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At the tractor show in Jacksonville, Illinois this past September I learned of a young lady (Shirley) that was looking for someone to work on her Wheel Horse tractor for her. She lives in a neighboring town not too far from me so I contacted her after the show and went to talk to her to see if I could help her out. She still uses this Raider to mow her yard and it appears to be in very good original condition but being 45 years old it has several things that need attention. She has agreed to let me bring it home and make a winter project out of it so I'm going to give it a good going over and see if I can get this thing fixed up so she can depend on it. She complained of the clutch pedal jerking when she let out on it and I noticed the drive pulley on the tranny input shaft is loose and she said it won't start right now, she thinks it has a wiring problem. I haven't heard it run yet but she told me that it runs fine (she mowed with it 2 weeks ago) and that I shouldn't need to do much engine work, she did say that it doesn't smoke but will use a little oil but she isn't worried about that. I went and picked it up today and plan on getting started on it shortly.. This should be fun!

This is Shirley on her pride and joy, she told me that her Mom bought this tractor new in '72 and it has been used continuously since then.

Guilty! Actually, was a couple summers ago. When I did string up a set of solar X-mas lights... on a couple of my rollers in the back yard.

@PeacemakerJack, I know it's not a , but this is what got me into this hobby, around the summer of 1986 dad and I stripped his original CC down for a repaint as well as cleaned up the Allis Chalmers C up, then the 3rd weekend of every September there is a festival highlighting things from the past (in the late 1600's an Indian war party invaded and burnt several colonial forts throughout the valley in what is now the eastern panhandle of WV) so anything from that era through to what is considered antiques today are allowed in the parade, any ways my home is 12+/- miles from where it is held and dad not having a trailer I drove the AC there and back with dad in truck loaded with the CC just to display then drive it in the "TREASURE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL" parade, had mom dig these photos out of us way back when, me on the CC and dad on the AC, Jeff.

Had some garage time . . . . Got all the red parts nicely stacked / covered. . . Painting the seat / rear rims while bodo'ing the hole repairs to the hood prior to primmer A lot of theories / ways to mask rims, but what I have found the easiest is - Obviously clean well - then I use electrical tape for my first go round of tape tucked in with a screwdriver as you go - then 2" masking tap sectioned around - then masking paper taped over the tire for complete cover of tire - easier then cleaning paint off tires Still need to glue the brake pad to the hoop = ANY SUGGESTIONS for best epoxy or does it matter, and WHERE SHOULD THE PAD BE PLACED ON THE HOOP as it can be spin to either "end" so to speak??? AT the risk of being identified on the street I decided to do a funny selfie as I am feeling like I am becoming a Wheel horse Junkie Nowhere Near as deranged as I look in the picture

I got sick of checking mine all the time since it leaked a little and it was first noticed in the middle winter. Couldn't tear it down to replace the seals in the middle of winter because the snow would certainly drop big as soon as it was out of commission if I did. So I filled the gear case with Lubriplate 105 engine assembly grease. I have seen many a gear box filled with grease from the factory instead of gear oil so I thought "what the hell", it'll get me through the winter". That was 4 or 5 years ago and never changed it or did the seals and haven't had any issues with the gear box or gear oil leaking out since. I do squeeze a little more in each fall but that's about it. The gear box is completely full of the grease, not just the bottom for the gear oil to ride up on the gear to lubricate. No real worry about it needing to cool since it's only used in the cold and snow. The grease is light and stays solid until the gears start moving and then it liquefies into oil. I think the exterior of the grease around the case stays solid from the cold because it doesn't leak out of the seals or the gasket. Just $0.02 worth of what worked for me.

I did my C-81 with a pair of headlights for a common Sears Garden Tractor and it work out great.....! Even used the plastic lens (2 pieces) for the front lens.... cost me zero.....

Check this site, they have the kits. http://www.then-now-auto.com/fuel-pumps/

While looking at your pictures, it reminded me of the "Cruelty to dogs and pet commercials" that we see on TV. It puts tears in your eyes and saddens your heart to see it. This one was lucky, but it makes you wonder how many are not. Nice save Tony.

All right all you Wheel Horse Farmers across America & the Ocean ! Did any of you Display any type of Tractor in front of your Home lit up ? Lets see them, i Know sum of you do it LOL, My son Farmer Alex is Preparing the 416-8 as i Type, Let it Fly Men

Thanks for the comments, guys.... I got started on it this evening, so far I haven't really found a lot that it needs. First thing I did was jump the starter and fired it up so I could listen to it run, it purrs like a kitten and what little I ran it in the shop I didn't see any smoke. I also engaged the mower deck and it sounds pretty good too. Shirley told me that new bearings were installed in the deck a few years ago. I did find the dash stand cracked right where they always do so I'll weld that, the wiring is brittle and the wires to the safety switch on the clutch pedal were unhooked so I'll rewire everything when it goes back together. It's gonna need axle seals so I'll open the tranny and have a look inside when I get to that point....

