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For the third year now, I am ready and looking forwards to Fall. Thanks to Oldredrider for the idea and inspiration. What was a nightmare job turned into something I actually look forwards to and enjoy. The ease and efficiency of this idea cuts job in a fraction of the time it used to take and makes for great seat time. Not only another example of what is possible with these old machines but also of the talent , vision, and willingness of forum members to share their knowledge and experience.

I used the newly acquired 417 Auto with the 48" deck for mowing duty yesterday. I like the big tractor feel and sound of the twin Kohler. And that 48" deck makes a nice cut. But, now I remember why I converted the 520 to a dedicated snow chucker. Those twins throw too much heat to use as a mower in this 85 degree heat. May be a dedicated plow tractor is coming.

Hello, I picked up this rear blade and it just seemed to fit the tractor excellent! So I began the process of cleaning and painting. Next it's the decals, maybe the older style implement decals? I like this blade as it not only does angles, it is reversible too.......

Jim what is wrong with moons? It is a cheap dress up. Just my

Check the "thermostat " Ed!

We can deck it out real well!

That twin might be warm but the hub caps make it cool.

Now Mike, don't start that up. Hey, they came with the deal Jim. Ya think I should add some spinners?

Normally I'm not one for vanity over function. But I have always liked the black or stainless heat shield on the Wheelhorse mufflers. One of the many details that make these tractors standout. I found one used off a 5/20, about an inch longer than my 12hp muffler but that didn't bother me. I marked the mounting location for 4 of the 6 holes. Then I found the spots and tacked on 4 8-32 bolts. Next I put the shield on and cut the excess stud off. I left enough to put nuts with lock washers and brass acorn nuts on. I think it looks pretty good. Now I just need a 520 swept axle and reduction steering👍

Did I miss the 4th of July?

No curbs where I live Craig, but they may save the rattlesnakes and rabbits from getting sliced and diced.

Don't forget your curb feelers.

Find you "D" series moldboard they're 56" wide, Duke has/had a NOS one for sale in the classifieds, and yes I widened a 42" to 50" for my 520H ain't pretty but got the job done, Jeff.

Now remind me how you report inappropriate posts to the mods???!!!

They can put it out as early as they want. I refuse to buy till the last minute.

520 axle is direct bolt on...

thanks for the warm welcomes, the wife hopped on it for half the yard and loves it. its kinda fun to pop a wheely out the gate in high 3rd...I may or may not have warned her about that just for fun.

Moon protectors!

Those spare parts can move before the storm hits so put them in a giant bag marked with fluorescent tape!

Well got it to the house and started tinkering with it. Carb is mess but I was able to get it to start so I at least know it has potential. From what I can see this is a 3hp motor?? I have more pics so maybe y'all can give me more info

Really Ed... baby moonz

You have what is commonly referred to as a single stage short chute. Check for play in the chain. With use, the links can stretch. Look for the connector link and make sure it looks OK. The chain itself can be tightened by adjusting the idler sprocket. Make sure the auger and all the bearings are free and have no radial play. Check and tighten the set screws in the drive pulley and sprocket on the jack shaft. Check the belt tensioning spring. It should tighten the belt so you only have about 1/2" deflection with slight pressure. Check the chute rotator cable and replace if it is worn or twisted badly. I have successfully used heavy string trimmer line to replace cables. If all is OK, I would keep a spare belt and a spare chain connector link where you can find them when the blizzard arrives.

If it ran good before then I would check everything you touched and make sure you did not mess anything up. For the trigger to fail at the exact time you de-carboned it seems like a real coincidence.

I have the single side pulleys. 3 3/8 OD and 4 3/4 OD. Can you post a picture of the shaft. I have never seen a cast iron pulley wear out a steel shaft. If you are interested in the pulley, send me a PM.

I have shafts and spindle housings. I also have bearings, what I don't have is a pulley. I have another deck, an 05-42 MS02 which has the shaft with the hex nut as part of it just above the blade. This takes blades with a round hole. I'm sure everyone here knows this. I'm the rookie here. I really would like to find a pulley because with 2 decks I have some flexibility. One is set up for the TracVac and the other could be used for actually mowing lawn! What a concept.

