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Dear Lord, Jay Paxton has an exploratory procedure scheduled tomorrow 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 Jay 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 Jay 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.

Working on building the 953 Diesel into a beastly plow tractor. I just made a few brackets for some weights in the front and rear. I also picked up a Wheel Horse 12" plow. It was in excellent condition and I thought a great price for a 12". Now I'm looking into converting to a 5/8" belt because pulling a 10" with no weight it was eating up the stock 1/2" belt. Anybody that wants to give me any tips on the belt conversion or anything I should add let me know.

I was waiting for him to back it into the shed when he finished mowing.

Why would anyone who owns a want to reduce their seat time?

I've mowed with, or been around a lot of machines over the years. I never payed much attention to the speed the decks run at -- only cared about the quality of the cut they turned out and the reliability. To my way of thinking, slower blade speeds probably result in less pulley and spindle bearing heat and wear over time. Possibly less wear and tear on belts, too. If the cutting performance of the deck is efficient and smooth at a lower blade speed, then that's fine with me. What matters is how the grass looks when you're done. I kind of suspect that was what the Wheel Horse engineers had in mind as they designed their decks. I grew up near South Bend... there were lots of engineers and machinists employed in the area at one time. Even though Studebaker had closed down, other industries locally and further away relied on the area's machine shops and smaller industrial contractors. I learned quite a bit from the "old heads" -- while modern engineering focuses on designing things to meet a set of qualifications -- and not one bit more -- the older guys followed the principle that things had to not only do the work, but last reasonably while doing it. Downtime and repairs cost money. So things were designed not to risk needlessly tearing themselves apart over time in the first place, and be straightforward to maintain and repair when they did need work. Why design a mower deck that will mow like crazy but spin itself to death, when you can design it to run slower and smoother to last longer and still leave a golf-course-quality cut? A different way to look at efficiency. New ways aren't always all they're cracked up to be... OK, old-guy rant over...

My plan to downsize is not working out too well.

Thank you everyone. All is in God's hands now. (With a little help from the surgeon.)

Well, I bit the bullet and bought a dedicated horse hauler. I have not seen it mentioned in this thread so I'll tag my experience in on this for others to compare. I am planning on using U-POL Raptor. I'll post up pics of before and after but for now, just the trailer as noted in the WIMM "what's in my mirror" thread.

You kind of gave us half the information on both of them. Is the non running "C" an eight speed or hydro? Is the Kohler just not running or has it thrown a rod. I would bring some jumper cables and some starter fluid and expect to have good compression on both cylinders and perhaps an attempt to fire. Is the 516 H running? A non running Onan can be a money pit and if it won"t run you can't test the transmission. I would be hard pressed to pay more than $ 300 for a non running Hydro because you have no idea what the condition of the transmission is.

I just looked at the muffler I got from @jimkemp and I think it will work great. Jim for the excellent product. I really like how the holes are drilled all around the end where the chrome piece goes to allow for adjustment

Most of those land in my back yard:-)

Higher blade tip speeds can help with modern mulching deck and blade combinations. The speed improves the ability for the clippings to be held under the deck and re-cut several times while they're suspended in the vacuum effect. But neither the decks nor blades from the last century were designed to work that way. The older decks were meant to snip off the clippings and throw them out of the way as quickly as possible. In fact, from reading Red Square, I've come across several reports that modern "gator" mulching blades don't work all that well on the old-school Wheel Horse deck design -- they work best with the OEM blade profile which is a "high-lift" design -- it creates a wind tunnel effect to stand the grass up straight so it can be snipped off in one swipe by the blade and then ejected. Trouble is, it's a little counter-intuitive but blade speed seems to reach a point of diminishing returns with the older high-lift design. You'd think that more speed = more lift because it will move the air faster. But grass blades will only stand up so quickly, particularly on a thick lawn. Not to mention that as the mower moves forward, there's a boundary effect as the moving wall of air hits the grass just ahead of the blade, which can flatten it down momentarily -- exactly what you don't want to happen. It'll just cause as many "misses" as it will "hits" between blade and grass at the front, and the back of the blade sweep (which is supposed to be set about 1/8" higher than the front of the sweep) will wind up doing more of the cutting. Since the back is 1/8" higher, the cut height will be off. In practical terms, some of your grass will get cut 1/8" higher than the rest, leading to an overall more uneven cut. The thicker the grass, the more noticeable it will be. If any of your blades are out of balance, higher speeds will increase vibration and shorten the life of spindles and bearings. That's not a big deal on modern "throwaway" equipment. But eating Wheel Horse spindles could get costly. You might get better results by leaving blade speed alone and stacking a second blade at a 90-degree angle on each spindle. Some folks have tried this and reported good results. The second blade does cut a bit taller than the one at the bottom of the stack, but it helps ensure that stubborn grass gets cut one way or another. The lower blade edge should have less work to do and just provides the "finished" cut height. Stacked blades do put more rotating weight on the spindles and bearings -- be sure to keep them greased. The starting load on the engine will be greater, but once the extra mass is rotating, it should have enough inertia that it ought to help keep the engine from bogging down on thick grass as long as you keep travel speed under control. It also goes without saying that keeping the blades properly balanced is critical, since a stacked configuration adds more potential balance problems. The short of it is, other folks have experimented along these lines and it keeps coming back that Wheel Horse's engineers did an outstanding job -- there's not a lot of room for any noticeable improvement if a deck is properly leveled and the blades are sharpened and balanced. There's a limit to how fine a non-mulching deck will leave clippings. Grass that likes to bend down when mowed or has too many stalks for seed heads doesn't cut well with either a mulching or non-mulching deck in a single pass -- problem lawns have to be mowed with only 2/3 to 1/2 of the deck over the uncut grass, and leave more of the blade sweep to clean up the edge of the cut swath. And you'll probably have to adjust travel speed. The real time-saver is a wider deck in those cases. Just my , but you'll probably have better luck working with the existing design rather than against it.

