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hello most of the old members among you will still know me as a collector from Belgium in the meantime I have been able to pick up my old account again I had neglected it a bit because of too little time. but we are still continuing to collect in the meantime I can still find the following models rj 58, a d 200 first built model with original tiller 50 ", another d 200 later model full of original with mower deck, then we have in france another 1054 found in full original state and is also here in Belgium in the meantime we were very surprised to find a model here. it's nice to be back again vincent

Give me a chance to edit it, Here's a few more of last Saturday when I collected it and a few brochures and manuals i got with it

Back last summer while i was at a mates barn having a rummage, right at the back in the darkness i found a red tractor that I've never seen before. After a bit of research i found that it was built by Toro for one year and due to poor sales was dropped from production. The dealer had ten and offered them at a special price and my friend bought 3 all new and in their delivery boxes. Two were used for a contract that he had then parked up and the third is still new and not assembled. The one i have bought is a GMT 230 1978, its fitted with a Kohler 23 hp engine, hydraulic decklift and bends in the middle. It was parked up in the barn in the late 90s after working for 170 hours and left untill i spotted it. After fitting a temporary fuel tank and a good battery it started up with everything working. I have to say I'm chuffed to bits with it and it sounds really nice and is awesome to drive, it will fit in with my Wheelhorse collection nicely. If anyone has one of these or knows anything about them I'd be very interested to hear from you.

My dad bought this tractor about five years ago, maybe more. I think he paid 850 for it and it came with a deck, the blower and some kind of lawn vac for the back. He scrapped the lawn vac and the deck which now I wished he hadn't done. He wanted it just for a snow mover for our cabin up north. I paid no never mind to it over the years and never really had much seat time on it until lately. I was always afraid to run it as something was sure to break then I would have to fix it as he was always working it. Now that he not being of sound mind anymore the task has fallen on me to run it and of course wrench on it. Had it out blowing snow a couple of weeks ago and of course it broke! The Onan was surging bad, throttle cable broke, blower mounting bolts stripped out and worst the blower was shooting sparks out like mad. Dad did you know this I ask? Yah he say always threw sparks like that! Must be a 4th of July tractor then. So I replaced the “up north” tractor with a 520H and a single stage to bring this one back to sell. Not the best pics, will get some more when weathers turns. So after tinkering it even just a little its staring to grow on me so off to search for some manuals and more info. Turns out these were made by McDonough for Massey from 1977 to about 1982 or so and were badged as MF. After MF gave McDonough the finger and said we don't want them anymore they were rebranded as Snapper and sold for a few more years. They were also made as a 1650 and 1450. all had Onans but the early ones had Kohlers. This 1855 was advertised as 18 hp but actually had the Onan P220 engine

Jim, my opinion is keep it for the uniqueness, then whether or not the Onan would transplant to the 520, the Big Red Snapper could be a candidate for a Predator repower I'm sure Kyle @fast88pu could help you out on some performance upgrades there, and of course fix the little things and return it to fish...oh darn I mean snow duty...Jeff.

A Big Red Snapper.......I thought we were having a fish fry. Not sure what Craig was thinking about.

The engines were mounted with the pto end toward the front for a forward and mid pto another shaft off the flywheel for the drive and rear pto. . Here's a screen shot of that unique power distribution arrangement. Hydro is a Sundstrand on Massey branded units and switched to Eatons for the Snappers. Transmission is a Peerless with a two speed axle. .Six belts in that power transmission tho! This tractor is quite the beast, comparable to our D series. A real beefy cat 0 three point system was offered with a rear finish mower. Sadly this tractor does not have the 3 pt.

Here Jimmy let this picture get your fish juices flowing on the Snapper...

I better try to catch "STICKY STEVE". Even with the Low Rider Crazy Horse at WOT, I would never be able to catch Jeff in his super chair.

Every one should have at least one off brand in their collection Jim. That would be a nice beast to get back into shape as a user. The decks for the 1650's had an expensive cogged drive belt between the blades. I believe this was to keep the blades in time so that they would not hit each other. I'm not sure if the 1855's had this set up on the deck or not.

Zach’s GT-14 is Blackbeard. He was an interesting character with some pretty peculiar tendencies like reportedly putting fuses under his hat and letting them hangout while occasionally lighting one threatening to blow everything and everyone up who was close by! He was a fearsome pirate who met his demise at the hands of Robert Maynard who shares the same name with our own @rmaynard! Zach was on a pirate kick when we got him that tractor and he saw the Black paint on the hood and was convinced that it had to be “Blackbeard”!

Got this last summer and I'm currently in the middle of a restoration. I can't wait till it's done and will be at the Winamac, Indiana Power from the past! It's not a 653 it's actually a 604. The second picture is a from rim I just got done doing.

Saw wood? Thing sounds like a wood chipper.

My 1964 that I have had since I was a kid!

i actually had the ground and starter hookup reversed. it is all fixed now! thanks for the help though

I thought the Big Snappers (like yours) and the MF tractors were good machines?!?!