Tough crowd here... but, I've got you bro. http://www.schillmania.com/projects/snowstorm/lights/

I don't get it, there aren't even any lights to blow up!

Here are some pics. It looks pretty close to 3 3/8 dia. The hole is round and so is the shaft. Bob

Sorry to hear about your dream not going so well. So many times our dreams are dashed by unexpected events, health or otherwise. I'm sure there is someone here who has a similar dream, and can help you get rid of those C-195's.

The engine is a new old stock Briggs 8 hp that's never had gas in it

Can you post a picture with the OD dimension. I may have one.

The 42" deck Lt or RT spindle pulley is # 5877 or 106846. If the center hole is round, then it is completely slopped out. There should bo no thrust washer at all. There may be a spacer, but it too would be double d configuration. I do not have any 5877 pulleys and they are hard to find. Better that you replae the entire spindle to escape the DD configuration... Newer model spindles will bolt right in, but will need to have non-DD blades tool.

I think a volt meter is better, An amp meter can't tell you anything about the battery condition and won't show voltage drop while cranking. I feel that the volt meter should have a line of it's own going directly to the battery side of the solenoid. Also, it should be fused to protect the wiring from an accidental short to ground.

I was in HD yesterday and the snowblowers are already on display.

The engine installed, although I will have to separate them again to apply loctite RC-680 on the pump shaft spline & driven coupling! Good looking out Paul.......

Not a dang thing Wrencher... I should have said it's always nice when an unexpected score come with caps! That is one nice 1257 your sitting on there as well! Seat is perfect! Good one Richard!

Thanks, all the info helps! Prices are all over the place so it's good to hear from those that have experience with these. I'll go with Richard's suggestion.

Thanks! I read that section in the manual before, but must've stopped paying attention when it said in the first sentence "The Dial-A-Height control (Fig. 14) is used to limit the downward travel of attachments other than mowers." However, looking at it again, it says to turn it all the way to the plastic thread cap for mowing, should have read the whole paragraph before! I tried yesterday to turn it all the way, but I've still got at least 1.5" of thread left to go until the thread cap, and I can absolutely not get it any farther by hand. I'm going to assume that either something is binding up the threads, or there's something further down preventing movement. Looking at the parts diagrams, I believe I now understand how the dial control works with the lever. Hoping to get back home this weekend, should be able to pick up the choke linkage from the post office and hopefully get the thing running, and have a closer look at the lever issue. Also checked the shifter boot yesterday, and will need to change that out when I can get the part, as well. As far as I can figure, to remove the lever there's just a jam nut and set screw to remove the lever, swap the boot, and reinstall? On the note of the transmission, just shifting it around while sitting I can get it into High/Low/R-1-2, but the lever doesn't want to go into third. It doesn't seem that the big metal spring on the console faceplate is getting in the way, and I watched the video on how the trannys work last night. Is it possible that the 3rd gear/pinion is just a little stuck, and maybe a good cleaning/flushing/fluid change might get it moving/shiftable again? Or am I likely to have to open the dang thing up and do some real work? Thanks for all of the advice and words so far, glad I found an active forum with so much knowledge on these machines! Just tinkering around with this one (never had a riding mower/tractor before), I can tell why people like them so much, though the youtube videos I watched about removing the mower deck took some liberties to make it look much easier/quicker than it really is... all the ones I saw don't mention anything about removing the PTO belt. They all just said "push this button, remove this pin, and slide it out!" ....not quite that simple, but it's still not bad at all. -Dan

I advertised my walk behind snow thrower a couple of weeks ago and it sold in a week. I kinda thought I was early trying to sell it, but the buyer didn't. Another happy CL sale

The 1981 service bulletin for repair of failed driven couplings had you coat the splines with Loctite RC-680 retaining compound. ( Capital letters do not use grease) Put the driven coupling on and let it cure 24 hours. Then connect the rubber coupling. This is a complete change from the 1978 service bulletin that called for grease.

