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Many of us here have run onto the guy that has a car, truck, or Wheel Horse sitting off in the weeds or bushes that they won't sell. Well, fast forward 20 years and:

On the list today for my possible acquisition was a decent little 312-A, and a latecomer--a C-141. Both of these were posted on Craigslist. I will try to keep this brief. Maybe all this was caused by the recent blue moon... I went to look at the 312-A that was supposed to be a "come and get it--I don't want it" transaction (gas to get there, and a minor amount of sweat loading everything). I get there, go through my process of assessing the Horse, do a test drive, and check all functionality. Everything was good, the hours were at a so-so 1150--but it's a Kohler Magnum 12 and I wasn't too concerned. No leaks, no smoke, no problem. I had pre-arranged the deal over the phone and the owner was glad to have me pick it up... so I thought. Suddenly the price went from "can't you load it any faster?" to $400. It had but one attachment, the tiny 37" rear discharge deck. I drove 3 1/2 hours to get to that one. I left without it. Here's where it gets really strange>>> On the way back home I stopped to see a C-141 that popped up on CL late last night. It was equipped with a snowblower, a 42" rear discharge deck and a 48" side discharge deck, extra set of AG tires mounted on rims, chains, weights, and about three of every necessary belt as a spare. I called this morning and pre-arranged a time and a price--only if everything was as advertised. We agreed to $300, and my adrenaline was pumping. I think that's a steal for a clean and working C series--especially one with lots of extra horsey stuff. So I get there and wait for 45 minutes for the owner to come out of his house (he was home, he knew I was there). Pretty creepy. During that time, I gave it the usual inspection. At about the 30 minute mark, and after knocking on every door I could find and pressing every doorbell button... I couldn't take it. He had verbally given me the OK to test things out as much as I wanted (per our phone conversation). So... I pulled the choke and put it at mid-throttle and cranked it up. It started a little hard--but it started--and purred. There were 2 immediately obvious issues: the motor was loose on its mounts (or broken mounts) and the drive belt and pulley were shot and whipping erratically and causing the drive clutch to jitter. The owner actually had to bungee the drive clutch release in the operating position because the shaking was violent enough to pop the clutch release. The oil was new and fresh, and the trans fluid was clean with a new tranny filter. But--the whole bottom half of the engine block, mounts, frame, and snowblower lift arm were covered in black oily sludge. It did not leave a good impression. It looked like he NEVER wiped up anything in the 25+ years he says he's owned it. He never came out of his house. I had a trailer and cash, and was willing to deal with the issues because they are all repairable. $300 for a C-141... I thought is was worth the price of admission. I knocked, dinged, and called him one last time and then drove away. Super creepy... I got about a mile away from his house, and he called my cell phone. The conversation went something like this... "Hey, are you the guy with the red truck?...Yes...Well, you just left my house...Yes, I know, I was there for 45 minutes and despite all my efforts to contact you, you never came out of your house..." Then it took a very unexpected turn. The next thing he actually said to me was, "You have some kind of balls to show up at someone's house and start his tractor and drive it around his yard... some kind of balls, buddy!" Umm, I was literally speechless. This guy knew everything about our arranged meeting and what I intended to do once I arrived to check out the tractor. He knew I was there, but completely avoided me. So, I left... what else could I do? I won't get into the rest of the ensuing conversation, but let's just say... I politely declined... ...And drove like a bat out of hell away from Wheel Horse Deliverance. Two nice finds, zero horsies on the trailer... crazy people everywhere! And a weird guy ("It puts the lotion on the skin" kind of weird) who couldn't come out of his house to take a handful of cash. I hope the next horse finding expedition turns out much better. WOW!

Weird! Must be something in the water. Did you have the banjo, or the guitar?

??????????

I've been secretly hunting for one to run a tiller & maybe a small 3pt blower . One from the late 80's slipped through my fingers a while ago

That's just to keep someone from stealing it Jim. Oldest trick in the book.

I take a black magic marker and before I remove the blades for sharpening, I mark which side was facing down. When installing a new blade, just compare it to the old blade and how it was marked.

You can't go wrong with a 857 they are great! Just finished one this year for my daughter

About time I came across a good deal. Got this Brinly disc set for $50.00! at a yard sale.

I sold a Smith and Wesson 9 mil on Craigs list a few years ago, guy called said he was really interested in the pistol ......wanted me to bring the pistol into the city at x location ( not a place it could be transferred .....off the beat'n path ) so he could " look " at it . Yea right ....lol ....I was born at night ....not last night . Sold a car, guy comes and puts a down payment on it we're all good - get another call from a girl says she wants the car - tell her it's sold.... she blows a major gasket and flips out, calling me names -starts making crazy offers over my selling price ....too bad - once I make a deal and/or give somebody my word it's a done deal - chances are she never had it anyway - can't post here what I told her .

