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My little cart started life as a #2 IH but I now consider it part of my Wheel Horse family. Two years ago I painted it red, raised it and put "big" 16x6.5-8 tires on it. Big, ha ha. Then I found really BIG ems 20x10-8s that were the drive wheels from a JD LT155. Playing second fiddle is my new to me, days old C165 that I bought from the original owner, but not before he assured me that he was ready to part with it. I absolutly love it,

I'm new to the Wheel Horses and never owned one I started to fix mower on the side and resale them to make extra money and one day I got a message from a guy that said he had a wheel horse mower if I come pick it up I can have it so I asked the story on it and they said it stopped running and they took it to a shop and they told them due to them not making them know more they would have to fabricate a part inside the engine and it would cost 3000 dollars they said know why so I ended up picking it up and the next day I went out turned the motor over by hand it had compression so I drained to 3 year old gas , replaced fuses , and cleaned all the wires up put new gas in and a new fuel filter charged the oil and filter and put a new battery in it with hopes it would maybe start I turned to key and it turned over so I turned the fuel line on and sprayed a little carburetor cleaner down the carburetor and turned the key again and it fired right up and after riding it around my year I fell in love with it I just had to share my story with everyone

Super c got it hillbilly back scratcher

Dan and Jim will have to chime in on this one too... As I recall, Jim had worked out a deal with Richard @953 nut on this roller. Dick wanted a couple of parts from it but said the mafia could have the rest. We were lounging around the show when Jim came and got us and said, “It’s time!” Dan broke out the tools and had already started by the time I realized that I wanted to record this for posterity never guessing that it would be as big of a hit on Red Square as it has turned out to be. Dan’s already got the fender pan clear and we didn’t have to worry about pulling the motor. Notice that Achto has the every present glasses and low slung hat to make sure he doesn’t stand out while committing this “crime”! In just under 10 minutes, Jim, Dan, and myself had the tractor to this point. In 15 minutes it was loaded and headed back to the truck like this in the tub. I love the expressions of the people in the background of these pics... “If you don’t pay your dues, we may just have to do this again! Don’t make the Mafia come and visit you...”

I guess I ain't been following your work on the tube as I should Vin my bad .... fact is last ime I followed you was on the fence to resto or orginal on this one. Sounds like you are going the resto route on this gem. For what it's worth i would consider it sacriledge to fill in those pits with BF but these clowns here have me washed on original these days. I would think of a way to pit those rims to match. Even with new paint those pits have a way of shining through and saying I am old stuff. I have chewed Dan's @ss @Achto about not not filling in spot weld dimples on his restos but he likes them so be it . But I get your dilemma. Good luck on whatever trail you go down. Please do keep us posted.

Just about ready to weld up the new hoops for my Senior's front rims...

@WVHillbilly520H, @gwest_ca, 30 min and I have my simple question answered! I appreciate and enjoy this great site! Thank you! Cory

🤔🤔 I guess that shows my ancestry.

Heh. Heh. Heh. EB made a joke. Heh.

The old guys have been doing stuff like that for years

We haven’t talked much about night plowing in this thread because there is rarely a case where you can or could do it. However, if you get the opportunity to try it, it is really fun and a unique experience. It traces it roots back to the farming days with the full size tractors and plows. Often farmers are “under the gun” to get the crops in and turn the earth before the weather gets really bad—here in the north anyway. So, often plowing got/ gets done at night. Unless you are plowing in a line of guys that have lights or it is a really bright moonlit night, you will want to have headlights and it is a good idea to have a rear light to keep an eye on what is going on with your plow. I really like this small LED light that I have on GhostRider. It does a good job but doesn’t take much energy to operate and is small, so it fits in a tight space. Your other senses tend to be stronger in night plowing because you can’t see as well. I have always felt personally that plowing after sunset is an even more visceral experience. If you get an opportunity to give it a try, I say that you should go for it!