New stainless tie rod/rod ends and a longer motion control lever.

Nice looking machine, and thanks for helping this lady out.

Fred , if the sun shines on your Aluminum , you will have a lot of glare and you would bend your bucket when you run into one of those Peterbilts.

picture worth a thousand words!! Wow

Not having investigated, I would say no off the top of my head. I do not think there would be any sense in it. Yes It could be done, and you could make it strong enough, but it would take some intricate construction. Probably cast parts to get the stiffness needed. Then you would have to consider the brittle factor of cast aluminum, and it would be a nightmare. In short, it will either be to soft and bend, or too brittle and crack. Unless you over dimension it a LOT, and then the idea kind of negates it self. Just my

Here is the decal parts list from an original 1983 parts manual. One column for the gear models and the other for hydro's. Garry

I recently bought a c161 8 speed manual, came with plow, mower deck weights and chains. I've been itching to use it and because our weather is in purgatory-no grass to cut, no snow to blow- I said eff it and plowed some leaves. After raking them into large piles I plowed them ******* right into the woods. It rated as one of the ten moments of my life. I love this tractor.

There is snow flying in the header, top of the main page. Thought I was seeing things...pretty good one Karl.

You need to wear that getup for a Dave! Nifty way to hang tires for paint......it was in the cards these rims get painted. They say you get a better finnish if you use all RED ones! BTW your name looks good in RED too...thanks for becoming a supporter.

That explains it. Thank you all so much. Now to get all those tractor kits updated and relisted. This will help a ton and simplify things for Lola's packaging. Thanks again for the pics and info. Terry

At this rate, Bob...it won't be long now.

If the pump is the type that DOESN'T use those little pod type check valves and it just has the small discs and springs, you can just clean everything and flip the discs over. The most difficult thing is not loosing the little springs.

The C-125 Auto models were produced in 1980 and 1981 only. The online parts manuals show the same 106725 decal. The gear transmission models don't have a hydraulic pump so no hydraulic lift. Many had an electric lift as an option. Garry

@elcamino/wheelhorse Jim,I hope you join us for the festivities!

Oops, I hit the wrong button on the computer and it posted the note before I was finished. Here are the rest of the mods I did: trailer hubs (modified with zerk fittings) and trailer wheels 13 " steering wheel pillow block bearings on upper steering shaft and lower steering shaft forward, zerk fittings added to all bearings, shimmed all steering bushings electric fuel pump rewired entire tractor to eliminate nuisance "safety" switches (I know, I know, I am careful). added amp meter and hour meter changed engines to a Kohler M14T that I modified to have an alternator and high torque starter motor (kept the manual rope starter), Old M14S I'll rebuild for a spare added a brake pedal return stop added electric tail lights and flashing red LED light 2000 lumen LED headlights There is still a little play in the steering but it is much better and lighter than it was. Eric I don't know Ed. I only have experience with an 857 and a commando 800 and they were fine. I think something that can aggravate the steering is the weight of the cast iron M14 and the surface area of the wide front tires. The reduction gear steering + the 13" steering wheel + 25lbs air pressure in the front tires and adjusting the toe in perfectly all makes the steering acceptable.

The Onan charge system is very similar to the Kohler. You can run it with the regulator unplugged. Just keep an eye on your battery voltage and charge it before it dies.

Blading leaves out to the street is one of my most favorite things to do. Welcome to Red Square.

Well was colder then all get out yesterday, but was the only day I had to spare, so I fired up the wood stove in the garage - Built me a Hillbilly paint booth with Exhaust fan (old leaf blower with hose out exhaust port in garage door) and spent the day burning brain cells even tho I was fully suited / head sock / Respirator. Amazing that stuff can get through the best of respirators. . . . Suspended a 2x6 through to hang items and threw some old dry rags along the top of 2x6 to keep the humidity down. If your not aware of the "ease" of use / construction with rolled thin painters plastic and a can of 3M spray adhesive = simply spray one side of plastic and it sticks / seals instantly to anything and itself - Old Painters masking tricks IT WORKS AWESOME - residual glue "generally always" lifts off floors / walls when plastic removed. Looked Like a crime scene room towards the end of the evening Dam the garage is a Mess Fully Dismantled - Most everything is done except the hood / snow blade, Seat and front rims

I hope you enjoy this video I truly enjoy doing this my self. To me it never gets old. A hobby I found that still moves me after all these years.

