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Many of you will have read my thread about the Raider I had stolen, I'm very pleased to say that yesterday she was returned to the site she disappeared from. Just last week I decided I would have to replace her as I do rely on her for many jobs through the year, not least to save me many hours mowing my allotment and other peoples grass. I ended up being offered a C121 at a price I could afford and made the decision to spend the money I had put aside for the reward I was offering on my missing tractor. Here is the Raider happily returned home alongside her new stable mate.

I first became fond of Wheel horses in 1995 when I took a pocket money job at a small country estate, there there was a C141 that the boss had purchased in 1978, the year of my birth. This in fact was the first vehicle I had driven and I soon learned to reverse a trailer with it too. I'm now in charge of estate maintenance at that estate and I still run the C141 pretty much every day, whatever is required of it it manages, from raking driveways to scarifying to aerating lawns to hauling mowers around the grounds on a trailer to hauling many tonnes of wood from the woodland to the yard. She is very well worked and the engine shows wear in the bore and notably where the governor spindle exits the crankcase, you can wobble this about like a knitting needle in a bucket! Over the years it has been suggested several times that she be replaced but I won't have it and if she ever has failed myself or my Dad (sadly no longer with us) will spend a little time in the shed rectifying the problem and off she goes to work again. A few years back after realising our modern Kubota didn't like cutting the long grass areas I used two scrap tractors I sourced to build one good one and this is now used solely for long grass cutting and sports a sixteen horse engine. Here are my two flanked by the ever trusty C141 and the 16BHP mongrel. The wood you see behind them plus many hundreds more tonnes have all been hauled here from the woodland by the little C141 I've had the plough some time now, it's just placed behind for the photo but brackets have been in the nearly finished state of fabrication now for around two years! The weight is a lovely thing and quite rare I believe, but, unless you have an implement on the back it's awful on the steering, I much prefer the wheel weights on the Raider.

I was very impressed at how steep a hill your could push snow up until you said it was sideways.

Got to plow some snow after work today. Not much, bout 5 inches at most. The cab sure does make a difference. 21 degrees and 30 MPH winds outside and the cab temp. stayed at 45. I'm liking it.I have no idea why its sideways.

UPDATE: Just returned from my 6-week follow-up visit to my spine surgeon. X-rays show everything looking great. I have been released to drive, no more back brace, and physical therapy starts Thursday. Although he said no tractor seat time until after PT has increased my flexibility, that is a small price to pay. So far, I have done everything that he has said, and I am right on track if not ahead of schedule. Overall, a very good day.

I solved the problem of my big 54" blade pushing my 520 sideways when plowing heavy snow with the blade angled! Several years ago my neighbor asked me to cut down his basketball pole. It was a 4" square tube filled with concrete and when I got it down the light bulb came on! This could be repurposed as a front weight for my plow tractor. So I cut two sections about 30" long, welded them together and fabed up a carrier bracket which fits in the front tach-a-matic. The weight itself weighs 77# and the bracket adds another 17.5# for a total of nearly 95% up front. The carrier bracket has been modified a couple times and it now doubles as my lateral movement limiter and down travel stop. In the photos you will see the 3/4" rod which engages the slot in my custom built plow frame for sideways movement control and the chain connects to the frame to limit downward travel to maintain engagement of the rod with the slot. Quick on and quick off and it does the job! One more photo showing the carrier bracket mounted to the front Tach-a-mastic.

we were greeted in the hills of Northern UK with snow on sunday morning. C4 got it's first outing in the snow was a lot of fun towing my youngest on a sledge, need more grip on the front. 4WD helps but the turns are still big at full speed! The lawn did make a good racetrack though...

Talk about power... man, you've got traction for days.

WHAT WAS I THINKING??

I have sold some and gave way some but I guess I don't regret anything I still have 50 Brian

My daughter prefers the 520 H to the 416H, the steering is much easier. She has all but abandoned the Work Horse GT1600 I restored for her. She couldn't reach the clutch pedal at 5 so I bolted a piece of flat steel from the attachment lift to the clutch pedal, she had a blast shifting and driving carts around the yard helping out. Don't mind the fenders, it's an ongoing project that I plan on putting tall ags on the rear and some tri ribs in the front, adjusting their height and other sheet metal as necessary. Man I'd love to find a nice 520-8 like yours as a puller for my camper, the hydro screams when I move it. That makes 2 anniversary models that I have

As some of you know, we had to put our beloved Lab Morgan down on Christmas Eve from liver cancer. Well the wife couldn't wait to long to get another dog. Introducing Bryant. A rescue from the south. Lab mix. and he is full of it. Took a video of him playing with the cat's toy. I apologize for the bad lighting. I was in the middle of doing laundry and it was a spontaneous moment.