I know how you feel. I mow 74 lawns a week with a gravely 460 but I look forward to mowing / looking at stuff for my 314-8 . I use my horse at my vacation house. When I'm riding my 314 I don't feel like I'm at work

McMaster-Carr has a great selection. Larger quantity than most need, but priced right. You will pay more for a 10 pack at the hardware/auto Parts store than a 100 pack here. https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-electrical-wire-terminals/=19hgzx9

Perfect replacement is this one. Strong arm F4673 14.99 at Advance according to website.

Almost done new drive belt on the way

If your into family events alittle of everything for everyone from a large sand box for the kids to your misses candle burners to good food to music and a tractor parade. hope it grows bigger they had all kinda of different tractors. Got to spend some time hang out with @Achto always a good time, i am sure he has some pictures to show.

Seem like that truckster comes up for sale every couple of years, nice for sure. here are a couple more.

Learning how to run a paint gun is an art form and I really respect the folks out there that can lay down a superior job on a vehicle and get it right the first time . I'm by no means any sort of a pro - just been painting stuff for a lot of years and have friends that are body guys that are excellent at what they do - 3 of them produce some serious award winning show cars . Another key resource to have to do a great job is a place to buy the chemicals and supplies - my local guy here is the last one left in the area and he's a solid 20yrs older than I am - without him I'm done . Knowing mix ratios and where to find the data required to shoot hardeners , using auto grade reducers and not killing yourself or making a chemical bomb is really key - you must have a supplier that can provide this information if you want to use this stuff . Be prepared for some serious expenses as well - one quart of medium heat range reducer is $35 alone . Using etching primers is even worse - primer itself is $40/qt and the 1:1 activator is the same cost - that's just for a base coating to put builder primer over the top of it ....base/clears can easily hit $300 for the supplies alone . Screw up the coating window times , mix ratios or use the wrong reducers can render a boiled paint job that will never harden properly and you start over . This is the reason I stick to single stage enamels with hardeners - much cheaper , very durable and can be buffed out easily if you lay down your coats correctly . I generally use nothing more than a medium or light grade Scotch brite pad between coats as long as each coat flows out correctly . If it doesn't flow out right - you need to sand it down with 320 or so to remove that rough surface . The more prep work you put into a job results in a better and tougher coat of paint - try to rush things and you'll have less than desired results just as fast ... For example , the second coat of red oxide primer on the trailer went past the limit on heat/time due to the sun shining on the metal - even with high temp reducer the stuff came out of the gun very dry - nearly a powder that was wet enough to stick . That resulted in doing a lot of hand work to knock it down again and a waste of material and time . Using off the shelf stuff like Rustoleum along with alklyd hardener means you throw out their instructions with the exception of re-coat timing - most enamels and primers will be 24hrs for a re-coat , some are after 48hrs depending upon humidity . Shooting this stuff outside of a controlled environment is a real trick - you have to know the upcoming weather 3 days out and you can never trust a forecast past 12hrs in my region , most times it changes every 6hrs on a regular basis around here in Illinois . Most of these types of acrylic enamel will require using far more reducer than the manufacturer wants - this stuff is really designed to be brushed on , not applied using a commercial paint gun . Over mixing ratios with reducer will allow it to atomize better and flow out to a smooth , glossy finish - you need to slow down the process of the hardener on that top coat or it will come out very rough , and hard , lol . Now , using commercial chemicals with consumer grade paints has it's price too - it's going to take a lot more paint . I should have been able to shoot that trailer with right at one gallon - but having to use so much reducer due to the weather conditions and being out in the sun means it took 1.5gal to paint the dumb thing - not to mention the extra chemicals . Had to buy 2 cans of hardener from TSC since my local supply guru doesn't have access to his old stuff since they switched from being a Car Quest shop to Advance Auto . Due to the layout and shape of the trailer it was tough to control over spray as well - some areas of the frame are a bit rough from over spray but they are under the decking , and it's a trailer so I don't care anyway . Last part I shot was the outside perimeter and tongue - winds were 5mph the other day and