I've sold a few things on Craigs list , almost every time I got one or two characters that needed a miner attitude adjustment .....some on the phone ...some in the yard ......I'm not nuts about craigs list.

That wacko might come out of the house with a gun. The C-141 would have to be mint condition to get me to go back. I'd forget it.

I used to take the PK to shows. Kept getting asked "What year Kubota is that?

Well the Blast cabinet needs new gloves and I need to upgrade dust collection before next round of use. So I spent a day using a wet sand blast nozzle with Masonry sand on a second set of rear rims, prime and paint( positives of 90 degree weather is paint dries fast) and then today I wrestled rear treads. Spent a bunch of time trying to mount new Vredstine 18x8.5-8's onto rims. I know when to punt. I will try and find somewhere that will mount these for me this week. The latter two pics are showing a cut out of corrugated plastic I used in conjunction with HF tire tool to protect paint finish on rim. Similar cut out below tire as well.

you should paint the blades yellow

I guess anything Orange is a Kubota. Lol On a serious note, I could use 4x4 capability so would someday like to have one. i also would not mind having similar Power King as the one in Squonks pics above. But with only 3 acres of Adirondack swamp and sand, it is hard to justify what I already have:-)

Thanks Craig. We got most of the plates up on the wall, 6 left that we have to find a good place for

There's a guy in Lakewood that has them for sale quite frequently . Don't know what the story is behind it though

I love my L3400 best compact tractor made Brian

Planning on being there!!! Hope all of the regulars and anybody else can make it. This is a NICE show and a very Wheel Horse and Garden Tractor friendly show .

One last job before Skonk is a taxi at the Steam Pageant. Hauling the shredder out to the garden to chop up a couple bales of straw.

Agreed, for that price you cant go wrong with a horizontal shaft horse. Especially if you get a 520 back!

So sorry to hear of your loss John. Its amazing the bond we build with our pets, they are like family! I've had many dogs thru the yrs. and loved every one of them. This was my Cocker that I named Archie..The two of us were as close as you could get,, he went everywhere with me. He loved riding in my truck, he would just sit there as happy as can be enjoying every minute.. He is the only dog I ever had that every single person in my neighborhood knew his name and everyone loved him. Many a little kid tugged on his big floppy ears and he never even thought of biting anyone. I could spend hrs. working in my garage and he'd lay on the garage floor just hanging out. I got him from a shelter when he was 2 yrs. old. He lived to be 17 yrs. old. Archie died about 15 yrs. ago., I'll always miss him...

I have some tractors that are the same way and I have a couple you don't have to choke at all at first start up. These tractors are just like real horse's they all have their own personality. Some bite, some don't, some kick , some don't, some are just plain mean, some nice and gentle.

Welcome to Thursday and an update from inside the workshop.... The bench WN was on ended up looking like this!! After the struggle of lifting her off the bench last time we decided the easiest thing to do this time was to slide drag the bench to the doorway and roll her down some ramps,,, To be fair on the bench it has put up with a lot of punishment for the past er... many years including the weight of the 6x6 being built on it.. The bench will be rebuilt a lot stronger and on castor wheels I'm very happy to report that all the changes that have happened on WN have been worth it.. Thanks to the new higher fuel outlet on the tank she starts up straight away with no hassles or queasy-start.. A little choke, no throttle push the starter button and she roars into life.. I also realized that I was no longer thinking about the brakes when using then, I guess the relocated front master cylinder is doing it's job now And now the big one.. Steering.. Gone is the twitchyness that was there under hard throttle while turning.. There is even a fair amount of self centering going on.. Oh, and the steering is so much lighter than what it was The only downside was the amount of wheel turning needed to steer.. It was about 1/2 a turn lock to lock, the A35 steering box made that 2.2 turns lock to lock!! This was sorted by drilling and extra hole in the drop link a bit closer to the wheel and giving the connecting rod a bend so it didn't hit the exhaust or anywhere else.. The lock is now 1.5 turns lock to lock which feels right.. In fact it now has so much lock that the front brake calipers hit the front axle on full lock, so I need to make a couple of simple stoppers to stop that happening.. The fender pan is as done as it's going to get before the shows, it still needs loads more work but that can wait until I get her ready for final paint. I have also installed a plug under the dash.. Nope, it's not for plugging in headphones It is in fact wired into the bikes stop/run circuit. The plan is to grind out some of the plastic bit that separates the positive and negative and weld both bits together. The idea being when it's plugged in to the stop/run circuit will be in run mode.. So if the plug is attached to the driver and the driver get thrown off for some reason, the plug get pulled and the engine stops Have some photo's of WN out in the wild. And for your Viewing pleasure, here's Part 17 and 18 of the build videos. Sorry you have to click on the links to see the vid's, if I post them up the normal way for some strange reason it changes the video links in my other posts! Why Not Build Part 17 Why Not Build Part 18

It's worth it just to get your 520 back.

