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Almost everyone is familiar with the 7416 Escutcheon Plate found on the front of many models of the mid to late 70's horses. My 1977 B-100's have them. They are still available from Toro, and are always available at the big WHCC show. But how many of you have ever seen a 9799 found on some 1971 and 72's? This New Old Stock plate is one of those NO LONGER AVAILABLE items, and rarely are they found in this condition. Just thought you might be interested in seeing a perfect condition one.

If you have a limited budget, I would not get a used zero turn. as for an old wheel horse, I mow 1 acre with my 11hp work horse, been using it for years and it never fails, The C series tractors are a great buy, from 8hp to 20 hp. and parts are easy to come by. Just an idea buy 2 or 3 C series tractors and have one for a back up. any of them will handle a 48in. deck, and are quite fast for a tractor. In my area you can find them from 300, to 700 every day. and lots of the parts swap from year to year.

Been a long time since I posted, been busy with the grandcritter, and other things. Wrote about getting this very nice 1985 312-8 back in 2014. Really didn't have to do all that much, other than a good cleaning, and basic maintenance, then replace all the little things that break over time with usage. Seat was replaced with an OEM-looking one I got from the 2014 Wheel Horse Show in Pennsylvania. Exactly like the original, sans the horse logo. Photo was taken yesterday after I gave the tractor a bath. Mow with it every week. Motor smokes slightly, and has some blowby. As far as I can tell, it has never been overhauled. Will try to do that this winter. Original plan was to do an overhaul last winter, but the thing just continues to run good. As I wrote in another post, I just smile whenever I hop on to do the lawn. Never knew a machine/tractor could give so much enjoyment.

We did the mid year service to the Wifes tractor this evening. Got a bath and new oil and greased. Deck got power washed and sharp blades. This ought to keep her working for the rest of the grass season. Lol. Just passed 1900 hours this week.

My Dad had his own Lawn Care business back in the 70's. He had 4 Wheel Horses...502, 702, 857, and a Raider 10 (1972). He did not just mow lawns though. He plowed and tilled gardens, dragged new yards, moved snow with a blade and a blower. He did quite well in the business, but that was the 70's. No problem getting parts, no zero turns, but there were not any places like Red Square and garden tractors did not show up at collector shows. There may actually be more support now then there was then. Don't forget about rolling yards also...easy money there.

There is one commercial lawncare business around here that uses a Wheel Horse (among others). I am unsure of the exact model, I will stop next time I see him. If you can find two or more then downtime would be a non-issue. I find them sometimes for just a few hundred. Just keep up on the maintenance, greasing, oil changes etc and check peoples yards for objects to hit and avoid them.

Happy Birthday Glen, we are glad you were born.

think parts availability for a 20 +year old mower. would your customer base stick with you while you waited days and weeks to find a replacement part unavailable at your WH dealer? ask your WH dealer how much he actually keeps in stock for your tractor and base your decision and business reputation on those findings. also consider the competitors in your area using Z turns and mowing lawns 2 -3 times faster than you will be

Greetings, Horsemen. I'm setting up a one-man lawn care and landscaping business. My budget is quite low; buying a new commercial mower is out of question, and the used ones I've come across so far are mostly worn out and not worth the risk. The more I learn about my options, the more I like the Wheel Horse tractors. I've been checking Craigslist ads in my area, and there are some listed--a couple of 520H, a 315-8, and a few other models. I wonder if anyone on this forum has used a Wheel Horse for commercial mowing and/or has some thoughts on the subject, and I'd appreciate it if you cared to share them. Thanks.

Hey everyone! I'm new to the forum scene, but have had wheelhorse lawn tractors the majority of my life. I'm not up to date on the value of these machines and am hoping to find out a little more. I currently have a C141 of which I am the second owner. It has a 42" rear discharge deck, snow bower, and snow cab. I paid $500 for the package and it is my "daily driver" of you will. I found a 121-6 for sale within a 1.5 hour drive of me for $350 and it looks to be well maintained. I guess my questions are: What is my C141 worth What is the 121-6 worth Is my best option to keep what I have? Or go with the newer model? Thanks!