I know it is not a , but it is a very interesting tractor . The drive train is unique .

that one is quite unique as well! With your great skill set Jim, and given some time to clear the shop of projects, I’m confident that you could get all the “cobbles” out of that thing and make it sharp and fully functional once again... Then maybe I could get a little seat time or a little ski time!

I'm sure I could doodle something out again ...GhostRider seems easy enough, then Blackbeard , Vader ...all I need is some ...Jeff.

1 pic for 1000 words: ps...be DAM sure you clean off EVERYTHING before hooking it all up. Wipe the hose ends too

On the merry go round of life sometimes you catch the gold ring but must of the time you catch @Big_Red_Fred and me with a little @squonk or is it skunk thrown in your face. Catch our act at the Big Show trying to out lie each other . I can't dance or sing.

Sorry Red Head not to steal your thread but your'e the one who started us on Lawn Rangers!

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here. I have a 1993 I believe, 416-8. It hasn't ran in about 10 years. My dad shut it off one day and when he tried to start it back up it wouldn't fire. Its a 16hp Onan with 61 hours on the meter. Yes 61 hours. I want to bring this baby to life so I may need some advice from time to time. Its missing a little paint here and there and a little rusty but still has life. I'll get some pics up soon. I have a new battery to install and the project begins. Thanks for looking!

Hey everyone, first post here. I haven't had a Wheel Horse tractor since I was young, but I'm searching for my next one currently. My grandpa was always buying and selling them with lots of tinkering in-between. Knowing my love for all tractors, he gave me and my dad this tractor to cruise around the yard with. I spent days on this thing! Sadly, somewhere along the line it was sold off to someone in northern Michigan, and I probably have no way of ever finding it again. My question is; can anyone tell me what model this is? I'd really like to find something similar for yard work now! And if by chance you know where the old girl ended up, I'd be ecstatic. Thank you!

Tile work in shower looks great Richie. You're getting there.

I found this beautiful and orginal in an old barn in belguim

Ill hang with all the old guys until I can’t stay awake anymore . I’m good till at least 8 pm

Correct you are Dan. and it was a 3 bladed shaft driven 54 inch affair. Two sizes were offered in mid and rear mount. In my research on that other tractor site that was confirmed if you can even find one. Ford had a similar timed deck once and you knew about it right away if they came out of time! Some more interesting info. MF_1855_Product_Memo.pdf Supposedly top end is 11 mph....does that mean we can ski behind it?!?!

Thanks Jim. Will do. I'm gettin horse fever and really want to hear this Onan roar again. It ran great and has the 42"RD deck which mowed beautifully. Been long overdue

Don't know if this is the proper place within the forum, but I thought I would share some of the other "improvements" I have made to Thumper too. Being an old tractor, his tie rods were loose (mine are too, though). After the trailer crash I had installed another set of tie rods on him from one of the tractor salvages I had bought to replace sheet metal. The spindles were still worn and loose on the wheels, though. About four years ago now, I was walking around a local metal salvage yard I frequent, just looking at what treasures there were to find... and I suddenly see a newer, complete Wheel Horse tractor, complete with a 42 inch deck, lying on its side. It had a hydro trans in it and was a late 70s model I believe, with the newer Kohler engine (versus the K301). It appeared to be in really good shape sheet metal wise. Original paint, decals, tires, rims and all. I remember my first thought was something like "what kind of idiot would dump an entire Wheel Horse tractor off at the metal junkyard?" I kept on walking around looking for other treasures. Then it occurred to me I had noticed the tractor had chrome Wheel Horse wheel covers on one side. I decided to see if it had a complete set (it was lying at a slight angle with one side partially buried in the mud). I went back over to it and scraped off the mud. It had a complete set of the WH chromed hub caps. Then I noticed it had what appeared to be a nearly perfect 42" side discharge deck, complete with the safety covers. Then I noted it had a mule drive too. Then I noted it had a solid looking front axle with the tie rods intact and the elevated front wheel was tight on the spindle. Long story short, I ended up grabbing the complete 42" deck, mule drive, front axle (with what appeared to be almost new tires) along with the tie rods and paid a grand total of $42 for them (salvage metal yard cost). I brought them all home, sprayed the mud off the deck and noted there was ZERO rust or holes in it (none), no dents and the spindles turned perfectly. The blades were even in excellent shape. I power spray cleaned the entire inside of the deck, then wire wheeled it, then coated the bare metal with three coats of the POR-15 gloss. I inspected the front axle, then looked at my old Raider and decided the axles were interchangeable too. So off came the old axle and tie rods from Thumper and on went the newer axle and tie rods. Now his steering is tight as well as his tie rods. I mounted the newer 42" deck (I have the attach-o-matic mounts) and the spindles just purred when I mowed with it. The rear hub caps fit my wheels but the fronts were for the smaller rims. That find was, and remains, my absolute best find I ever came across at my local metal yard. If Thumper could talk, he would probably agree. My second would be stumbling across a Kohler K301 that was a generator unit at the same place, but different day. It was obvious the generator had failed.... but the engine was almost pristine in appearance. I debated grabbing the entire thing, but (stupidly) decided not to because of the added weight of the generator would have probably pushed the total cost to $40-50 (yeah... I know). I ended up just scavenging the carb and fuel pump off of it. I thought about it as I drove home and decided I would go back the very next day and buy the whole damned thing. Of course, the very next morning as the place opened, it was gone by then. I still kick myself a little for that bone head decision.