lined up perfectly with the direction I needed to shoot , which is rare around here - we're surrounded by Wind Mills . One of the biggest problems you'll encounter is learning how to set the gun for the conditions when painting outside . I never shoot in winds over 8mph - it's a waste of time . You must remember that to properly coat a surface that gun must be directly facing the part - it has to be shot at 90* to the object or the coating thickness isn't correct . Get it wrong - you'll be able to see right through the top coat into the primer coat . It's a steep learning curve to swing the gun 90* to surface at all times , how to taper off the material range of the trigger back to the air stage to blend into the last overlap line . Keeping your air hose out of your work , not kicking up dust and doing everything in the correct order to get the best overall result is all part of the process . Getting the fan pattern adjustment (generally , the small knob on the gun) set properly first will help a beginner get a better result , then set the material mixing knob to get a fully wet coat in one pass , but not enough to cause runs . Then , it takes moving the gun steadily across the surface leaving a 1/2 pass overlap , tapering off into the trigger's air stage past the end of the part , and repeat again and again until it's done . You have to do all this quickly , enamels with hardeners and using reducers will make it flash off quickly - subsequent over spray will not flow out and leave a rough pattern on your part . The quicker the flow out and flashing off the paint - the better it can stay on a surface without causing sags or runs . Succeeding coats stacked on top of a wet surface will result in sags as the chemicals penetrate the prior coats that aren't fully cured yet - this is where most folks get runs and sags . Adding more passes than necessary doesn't result in better coverage - it results in more mistakes . Thin , very wet and easily flowing paint makes for a better overall job - some of the best paint jobs I've done were north of 6 coats of top finish . You get a deeper color that is also more resistant to UV fading and has better durability overall . Thick coats chip easier and can actually lift off later . No enamel can be shot with just one top coat - even pro level material will require at least 2-3 coats . Using off the shelf enamels and reducers makes it worse - it's the amount of solids in the paint and you get what you pay for . $29/gal on sale for Rustoleum means no less than 3 coats to get a full , rich color . Rustoleum Machinery paint still has a pretty high solids content compared to other brands - so watch what you buy and treat it accordingly . I do highly recommend watching YouTube and other video sites - setting up that fan pattern is a real trick , it must be putting down the same amount of material across the whole pattern of that fan - otherwise your paint job will leave dry streaks in it . It's also about selecting the correct tip size to the material to be sprayed - high build primers will be at or near a 2.0 tip . Thinned top coats can be down below a 1.0 depending upon what paint you use and how it's mixed . You can get away with general tip sizes of 1.6-1.8 but you have to mix accordingly . The gun has to be able to atomize the material in a fine enough mist to allow it to flow out properly and get a smooth finish . It's a balancing act that changes constantly as temperature changes , humidity , wind and time passes . Most alklyd hardeners are a maximum of 2hp pot life - exceed that and you can toss that gun in the trash - you'll never get it cleaned out completely . That's another thing - use good quality mineral spirits , acetone or similar to whatever they recommend for cleanup and learn to fully disassemble that gun - paint will hide in places and ruin how the gun works . The old Sharpe I have was full of builder primer and it took half a day of cleaning with brushes and picks to get it to work right again - that was a very expensive gun at one time . Some of the older model Devilbiss , Binks and others are some highly sought guns - keep an eye out on ebay and such , sometimes you can score an old one pretty cheap and they are still better than most new ones available today . See if parts are available first , like needles and tips , face seals , air nozzles and tank seals - they do have a lifespan and leaks create problems . Needles can get badly worn and result in not being able to set the fan mixing properly - my CH needs a new needle and air tip already despite having little use on it - you get what you pay for . I could go on forever trying to explain all this stuff - I suggest a few straightforward videos and just go out and practice . Your best tool is hands-on learning and a lot of large sheets of cardboard . Make sure to protect yourself and spend the time to learn how these chemicals can hurt you - most of this stuff is highly poisonous to a human and animals so treat it accordingly . Sarge

Got her back together. It's about a 20 footer but I like it.