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After numerous delays I am beginning the restoration of the early production 953 I purchased from @Ed Kennell nearl two and a half years ago. We don't know a lot about it's early history but I will let Ed tell you how he came by it in his own words. I saw the 953 on a Maryland CL ad in Dec. 2014. The location was farther than I would travel for a non runner...about a five hour round trip. But, I was going to Charlestown W Va. on Jan 3, 2015 for our annual family Christmas party. The 953 was within 50 mile of my route, so I made arrangements to pick up the tractor on my way to the party Saturday morning. About two hours into the trip, I got a call that the party was cancelled due to heavy sleet in the mountains in western Pa. where most of my family lives. It was raining where I was but the temp was 33F, so we decided to continue on to pick up the tractor. When we got there, I saw the 953 sitting in an overgrown ditch and by now the rain was turning to sleet. I was really concerned how I would get it to my trailer. Turns out the owner was a contractor and had an excavator. If I did the rigging, he agreed to pick it out of the ditch and put it on the trailer. No problem... it was on the trailer in a few minutes and we were on our way East trying to stay ahead of the cold and freezing ice approaching from the West. I really regret not having pictures of it being plucked out of that ditch and dangling from the excavator over my trailer. I think I posted a pic on Red Square and that's where you and I crossed paths. You probably have more details of the delivery involving Van and Jay than I have. So, Now you know the rest of the story. Best Regards, Ed Here is Ed's "Whats in your Mirror" post from the day the pulled it out of the gully. Nuther one jumped on the trailer this morning. Any guesses? Man, that's not much of a clue. Maybe this'll help. Edited January 3, 2015 by ekennell A couple of months later Ed and I struck a deal on the 953 and I was to pick it up at the 2015 "Big Show". Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and this was a case in point! I severely injured my back and at the time of the show I was on the operating table having spinal fusion surgery. I put out a request for "Hauling Help" on RedSquare and Van @Wheel-N-It responded saying he would get it back to North Carolina and store it till I was able to come get it. James @Jrblanke loaded it in his truck and took it to Van's from the show. A few months went by and I was finally able to retrieve it from Van. Many thanks to James and Van for going out of their way to help a fellow Wheel Horse fanatic. Once it was home I cleaned up the carburetor and replaced the ignition coil and the old horse ran, no smoke, no knocks! Just for grins I turned on the lights and both head lights and the tail light worked. Over the past couple of years life has gotten in the way of making any further progress. Now I have cleared the decks and will begin the restoration. This will be a total restoration including the engine and transaxle being rebuilt.

I found a grader blade for my Bronco. Now it has a dual purpose, taking the garbage can to the street and grading the driveway. My wife can't tell me to sell it right? It needs some paint and I'd like to attach a cutting edge to it someday.

I decided to mount up my winter tires on the C-121. Gotta say I really like the black rims!

I keep watching the news, YouTube and listening to my roof creaking in the wind. So far so good. Got a lake in my back yard. Lot of my neighbors have no power but so far some of us are lucky. They said it was going west but this sucker is coming straight up the middle of the state. The eye is about 40 miles from me. We are getting 60-80 mph wind. Hanging tough though. Just made a pot of coffee

There is no kit for the GT14. This was never an option for the GT14. To my knowledge only a few of the d series could have them. As such I bought a set of calipers for a cub cadet and modified them to work on the GT14. Another fella on the forum rebuilding the 18 Automatic helped me with diameter of the discs. I ordered 8" stainless blank discs from EBay and punched the center out, then drilled mounting holes to line up with the D series Hubs which are drilled and tapped for the D series turning brake discs. i have them located such that I'll likely run a cable to a set of levers to actuate the calipers. And it will be from the top. This is a work in progress with many trial attempts then realize something not taken into account drives re-do. I am about 90% confident this set up will work now. Once I modify inner fenders.

Looking at the picture of the rig on the rear of the I think it may be for a spring assisted three point hitch.

Greenish lightning strikes every few minutes. Those are actually pole transformers blowing up or high tension lines crossing from the high winds or trees falling on them. It must be a tough call to not shut down the local grids to save damage to equipment.

417-A WITH FRONT MOWER CARRIER

After a bunch of time spent working I finally had time to get this one back in the shop and finished up. Now to get a mower deck for it so that I can mow the yard with it next year and see how many people stop and ask about it. Pictures are in no particular order just re-adding the ones lost when photobucket decided to be a pain in the rear.

