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I picked up this steering wheel for my Suburban at the big show. It was decent but did need a little work. I didn’t take any before shots but you all know what happens to these old wheels. After patching deep gouges, cracks, etc. smooth things up and do any reshaping if needed. Clean up the spokes, prime and paint. Mask the finished spokes stopping about 1/16” short of where the plastic coating on the rim started. I used Dupli-Color Truck Bed Coating in a spray can. They make two bed coatings. The blue can that I used and the Bed Armor in the black can. The Bed Armor might be a bit better for a truck bed but I really don’t think it’s best for this application. I held the wheel with a ¾” wood dowel and had several coats on in just a few minutes. Even in this Florida humidity you could actually see each coat dry literally in seconds. I applied enough to get the finish I liked and to blend it into the painted spokes. I love the texture and feel of it and it should be durable.

I just got back from Le Sueur, we had a good turnout of horses and members. I got a few pics of the horses and some pics of some of the other cool stuff that was at the show. I'm hoping some of the other guys will post some "people" pics. This is a huge show with lots to see, an auction that lasted most of the day on Friday and the parade on Saturday lasted well over an hour. And lots of good food! Here's a few pics for the "Connecticut" guys.

Here are some of the pictures I have, will try not to repeat someone else's. Was a great weekend met a few new Red Square members new to the show. Glad you could make it.

I think Georg Ohm just rolled over in his grave.

Autographs are only $5 each!

I worked on the 5xi project for 3 years. The average person doesn't realize how many man hours and money go into the development of some products. They see the end result and judge it from there. Another person helped me on the 5xi build. I think the demise of the 5xi was the price. If you could afford over $10,000.00 for a garden tractor with a deck you would probably hire someone to mow your yard. There were 4 wheel drives out there that were better at the use of attachments. There were about 7 designers, a head engineer in charge of the project, an engineer working on the power for the tractor, an engineer from Wheel Horse was brought out of retirement to design the transmission, and the 2 of us building the prototypes - all who were dedicated to the project for the 3 years. There were 2 people from test dept, an electrical engineer, the toro stylist designing the look of the tractor, someone doing the finitite analysis insuring it was structurally sound and the marketing team that was driving the build of the 5xi. The cost of development along with the costs for production - Tooling for all the stamped steel and plastic parts and setting up the lines for production were a lot to recover. A differential lock was designed but never made it even into the prototype.

Clearly then... them bars are too small.

And they brought this in when they heard Steve was coming.

The box is all welded and holes for gloves and window are cut.

I just noticed this on CL i was curios what you guys thought about this setup i hardly ever see magnum 16 for sale so thought i would share it with you guys

Just finished reading (cover to cover) the recent issue. As always, lots of good articles and top quality photos. I didn't get front page billing, or a center fold, BUT....On the back jacket there is a photo of a Lawn-Boy and if you look to the left of the photo, you will see my 1975 B-100 with trailer (and seat) with my 18' "Horse Hauler" behind! I made the magazine this time! Woo-Hoo!

Been wanting/needing a pressure washer. Wife has been looking at reviews on washers and everyone on the market has something that folks don't like. We found this one that has been repaired due to a damaged wand and was $150 off the regular price.

When the 15 amp fuse blows, everything is dead....no nothing, nada, zilch....Replace the fuse, it starts right up and runs a minute or 2 then pop and nothing.....dead in the water. Haven't done much trouble shooting yet, but (before all this trouble) every time I turn the lights "on", the volt meter drops to 12 volts or <. Probably start at the lights. According to the schematic, the pink wire from the accessory terminal on the key switch goes (fuse 1st) then to the headlight switch and to an air filter switch as well as ALL the other gauges on the panel (except vacuum gauge).. I just finished troubleshooting with another member here - 15 amp fuse would blow and tractor would not run without a fuse in place. Turns out the 15 amp and 30 amp fuses were reversed in their positions in the fuse holder. When I checked the wiring diagram for the 15 amp fuse, all it controlled were the gauges, headlights and indicator pod power. Might be worth checking the fuse positions. http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/58405-520-h-wont-start-hour-meteroil-sensor/?page=2#comment-539906 near the end - post #37

I'm so upset because I put a brand new battery in the tractor and used it off and on for about a month, and I just thought that it was the old battery not being able to hold a charge, but i was wrong. I have one of those things that you put into your 12V outlet in your car and it give you a digital readout of the voltage, and I did stick it in the lighter on the tractor twice and it read close to 12 volts if I remember right, but it was like 2 months ago. I have to put in another battery and try what you said and then report back.