If I were going to set up a lawn care business, I would not start now. Summer is half over and anyone who wanted a LC person probably already has one. I would start late winter/next spring. Look for a zero turn mower at the end of this season when prices are likely to drop. Also, people who have a LC business my be discouraged (it is a ton of work) and are more likely to sell in the fall. Similar to buying a snow blower, never buy it in the fall when prices are high, wait until the spring and summer when bargains are available. Yes you have to be careful busing used equipment, but that goes for WH machines also. Also, WH (with the exception of 5xi that I know of) do not have a tight turning radius, that means wasted time backing up etc to go around trees. In business, time is money, the more customers you can turn in a day the greater your cash flow. You need to sit down and make a good business plan first before venturing out on this. Talk to people who already have a lawn care service, how much time does the service spend at their property and how big is the property and what size lawn is maintained. This will give you a good idea of how many customers you can service in a day. Make sure you assess the level of competition in your area. If there are lots of providers, or few customers, you may have to travel a distance and that will also cut into your cash flow. If you have a good business plan, you should be able to get a loan.

I have a friend in Wisconsin who has a lawn service. He uses zero-turn for mowing, and has a WH for hauling, grading, etc. Says he will never go back to a tractor for mowing. Can get twice as much grass cut in the same time as using a tractor to mow.

Pic update..

Hello everyone ........Here in lay a common thread the Buffalo man and my self have,...Other than really loving to hook a nice 867 Tractor... and the Homemade 401 i have built. i have never really wanted to poses another model tractor ,,,Until this tractor showed up on his page one day,,,,We have neve met....Dont really know one another...and he walked up to me at the BIG SHOW and introduced himself as the guy with THAT little tracor... We joked and talked....he told me the story of this find....and to me it looks like part of an amusement park ride ......Maybe that was what i liked about it.... It did look neglected,,,, ..I always seem to find the uncommon path...I fit words in edge wise....and my approach at making banter within the troops..can get more confusing if reread more than twice..... I want to thank the Buffalo man for this great update pic....I see this machine needs an engine.....Should i offer a 2 1/2 horse Briggs I have,,,,just like the one on the 401-8 speed?? He did paint it the right color !!!! lolo Well as luck might have it.....an old friend walked into my job today,,,,saying " I have somthing for you" .....Me,,,big smile What do we got?? He replys,,,,,,my uncle Has a Red Horse in the old barn out back/////..did he want it,,,??? My old buddy says lemme go look......Comes back to the house....says to his Uncle,,,,You mean Wheel Horse.???and got a yes nod.....He ask....this that all its called?? and he said....Its a Suburban..!!! I of course said yes.....So in a few weeks after it cools off...the barn is being emptied.....and the old friend has my #.....i said...call anytime.... So Mr Buffalo man.....thank=you for sharing the progress.....thank-you for not forgetting.....and ......now that there might be another little red tractor in my future.......just maybe some horse tradin might be offered.......

A tracking device for Craig would need more batteries than your Chair. Jim next time, I'll just file a missing person report!

Speaking of speed and quality of cut, I have seen a bunch of lawn companies with there zero turns mowing flat out. Machine is bouncing and jumping all over the place. Lawns look like crap. Granted these are mostly places like doctor offices,massage parlors Tai Chi shops (@stevasaurus) ect. They don't care what it looked like, they just want the grass cut. One of my old bosses mowed yards as a sideline. He had a Grasshopper and traded it for a new one which was faster. Too me it was kind of dumb as the first one hadn't paid for itself yet but that was me. anyway the new machine's deck would bounce all over and he kept bringing it to the shop for different this or that. Your not mowing a newly paved parking lot. Your going over different kind of ground each day. If your just looking for something to do and maybe coffee and doughnut money, get a couple of cheap horses, and just do a few yards. That way if it rains for 4 days your not totally behind the 8 ball. My old boss would be freaking with a couple of days of rain and ended up mowing in the dark a few times. He even mowed in a lake effect squall because he wanted to squeeze 1 more paychek in.

I think if you just plan on mowin yards, I would for sure want a zero turn. However if you plan on mowing as well as doing snow removal and garden tilling like steve's dad, then the wheel horse idea sees to fit the bill perfectly. You could get an attachment for almost anything that you could ever need to do and run all of it off of 1 or 2 tractors. Although as has been stated before on here, 1 or 2 turn in to 5 or 6 quickly.

I tried to post these separate for voting purposes, but the system merged the posts together. These are 3 posts of the restoration of my 1983 GT-1142 I did this summer after my father passed away. I grew up on this tractor and now it looks like it did in 1983, minus the deck which rotted out a few years ago. More photos are in the galleries. My personal favorite is those close up of the left side and the way the light rays are.