So... Chris was able to finish up on all his work late last night. I ended up driving it home about 50 min ride and left my newer truck there. It has been a fun 24 hours for sure. First thing this morning I got some help from my boy and my neighbor came over and we installed the bed, bed wood and a few other little things. Made a few trips with it to the store and it is really fun to drive. It has been a long time coming that is for sure...

Well, horses don't get coffee, so they need a little extra shot of fuel to get going.

Not sure I'd be able to drive correctly with her sitting on me. That motor in the video was very soothing. Thanks for the clip.

Nice score... and welcome to the club.

My friend likes to have a drink or a few while mowing. Not sure what happened maybe his horse got drunk from the fumes. Another neighbor told me his C-175 climbed a tree in his yard. The Wheel Horse wasn't hurt as I have seen it since. Here are a couple pictures of the Tree Climber.

While it may be a bit early for Brrly's annual Big 10 football thread, it is never too early to set the tone..

slammer, your younger than I thought. Lol nice score. Glenn

I went for a short ride in Steve's truck this morning. That motor purrs like a kitten. Idles nice and smooth. That's the kind of old school vehicle to have. One you can drive around and not worry about getting dirty or nick or scratch here and there. Like Ken said. I got to get me one of those!

Nature of the beast. Some need choke every time you start and some don't. As long as it starts don't worry about it.

I should have taken pics. The JD the wife mows with was totally black. The Diesel Kubota the same. I thought I was having a fuel issue but the exhaust was normal. I dunno, maybe yours is a belt issue, but I just wanted to throw this in. Its not in my case.

A small engine repair shop owner once told me....."While tightening the bolt...if you slip off you will cut yourself on the sharp edge"......BUT I just sharpened a couple of blades and re-installed them. Using the information afore mentioned, the left blade was installed upside down. Upon further inspection, I found that the blades turned opposite of each other, making the "cut yourself" idea incorrect for the left blade!

Original CAST IRON pulleys have replaceable bearings and I have BOTH of them available with NEW BEARINGS already PRESSED in. I can also provide a good used set of Stamped Steel pulleys (like yours). SOMETIMES these pulleys can be a real PITA to get off of the shaft....others slide off effortlessly. Don't lose the two spacers. I cut a slot in my steel-top workbench to remove them. Leave the nut on an smack with hammer until the pulleys break loose...then a wood block to finish the job. for further details, clik my email link here: daveoman@windstream.net

Thanks to Mike for clearing a long-lived myth that V-belts stretch. They don't...unless you are measuring in increments at the molecular level. Belts simply wear out. Engine to trans drive belt s/b 5/8 wide ..depends what year. #108501 (81"), 7473 (82), or 78-7100 (82"), respectively. Engine to deck belt depends on what deck you use...36, 37, 42 or 48" deck ? ? ? ? Rear or side discharge is also a factor. The spindle belt on the deck also depends on what deck is in question. You question is too vague to nail down, especially with other than original engine.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/01/f9d14272e7dc1f9023e865ae224062c7.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/01/c1d5d93c53a388d1cfa0806b2ebd217b.jpg] Front tires are shot and missing the guard on the left side

I will be there Saturday for sure, I'm not sure on Friday at this point yet but I'm planning on it. Here is a picture of the exhibiter plaque for this year

OK let me try this again .... Hope this works..

My contribution: Baumert Sales and Service, Hartford, CT

I found this pic & im dont know too much about it or where the dealership was but over the front door there is a name Nasy & Kadl

Don't know the name yet, but I can tell you that these pictures are from the parking lot of Valley View Diner just south of there. (The photographer told me the Wheel Horse rigs picked up and delivered just off the next exit north on I-91)

Hoping that this can be an international project, here's my local dealership D J Scott of Warnford, Hampshire UK. It's a family run business started in the mid 70s and still going today. Sadly from our point of view the WH sign is no longer there and the showroom contains plastic Toro machines but there are a couple of little gems on display as well...... Unusually for the UK they hold a stock of commonly used OEM parts like wheel bearings etc as they still service some WHs from the 70s for local owners. I believe there are some other horses that have been restored by a guy that works there though I haven't actually seen them to get photographs. Here's another bit of UK memorabilia from the 70s with the 'G S Mowers' of Glasgow dealership stamp. Unlike D J Scott, G S Mowers didn't stand the test of time as a little bit of research revealed. (From the Glasgow Herald newspaper Nov 5, 1984) Andy

The 1962 models were the only ones not technically designed to use the HY units - mainly because they were already in production when the hydraulic lift "showed up". (hence the one bend shifter on the early models) Pull the Dial-A-Height (lift lever stop) casting off the side of a 1963 hoodstand and you'll see the holes for the key switch and starter button. I know you still had to move stuff, but at least you didn't have to bolt that high-tech box on there like the '62 models. I guess it just happened to be luck that the 701 could accept the HY units without moving the electrical stuff - unless designers could see into the future. :D