HF is all that I have used for the 10 years since retiring. I have found no difference in the quality of my welds now compared to when I was working and using mainly LINCOLN, MILLER, and ESAB products. That is to say my welding ability is the controlling factor for me, not the price if the consumable. The one factor I do stress is to store the wire in a warm dry environment , and to weld inside with no air currents to keep all the cover gas in place when using flux core wire w/o bottled cover gas. BTW, the $13.99 is for a 2 lb spool that normally sells for $19.99. I do like the 2 lb spools. I can keep more of my wire sealed.

It is madness. ...61 with a solid seat pan??? I though only '60's had a...... never mind....nice tractor any hoo...

Yeah, next thing you know mama will tell me she is with child!

Shout out to thor, nice rig there. Wellcome to red square, dont be a stranger. Glenn

You probably need a new project anyway.

Block the left front and rear tractor wheels up on a flat surface the depth you want to plow. Now lower the plow and adjust so it sets flat on the ground. This is how everything is positioned when the right wheels are in a plowed furrow. If you are not getting the depth you want tip the front of the plow down a bit. If it is going too deep raise the front of the plow a bit. It does not take much of a change to get results. This is called adjusting the suck. By design the plow will pull it's self into the ground. Garry

Got a bug and bubbles right in the center of the hood, I'll have to fix... You can see it if you zoom in on this pic. I'm not real worried bout it though...its not like its show room paint job anyway lol

Yep, to all the above. Thats three for three Muz

Thanks again, Paints dry so it was time to put the weights and blade on it and try a little light yard work. After I figured out I needed to change the position of the springs in the blade (after pic), and lower the air in the rear tires it did ok. Not crazy about these deestone rear tires, there supposed to be 10.50s but are tiny. My local hardware store's flyer has rv anti freeze on sale so I believe they are getting filled...... I ordered up some of Miller's 23-10.50 Firestones for my C105, I hope they bite a bit better.

Is your brake return spring good? Mine was missing, and it would feel like a manual trans in low range, couldn't get it to go full speed. Finally figured out if I pulled up on the pedal, it would operate normally. It's a shot in the dark, but, it's easy to check, too.

I've had great results using TSC's Huskee® Kevlar V-Belts.

No problem glenn

lol yeah I wish, sides are plum out of both tires.. Thanks, yeah no too shabby Those dang 6 12 tires are expensive...been watching ebay, but nothing cheap enough yet. Those dang 6 12 tires are expensive...been watching ebay, but nothing cheap enough yet. I said that twice already...lol freaking phone !

Yep, here it is after 1st coat of paint.. Thinking ima do the wheels black as well, if they clean up and sand down good enough Hopefully get it lookin half way decent for the meet n greet.

From the sound of that "oldredrider" could make a few bucks writing reviews.

You should be seeing 12 + volts at rest and 14 +/- while running. Cleaning all of the battery cable terminals before changing the battery could pay big dividends too.

If the 15 amp fuse has the headlights on it clean with some sandpaper the connections and see if your voltage drop goes away. The low voltage in the circuit causes amperage to go up. In a 15 amp circuit you show only be using a max of 7.5 amps.

For a change it wasn't me that made a shopping mistake, it was Nigel... It gave us something to laugh about yesterday For reasons I'm still not sure about Nigel bought a set of disk harrows from Fleabay not quite realizing how big they were!! Of course Nigel had not turned up at the workshop when "Time Team" Dave dropped the harrow off, so Nigel's face when he turned up and saw the size was priceless What you can't quite see from the above photo is the front of the harrow was through the doors of my workshop, so it had to be moved....Ah.. No wheels on it!! Only one thing for it, split it in two and borrow a forklift.. The rear discs went first.. Followed by the fronts. As fun as a forklift is they are not that good off road.. So the LandRover tug was called into action to finish the job.. So far so good.. Until suddenly no steering!! So the LR had to be abandoned where it was for the day. I wasn't there when the Landy was dragged back to Nigel's workshop but it turned out something that should of been fully welded was only tacked together! If the video link thingy works, here's how Nigel broke the steering

So, how long has it been back there?

If it is a sticking valve, try some Marvel Mystery oil in the gas tank. It might be considered snake oil but it really does make a difference

Day two, went to the steal store and bought 116.00 of iron. and a new combination square for marking angles, it was 69.00, but I will not lend this one out. plus one picture of my old faithful D 160 with power steering off of a 400 JD. It's a real work horse , and strong as a bull. I hope the 520 is as good when I'am finished with this loader. off to the farm store this morning for welding rod and grinding supply's. There are lots of ways to post photos on the Internet...how he does that is his business. I use Flickr or there is phitobucket, imigur etc that are all free to use. Day 3, small amount of work complete, had grinding disc explode and hit lower leg. But leather chaps would have stopped it, now they will be here the 4th. so most work is stopped till then. Any way you could send me a few photos of the d160 subframe loader mounts and components? I'm looking into building one for my tractor. I will do that.

