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It seems like we share a lot of pictures of our restored horse or nice originals. How about those that are our daily workers that look a little rough around the edges? Here is my 520H I rescued for $125 last winter, the pictures make her look cosmetically better than she really is. I have never seen foot rests actually rust out before like this one had. It was basically a rusty, grease-laden, rolling shell until I added a new seat and a "new" 390 hour engine from a Cub Cadet for a $150 and replaced the rusted out sheet metal bits from my parts bin. Counting the new rear tires, this old horse is the best running $375 I've ever spent! So, where are all the dirty, rusty, ugly horses out there? Lets see them!

tomorrow i'm partaking in a plowing match with the horse. here are a few pics of the horse ready for transport

Well my wife gave me my birthday present early and it's the best present yet. Had to show you guys cuz I'm very proud to have it. It's a blanket of a couple of my favorite things.. My daughter and my 857..

Here are a couple of mine

I have one that is rusty but I wouldn't call it ugly.

Here's one of my C-195's.Rode hard,put away wet,but runs like a top.

Howdy folks , just needed to dump somewhere . Yesterday I quit my job as a moderator on 2 sites I've been on for 6+ years . Due to my stubborn / pig-headed attitude , I just couldn't go back to being a regular member so I cut ties with them all together . I can't tell you how bad this hurts . Almost like I've lost "family" . Thanks for reading this nonsense & hopefully you people won't mind me spending a little more time here in the future . Good day all , Gene .

Posted this in the "What's in your mirror" thread but figured I start a new thread about it here. I happened upon this on Craigslist about 20 minutes after the seller listed it. I called and purchased it immediately. Lets just say it's probably the cheapest I've ever paid for a Wheel Horse tractor. Today I degreased and pressure washed it so I can roll it inside and get it running. The fender pan and hood need some straightening out but that's no big deal. Gonna go through it, change the oil, plugs, fuel filter, hydro filter/oil and see what happens. The hour meter shows 929 hours.

For the last year or so my wife has been wanting a new table. Our current table seats 6 and she wanted that doubled to seat 12. Why 12? I have no idea, it's what she wanted. We set out looking for a new table and quickly realized that anything in the 9+ foot range was way more money then I could justify for a table. Tables alone were 1400+$. That didn't include chairs or benches. She finally found the table she had to have at Pottery Barn. Started looking at the table a bit closer and figured that was something I could build. Few google searches later and I had found some plans to build this table. This is where it got tricky, I had to convince my wife to let me build her a new dining room table...Granted, it was going to take some time but that's way less then what the store wanted for it. Finally she caved and gave me a two week deadline to get her table built. Done deal and off the the store (Lowes/Menards) we went. Some lumber, new table saw, pocket drill kit and some trial stain we were on our way. Ended up building the thing out of pine wood. Not the best I know but I figured this table is likely going to be around for 5-7 years not decades as an antique. Besides I figured if it gets dented, dinged or scratched, just sand it out and put some more stain on. Overall dimensions ended up at 41" wide, 112" long and standard table height. Before it was stained: Here is the finished product waiting to be moved into the house. I got a little fancy (not really it's just a 1/4 round router bit) on the table and bench edges. Gives it a bit more refined look. I also built a few benches to go along with the table. So that has been delaying any real progress on tractor projects.

Yup rusty but trusty my 310 is like that but it will start every time and do anything

This is a baby "Girrtle". Not to be confused with it's near lookalike the also rare " turraffe". Saw a documentary once about them on Animal Planet.

I know how you feel Gene. First of all, being a moderator is a thankless job to say the least. And sometimes it can change a person too without them even realizing it. I've never been one nor would I want to be because I don't want to dedicate the time required to do it. I recently stepped away from here for about a month as a poster but I looked in everyday to keep up with the latest good posts. It is like family and it does hurt, especially when you have bigger more serious things to worry about. There are a couple members here I'd still like to get right with and understand better but it doesn't look like that's an option any more. Sometimes you just have to let go I guess. But I'm back and enjoying the site again. I just don't go where I'm not wanted and it's working out ok . So yea come on in and mosey around all ya want we'll be looking for ya.

UGLY HORSES? There ain't no such thing! '79 C-121 currently in engine overhaul stage and '80 C-105 waiting it's turn for overhaul. Both of them are good, solid tractors. They've been neglected and in need of a little TLC.

I had something similar happen to me. I drove a truck for a scrap company for a number of years. Through that time I did manage to drag home my fair share of stuff/junk. It always amazed me what came in the scrap yard. While waiting to be loaded one day I happen to notice a gentleman asking one of the yard help to unload. What he was unloading was a C81 with a 36" deck. It really caught my eye because it looked new. So I went over to check it out. The motor and steering wheel was missing other than dust and some scratches it looked new. I asked the guy what the story was behind it and why he was just chucking it. I was told that he was hired to clean a garage for a older lady widow. Seems her deceased husband died in 1979. He had just bought the tractor and had only mowed twice with it until he had a heart attack and died. She hired their neighbor to cut the grass and just let the tractor set in the garage all this time. Her grandson came along and took the motor off and steering wheel for some other project. So when the guy was hired to clean the garage he took stuff to the dump and stuff to the scrap yard. I ended up with a basically new C81 with no motor.