You have the short frame plow...59 1/2" measured from the blade to the far end. Long frame is 67 1/2" measured the same way. There are a couple of different kind of brackets also that attach to the transmission. You may need the other one...not sure which one you have there...but I would guess that the one you have goes with that snow blade. If you did not have the running boards, you might be able to get it mounted, but you would not be able to angle the blade...the blade would hit the front tires before it notched in place. The longer frame plow would move the lever forward also for angling the blade and would miss your running boards. You may have to turn the handle around though...that is explained in the manual. I think we have pictures of the different attachments for the axles...maybe in the Reference implements section.

This is along the lines of my thinking. If you get 2-3 old ones that you can interchange attachments on and are all in reliable shape that would answer the question of always having a machine as a backup. As for cut time without a doubt you can do more faster with a zero turn. However, if you are starting from a zero customer base then initially production time would not be a great issue. If you bought an established business out with a large customer base then you would quite likely have a real problem using an old school tractor. Assuming you are starting from nothing the idea of a WH is a good one unless you pick a model with the old rear discharge decks which will not produce any award winning results in how the job looks when you are finished. That would be the real downside to older WH tractors of up to 1970's vintage. Maybe a side discharge deck would produce acceptable results but I cannot say since I have never owned one or seen the results after a cut. I think I would look for later models with a side discharge myself. As your business grows and hopefully prospers maybe you could transition into a zero turn and relegate the WH to other duties like snow removal or other such tasks. If approached correctly with a good plan I do not see WH as a bad answer to get started. However, you better have a solid plan and not just buy some old horses because they look clean and well maintained.

Just food for thought, if I were to run a on medical lawn care business with , I would stick to Kohler or briggs for the very reason of parts availability like @RubyCon1 said earlier. I'm sure others would disagree, but I would be worried about using an Onan a lot all day because of the overheating problems. Like Bob said zero turns are much nicer to mow with in my opinion. We do all of our mowing on 20 acres with a zero turn and I could not imagine how bad it would be to use a tractor for all of that.

NEVER confuse VOC ratings as a "danger scale" to human health. EPA rates the product's VOC level with its ability to react photo chemically with the earth's atmosphere, not your lungs. Isocyanates have virtually no VOC rating but chemically react with moisture to harden and therefore is extremely dangerous to human health. Breathing the vapor into your lungs will react with the moisture in your lungs and super glue your lung tissue. Acetone is routinely used to lower VOC's of paint products to legal levels. Once again, NEVER confuse VOC ratings as a "danger scale" to human health. Low VOC does not mean "safe". None of the chemicals we use routinely are completely "safe".

Just... those photo apps are fun.

8-4-2006 “Talladega Nights” released “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” an irreverent comedy based in the outlandish (fictionalized) world of American stock car racing, premieres in movie theaters around the United States on this day in 2006. The comedian Will Ferrell (who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Adam McKay and served as an executive producer) starred as Ricky Bobby, a leading driver on the National Association for Stock Auto Car Racing (NASCAR) circuit. Macho and arrogant, Ricky Bobby is known for his motto “If you’re not first, you’re last!” and has no problems with the fact that his winning record is based on the willingness of his loyal friend and fellow driver, Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) to always come in second to Ricky’s first. This arrangement is upset by the arrival of Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), a flamboyant French star of Europe’s Formula One racing. After a devastating crash, Ricky Bobby loses his job and his wife (both to Cal) and is forced to work his way back up in the NASCAR world. The climactic scene–featuring an explosive kiss in the middle of the track–takes place during the famous Talladega 500 race at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway. “Talladega Nights” offered an unapologetically exaggerated version of the NASCAR world, repeatedly poking fun at the stereotypical image of car-loving “good old boys” from the American South, in the style of shows like “The Dukes of Hazzard.” It also satirized NASCAR’s affection for product placement: The cars in the movie are covered with advertisements for brands such as Wonder Bread and Old Spice and the characters are constantly singing the praises of Domino’s Pizza, PowerAde and other favorite products. On the more authentic side, the vehicles used in “Talladega Nights” were made with the cooperation of NASCAR, and the movie was partially filmed at the Talladega Superspeedway, known to fans of stock car racing as the largest, fastest and most competitive speedway in the world. Opened in 1969, the complex was built on an expanse of farmland next to two abandoned airport runways; it has the capacity to accommodate more than 143,000 seated spectators, with thousands more packed into the 212-acre infield. Talladega is also home to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum.

This one is not mine, but mine is almost a twin to this. My compressor pump is not a two stage like this one. Outside of that the rest is absolutely identical. The guy called his an AHHD, but I have found no other references to an AHHD, only AHH models so I am thinking the fellow was mistaken.