Update: I purchased the shift fork from daveoman1966 today (thank you, Dave!). I ordered a new set of oil seals for the axles, brake and input shaft from the link provided above (by Achto) and picked up four more new hub set-bolts (for the axle hubs), two spare keys for the axles and five new 3/8" nyloc nuts for reassembling the diff. I will pull the drive belt shield and inspect the drive belt (which is about four years old as I recall) and check out my crankshaft key. I'm sure it probably wasn't, but when I first replaced the drive belt on him after I bought him, I could swear it was the original belt. Old, dried out and chunked up, but still pulling, barely. I pulled the rear tires and re-checked my axle hubs... and sure enough, they were a little lose. How loose? I could get the hub to move maybe a 1/16th of an inch on the right axle and the left axle a little less. Any movement at all is too much. I recalled that the key way on the right side hub had a little "wallowing" inside the key slot when I had reassembled the hubs and tires after I had put new oil seals in it a while back. I had crunched down on the hub set-bolt, but obviously there was too much play in the hub key way. I have ONE spare hub that I will replace that one with. I'm going to drill and tap a couple more holes in each of the hubs (probably at the 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions) in order to lock the hubs down tighter and hopefully keep them locked down. Honestly, pushing snow is about as brutal of work as I've subjected Thumper to. Nowadays, he occasionally pulls a 42" mower through the grass. Four years prior he mowed about two acres every week for several years. Now, I only I mow with him maybe three or four times a year in the last three or four years just to exercise him and run fresh fuel through the carb and, of course, just because I still enjoy operating the old pig. He still leaves the lawn looking like a golf course. The rest of his time.... he just spends sitting in my garage, drinking beers and listening to the radio. What a life. Other than that nasty episode of him flying through the air and crashing down to earth hard on his bonnet... he's led a pretty pampered life since he has been in my care for the last ten+ years. Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and ideas, gentlemen. Norm

Speaking of linkages—it’s not a big deal but some have the choke “arm” up from the choke shaft, while others are down. This changes the routing direction of the choke cable. I’ve run into this multiple times on different tractors that I’ve either done engine swaps or carb swaps on. While not the end of the world, it makes a “plug and play” application a little more of a headache if those details aren’t the same. In the words of the immortal Bill Cosby, “things that are different, are not the same!” Good luck in your purchase and I’m really enjoying following along with you on his journey...

Turn your volume UP! Then click: TRIM_20180130_200820.mp4

This is 1 reason to have multiple tractors...When you disassemble one you have another to look at as a model for reassembly!

Can we get advance tickets ? I don't wanna miss this.

Here’s a little better picture of Jeff’s awesome artwork... The more I look at it, the more I like it! Careful though—I’ll be asking you to make up one for GhostRider, Vader, and Blackbeard before you know it Thanks again...

Ours likes to yip in her sleep but no snoring yet.

No but I had a puppy that screamed about a day after swallowing a piece of wood. My Dad checked, he did not even lose a splinter from the wood from start to finish.

@WHX14This is the original and the new one I'm making now. It had a white cover but I think I'll make a new cover also.

I just realized I’ll be celebrating my 22nd wedding anniversary Friday at the show.... think she’d like a tractor for a gift !

I hope you clean it up a little. Or is it just greasy fingers that makes the photo look bad.

No its only front wheel drive , It has a Sundstrand hydrostatic transmission and a Dana front axle

A great way to phrase that! And so true. ..... but you get what you pay for..... Please keep us updated on your projects!

You mean like the BRF and Jimbo act Git up Freddy

I have a 67 lawn ranger L157 it came with the starter and it is a blast to drive. I like how small it is but it will cut grass, push and pull just like it's big Brothers. The deck is faded but this spring it all gets redone. I know the steering wheel is not original but that's the way I got it. You'll like it.

I have picked up many rollers at 0-$50 and a 60" deck in excellent condition for scrap price. Some of these deals were with members of Red Square, some from Craigslist, and many were referrals from local lawn/tractor sales and service individuals. They were nearly all good experiences w/o problems. BTW Jim, I did reply to this first post within 9 min.

That's a win win situation right there. If she doesn't, you get to keep it and just be sure to remind her "it's the thought that counts"

I will be celebrating my wife's birthday at the Big Show; She will be celebrating at home!