Nice work on the bathroom. The table started because we got new counter tops in the kitchen and I'm sure we all can see where this is going...we got new counter tops because the Mrs. broke the old ones with a roaster oven...which led to back splash, appliances, new tile floor, painted walls, new hanging light fixture... Before of the kitchen: After kitchen: My best friend does tile/granite for a living so I (with is help) did everything but the counter tops.

A new Garth Brooks song: Long neck Turtle, let go of my thumb. I can't turn my back on you or you'll bite my bumm.

Hi All, Got the 400 back together today, started on this 400 late last winter, Finally put it back together today. Just a couple things to go back and finish but pretty much done for the most part, Picked this 1 up as a project tractor my first trip to the show, but pretty happy with how it came out. A before picture

I didn't have to buy any tools for my honeydo bathroom & shower. A buddy has all the tools to deal with tiles and borrowed plumbing tools from work. Don't mind the custom vise grip shower handle, the trim hasn't come in yet!! This project is not helping toward getting Matt's pedal kit on the 520 or the 400 burban project!!

Think some of that "stuff" is already being spread..

I have no problem satisying any ones curiosities: I had to use a couple of blocks of wood because the base of the jack was almost the same diameter as the rods on the pulling hub. I had to pull the inner nuts back on the hub because no room for the jack to seat evenly. It was a matter of space. The jack needed to be squared up to pull right so I throw in two small block to seat on the hub. The long rods are due to my own convenience. The rods were 3' long so I cut them in half. I have never done this job before so it was easier to have them too long then too short and go back the store and buy more rods If I were to do this again, I think I would rent a porta power or use a bigger pulling plate. In my back yard, it doesn't have to be neat or short, it just has to work

Maybe I'll bring MAD MAX up for the tiller contest on Friday.

Pics sorry it's so dirty I live on a dirt road and it got covered in mud on the drive home

Hey guys, Little Guys Show 2016 is May 20-21 this year in Mt. Wolfe, PA. Some of you are usual attenders, so hope to see you there weather permitting. I plan on being there Saturday and IF I can get off work maybe Friday . . . Starts at 9:00 AM and runs to dusk or so. Fun pulls and assorted other fun tractor stuff we like will be there

Hello friends living in south west Michigan this week has been pretty depressing with the weather. But today I was all smiles I have told you all I work for a metal recycling yard and today's find was mint 314 hydro 1996 with a matching 48 inch deck in just as good condition best part was a little gas and a little wrenching and it fired up and drives very good tell me what you think and any pointers or advice on the hydro would be awesome it's my first one. Sorry can't get photos to upload I will keep trying.

This one was sent o me by my friend Dick. Thanks!

Take a stroll out to the barn and think it over some and everything will look better.

4-8-1979 Waltrip beats Petty in last-lap thriller On this day in 1979, in the Rebel 500 event at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, drivers Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty swap the lead four times in a last-lap battle before Waltrip finally wins the race. The race also featured a pit stop mishap in which driver David Pearson, following a miscommunication with his crew, drove away with only two of his four tires properly changed. Pearson’s car flipped over and had to be removed from the race. The embarrassing incident led to Pearson, who was a top driver, being released from his team, Wood Brothers. At the time of his defeat by Waltrip at the Rebel 500, Richard Petty was a NASCAR legend. That same year, he won his seventh NASCAR championship, a record later duplicated by just one other driver, Dale Earnhardt (1951-2001). Petty, who was born on July 2, 1937, in Level Cross, North Carolina, is the son of driver Lee Petty (1914-2000), a three-time NASCAR champ who won the first Daytona 500 in 1959. Richard Petty began his own NASCAR career in 1958 and was a dominant competitor before retiring in the early 1990s. Nicknamed “The King,” Petty won a record 200 races in his career, including a record seven victories at the Daytona 500. Petty’s son Kyle (1960- ) also became a well-known NASCAR driver; his grandson Adam (1980-2000), NASCAR’s first fourth-generation driver, was killed in an accident during a practice session at New Hampshire International Speedway. Darrell Waltrip, who was born on February 5, 1947, in Owensboro, Kentucky, began racing in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series (now known as the Sprint Cup) in 1972. Aggressive and outspoken, Waltrip earned the nickname “Jaws.” He won the Winston Cup championship in 1981, 1982 and 1985 and claimed victory at the Daytona 500 in 1989. After retiring as a competitor, Waltrip became a race commentator.

I wouldn't call her ugly but my 1277 is still a worker and gets put to use almost daily in my landscaping and tree care business, as well as around the house.