Thanks Craig—I love that gang! Unfortunately they are already growing up too fast. That is the way they looked when I bought GhostRider... It took me a little while to get all the wiring in place but I finally did. I was able to get it working after spending a little time to make sure that all the connections were tight and I had a good ground. I will tell you this, it is much easier lifting the Punisher with the flick of a toggle. i couldn’t not test it before Jim’s PD and so the old strawberry bed was just begging to be turned even though it was nearly dark by the time I got home from work. The weeds were about 18” tall but the Punisher handled them with ease. I was pretty excited to be turning earth again. This tractor is purpose built for it and overall does a great job. Next up on the list is a pair of LED headlights. My old 4411’s draw too much power especially now that I have electric lift! Zach was dying to drive and so he got to haul it back to the stable. He walked the furrows the whole time I was plowing. He really enjoys every aspect of this hobby. Can’t wait to get him some seat time at Jim’s...

I've decided to mill the key out to accept a regular 1/4 key that I'll make about 2 1/4 inches long. I'll make a new pocket on the opposite side of the woodruff key and make it so that it can't slide out front or back. Like I said, I'm more skilled with a mill than a welder plus I have a mill but no welder.

I best come tend your horses whilst you recover Richard... Naaawww tough old birds like you bounce back pretty quick!

Wishing you a speedy recovery Richard.

DeD, I machined a new set of hubs for my Raider 10 awhile back. I did relieve the backside, but left a lot more meat in the flanges and hubs. I also machined the axles for full length keys. I’m guessing those hubs will outlast me! Danny

NFL....nope. This was the scene from my dining room this afternoon while I watched the Ravens and Steelers. There were actually two eagles feeding on this road killed deer all day. Only one would feed as the other stood sentry about 100 yards away. They showed no aggression to the raven and seemed to feel more comfortable when the raven was feeding. It appeared they welcomed the second pair of eyes to watch for danger. The deer is about 70 yards from my back door.

I thought I was lucky when I was offered a 518-h for free with what a service person said had a blown motor. Put in all fresh fluids and filters. Started up and smoked a lot at first, then after a while smoothed out. When I put it in motion smoked bad and did not want to move. Emergency break spring was broke, put a spring on I had not right size but held it back enough and the tractor move and drove good,some smoking but not bad. Put the pto down for the deck same thing smoke and stress. Greased and freed up the spindles, worked smooth and little smoke. Burns a little oil but works good, not pretty but I like that,all five of mine are used looking, like me. I think some service people don't like working on the Oman motors, they can be a challenge and parts are expensive. Keep them clean, oil,fuel, air, they are hard to beat. 520-8 that's a find no matter how you get it, congrats!!!!

Last mowing of 2019 with 1997 Toro 520H. 1 1/2 gallon gas. 113 hrs. now. 4 hrs. mowing for 2019. Leaves are at peak now.

WHEN I HAVE CALLED IN THE PAST,,,,A VERY NICE LADY ANSWERS THE PHONE,,,,,,( ME MILLER,,THAT IS) GIVE'R A CALL....... AT EASE GENTLEMEN

welcome to the site, all of the regulars here are asking why can,t that happen to me ? you are beyond lucky, ( buy a lotto ticket ) to say the least, your quick basic service and the fact that you did it says a lot about your thinking . agree with the rear cylinder debris cleaning , i would personally put some aeration holes in the back of that guard . if you don,t care for that model , with a slight buff up you will have a great start on trading / selling on to what you want , you are one lucky dude, pete

Yeah, I'm just not a fan of the mower decks. When hauling tractors to shows, they make it harder to load and take up more space. Definitely still here if anyone want the deck. FREE to whomever wants to come get it. I normally don't scrap Wheel Horse items unless they are completely unsalvageable. The deck does have some issues but could be saved.....so it won't get scrapped....just won't be on a tractor I own.

Welcome aboard ... And an FYI the 520-8 is a rare tractor built 1 year only I believe I prefer the hydro for ease of lifting implements but you'll find that Onan to be a beast and nothing else out there sounds nearly as gnarly up on the govenor good luck with your new toy/tool.

A 520-8 for FREE!!! Wonderful find!!

just giving a heads up on this supposedly rare mower deck, it's located in Hamilton Ont which a short border hop from the US. The asking price in Cad dollars would be approximately 350 US also since the country of origine ( Mfg ) would be the US there would be no duty. Owner, JOHN 905-945-5623 https://www.kijiji.ca/v-lawnmower-leaf-blower/hamilton/wheel-horse-front-mount-mower/1460745226?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

The same dude has an E-141 listed at 800 Canadian. Wheelhorse electric garden tractor with electric mower deck, 36 volt, very rare and a great addition to any collection. no batterys, takes 6 12 volt. I have never run it , been in the back of my collection but am down sizing. $800 JOHN 905-945-5623

Well let's quit jackin the jaw and get to the plowing! You best get ready Josh and I don't cotton to youngins in bed yet at plow time!