I don't think a 310-8 is considered a short frame. A short frame would be older models like 856,656,857,657 the height adjuster can be added pretty easily

Sea Horse?

Those darn floats stick for no apparent reason sometimes LOL

The Clinton engine thing on the 401 has been discussed before between many of the long time collectors and the consensus points to them being a factory supplied engine. I also have a Clinton powered 401 (although I switched it to a K91). rj35hunter (Clay) keeps a list of serial numbers from these engines. Too bad he's not as active on here as he used to be since his depth of knowledge is deep. Back in the day, I used to read and research everything I could find concerning the 58 - 61 because I own those tractors. It's also easy to know the differences when you take them apart and put them back together so many times. There are many things with these old tractors which will not be in any Wheel Horse documentation, such as the solid seat pan. It was definitely an evolving production run which made changes during the year of building tractors. Especially in the early years. This is what makes it more interesting!

Dennis, these two statements actually mean the same thing since the 'dash' is part of the hood: "1961 based on the hood and belt guard" are different than the 60," "note the 61 style dash" 60's had lever controls and 61's had push/pull controls. The footrests are different. 60's were bent diamond plate and 61's cast. A quick search in the gallery will show you. As Richard said, the footrests in post #30 are mid 60's. As far as the engines go...again, there is no documentation showing anything but Kohlers and Teckys on the 60/61 Suburbans. As I said before, it's commonly said that leftover Clintons from the RJ years made it on early 60's. I think that's likely but I strongly doubt it on 61's but it really can't be said with certainty either way. Well over 50 years means a lot of changes and part swapping. There's a guy on the Clinton forum who put a Clinton on a 401 as well as a 702. As a guy who was playing with Wheel Horses in the 60's and 70's I can assure you that I wasn't the only one combining parts from different years because I perceived them as better or I just liked them better. The 72 Commando I restored for my grandson is just one example. Now you could call it a Commando B-80. I have no doubt that many things were done to these old tractors 50 years ago and over time it faded into factory original. Just another cool but sometimes confusing aspect to this addiction.

All rattle can here:

I'm loaded be there in the morning

An average day becomes a great day when the grand kids show up, Happy Birthday.

looks good, opens you up to a whole host of new implements! i made an adapter or my hitch as well, it allows me to use Colwood mono tractor implements: callum

Might be they were thinkin... one day, a squonk is gonna come along, that will need a good project?

there is starring Nigel, Norman(stormin), Chris(Chris sutton) and of course Ian

So what your saying is we should put smaller pulley's on our transmission's so we can keep up

Afternoon guy's, loads more WN progress for you.. The slimmed down wiring loom is now fully wrapped up in black tape, 90% routed and plugged in.. Working out where to put the voltage regulator took quite a while.. In the end I made this bracket and welded it to the chassis. The "open" design is to let air to the back of the regulator to help keep it cool. I also make up a couple of these.. Which were welded to the battery box/tray thingy. Ideal for mounting the starter solenoid.. It's been a busy few days in the workshop, with Rural Past Times coming up I was even in the workshop Sunday! The wiring was 99.9% done by Sunday lunch time, just one safety switch to fit when I get it.. So I spent the rest of the day fabricating this.. Now you see a mess of wiring.. Now you don't A closer view for you. A lot of template making time went into getting the side panel looking just right.. Speaking of templates, here's the right side template taking shape. Transfer to steel. Bung steel in the sheet metal folder.. Fold a 90 degree bend.. And then forget to take photo's of the other stages, so have an almost finished side panel shot instead A top cover for the main body tub was made, and as the fender pan sits a bit lower than the body tub I made a curved panel thingy to help blend the two heights together.. It will also add strength to the front of the fender pan when it's fully welded on. A view from afar.. Pete dropped in for a visit Tuesday which resulted in the fuel tank being removed!! The reason? Well, Pete had not heard WN running and as I needed to check my slimmed down wiring loom still worked and I didn't cut out anything that I shouldn't of, we decided to fire her up.. It was at this time that the leak free tank decided it wanted to start leaking, and I started to wish I had put the tank sealer in that I had bought!! Then I had a better idea.. Unless WN's engine is warm she has always had a bit of a starting problem with fuel not getting to the carbs.. The problem is the tanks fuel tap is below the carb fuel inlet.. Even though the actual tank is above the fuel inlet and logic says that gravity will do it's thing and get fuel to the carbs through a looped pipe, gravity seems to have other ideas! Also when I tried to drain the tank I found the vacuum side of the fuel tap wasn't working that well! So the plan is to cut off the old fuel tap, weld the hole up and fit a new fuel outlet at the base of the front face of the tank which is the side facing you.. This will put the tank outlet above the carb inlet The only problem is the tank was half full of fuel today, so after draining and soaking up the last dregs of fuel with a rag, I filled the tank up with a water 1001 stain remover solution... I know washing up liquid is traditional, but I didn't have any.. All being well any fuel vapors will be gone by Thursday when I was back at the workshop next, and I can cut and weld it without fear of being blown up! Thursday had arrived so... The first job on the hit list was to tackle the fuel tank.. Once I had drained the water/cleaning solution out and dried the inside, I took the tank well away from the public and stuck a blowtorch in the filler hole... I already knew from the smell of the tank there was no explosive vapors inside, but I had to try to make sure.. Nowt exploded so I warmed up the grinder and welder and set to.. The outlet pipe was welded to the inside of the new plate first, then the whole thing was welded on a bit at a time to make sure nothing warped.. Not the best of photo's but the tank outlet is now above the carb inlet, I just need to fit an inline filter and tap somewhere.. The welds have now had a light tidy up, sprayed with red oxide and the inside sealed up with tank sealant just to make sure it doesn't leak this time. While I was waiting for the tank welds to cool I fitted an extra gauge... I've no idea what you would call it (a better photo coming tomorrow) but it's basically a vacuum gauge which has been following me around for more years than I care to remember.. So I fitted it All the new panels are now painted and bolted down.. Yes I will be painting the bolts I have always been a bit worried about the engine getting too hot due to not enough air getting to the radiator, so today I cut a few extra slots in the front of the bonnet.. This isn't the best of photo's and the slots do look better a little further away, but I think the extra slots need to be wider to closer match the original slots.. What do you guys think? Although I won't have time before Rural Past Times to do a full paint job, I do want to get the wheels painted.. So off came the rear wheels for a bit of "hide the welds with filler" action... I'm not looking forward to sanding them tomorrow! While the rear wheels are off I thought I'd take a look at the fender pan.. This join does not look to bad.. Until you put a straight edge across it!! Lot's of loud hammer work later and it's getting there..