I really wonder if it may depend on the condition of the chrome parts to be stored, as far as what level of protection would be needed. I recently picked up some of the parts I had plated at the chrome shop. They were polishing the chrome parts with McGuire's Magnesium and Aluminum polish. I asked them about a manifold that they plated with a decorative polished copper, it had sat for a while after it was finished, so they instructed me to polish it and then apply a protective coating on it to keep it from future tarnishing. I just used a high heat clear spray.

This is my submission. Waiting on a new home, like we find them, like so many others we've found. 72 Charger 12.

Back in the day....when we stored old chrome reverse wheels or Cragar mags,,,,we would clean them and put on a coat of wax.....and leave the wax on while stored.....Buff it off then we were ready to use the wheels....

Something ... Glen and Terry could make . Be a nice one to copy .

Well this is embarrassing. Put all the tune up parts back on the k341 with a new spark plug, re-gaped points again (what feels like the millionth time) and turned the key. Cranked for a second and popped off. Runs great now to sort out a few other issues with this tractor before winter hits. Thabks for the help all.

That's a good looking 212-6, but...... I agree with all the above. Keep the C-141.

Zero turn for speed. 520 for snow, grading, lots. Good luck! Do update your business venture progress! I have a neighbor, uses a riding mower for his mowing biz. Retired, he makes a few bucks just mowin'.

No brainer there... keep the 141.

I would keep your C 141 as it is a true garden tractor. The 212-6 is vertical shaft and is a lawn tractor which is not as strong. I owned a vertical shaft wheel horse and was not impressed with it at all. I could also not find any attachments for it.

With the heat and life being what it is I haven't been doing much WH related but I haven't stopped completely. In the past couple months I picked up a B-81 and a C-111. I also picked up another project that the wheel horses will have to share their time with, an 82 Honda silver wing. Good thing I got more free time coming up soon.

Sounds like your points may not be operating properly. Here's some simple visual checks. Remove the points cover and roll the engine over by hand to prove that they are opening and closing. If that checks out, have someone try to start the engine while you watch the points you should see some blue sparking from the points. If there is no sparking try cleaning the points by sliding a dollar bill through them while they are closed. Then watch for the blue sparks again. New points some times have a coating on them that hampers their performance. Best of luck.

Thanks guys. It's a lot of fun doing these restos. I get such a great feeling of accomplishment when they are done. I really enjoy showing them to people who are interested and can appreciate the time and work that goes into making them great again. When this one is done I'm going to sit in my driveway and stare at for awhile while sipping on a few beers. Hopefully with a good friend.

Wheel horse made a commercial model called the 520 HC. I don't see why you couldn't use a wheel horse for commercial mowing.

C101-16HP conversion 1978 And another

Pole barn started 2 days late, but some progress was made today. Like 75% of the building is complete. Here is the new stable.

With a wrench, hammer, screwdriver, welder, torch.....and lots of foul language (with refreshments, of course) , ya can make ANYTHING fit ANYTHING.

In order from Left to Right: 1966 1076, 1961 401, 1965 855, 1958 RJ 58, 1963 953

I'm WITH squonk.....sure looks like a SHORT FRAME Dozer Blade and you need a LONG FRAME to fit the C-111. Here are a couple pics to help. Note the difference in the shape of the frames....Short Frame is mostly triangular and the Long Frame is also triangular, but the last 20" (or so) is RECTANGULAR..

From what little I can see that's a short frame plow. You need a long frame

I have a lot of mowing, going all out, it takes me 4 hours to mow, trim and do a bit of string trimmer work. I use a 520H with a 60" deck. Last summer I hired a mowing service to take care of the yard while I was on vacation. Two workers, using zero turn mowers, unloaded, mowed, trimmed, string trimmed and were back on the road in 45 minutes. Bill was $85 per mowing. Only thing is, it looked like crap.

HAHA ! Yea kinda wish I was ! But no. Its a jig/work table and it has wheels on it. Plus my truck is lifted so I just rolled it up to my tail gate and rolled the tractor rite onto the table. When I finish it I will lift it of with my auto twin post lift or chain fall. Will keep you all posted

This dealer sticker was on my lawn ranger when I bought it from original owner 20 years ago.

Howard, you and a bunch of others made me feel right at home at the Big Show. Ideas like your MASH Pole got us out of our shells and gave us a reason to meet one another; Thanks.

I'm 52 years old now but I worked as a Wheel Horse Mechanic thru high school at Woodies Rental in Warsaw, IN. they were a full sales and service dealer. I can still remember driving our delivery truck to south bend, IN. to pick up tractors. I wish I would have appreciated them as a kid as I do today. back then it was a job, not a love.