Wheel Horse and/or Toro. (and that includes their own touch-up paint) Choosing the "proper" red for a Wheel Horse is much like throwing a hand grenade...... all you need to do is get it close.