Over the weekend I took a short trip to pick up another Wheel Horse. I have no clue what model and haven't tried to research it yet. It has a great running 10hp engine and the rest is in fair shape too, other than the mower deck, it's rough lol. This was also an impulse buy lol, I have way to many projects as it is and now I'm out of room to store it indoors. If anyone wants a project or parts let me know.

Anyone else powder coating there parts? I don't think I will ever paint a small part again. Red Wagon from Eastwood looks darn close to me. Hope to move up to a bigger oven. I'd love to do the entire tractor in powder. There is nothing more frustrating then spending the time to strip parts, prime them, paint them, wait two weeks or more to have that part scratch or chip on install with minimal effort. It just never stands up. The paint even wore off the foot rest in about two weeks. No more. I can blast, prep, coat and bake a part and install it in an hour with no fear if that part chipping, scratching anytime in the near future. No brainer to me. Best decision I've made in awhile. Here is a picture of some engine parts in gloss black and some hitch/plow parts in red wagon. I purchased a nice HVLP gun through Eastwood to but haven't tried spraying real paint yet. I'm hooked on powder.

Good to know that a car doesn't have to be moved off the street in order to get the snow cleaned!

PM ya the secret "never sold any" club hand shake!!!

Does seem kinda strange... not like it ever really snows there in Buffalo?

OK just updating the post. I have some of the paint work done and the engine mounted. I had to do some welding on the fenders, they were cracked. I am going to use an after market seat that mounts differently so I need to make a seat mount. Still waiting for the hood to come back from the metal guy that is helping me add some length to the hood to accommodate the new engine. Ted

A massive thank you to everybody that paid attention to my posts about the theft of our little tractor and kept eyes open for her. After over three months the tractor is now back at home and we have two happy children and a very smiley me. I had a phone call from the Police today to say my horse had been returned to the house she was last spotted at. Strangely it was found by the same man that had last been seen moving it onto the driveway! He "apparently" found it dumped in a place I had searched previously, a local park. Anyhow I'm just overjoyed to have her home and I wish to express my thanks for all the kind words and thoughts that have been sent my way.

That is one big tractor just to plow the driveway. That is not a farm, just a house with about a 50' driveway The top of that cage (ROPS? Not sure what it is) is easily 10', and looks closer to 15'

...looks like it's finally gonna happen. http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a27874/jeep-wrangler-pickup-truck-coming-in-2017/

If I can figure out the gun I need I may give it a try. I just got a working oven taken apart for the components to build a powder coating oven. Just need to figure out what size. Hank

I've been saying for years could climb a telephone pole if it could get enough traction.

Hold my beer and watch this!

Yeah that would get pretty hairy. I haven't decided what I'll use tomorrow to clean up the blizzard forecast for us tonight. Could be a broom....or if it really gets deep, I may have to resort to the leaf blower.

Alright guys I'm back. Started the tear down yesterday... And it's what most call a hack job. The motor had 3 bolts holding it down, the motor leaked all the oil out, and the rear end leaked everything out as well I'm pretty sure....lol I do have pictures. Not much but there's some. Some things are getting re done/ re welded. Building a new wire harness as well and probably re building the rear end if I can find the parts. And also I have the ampere meter with what looks go be a heat sink...what is this? Never seen one before like that. Has pins on the heat sink but wasn't hooked up when I got it. Pics will have to wait til tonight. I can't upload from my phone unfortunately but I will take more pics through out the day. I'll post one to hold y'all over haha

We're forecast to get our first snow tonight.....a dusting. Bummer ... the fleet is patiently waiting.

Deck hitch is now welded up. Just needs cleanup and paint. Cleat

...and how, they do.

If I remember right you said you did what you wanted with it and now your done with it ...

happy to hear your was returned, do they still shoot horse thieves

Not my problem...yet. Still on my first and only. She hasn't met the right fella yet to invite over for drinks...and then...

Perhaps your pony simply broke free and made it's way home. Let's hope it gave the thief a good kick on the way out the barn door... Congratulations! Great way to start the new year - get that trailer back out and load up them kids!