I love bass fishing and spend time at our summer home at Cabin Fever Campground and Hunt Club. We have an older 2000 Sunnybrook 5th wheel camper on a permanent lake front site. For the first 2 years I had a two man bass boat that I towed to the back lakes where the lunkers lurk but I needed a larger boat that Lola and Buddy could safely fish the back lakes with me. After finding the perfect used 16.5 ft Lund and selling the motor and console we have the boat we need. I decided to see if our Club Car Precedent was up to the challenge of towing and launching a larger vessel. We recently installed the highest rated interstate batteries in our cart and I must say they were worth the expense as the cart is stock yet performs way better than the original trojan batteries that came in it. Much smoother low end torque. We are now able to launch or load on all three lakes without any trouble.

Black absorbs heat better then beige, they will keep you warmer in the winter Mike.

Man that's a good woman that will take out the trash and grade the driveway.....you should keep her. Very considerate of you to build a machine that could give her more time for other things!

Poor little Suburban; anyone doing this should be locked up and the keys thrown away!

This wants to be a Allis Chalmers tractor, but why? Looks like a Wheel Horse RJ58 painted orange, I scraped the paint and there is no red under it. Maybe he blasted it off, but he used a brush to repaint it. It has some p.o. mods, I know these did not come with electric starters. Not sure if it is a 6 or 12 volt starter, as I see no label on it. You pull up on the short handle to tighten the belt then it hits a switch to engage the starter. There is no charging system. Looks like a home made blade also. It turns over by hand, gas tank is clean, so it should take much to get the ol' Kohler running. Pictures for your pleasure.

Check if the rubber boot on the gear shift is still there covering the transmission. If it's gone and tractor has been sitting outside transmission probable has water in it. See if it rolls and shifts into all gears Maybe a neogiation point. Looks like a good project. If the engine or transmission are shot there are still enough good parts to sell to get your money back

Oh my... I am really gonna watch this one! Get that camera tuned up! BTW good title to your thread Richard!

Our kids are fine and very minimal damage. No power and probably won't get it back for about a week but that's just an inconvenience.

Dual purpose is good..... If the wife is impressed by efficiency, take the trash out WHILE grading.....

A 161 is great tractor and a beast. Real favorite of many here and on my bucket list as well. Seller is right about the price of the tires. Those look to be Tru-powers on the rear and if they 23-10.5 are a buck & a quarter+ each . Looks to be in decent shape but check the transmission for strongness. Ask the seller if he'll run up to a tree and see if the tires spin. Check the fluids for off color or smell. Check for how well it's been taken care of but looks good that way from here. I am not a fan of tri-ribs for moving snow but dirt... you bet! That tractor would move piles of gravel all day without missing a beat. I would be all over that tractor for that price if things checked out! Good luck!

You can just carefully lift carb top up and while being careful not to bend brass tube coming down from top into a hole in the main body, carefully tilt top and the small link will unhook. Carefully remove this link and just reverse for reassembly. Do not drop or lose this link. Once you have done this once or twice it gets easy.

You all be safe. I'm praying for you. I'm having a cup of coffee with you Richie.

Florida Governor Rick Scott deeply respects the power of hurricanes. Did he come by that from his time in the Navy? I don't know. I do know that a division of line men are already staged to get utility power restored. (Yes, I am on generator now.) That is military thinking. It's good to live in the USA!

Had some time this week to open up the differential and fix the leak, put in new seals. Thought I would wet sand the tins, but no had to blast some of them. Put some primer on may paint later this week. Need to get with @Vinylguy and get some decals ordered.

Tony here's a couple of pics of the governor and throttle linkage on my 654

Keep the faith. Help is on the way just watch the weather and stay safe.

Okay so did the swap and hope to complete it tomorrow. I had to do some minor side frame work (oil filter was hitting right side support). Spent hours comparing the Kohler Courage to the Kohler Pro electric wiring configuration 953 nut was correct all the wire colors were different so you just need to verify voltages and where they are going to (old to new) bottom-line had to remove from the nine pin Molex connector the two AC wires (that were previously used for the lights) and that was it. My thanks to Ed Stoller who helped verify that was all that needed to be changed. Engine cranked and I had spark, also the fluid solenoid was operating. Tomorrow will do the final bolt down of the engine, re-install the fuel tank and Drive Pulley and see if she drives and charges.....

Nice backstory for a tractor resurrection. I look forward to following this one.

Whoops..never mind. An R12 is a standard. Thanks for the help Garry.

A 101411 Wheel Horse bearing might be a R12 bearing. Will guess the dimensions are .750" ID x 1.625" OD x .4375 wide. (3/4" x 1-5/8" x 7/16") Garry

Imo, only worth rebuilding if you're gonna use it yourself. Not much call for them.

My feeling is that engine is only going to be worth anything to someone with a 552 or maybe a 502. Probably around $ 100 if you get to hear it run. Problem is finding parts anymore and very pricey if you can find them. I'm sure a few guys out there are looking, but quite honestly, the market can not be that good. Collectors, somebody looking for a spare or parts...best bet. It would be nice to keep it in the Red Square Wheel Horse group.

Those are getting very hard to find. Don't wait too long to go look T it if it's posted o some public site. P.S if you don't buy it let me know where it is

Hope everyone is okay...

Sure, not too bad at all. Remove the tire on right, make up a looong extension with 9/16"socket on 1/2 or 3/8" ratchet (IIRC one long and one medium ext) next find yourself a box end 9/16 wrench for those hidden ones. Reach thru from the right side under the fender and looking down with the seat raised or removed and loosen - I like to use an impact of some kind since its a bit awkward to maneuver a ratchet.. On replacing I again use the box end and put a piece of tape over and snug the nut in the pocket to capture the nut and get it started. Just another day in the joy of working on our "Big D's!"

Looks Good Mike. Great looking worker> that should move the white stuff I hate the S word.

Be interesting to know what that thing on the back was used for.

Like Steve said ...doesn't look terrible. I've drained Brown pudding from a few of the many I've drained....

Too many hobbies! But they all all fun

Well, honestly, just not interested in another brand, familiar with Valspar, the chemical reaction with other paints, as well as, Rustoleom. Matter of fact I just ordered two more gallon IHR.

The tractor you are looking at is a 1960 Model 550, not an RJ-35. If the engine is in good condition that adds value, but if not be aware that they are hard to find. Needs a few parts and a lot of TLC but will be a good project. Miller tire is a good source of new tires. You could post a wanted ad in the Classifieds on here for good used ones also. http://www.millertire.com/categories/lawn-garden-tires/

Just a few pics. Place was packed! Never seen so many at this show before. A little muddy but not bad considering we've had rain almost every day.

Try googling Clinton engines and you should find a site that has all kinds of good Clinton info including phone nos. for guys that have parts. Jim Freshman out in Idaho and Charlie Clintonnut come to mind. Let me know if have problems, I can't post links on this stupid tablet but have lots of Clinton resources on my machine at work. Some stuff on fleabay too but kinda $$. Try searching right here on good old RS for more leads. If you want to save an old Clinton but say you can't find parts yer not looking hard enough.

I appreciate the thoughts. We'll see what's left. May not be any trees for them to hang from

1967 model 1267. 12hp Kohler and 8 speed rear.

Nothing special but a bit of an oddball: '78 C-161 Briggs Twin

If those spans were wrapped with 1/8" metal , it would be a lot safer . Also , adding weight in that matter really requires more than just the 2x4 studs at the wall end to support the weight , might want to double those up so the structure doesn't start cracking with use . Spanning 3 is a good thing , I doubt 2 could take the weight of that Deere without failure , or at least crack along their length , which is what usually happens . Just be really careful with that thing and never work under a suspended load - treat it as if it will fall at any time and use stands that are appropriate for the weight . Sarge

My primary hobby for the past four decades has been Street Rods, The '48 Ford I have was built thirty years ago and has over 100K on the odometer. I am also a volunteer with Habitat for Humanities and work with them about two days a week.I do the majority of their plumbing and electrical work as well as carpentry work. I also enjoy woodworking and recently built a set of cabinets for our laundry room. The oak was harvested from our property when we had the site for our new house cleared. Not quite finished yet, but nearly done.

I had been looking for a tool storage unit and finally picked up this drawing storage unit that really fit my needs. It is 48"W x 36" D x 18" H with 5 - 3" deep drawers. It weighs 170lb. The drawers are great for hand tools, but too shallow for power tools. I lagged it to the pole barn at the back and added legs at the front corners and a shelf for socket set storage in front and bar stock storage in the back. The top also provides some storage space for power tools in the back and a chest high work table for small assembly and inspection in front. So, I have two drawers left for wrenches and screwdrivers..... that'll have to wait for another rainy day

I collect a "few" Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars! These pictures were from about six years ago, but currently the collection has tripled. At last count, there were just about 3,000 cars total. I also collect 1/16th scale farm tractor toys, and currently have a little over 2,000 pieces of those.