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How many lawn tractors made today will be able or around to accomplish this 56 years from now?

My sister has made a couple backrests (plywood board and upholstery also) for my old Wheel Horses. She has used 3/8 plywood but I have seen other folks use different types of materials. Glued chipboard is not a good materials to use as the embedded three prong threaded 1/4 x 20 clips ( I guess they call these T nuts) that go into the seat back to secure the two screws will often come loose or work out. I am posting pictures of two of the backrests my sister made for me . The measurements on these drawings is what she used to sew up the materials for the seatback. I will note that I took a picture (last picture in this set) of one of the early seatbacks and found it to be one inch wider -so you can take that in consideration if you want to when making. This posting may help some of you wanting to have a seat back made or reupholstered.

It's a Mercedes Benz Unimog sold by Case. One of the best 4 wheel drives on the planet.Paint it red and put Wheelhorse stickers on it!

Designed this to clean out a clear cut lot at a friend's garage. Should work well. Mostly brush and small trees. I tested it out across the road in some pesky knotweed after the township cut it back. I'm going to make some gussets at the hitch point. This was just an eager test run 😀

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I thought I would share a photo from 64 years ago - my second birthday.

Local paving contractor has one with a dump body and snowplow! I also have the Matchbox model I had growing up!

Thank you Lane for the info on making seats for these tractors. You were the inspiration for me to make the seat for my 1054 that I haven't gotten around to assemble yet. I got a lot of good information and decided to get a heavy duty sewing machine to sew my seat and back. With everything we do to these great old tractors we need someone to show us we can do it if inspired by someone that's done it before. It's always the little things that discourages people not to try. I think mine came out really good after you posted your seat. I plan on making a new seat for my lawn ranger and these plans will come in handy I love the back rest.

My son and me mowing a couple weeks ago . Now I have to rely on the 653 because the Ford is broke down!

Snagged this tired ole C-195 today. She is pretty beat up but definitely worth fixing. Someone has hacked up the wiring. Wrong seat obviously. Voltage regulator is missing. Pretty sure the condensor is on wrong post. Can't find where it says the right diagram for the condensor. Not sure how, but the hydro fan blades are all busted off. Paint is not so great. Front right tire won't hold air. Guy said it ran a year ago..... This is the biggest Wheel Horse I've owned. Came with the Flexible Flyer 60" deck. Even with all the flaws, I hope it will run again. Will get more pics hopefully tomorrow

Someday soon I hope doctors know as much about fixing cancer as this forum knows about fixing Wheel Horses!

Yes original engine. All original parts on it except for horn of course. Also today it has the RJ's front wheels on since I got a flat earlier today. Wouldn't it be cool that one of my grandchildren would post here about it 56 years from now? I am willing to bet on it. Too bad I wont be around to read it.

John, happy birthday to you, and many more Your friend, Glenn

I'll bet though that in the last Ten years, Red Square has had a Big part in keeping these tractors going..

A short story : Last week I got home from work and while cutting the front grass , something caught my eye . Something that i was sure wasn't there when I left for work . A second glance at my porch and sure enough there was something there . It was a little wind-whipped plant with Quarter sized yellow flowers wilted and almost dead . It was in a little clay pot that had a hand painted American Flag on it . ( Other side of the planter ) There was a Popsicle stick stuck in the dirt with a little paper Sunflower with the words " From the students of Martin Rd. Elementary " With a little water and some care , my gift is looking much better today . A ride down the street showed every home in the neighborhood got one ! I sat down and wrote a letter to whomever at the school was responsible for carrying out this act and thanked them . I'm hoping that letter makes it back to the students so they can see that such a seemingly small act is really much bigger !

This is why I bought a horse. He will be 50 this year. Don't even get me started on new garden tractors.... 😡

Hate to disagree with the thought that silica sand doesn't hurt anything.If you use enough without the right precautions it will seriously mess with your lungs.Sand blasting with silica can be very dangerous.Ever heard of silicosis?I agree that play sand works good for it's price but a standard respirator is not adequate protection.Coal slag or any non silica based product is safer but maybe not as effective.I only use non silica media in my blast cabinet and am looking at an air supplied system for true sand blasting.

Let me think about this; NONE!

Great Stallion! Those decks were great too! Is the horn stock?

Great information and follow up Steve. I'll definitely make use of this thread for reference when I rebuild mine.

Steve I'm glad to hear you figured it out and your back up and running thanks for the good information!

Poulan are made mainly by AYP, American Yard Products, who also makes Craftsmans and other entry level lawn tractors. They're mainly designed for a 5 year life cycle as are most entry level machines.

Try 3 to 5 years. About 6 years ago I bought a Weed Eater brand 36 riding mower, $490 new. By the end of the second season (I only have a 300' by 50" lot), the clutch assembly sounded like a blender with marbles in it and the front tires were nearly tread less. Sold it for $125 and glad to have gotten rid of it. If you buy any of the current crop of mowers and pay under $1600, it is doubtful it will last more than 5 years without some major issue. The Briggs engines these days are absolute junk, and are usually what dies first. I am amazed at the number of WH tractors I see that still have original tires on them!

At first glance, I also thought that was a horse. If you still have that bib John, we would like to see it at the Show. Have a great day John.

Happy Happy John Glad to see the started at an early age!

Wheel horse tractors didn't last so long because of flashy paint, or fancy model names, or even (dare I say it) RED Square. The darn thing dose the job they were intended to do and were built in the day when quality and workmanship meant something to the manufacture as well as the consumer. Profit was made by good value for the money, not manufacturing short cuts and off shore materials and labor.

"Couldn't find a Wheel Horse tractor that was decent under $1800 in my area " Where were you when I was selling my tractor?

There doesn't seem to me much info on Poulans probably because there isn't the demand that us Wheel Horse nuts cause with our machines. I think if all you're going to do with it is mow where your wife used the push mower it should get the job done. The new quality is on par with the rest of the big box lawn mowers sitting next to them because basically they are the same machines. I don't know what part of the midwest you're from but in this part an $1800 budget will allow you to find an excellent Wheel Horse.

Such a sweet tractor that does an awesome job! Cas, I must say, you have got yourself a beautiful piece of property there!

With a little maintenance and care that one could be around another 56.

Silicosis is nasty. Only way I would blast with play or concrete sand is with power washer set up.

Very cool!!

NONE

Dear Lord, Craftsmanmowerfreak’s Father has a medical condition that needs your divine intercession. Please guide the surgeon's hands to be steady and effective to do the task at hand, and not create any further damage We pray against any infection or complications. Calm the heart of his family. Give him your peace so his body can heal under the best conditions. In the name of Jesus, bless him to be healthier after this procedure than before. Lord allow this temporary trial to bring this family closer to you and each other. When he is coming out of surgery, let the side effects be minimal. Work a miracle in this whole situation and bless it from beginning to end. Thank you Lord for your blessing on this family. We praise you as we know we are in good hands- the very hands of God. In Jesus name, we thank you for each day. Amen.

I responded to a CL ad for WH parts over near Pittsburgh PA. This is what he had - "Wheel Horse Raider10 10 hp Tecumseh engine torn down cleaned and ready to rebuild. Also another 10hp Techumseh torn down for parts, and an 8 hp Tecumseh that runs. Also a whole other tractor I believe to be a Commander 8. The only thing missing is the rear end". Besides the two tractors and engines, he is including everything in the pictures. Besides the Raider 10 with the high/low tranny, the number of tires and rims included caught my eye. Plus, the Raider 10 is sitting on a nice looking set of AG tires and rims. Got the whole lot for $150, supposed to drive over and pick everything up this Saturday. The Commando 8 does have the rear end, he said someone tried to open up the case, but I am going to pick it up as well just to see if any usable parts left in it. It also looks like someone cut slots in the Commando 8 frame for some reason. If I decide to salvage the frame, I will weld in a backer piece and fill the slots and redrill the mounting holes. Thought it was a pretty good deal for the money.

I would believe what they did in the day Jeff is use the WH decal and then slapped whatever model tractor on that. My 857 and 1257 have that overlay but my 1067 has a totally different decal ...Guessing cause it is a six speed and they wanted to hype that.

The whole tractor and other parts is for sale but he is willing to sell just the motor. I'm thinking maybe 100.00

Sorry Hank but it is kinda a roll of the dice not that hoping Dick is right. But then again if Bob Barker is in the house and the price is right?!?!

If it runs and hasn't got any knocks or other unpleasant noises or oil smoke issues I would think a carb. rebuild, clean the points and a new plug should do the trick

And Wheel Horse just kept incrementing on top of solid engineering. I love how my 520H is the ultimate evolution of the "standard" Wheel Horse design. A lot of reliability baked-in from years of experience building the same platform. "New and Improved" might have gotten a lot of average buyers to stray toward flashy, less (Or sometimes more!) expensive stuff, but solid design that's repairable wins in the long run. That's why I went looking for a in the first place. Buy it once, maintain and repair it, and keep it, the way it was designed to be.

OK folks, I'm back again with some answers.......rather than questions, this time. Picked up another 8363 valve from another GT 14 at the Portland tractor show last week thanks to Karl Stohry of Flat Rock, IN. Here's what I found out and it was pretty much what I was thinking all along.............I lost a piece in my initial disassembly of my original 8363 control valve. I'll more or less let the pics do the talking with captions added where needed. When the valve lever is in the neutral position (where it always returns after movement either forward or backward), the round head set screw just protrudes from the body of the valve. See white circled area. When the control; lever is pulled back, the screw and a small metal sleeve attached to the end of the spool, move downward out of the valve body. Conversely, when the control lever is pushed forward, the spool and the sleeve/screw move upward into the casting body of the valve. The big spring in the side of the valve casting returns the lever and spool to neutral, regardless of the direction it has been moved. Upon removal of the round head screw, and a slight loosening of the hex allen screw to relieve the ball detent, the metal spacer/sleeve came out of the assembly. As I suspected, this is what I lost previously. Its machined on the upper end to fit into the chamfered end of the spool. The sleeve/spacer has a countersunk area into which the end of the spool fits. It also has a larger diameter shoulder machined into it which serves as a stop for the ball detent in the assembly and prevents the spool from being lower below the ball detent. Note the damaged area on the shoulder of the sleeve/spacer which I believe to be from wear of the detent ball. The last pic in this group shows the flat bottom side of the sleeve spacer which the screw and lock washer rest against on the bottom of the assembly. So, in the off season, meaning non-mowing season, i.e. winter, I need to find a skilled machinist to duplicate the sleeve/spacer to restore my original control valve to full working order. The job of this part is to limit movement both up and down of the spool. A very simple part basically with a very simple job. But without it, the valve won't fully function. Next time Steve needs to mind his P's & Q's a little more closely when disassembling something he has never had apart before. Probably a good example of being in a little too much of a hurry. That generally works against not only me, but probably everyone. Lesson learned the hard way......the way you tend to remember more going forward. Duh.

Very good deal! Get going, you have wo....wo.....WORK now! "She kinda looked funny at me the other day when I came home with my 4th tractor!", right tg!

Any fellas with comments on this model ? Might offer him $ 750.00 and see what the reaction is .....

I haven't broke the news yet either, she kinda looked funny at me the other day when I came home with my 4th tractor! But she knows is a hobby, and knows I am frugal, so the AG tires will be the selling point!

Thanks Ken, yeah the engine is really light, I'm just glad it wasn't a 16hp Kohler Magnum as they are very heavy Time for a long over due RJ update, and unlike my last post this one has a happy ending Monday morning Nigel and I had a visit from Neil, it was good to catch up again mate, it's been a while.. Not only has Neil got a huge amount of Wheel Horse history stashed away in he's head, but he also came with gifts... 2 engines Here's the top half of Neil.. The bottom half of Neil was busy controling the rev's of a very nice looking engine that ran as good as it looks.. The blue engine has carb and spark issues as we found out, so that's a job for another day. So with a quick pulley swap the new engine went in the RJ. The shade of engine red is so close to the rest of the RJ we saw no point in repainting it match 100%.. It's looks good as it is. One slight problem with the new engine is the exhaust port had two studs rather than the port itself having internal threads so swapping the exaust over wouldn't be a bolt on swap. Not a problem, take a flat bit of thick-ish steel and drill three holes in the right places... A quick test fit. Trim a bit of the RJ's exhaust down to size them grind the thread of it so it fit's in the flange leaving plenty of space to weld it up from the inside. (No idea why this photo won't upload the right way up!) Welded up, cleaned up and trimmed to shape. And a coat of the black stuff to make it look good. Exhaust on. You can remove an RJ engine without taking the hood off, but you need to remove the spark plug. Then once the engine is back in the spark plug has to go back in using a very special tool that won't scratch the paint on the hood Knowing the engine is a good, the time had come to fire the little fella up and go for a drive.. Knowing the gear shift would need a bit of adjusting to get it to shift right and even though it should of been in netural but possibly wasn't the rear wheels where jacked up before starting.. A running issue was soon sorted by putting some petrol in the tank, so I climbed aboard and Dennis lowered the jack, and off I trundled After so long it was nice to finally drive the RJ, but as you will hear in the video (coming soon to a YouTube page near you) the gear selector needs some adjustment so it get's all gears and the selctor bar does not rub against the reverse disc. Also the engine governor need a tweak to stop the engine from trying to over rev.. So not much to do and the RJ will soon done Told you this update would have a happy ending

Main system Second system in shop

Yeah that raider was in my cross hairs, too many projects here at the new home for me to pull the trigger. Well that and my wife... 😁

I tried play sand years ago for sand blasting. I was really disappointed in it. So I tried some of the options available at TSC. Much better. My preference was glass beads. Not very aggressive, but what nice finish. Lately I've been getting my media from TP Tools. Even better yet. Get the good stuff.

...and look that good while doing it?