I think Wheel Horses offer more function, better bang for the buck, best dependability, simplest ease of service and the most readily available source of parts and attachments than any other brand! Period! I think that overall, everything considered, Wheel Horses are the best bargain for garden tractors available! You'll easily notice I don't have just Wheel Horses either, and I'm not saying they are the best GT and certainly not the only good garden tractor but overall I do think they are the best value. They were marketed as a tractor with many attachments that would get you through all seasons and while then it would have been price prohibitive, today's pricing says we might be able to have some dedicated task machines. We can't be expected every snow storm to use the blower and then swap for a blade for final cleanup! So take that idea a bit further and why should we take off mower deck and swap for a snow blower anyway. That takes a few minutes and really isn't fun or accomplishing anything! And what if one tractor is attached to a cart that has top soil in it and you need to haul something? Got to have another tractor and cart! And what if you have a LOT of dirt to move? Or a big hole to dig? Can't be swapping FELs and backhoes! What if you are trying to provide quality food for your family with an organic garden? Might as well ride while you till! And on and on it goes! It just makes good sense to have more than several! OK, I got a little excited there. Guys! Where's the next meeting?

For those of you who suffer from relay issues with your 520's and other models I believe I have a more permanent solution for you. The relays used in the 520's are Hella 960 388-07. These are somewhat of an openstyle relay at the connector side. The connector is also open and can fill with debris, short out, and degrade to a non-working condition. You should be able to order the following part numbers to replace your relays and female connectors. Hella Weatherproof Skirted Relay: HL87411 Hella Weatherproof Female Connector w/12" pigtails: HL87173 Solder in the female connector to your current wiring and replace the non weatherproof relay with the weather proof relay and your back in business. Engine Harness: Clip the old harness connectors from your wiring harness. Go to Napa and buy yourself a 4 pin square trailer connector and a 6-Pin(You can get a 5 Pin) rectangular trailer connector for a total of $9-10. Solder in the connector wiring pigtails, shrink wrap, pack the connector full of dielectric grease and your ready to roll again. They are far better than the 9-Pin connector you can purchase as they are sealed connectors when your done. These items take a little time to solder in or you could use crimp connectors(recommend the shrink style connectors if your going to use them) and be in business in a little shorter time. This should help those of you who are using your tractors in this winter weather and help keep your electronics high and dry and your tractor running strong!! I also posted on another topic a while back regarding the fuse block issues. You can simply purchase sealed inline fuses and solder these into your current wiring, throw in the 15,25, & 30 amp fuses, throw away the open fuse block, and never worry about fuse issues again. Pics Attached for reference.

Why didn't you just use the oven you took apart? Bigger parts? Grab an Eastwood gun. They work pretty well for the money. I'm thinking about maybe taking this a step further though so I'm looking at some high end equipment.

How do Bryant and the cat get along? Many years ago I had a cat that took up residence on the farm and ran roughshod over our full grown Rottweiler. Once the dog understood that the cat was now in charge they became best buddies.

Bob ,,we are all happy that you're doing well.....As long as you get a go ahead,,,all we need to know is.....old springy metal seat or a cousioned one,,,we dont want anything coming loose,,,,,Im not sayin or pointn a finger,,,,BUT !!!!!!! We already have our fair share of loose screws..... nuff said for now.......be safe,,,,watch the flurries coming...

" When I was a kid your age we used to have to push the bike by hand , we couldn't afford a shovel "

yes... two go pro's worth - however the internet isn't really internet at home so I meant to upload from work - forgot the files... will try sort by the weekend...

Hitch is now welded together, just needs cleanup and paint. Cleat

My mother is reading a book called Post Mortem which is a compilation of several short horror/mystery stories. She recently sent me an email about one of the stories called Getting Back by P.W. Sinclair which mentions a . from Mom's email; "Getting Back" by P.W. Sinclair. It is at top of page #221. It reads,........... In the corner were two Lawn Boy push mowers, a Wheel Horse garden tractor, and a rack of grass shears and hedge clippers................ It's a description of a garage or shed I think. I'm going to have to borrow the book and read it now!

Oh I think I've read that one it's called "The Deere Slayer"

necessity the mother of invention

I have plowed streets for years, and manhole covers really hurt....I can only imagine what would happen with this contraption!

New "Clue" scenarios - It was Professor Mustard, in the garden, on the Wheel Horse, with the tiller...

Check out: Vinylguy on the vendors page. He gets a lot of very positive comments from others... His website is ReDoYourHorse.com

That's a very nice tractor. It appears to have a rear PTO.