Maybe this was just debris that blew in from the 2016 WHCC Show.

I guess I live in the south pole

You are killing me! I drove 125 miles (one way) to pick up a last week and considered it close by. Guess I live in a desert and you live in a rain-forest!

Another one mile road trip today.

We'll, I finally got around to tackling my 953 project. If you remember a member of my local tractor club approached me about some Wheel Horse tractors he needed to sell. I went to look at them and one was a CG8 and the other was a 953 that had a busted transmission and was in parts. I ended up with both for $175! Well, with the help of Buckrancher's machining skills (thanks a lot Brian!) I now have the trans back together. I worked on the original Kohler for a while and now it is running great. The wiring is trashed and I had to jump from the battery to the coil, but she is going good, drives, and works great in all gears. Next comes rewiring and getting the deck mounted. She ain't pretty, but she's mine! I'll probably break her back down and do a full repainted, but she's all original in her work clothes for now.

Nice trailer @Aldon !! Here's mine, I highly recommend a checkered floor, it really makes the inside pop!

Amen ... thoughts and prayers sent

Prayers Hank

7x17 EZ Hauler, All Aluminum No bunk beds.....yet:-) Trailer won't likely make it to show. Between monsoon season and much greater business travel than ideal the last 6 weeks, I really don't have much to bring to show this year. I'll spend next couple weeks setting the trailer up for the long term. Bedliner and EZ track etc. Once it's set up I'll be in fat city though for meet and greets and shows.

...and no deck on the ??? WTF...kind of contraption is that?

Like? The twisters must be pretty strong up your way. All my crap is still in my yard lol

You guys and that fella has all got wayyyyy too much time on your hands!

He put some thought in how he connected those. The crazy thing tracks nice. Sorta like the trams at Disney.

Whats the fun in downsizing???

These wheels were used on the commercial duty 48 inch mowers such as model 05-48SC01 often paired with a 418-C or 520-HC tractor. The part number for the wheel is 111173.

Selling my original 550 suburban, @wheelhorseman1000 has agreed to transport it to the show. $800 includes the ride. PM me if you have questions.

I'm bringing a good selection of items that are on my store including the new removable receiver hitches and headlight bezels and some stuff that is not listed yet like ------- Reproduction dual wheel spacers for 6 x 12 rims with new bolts Drag links and tie rod for 953/1054 Sickle mower parts -lift link,travel hook and bracket and skid shoe.

Agreed in Jesus Name

Yes I did swap out for an 8 pinion. Also I took apart a punch of the PTO and the belt shrouds and decided I will just leave the 1/2" belt for now because it will require some trimming of some metal. I don't really want to do that so I will just see what happens. I am going to get a really nice heavy duty belt from a shop near my house. They have really good belts. The next thing I'm debating if I should do or not is the trans under a hard load with pop out of 3rd gear. I won't be plowing in 3rd gear but when going up hills I have to be careful or I will go flying down backwards if I don't have my foot on the clutch. It has happened. To fix that though I will have to pull apart the transmission that I just rebuilt last year but it does have a leak in the main seal so I may be doing that soon.

My Dads Camp Tractor was stolen out of the small garage 2 weeks ago by the Crack Heads I imagine so the 312 had to go and do the chores this week. Needless to say it came right back home with us.

The C series sounds high to me. Do you know the model and if it is a hydro or 8 speed?

And X-2

Ok... contacted the #2 candidate and will hopefully be able to check it out tomorrow. Any advice for what to check? I have better than average mechanical knowledge and I think I could hear a problem w/ a tractor engine, but anything specific to the brand/model, or parts that might not be there (besides a front grill lol)? This is the net of what I've learned about WH's in the last couple of days I've been at this: - 1" spindles are better than 3/4" for FEL's (not sure how model specific that is though) - Rebuilding this engine is expensive - Front end/steering gets sloppy on these over time - Good luck finding a gearbox if it goes bad I guess what concerns me most is that it was sitting for a long period and the best they can say is "it goes back and forth" vs. the others w/ FEL at least have a tune up record / recent work and/or appear to be in pretty sweet shape, just the cost is more obviously. If "#2" is a good candidate for a restoration it's something I like doing, just have to watch out that we are not passing the sweet spot of "buy it already done" as far as cost. Thx again!

Being optimistic I made reservations today for Thursday and Friday should be at the show early Thursday.

my dads 502 is coming along well. going to continue assembling till we hit the stopping point until decals come in

I have an assortment of that I need to find a new home for, just taking up floor space and needs to go to a good home. First is a 1960 Suburban 400 which has been outfitted with a Starter / Generator. Runs good, good tires and in overall good condition. My wife wanted it because it was electric start, but the first time she did a wheelie was the last time she got on it! $ 350. SOLD Next is a Mid Mount Grader blade with lift link, I have two and that is one too many. $ 300 I have two landscape rakes; one is a home built 48" unit that fits a sleeve hitch. The second is a Category 0 three point hitch York Model RS 48" with the optional scraper blade that drops down. I will sell one of them, whichever one sells first I will mark both as sold and keep the other, just don't need two. SOLD Sleeve hitch home made above, $ 150 York rake below, SOLD 1966 Model RL 486 48" deck in very good condition with a good set of lightly used blades. $ 100 No rust through and no welds, the Mid Mount Tach-A-Matic is not included, but if you need it I will take it off my tractor for an additional $ 25, not for sale separately. SOLD 42" Side discharge Model RL 426 deck shell with one good spindle and a couple that need bearings, no rust through and no welds. $ 35 Two sets of NOS blades in the original packaging for the 48" "Double D" mowers. Each set has three 16" blades. $ 50 per set. Two new aftermarket 16" "Double D" blades. $ 30 for both. A pair of NOS blades for a 36" gear drive rear discharge deck in the packaging. SOLD I also have two decks not pictured (I would have to dig them out of the corner of the hay loft)! 1964 36" gear drive deck RM 364 $ 75 1960 32" rear discharge RMR 3260 $ 75 SOLD HAPPY SHOPPING I will be at the Big Show from Thursday morning until about noon on Saturday.

I can hardly wait for the winter episode where he gangs a bunch of walk behind snow blowers and pulls them down the road.

A few more items I could bring.... 414-8 roller $150 Sold 1-48" SD side drive deck project shell has been patched, spindles feel OK. $40 2- 42" SD side drive decks only rust thru is at the right rear wheel mount. $60 each The one on the right has been sold 1- 42" RD deck parts $20 2-36" RD decks for parts $20 pair 1 hood $10 1 seat / fender pan $40 3- spindles with wheels and tires $20 each 1- Sundstrand hydro with lift cyl and valve $100 SOLD SOLD Gas tanks metal $30 ea plastic under the seat tanks $15 ea air cleaner cover, base plate and filter $20 The air cleaner is sold left pedal $10 PTO lever $5 mid attach-a-matic $15 sleeve hitch w pin $40 amp meters $20 each dash plates w/ cables and switches $20 ea lift parts rock shaft $15 adj-a-matic $10 cable, sheath, clevis $10 Double "D" deck parts double pulley $30 single pulley $20 spindles $20 ea deck parts $10 choice

It does track nice, but I think I would've set them up in a V formation. More like a gang set up for reel mowers.

I painted the timing marks while i had the head off and the T mark coincided with TDC. I used the ohm meter approach to determine the point at which the points opened. With a .020 setting they opened after TDC. I had to keep opening them to over.030 to get it to open at the S mark. I have ordered the 47 411 04 plunger, will be interesting to see if it is a different length than the one in the tractor. The points on the points on the tractor were opening after TDC that is why i put on new ones. Still had to open them way up. My supposition is that at some point a PO replaced the points with the newer ones but not the plunger.. if you look the original points 47 150 01 show as NLA and replaced by 47 150 03. There is no mention there about the need to replace the plunger on older engines (pre 1983). (Only the little note I found in the K241 parts manual.) When the new plunger arrives I will measure the two and report back... I wonder if the same issue impacts 12-16 hp singles???l

The readings you get from the the infrared guns can be skewed very easily by reflective energy hence giving you the big difference in temperatures. The key is to shoot the laser at an area that is similar to a matte black area where you wont get the reflectance. Find a spot on the front and rear and spray a dime to quarter size spot of high heat flat paint and shoot the laser in the same spot for your continued testing. I do Infrared thermal scans as part of my work in the electrical field for maintenance and problem solving. The expensive cameras use a wide range adjustment factors to accurately measure actual temperatures. Quite a science!! I will follow this thread to see where the readings end up.

Strong breeze!

Finally! The answer to where all those greenhouse gases have been coming from...

THANK YOU! I have been looking all over for these and just couldnt find the right model number. I appreciate all the help.

Looks good I never thought of doing it that way. My exhaust should be in today's mail but the mail arrived after I left for work

You live in a target rich environment!

Me and my dad will be there early friday looking forward to buying some stuff for my 401 i restored after getting the bug for a round hood after my dad made me take him for fathers day lol. Was my first time and it was great! it was like his 5th time haha