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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.

Yes, it uses the flag and lift tube. The only difference is the mounting and belt length.

I thought everyone would get a kick out of the teasing that was in the topic title because I was just having fun. Two days ago my C100's mower deck was power washed and left to dry. I had a small can of green rustoleum that was used on another project so I decided to use it up. The spindles usually get a few coats of primer spray paint.

There was a 6100 for sale last summer at my favorite dealer up here. The hydraulics were so beat up and seeping that the dealer advised me not to buy it. He told me that it was junk.

Yes Glenn, I had to laugh when I would see him with Sue who is 5'1". He looked as big as her from the distance!

PM the squonk... he's a Kabota boy Glenn.

Might not be the exact deck you have but the belts will be the same Parts list http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/files/file/1529-mower-rotary-42in-rd-1980-1983-05-42mr01-ipl-810172r1pdf/ Owner manual http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/files/file/1529-mower-rotary-42in-rd-1980-1983-05-42mr01-ipl-810172r1pdf/ The original 102741 drive belt 1/2" x 96.6" was not long enough for some applications so it was replaced by belt 108834 which is 1/2" x 98". Service bulletin http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/files/file/458-wh61-90-272-c-series-42in-rd-mower-drive-beltpdf/ Garry

Blades have been known to get mounted upside down resulting in poor performance from new blades. Think it is just a reminder for the installer. For those that don't do it too often they may turn the deck over to work on it. I can see it getting confusing. Garry

Hi snow hound !! I live nearby you in Amherst. I would think there is a shaft seal that is worn. Try getting a seal at boyden and perron in Amherst ma. Perhaps I could take a look at it this coming week after work? mike

Check your belts.

You need one of these with a manual trans!

I just scored this nice find today. Looks like it will go directly onto the belly of the 520-H. It's in great shape, and all the parts are there. A little paint and it will be good as new. I've been looking for a 50" mid grader blade but haven't had any luck in my geographical area until now. I can't stop collecting (and using) cool attachments for my herd. I think I officially have a problem... haha

why shift? everything in WOT, breaking means fear

that's the reason why you've got a hydro right? A skilled man can drink and shift... LOL

First paint today, top coat that is, I couldn't resist.

Got time for another story? Back in 1987 when I got my 1067 I soon needed parts. I found a weld shop in Ripon, WI called D & D Welding who also had sold Wheel Horses. The guys that ran the shop were real old & old school and when I went in for blades & tie rods one of the guys said he could repair the tie rod ends and weld up new lift bends on my old blades. These guys were obviously more repair the old than sell new parts. He told me he probaly had the parts but was not going to look for them but I was welcome to as he pointed his knarled finger towards the parts room. So off I go .......well the parts room was a couple of dimly lit long isles filled to the brim with all kinds of WH parts in bins, bags & boxes. Trouble was nothin was inventoried or organized. These guys didn't know what a microfische was no less than a computer! After an hour of looking in these bins, bags & boxes I found nothing i needed. I do remember a bin overflowing with 1533 bearings tho! Parts for everything WH, still in orginal packages! I had heard the tax man went there once looking for their sales records and they threated to hook him up to a welder. I didn't go ther much after that as I did't want them cobbling up my old girl any more...too much of that done already! Afew short years later both guys died and the whole place went up for auction. Still wonder what happened to all those parts they had but not as much as wondering where all those RJ's, Suburbans Lawn Rangers ect. they must have sold are now.....awaiting new life as a barn find??? I did find another Toro/power equipment dealer in Oshkosh, WI called TP (Total Power) sales so I started going there. Helpful guys who thought I was nuts for messing with a 1967 tractor so they were more interested in selling me a new tractor rather then helping me keeping Old Red alive. Can't blame them and I sure did drool over them 300/400/500 series on the floor with all the shiney red goodies & attachments. Sucked back then as a young kid trying to start a family with no money! They are still in business but took on something else after Toro killed WH.

One more thing about quality of cut. I have seen too many decks where the deck shell is bent in the area of the spindles. I have a 3 foot long piece of 2" heavy wall pipe with a large flange screwed to the threaded end. The flange is drilled with the same hole pattern as the deck spindles. Once a year I remove the deck and sharpen blades and check everything (Annual Tune-Up). One of the additional checks I do is to rotate the blades to point at one another. If the difference in tip height between two blades is greater than 1/16" I remove the spindle, bolt the flange pipe to the deck, and bend the deck to correct the miss-match. Bend the deck shell accordingly to make the cutting edges of adjacent blades even with one another. The closer they are to perfect, the better the cut of the deck. Do this for all three spindles and you'll be surprised at how well they cut and the lack of striping in your lawn.

My weedeater tractor: 6.00-12's with three Sears wheel weights on each side for spacers. :handgestures-thumbup: