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Personally I believe it is an original motor. I believe a few Clinton B-1290's made it on 1961 models. I have one like it too

I worked in a service station when I was in high school. We had a customer that was his own worst enemy; he was told by a relative that his engine was "varnished up" and that was the reason the lifters were clattering. Rather than coming to us to talk about it he went to the paint store and got a quart of Varnish Remover, do you have any idea how bad an engine smells after running it with that in the crank case! When we pulled the oil pan there was stringy stuff hanging from the oil pump pick-up and globs of gunk everywhere. I wish I had a picture to share with you. After we replaced the engine with a good used one we made him pledge that he would come ask us prior to doing dumb things like that again.

Within reason, them ol' 1277's can make for some beastly machines.

Here are 3 pics of a loader I built for a Case 448 for a friend. I hope my next one turns out as well.

I have to say that this is really a disappointment ! My goal has been to get my 49' Chevy finished and be able to put an RJ in the back and display both at the show. Now I cannot display it there????? I understand not being able to drive around but man that is what is it all about at these shows for me. I love being able to drive around on these tractors but I also think the people like to see these old tractor running and being driven. WELL THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE WEEKEND BEFORE I HAVE MY MEET AND GREET WHICH IS ABOUT 20 MINS AWAY FROM KENT. YOU CAN DRIVE AROUND ALL YOU WANT AT MY PLACE AND DRIVE WHATEVER YOU WANT (NO JOHN DEERE THO)

I want to start off by saying I'm a new member, and new to wheel horse family. I own a small tree company, and last year i was looking for a lawn tractor with some guts to skid around some small logs. I did some research, then stumbled across a 704 with a dozer blade and a mower deck. Completely original, down to the air filter by the looks of it. I purchased it for $300. I flushed the gear oil, oil change, spark plug, filter, etc. yesterday I pulled 12' long, 12" diameter logs for near 5hrs. Then my 3 year old son putted it around the back yard, smiling ear to ear. Thing is proving bulletproof, and special. No drop in oil level, and didn't go through a full tank of gas! I think I am posting in the correct place, but I'm learning how to navigate still. my only problem is 3rd gear slips under load, and my break is worn. Both of these were not my doing. I plan to use this horse like a work horse, and fix it as it needs it. Some advice on how to move forward would be great. Thanks, a lot.

The seat is to die for!

I wouldn't have a problem re-using any of those gears and the axles...a good clean up and back on the road!!

Finally had time to pop the diff apart (5 bolts, you would think it would take less than two weeks, yet here we are). And no, I have no plans on popping that spring ring out and making any futile efforts to replace it, all the diff gears look great . Added some more detailed pictures of the gears. Do the gear experts still think all the gears and axles look good enough to reuse? I bought pretty nice spare axles in the spring, but I think the key ways on the existing ones are even nicer. Would you replace them or not (forgot to get pics of the replacements but they have less pitting but JUST slightly more worn key ways. I am just going to order the 1533's from @racinfool40 Mike today if so and try to find some replacement needle bearings.

Making progress on the retrofit. I've completed the base for the new engine. Since the new Command is physically shorter than the original K, I had a local machine shop make me a spacer of sorts with four holes drilled to match the location of the holes on the flywheel. This spacer added 1 1/2" to the overall dimension. Then, I had them drill and tap two more holes so I could bolt on the stock rubber coupler that permits connection to the hydropump. My engine base was a little shy of lining up perfectly, but adding a 1/16' spacer washer under it made up the difference. Once I got it bolted in place, I went to work on making the stock mufflers fit. Took a little head scratching, But really, it was just a matter of measuring the distance I needed from the stub-outs, then cutting and re-threading them so that everything lined up. It's a pretty simple design. This weekend, I'm hoping to finish up the wiring to the engine from the ignition switch and get this thing fired up. Getting kid of pumped! I think it looks really good!

Having a truck from that era thàt looks that good why would you want to hurry? Sit back, wave at everyone with an ear to ear grin and enjoy the ride!

I made mine from another hub. Doubt it will work on what you have left. I think if you score the barrel shaped part where the set screws are (you could use a hand grinder with a metal cutting wheel) and score it parallel to the axle. Maybe score it twice at 180°then use a hammer and a cold chisel in the score marks and it would probably break right down the score line. To get cast iron bathtubs out of houses that's what they do. Score it then hit it with a hammer. It breaks and they haul the pieces out.

Well I made some progress this week in spite of work and family obligations. I managed to get the parts tractor torn down to frame. Degreased it tonight and should be able to get it blasted and primed in next day or two. I will lose a few days next week as I am headed to Indiana. My next step is will be to measure and fit the attach-a-matic brackets. Also take a crack and adding foot pedal hydro control in that has a factory look to it. Then I should be ready to start painting or and I am seriously considering at this point, taking it to have it powder coated. I will probably take it to get it quoted and let price dictate paint or powder coat. At the pace I am going I figure 6-8 weeks to be done with tractor. Looking like an early spring wrap up unless I go powder coat route which may also factor in.

Hard to imagine the day would come... when it's politically incorrect to ride a piece of antique machinery around at an antique machinery show.

My visit to see my grandchildren paid off. I got to spend an afternoon at Chucky Cheese with 4 precious children. One of which I have only seen in pictures for 6. years. I am a very happy grandpa. I also got almost all the transmission parts I needed. I have one gear oñ the way from a RS member. I also got a new shifter. I have new bearings and gasket ordered as well as shifter retaing bolt. And I also have a starter gen kit I received last week. I found a guy through a friend that is removing the broken screws frim the gas tank and will repair the bottom plate and bead blast it. I should be able to pick it up next week.

For years now... I've been wanting one of these ol' Studes... ...and the crustier, the better too.

Sea Foam is good on your cornflakes too!

Cruising the regional CL and came across this picture on the Topeka list -- Says it was an 857 or a Commando 8 with a replacement Predator This is giving me flashback to the K-State B-Ball uniforms back in the late 70's -- Exactly same color scheme (pale pink jerseys with purple shorts) -- Ugly ass uniforms on really good teams

Now, if you can document that jimi hendrix owned it to. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ skys the limit. Glenn

If you decide to go the manual PTO route, you will probably need a drive pulley also as the clutch bolts to it.

I definitely prefer manual. Like Paul I hate the violent engagement. Tilling is one of the times I really liked the manual. Rather than lifting the tiller at the end of each run I would just disengage it and it would raise out of the ground and pull like a trailer as I turned around. It would have bugged me to operate an electric like that.

That's really sweet treehorse. Just about as nice as you'll find and a great price. One of these days I'd like to run across a 704 because that was the second new Wheel Horse my Dad bought when I was 9 years old. I missed where you have already flushed the transmission. You're gonna want to get it really right with what you're planning for it. Once you get a list made up send it to racinfool40. He should have most, if not all, of what you need. Once you're done it will go for another 40+ years.

My Electro 12 was converted to a manual at some point in the past. Manual works just fine is cheaper to buy and cheaper to fix... Also I do not like the sudden almost violent engagement of the electric PTO especially on something like a snowblower

NICE Dhodge! I would never say with any conviction that it's not original nor would I say it is. Who could know for sure unless they actually bought it new. I remember my Dad bringing home our first Wheel Horse. It was a brand new 1960 Suburban 400. That started my addiction at the ripe old age of 5. I sure as heck don't remember the details that always come up in question about what was original. Clintons were big players way back then and very popular. I can't help but believe that Wheel Horse used up their stock in 1960 and who knows if they happened to find a few more so they put them on 61's. Or, maybe an out of box failure for the Kohler and the dealer had a Clinton on his shelf and used it. Growing up a stones throw from the factory we knew many folks that worked there. But it wasn't a hobby then and many of them got a kick out of this young kid who loved playing with little red tractors. During the 60's and 70's who's to say with certainty what was done to them. One factory worker that was just down the road could have opened up a Wheel Horse parts business with all the new parts in his garage. Yup, probably brought home in his lunch box. Many times my Dad would call him seeing if he had something for the 400 and then a 704. Who knows if it was correct for the year but we didn't care at the time. Again Dhodge, I'm certainly not saying your Clinton isn't original but I do know I wouldn't change one thing on your 61. That's one of the finest era correct Wheel Horses I've seen and I love it.

You can download the service manual right here. You're problem is going to be the Hi/2nd gear, part #3523 and the input gear #3522 may be an issue as well. It's a common problem in these transmissions caused by grinding the gears over the years. The nice thing is that they are really simple to work on. Steve's videos are great so definitely take a look at them. Flush the transmission first and then disassemble. Inspect the gears, bearings, etc. to determine what you need then post it here. You'll definitely want to get all new seals for it. Note the pinned information at the top of this section. It has all the info you'll need for the gears and seals. Your 704 has a 5046 transmission. The brake will be a simple fix by either adjusting as Craig mentioned or, if you need new lining Rmaynard has them in the vendor section here. In any case, when it comes to Wheel Horses you definitely came to the right forum for help. Here's a picture of the 3523 gear. In 3rd the inner teeth mesh with the input gear. The left one is a NOS gear and you can see the teeth screaming to be ground off. The one on the right is worn but still usable especially on a non-worker. I'm betting your gear will be worse.

My thoughts are that Toro didn't take the development of the 5xi further because of the way the market was moving. The SCUT market was still a small niche and the ZTR market was just taking off when the 5xi was introduced. Wheel Horse even sold two 1st-Generation ZTR mowers before being bought by Toro. The pricing was high by today's standards for "just" a tractor. It was sold on the International Market as I always enjoy seeing the European 5xi with "hard" tractor cabs and being licensed to travel on the road. I believe the 523Dxi was developed more for Europe than the USA. I do enjoy the way that the 523Dxi sips diesel compared to the Kohler Command Twin appetite for (my choice) premium. But the SCUT and ZTR markets have basically replaced the need for a good GT. A second generation 5xi may have seen additional hydraulics and a 4WD option. There isn't a Category "0" hitch available, although one RS member did fabricate one for his tractor. Lowell used a clevis hitch that I previously had on my 523Dxi, to use as a model to fabricate an improved 5xi clevis hitch that DougL3 mentioned. Last year I installed a Johnny Bucket Universal Sleeve Hitch on the diesel which allows me to use two attachments at the same time. Having only one hydraulic attachment system is another shortcoming. http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/51761-new-sleeve-hitch-on-523dxi/#comment-476535 I personally wouldn't buy a new GT if I needed to today. JD is more hype and plastic, and Simplicity has questionable engines. I would try to find a used (or two) 5xi. That said, today's Kubota BX1870 is what the 5xi should have become but even then most consumers move up to the next model of a BX2370. Try to buy a used 5xi-era Kubota 4WD B6100D/HST or a Kubota BX1500 and they are, most of the time, sold before you call. I know, because I have tried a few times. But I have tried a few times with the 523Dxi before finally getting lucky as well.

Its hard to believe its been almost 2years since i rebuilt the suburban. I went over to shop tonight to fix the water lines and i couldn't resist taking it out and mowing around the shop with it still one of my favorite workers even though i keep it on light duty these days

Something has been following me for a while.... It's a 1996 520-H with 414 hours. There's a 48" deck, 2-stage snowthrower, and snow cab in the back too. Needs cosmetic work and a thorough maintenance session, but the price was very good. It shouldn't take a lot to get it back to "like new" condition.

No Mike. Thanks to you... I'm now going to need a Cletrac crawler too.

Good one

...and they say the green ones are bad. OOPH!

Looks like it was a pulling tractor and someone either blew up the pulling motor or kept it and slipped the Predator in to sell it. Good rubber on it. Kinda cool in my opinion. Mike......

I believe what you have is a 38" base. Take a look at the 38" decks on this page. http://www.partstree.com/parts/toro/mower-deck-assemblies/05-38sy02-toro-38-side-discharge-mower-deck-sn-2000001-2999999-19

Steve, I take it we are we allowed too bring our old Farm Trucks?

Hey...........lets everybody take a breath..................or a knee or a moment All these things can be taken,,,,But !!!!!! dont take the Big Show,,,,that cigar,,,and all the good Pals....

Had 4:10s in a '59 3/4 ton Chevy with a 283, As you said, 60 MPH top end but in granny first with 1000 pounds in the bed you could pull down a barn!

Ah! Thank you Mike and Garry! That helped me out!!! Kendi, The Wheel Horse Lady

It is kinda tight at Kent so I guess I understand even if it is LAME, If I do go I won't bother bringing any tractors.. In all honesty, I'll probably find something else to do on that day.... I never understood why there were antique cars up in the show area but I always liked looking at the old trucks. Old trucks and tractors just kinda go hand in hand... I will say that if these no ride type rules are implemented at Zagray or The Big Show then I'm done...

Most of these pictures were probably taken with a large format camera. The negative itself was 3" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", or 8" x 10". Minimal or in some cases, no enlargement was necessary. I once took a class on old-time photography and have taken pictures with antique cameras onto 8" x 10" glass plate negatives. Then a contact print was made. The clarity was amazing. But... thank goodness for digital. Now the newest digital pictures can get pretty close to the quality of the old large-format contact prints.

Sure thing J.....did I say I paid $5....maybe it was $50.

@ meadow field i do have finger bar thingy but i think it need repositioning slightly, what I've noticed with your setup is that your clutch pulley comes out way beyond the driven and driving pulley, due to space limitations this is not really possible hence the idler. @bds1984, i will try the smaller clutch pulley, i can't use a smaller pullet on the 90 degree drive box otherwise i will be going really fast everywhere! I'm also going to try slightly different idler pulley locations as well. thanks again, more ideas very welcome, Callum

Looks like you got your 10 pinion, limited slip tranny. Nice write up and great pictures.

I can now say it's completed! Even cut the grass with it today.

Just bought sum tri rib front tires at the steam show 25 dollars a tire don't know if thats a good deal or not but now i have them cant wait to get them on

been slow on the updates since May, the GT has been to 4 shows and after running pretty faultless for around 5 hours I've had occasional spells of it stalling and not restarting without the choke and cranking the engine for 2-3 mins. This has been disappointing - I missed the parade at ardingly !!! Anyhow before the final show of the year I decided to dig deep... The fuel pump and carb are hidden behind the fuel tank and a heat shield. Removing the front end is a pain in the ass. you can just about get the tank out without removing all the front end, but it's actually easier to remove it to gain proper access. with the tank out of the way you can get to the fuel pump and carb - which were both very clean and appeared to be working, they were stripped and cleaned anyway and everything reassembled. Guess what... It didn't even try to start without puring fuel in the barrel. So it all came apart again and I primed the pump and then reassembled. It has worked perfectly since - I can really fall out with these kohler pumps sometimes! On a better note - I finally got my letter of origin from Toro and popped down to my local DVLA office. I now have another road legal horse :D

Here is my sons C-145 with a set of C fenders on it, he liked them better than the 300 style fenders.