Thanks Pullstart, that slab of brass has saved my bacon more than a few times when I've blown holes during welding. Thanks JC, more driving video will be coming over the next few weeks. At the moment it is far easier for an old fart like me to work on WN at bench height than on the ground, and there are a few bits I want to get done before she hit's terra firma again. She is booked in to her first show 8th/9th of August and lot's of people are waiting for a drive, so I expect there will be loads of driving vids coming up Today I managed to get the ignition barrel fitted.. Space is getting a bit tight in there! Marking out the correct place to drill a hole through the panel for the ignition barrel was interesting to say the least, but I'm happy with how it turned out. The barrel is flush with the panel.. While I was drilling holes in that area I also fitted the choke control. And now onto a part of the build I was dreading... Sorting out the electrics!!! I forgot to take a photo of the wiring loom before I started but once all the old insulation tape was removed (a horrible sticky job!) I worked out which bit's of the loom I needed and which could go.. This is the removed pile, basically all the lighting, brake lights, indicator, and horn circuits.. The loom draped over so I could work out what has to go to where.. Starting to look a bit better, well tidier at least If all goes to plan I hope to have the wiring done and the engine fired back up tomorrow.. Fingers crossed I didn't cut any wires I shouldn't have And for you viewing pleasure here's the latest WN video... It's a bit of a long one so best get a drink ready beforehand

Morning chaps, yesterday was all about metal.. To cover the hole that normally has a plate with an ammeter fitted I made up this plate... The curved bit covers the steering column where it pokes through under the dash. I forgot to take any photo's of it so have a snap taken from the video footage. Working out where and how to mount the ignition barrel was fun. It will go under the dash towards the left which will mean drilling a hole through my freshly made panel above.. Here's the mounting bracket next to the barrel.. The bracket also stops the bike steering lock pin from popping out should the key be turned the wrong way.. And onto today's main attraction... The dashboard.. In my haste to get it to fit Monday I ground a bit too much metal off on the bottom corners. It would of been easy to ignore the gaps if they hadn't of bugged me so much.. So... Off came the dash panel, the offending corners were cleaned up and clamped to a small slab of brass.. Extra MIG metal added to build the corner back up.. One gentle tap later the brass came off the dash.. This is the underside.. You can see where the weld picked up some dirt from the brass. Some very careful grinding later and the corners were sorted On a roll now 3 holes were drilled for warning lights and the starter switch, before I attacked the dash panel with this flap wheel thingy in the pillar drill. The end result after a couple of coats of clear lacquer looked like brushed stainless.. I like the look but I'm now wondering if my airbrush paint will still be any good after 7 odd years, and if I have any fine line masking tape