Sweeeett.......The Raider and Ms. Shirley.

Surely... couldn't be in better hands.

It fits in he shed!

Kind of sounds like the Ford pickup bashing commercials. Of course it would work or I would never get in an airplane again.

Aluminum is a good conductor of electricity so your lights would shine brightly, however that is the only bright prospect I see for this build!

Cool! Run your curser up there and see what happens. Actually, move it anyplace on the screen.

I was going to suggest put a good trail cam on those gut piles for of those critters but sounds like you might have that covered. It does give a whole new meaning to bird feeding.

Took a minute yesterday and gave it another look-see , the right front wheel has an odd cap - Turns out to be an aftermarket lug nut cover for a semi - complete with a reflector , no less . Doesn't fit the hub all that well , but guess it does the job as the bearings/grease are clean . Went back to the big shed and spent the Saturday doing this , again - So far , no leaks on the pump . More to follow in the Big Ugly thread... The old FJ40 is going soon , it's just sitting most of the time and rotting in the weather - I can't stand to watch that and will let it go to someone that will restore it as it's a '77 and in excellent running condition with the original engine . That's the only other thing that will put a smile on my face to drive other than the Horses - but it beats me to death and my joints can't take the punishment anymore . The marker lights on the trailer work really well and I like their small profile - they light up a lot better than you'd expect and many of the haulers around here are going that route with their semi's . I'll have to get a night pic sometime... Sarge

Just read the last few posts here... Well done. Love it when something simple bats you around a bit. If you move the timing - I've had a couple in the past that sounded good at no-load but needed adjustment "in the field"... Try to make the tractor work now while you don't need to and be sure it's happy while under load... before you really need it to be.

Moral of the story... check your points! If the gap is good, clean them and check the gap again! My gap was about .030" instead of .020". I gapped the points.. then I lost spark. So I cleaned them with some fine emory paper and got a good strong spark again. Then she fired! Runs great! I have a good coolant leak where the thermostat housing meets the head (new gasket) so I'll take that apart and goop it with some RTV and try it again. Ohh it feels so good to pull the lever and it roars to life again!

The Onan and Kohler regs are the same wiring configuration. In a pinch if I don’t have a spare onan reg I’ll put in the kohler spec part. The only diff is the casing. Heck it’ll even bolt right up As to running without, yes you can, without the reg in place the power has nowhere to go. If your old one was not supplying any voltage you can put it back in or Just tape up the connector good so it doesn’t arc onto the sheet metal.

I do not own an Onan so am not positive what your regulator is like. The Kohler regulator has three wires, two from the engine and one going to the "R" terminal on the ignition switch. The two from the engine supply AC voltage and the regulator converts (rectifies) it to DC. Running a Kohler with the regulator unplugged will not harm anything, just need to recharge your battery. Based on this manual it should be the same. If your Onan has the three wire regulator like the Kohler there shouldn't be any problem.

Picked this up about a hour away from me today. Put a battery on and gas in and fired up with out even choking it. Needs a lift cable and some very minor things. So over all super happy with it, guy even threw in a old bead breaker for changing tires. The gentlemen I bought it from said his dad bought it brand new and up until a year ago he mowed with it.

Yep Jim, I've been doing my own taxidermy since harvesting my first deer with a bow in 1965. I do have time to relax....I fact I'm sittin in the recliner now Sippin on some shine and talkin to some friends. What could be better ?

That's right Jim, I gut after skinning. I hang it by the rear for skinning and for gutting. When I open the body for gutting, I start at the neck and work up to the rear end. Everything rolls out into the bottom half of a plastic barrel. Obviously, this process should only be used if it can be completed within several hours of the kill. After the butchering is completed, everything but the meat is returned to the woods and usually is completely consumed by the critters in several days. I have the boned carcass in the field close to the house trying to attract two bald eagles close enough for some photos. They were on it yesterday, but left before I could get the pics. I finished caping out the head yesterday and ordered the form for mounting. This will be my non-tractor winter project.

Good save --- and buy! A suggestion - I just finished an '84 314-8 in similar condition, tho I did get a nice deck, for $150. When I went to looking at that rats nest of wiring with the night mare of safety features, I quickly decided to rip it all out and go back with just the necessary wires to make it go - tho I did include the lights. With your wires already missing consider doing this to yours. In spite of the pitiful looking horse I brought home, after some elbow grease (a goodly bit!!) some fresh paint AND the icing on the cake, some of Terrys decals! the dern thing looks GOOD!!