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Took some time today to shine up the 55' Crestliner and load up 4 outboards to run at our first antique outboard meet tomorrow.

...thought I'd sneak up on the clean up with a little test patch first, to see if my idea would work. Started on the lip that slides into the frame, progressed to a corner... then I did the logo in the center, and finally the whole lens. I'm thinking I hit a home run with the first product I tried(pictured)... first shot shows the before and after.

I was looking around a yard sale and i found this. Its in very good condition and has no rust. Should i use it or display it?

That's a nice looking tractor. The snow blade will fit, the slot hitch will fit as well. I put a slot hitch on my 416. Do you think that it's a fair price? As far as the Onan thing. My 1996 416 had an Onan twin in it that needed to be rebuilt. I hemmed and hawed wether or not to put the money into it. I decided to put the money into it. About $700 later I ended up with a new 20 horse Onan wearing the 16 horse skins on the outside. It doubled what I paid for the tractor. My point is this: I paid $600 for the tractor, probably high BUT I liked the tractor and wanted it so I paid for it. I paid $700 for a new motor. Now I have a $1300 dollar tractor that blows away any box store tractor and a motor that should last about a 1,000 hrs. If you like the tractor, don't want to keep hunting, have the money to purchase it and now know that you may have to put money into it, then you should buy it. A lot of people hunt for the "right" deal, the cheapest deal and that is fine. If I see a tractor that I like, even though it may be over priced to some, but I think that it's a far price, I will buy it.

Why are you using gas with ethanol? You have the good fortune to live in a state that has not prevented you from buying the good stuff, take advantage of it. Go to buyrealgas.com, put in your zip code and it will show you where you can get the real thing.

In a previous thread, several folks asked me how I painted my rims with tires already mounted. I recently did another set, so I illustrated the process as I did it. Typically, I like to paint the rims after they are mounted anyways, because inevitably when you have tires mounted on painted rims you’ll always scratch or nick them somewhere. I like to get the rims all cleaned up, blasted and primed, then mount my tires. Here’s my process: 1) Rims were sandblasted and primed with self-etching primer. Tires and tubes were mounted. Everything was wiped down with a pre-kleeno wax and grease remover prior to taping. 2) Using blue 3M tape, I go all the way around the rim slipping the tape between the rubber and rim occasionally tucking it tight with a very small standard screwdriver. 3) Then I create a wider tape ring a few inches out from the rim lip. 4) Slide the whole thing into a kitchen garbage bag. 5) Cut a hole in the bag revealing your tape ring below. 6) Tape the bag to your tape ring previously created on the tire. 7) For silver rims, I like Eastwood Silver Argent rally wheel paint and I use a Rust-Oleum Crystal Clear. http://www.eastwood.com/silver-argent-rally-wheel-paint-set.html 8) I wipe the rims down a few more times with a pre-kleeno wax and grease remover, blow them off with the gun, then shoot two coats of color and two coats of clear. I find that the Rust-Oleum clear holds a much better shine if you don’t let it set long between coats. As soon as it flashes, hit it with round 2. I do all four coats in about 20 minutes.

The first one I had use of was a 1974 C-160 Automatic. My first as an owner 1994 416-H bought new.

1996 269H when I couldn't afford a new 520H.

An '89 310-8 with 37" deck got me started. I now have 5 and no room for more. I could get rid of my Troy-Bilt Horses (3) to make room....NOT!

Nice! I'd use it like a freak. Just be careful of the EPA-zealots hiding in your bushes watching... Lol

I hear you Eric and I love my Onan's over every other twin except the KT Kohlers which also have a bad rep. My thing is this: On the Onan, I'll discount value because there is a greater chance of an engine issue over a Kohler Magnum twin/single or the Kohler K series in these 300/400/500 series. If there is an issue, you have time and money fixing it regardless of how much money it costs. It is still money AND, time which is more valuable to me than money on my weekends. The Kohler's seem to take more abuse before bowing up and some just survive a tortured existence. For many with one tractor, (strange people these one tractor owners are), downtime is a bi#@h. And I'm going to go way out on a limb on this statement that "most" if not a greater majority of people won't take the time to blow the grass out of their engines fins and tins after use. (A lot of people don't change the oil/filter/air filter on a regular basis). You know me Eric! I'll gobble up a low hour Onan motor in a second to keep on my bench. My opinion is 'if" I'm going to buy a Wheelhorse tractor and I wanted a twin, i would "value" a Kohler Magnum more in the purchase price than the Onan. I value the Kohler 16 horse single higher than a high hour Onan. I value the Onan's the same or higher in value than the 14 horse single Kohlers. So I look at the price the owner is asking and take these statements into helping to price it. And this is just me. Lord knows most people walk away from the KT's but I just like them as you do the Onan's. I'm still looking for a spare for my two Onan powered tractors. It may be awhile or maybe not at all until I find a low hour engine that isn't priced more than a whole Onan powered tractor is going for. It's just me my friend and I do have my quirks!