You just can't work a horse to death. It just keeps on going. Nice repairs.

A turtle that can really stick it's neck out!

Poor ol turtle, got a promise; took a little Blue Pill, darn thing stuck in his thought and look what happened!

Well im gonna see if i can find out his address,, and go see him,, so hos name is timothy box ? Ill run with that and see what i can find ,, i just know the town he lives in os about 3 miles from my house and only about 1.5 miles across lol,, so ill see if i cant run him down and ask him what the dealeo is ,,, ill keep ya'll posted..

Good Luck on your WH picking gold mine, Phatboy. Like some others here, I would be making the 2-mile trip to see the merchandise and a little face 2 face negotiating. Always seems to work for Mike and Frank, the American Pickers! AND.... Thanx BuKu for your recent assist on my filters questions. Picked them up yesterday. ~ VGS

Here are a couple of my "Ugly Ducklings", the 1055 I am driving is my first and the one on the trailer is my first 953 on the day I brought it home. Both are worker/survivors and look beautiful to me!

Was thinking about clear coating this ol' girl too.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" I like them all!

I like my girrtle soup with a fried flying squirrel sandwich and an ice cold Schlitz .

More than likely had collected wet leaves in the footrests while stored or outside. It's a bit more common than you think (check out ranger's post of his 312-8). I get the feeling they don't get as many layers of paint in some of the corners from the factory as one would like and that contributes. Love me some rust though...or shall we say patina? Nice pics of both.

I will agree, it does look nice and that is not because of me. I have no vision for how things will all look when put together. That is all my wife. The lights were the florescent tube lights that were re-purposed for the garden seed starting. Now the lights are LED strip lights I got from Amazon. Switched both upper and lowers to the LED kind. We also switched all of the other "main" lights over to LED's. We still have a few rooms left to do but they are the spare bedrooms and spaces we don't spend a ton of time.

This is the lift stop bolt that is missing on your support brackets. W/O these stops, the rear of the deck probably never lifts properly till the rubber stops on the back contact the footrests. The front probably lifts too high and could be causing the jamming and twisting .

Thank you for the kind words. I like to keep it entertaining as well as informative. After all, this is a hobby for most of us here @ RS and we do a lot of it for fun. I like the title you have come up with for my story, As The Wheel Horse Turns. Very appropriate! This C-121 is an extra tractor I stumbled upon and got for cheap. Don't necessarily need it, ya know. It's been 20+ years since I had an engine apart, so it's like a new experience for me all over again. I think I can foot the bill for machine work and parts and still be ok on the investment of the tractor. Gonna have to spring for a few small engine tools and study the Kohler manual. But I'm looking forward to it. Time is my enemy right now. Just too much else going on it seems to keep this project moving. Spring is here now and it's a busy time of year for me. Several years ago I built a '32 Ford street rod along with my brother and my father, who financed the project. I read a book about building "bolt together" hot rods and the author mentioned the "fun factor" in doing the project along with the costs of things. That has stuck with me since. So I keep that in perspective with the projects too. You can't really put a price on the "fun factor" of things. Especially when you can make it a family project! Todd

Brackets should be tight and even. That might be part of your problem Square them up to each other and to the frame tighten securely and see if that helps.

The second regulator is installed upside down. The PO probably could not figure out how to get the original one out (it slides a bit then lifts out). Take the original one out, put the aftermarket one in. The grey wire (broken terminal on the original) will connect up to the aftermarket one you reposition it.

The box with the terminals in your first pic is the original voltage regulator. The one in the second pic is a replacement. Perhaps it wont fit in the same place as the OEM one? As a side note, the tach does take its signal from the regulator.

Retired Sparky, Hey thanks for the explanation, that all makes sense to me now. So it was basically a clearance issue with the nuts not allowing the base of the jack to set flat and squarely on your puller hub. Regards, Steve

He has a member account here. Timothy Box. Has 4 posts. I've seen his craigslist ads for a couple of years now. The last ad I saw has those 3 tractors at 6000. Search CL Altoona, 520-8. The 520-8 he will entertain offers. Good luck on them,maybe you will be the one to pull "Excaliber" from the stone! At a decent price ,of course!

Well, I brought it home. It starts and runs well. The blower needs a new knife edge but is in real good shape. The mower is badly damaged one of the blade spindles is completely ripped from the deck, never seen that before musta hit a boulder or a redwood stump. The front axle pin is tight but the tie rod ends need to be addressed. Hood hinge needs to be tightened up. Electrically it seem ok just a few wires to fix. Have to change engine oil and trans fluid too. The owner also gave me the tractor operator's manual and manuals for the mower deck and snowblower. Even the 1988 sales brochure Still $350.00 isn't a bad deal.

Wow. I can't believe anyone would scrap that! Even if you were on the green side, you'd have to be nuts to scrap that. Great save!

I built this with a circular saw, and a power mitre saw. It is L shaped, 8' x 7'