Here are some pictures of the Wheel Horse representation at the Little Guys Show today., Friday 5/15 In no particular order.

Cereal boxes work great for that ^^^

Quality time in the basement! Put some 12 volt LED lights in there and mount it in that nice yard cart you have. Bring it to the show and tow it around at the cruise!

It should be illegal to tow that boat on a sunny day!

You gotta try some Mothers Neil...

Ok, I'll leave the side you buy dirty.

Here's my 857. There has been an 867 and two 857's for sale in my immediate area since early spring. Great little tractors.

Thank you all. I hope one of the new updates has a "im a big dummy" button for me. haha

Think these'll work? http://www.mfgsupply.com/280451.html

Jason, I didn't know you had involvement in those manuals groups. Neat! CDM started a lot of resource sharing groups over there and I just assumed the manuals groups were part of his initial effort. It's been so long I don't recall who did what. It's amazing how long some of us have been screwing with this junk. Jim, I should take your lead. I keep saying I'm going to do liquidate, but I just don't make the time. I'm hoping that this will be the year that I finally start moving some things out the door. I have a few "keepers" that will never leave (Lever, Senior, Rj35, 420LSE) but I have generally lost interest in having so much stuff. I'm in the 40's too. Want to make it more managable. Problem is, I think guys have gotten cheaper! Hate to take big losses just to make room, but might do it. i also added some other colors to the fleet and find I like some of them as much as the horses. Steve

I took a video of my 656 after I got the techy running good the other day, but since that day, it hasn't run more than 5 seconds at a time. I'm glad I got the video while I did.

I did the same when I got my 502 running

Gary, you need to take a picture of it running just for proof for the non-believers. Any body can say that they got a Tecumsah running. I happen to have pictures of when I got my 502 running some years ago...it had set for 20 years. Now that is something to be proud of.

I'm always very excited when I get a tecky running!!

Getting something running when it doesn't is always an exciting feat!

RIP The King. This will be on repeat all day for me.

I have gone from a high of 42 Wheel Horse tractors and tons of attachments and parts down to one 520Xi with a 52" mower deck. I still have a closet full of original manuals though. I find the manuals much cheaper to maintain.

Steve, you know we're kindred spirits... packrats by nature and have a deep fascination with the history behind Wheel Horse, not just the machines themselves. I was a paper collector for a long time myself. Had most of a 4 drawer filing cabinet full of it. I've slowly and for the most part quietly dispatched most of the collection out to other collectors. I really latched onto the yahoo manuals groups many years ago (back when there were only two or three of them!) and was/(am) co-owner of them with Garry and Buzz. I scanned everything I had and shared it. There's a good many of the PDF manuals disseminating through the interwebs that are scans from my collection. Once they were out there in PDF form, I felt no compelling desire to hold onto the physical paper. It was just weight pressing the filing cabinet into a deeper dent in the carpet, and besides, I never dared to use them for reference. If I wanted to look up anything, it was just as fast to pull them up on the computer, and I had no danger of damaging my precious originals! I've still got some, mostly just for the tractors/attachments that I still physically have in the collection. I do also have quite a few original old ads too, mostly from magazines from the 50s/60s/70s. Ads, spec books, things like that I've scanned as well, but still hang on to them. By the way... that "picture" project I told you about is ever so slowly making progress. Been mostly on hold for real life that so often gets in the way!

my original 1956 Brian

for vince heres a couple I have

I'll take the liberty to post my brothers (VinsRJ) '54 prototype with hand built fiberglass hood. No picture I've seen yet does this thing justice.

At the end of the season put 100 octane fuel in anything that I will not be running during the winter. My push mower started with two pulls and has that awesome racing fuel smell when mowing.

I run 93 octane all the time and before I put it them away I mix a little bit of seafoam in. I have never had a problem with my sleds doing this and they sit all summer in the heat

I stopped using stabil when I had to get the injection system rebuilt on my boat. I now use a fuel additive by Yamaha at 54.00 a qt. But it only takes an ounce per fill up. I use Lucas safeguard for ethanol in all my small engine equipment. Just treat the 5 gallon can each time I fill it. So far so good. Prices at gas stations should read xxx.9 + additive cost.

Bingo! I had a Grant GT cap that I tried to add a Wheel Horse logo to but it didn't turn out very well, so I purchased this Corvette Flags cap new, and like the way it looks much better. I also am awaiting a chrome "V"-Twin horn to install so it will actually honk when the horn cap is pressed, Mark.

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

I WILL BE THERE ON FRIDAY. RUSS

A Good 520H is hard to beat.... this one now has 405 hours on the meter. i have 800.00 in the tractor, 300.00 in the blade, 300.00 in the lug tires.250. in the 48 in deck. adds up quick... $ 1650.00 total investment. worth every penny.