Garden Tractor Mafia - great shirt !

Yes... I'm going to tack the centers in place, spin the rims to make sure they spin true and then burn them in permanently, I'l sand blast the whole wheel, etch prime and the fill the pits with some body filler... I'll have the vids up shortly of the whole process and restore/refurb of the tractor on YouTube

We had a small BMX track in the back - kid then converted to RC track. He lowered the deck/blades of the 312 to make the outline of the track (grrrrr lol).

Speedy recovery 953. Ive had both hand done and it was a great improvement for my hands

They are 26-11x15 maxxis ceros radials. Not cheap but very grippy. Wouldn’t know about snow as we have none here in Florida. I plan on using thier 27-9.50x15 on my wife’s 1054. Those in the pic were $150 each but were bought for something else that never materialized. They are right at home where they are though.

Sure would hate to have to kick you out and make you join that "other" club!

What have I done with my Wheel Horses lately? I have been experiencing some problems with my hands lately (been coming on for years, being a MAN I ignored it) and finally had carpal tunnel surgery on the first hand yesterday,the second one will be done in two weeks so for now I will be kicking back and wrenching vicariously through everyone's posts. Keep them coming.

I thought that I would share with you the way I fix hub & axle issues. If the bore is in fair shape but the key way is junk, I will broach a new key way 90 degrees to the old one. I will then drill & tap a hole for a set screw over the new key way. When I reassemble, I will install both set screws to give a little extra grip on the axle. For the axles I will weld the old key way shut then throw it in a lathe to get it back in round. This process is probably optional, but for some reason I feel better knowing that the old key way has been filled in. I have my own feelings about the use of woodruff keys on the axle. I'm not a fan of it because the 1" long woodruff key leaves a lot of hub surface area untouched by the key. I choose to cut a straight key way in the axle 180 degrees to where the old key way was, this will allow the use of a longer 1/4" strait key. With this process I can take advantage of all of the key way surface. If you choose this route make sure that you don't run your new key way past the depth of the hub, you don't want the new key way to extend into to axle seal. I have had good luck with this process.

So I rebuilt my starter, and it didn't work. So I rebuilt it again, and it did work. Tonight I tried to run the mower, about 10 minutes in it started making a noise. Noise is coming from inside the starter. Sounds like the rear armature bearing is bad already. Stuff like this has been happening often lately. I'm starting to wonder why I even try to take care of my own stuff. Things like this don't seem to happen when I work on other people's stuff.

Thanks to all of you for the friendly welcomes and the info I greatly appreciate it as I'm new to the wheel horses I cant wait to go check out a wheel horse show i watch some videos and seen some pictures and it looks like a great time

Share the pics!

@D_Mac Jonsered 630 Super 16" bar.

She was here feeding early this morning, but at 7:30 a second eagle attacked her several times and after 5-6 dive bombs, drove her off the carcass continuing to attack her in the air. About ten minutes later one returned and began feeding. I was tying to get pics of the attack, but my little cannon was not fast enough in the poor morning light. Here is a pic of one of the attacks. You can see a blurred wing of the attacking eagle along the left edge of the picture in the trees.

to @oldoutboard! I run a K-181T on my 502 with no fuel pump. I have a glass bowl under the tank and it is connected by a 1/8” x close pipe nipple. It is higher than the carburetor just enough to make it work. Here is a link to my 502 build, where it shows how I routed the fuel line for slope too.. though it’s probably unnecessary.

I drained it out,and in a glass jug the old oil does have a reddish tint in the light.Interestingly enough,when I took the plug out there was no accumulation of dirt,or slime of any kind on the plug.Usually there is at least something,but this was just old,clean,oil,and was probably darkened by age.Where it came out with no slime I think I will be alright by just changing it.I think the filter is original,and I cut it apart to look inside of it.The paper in it had turned to pulp.This tractor has not been run for many years,so when I started the engine I had the drive belt off it to be safe.That way if the trans had water,sludge,mud,etc.I would not be mixing it up.I am glad I did,that pulpy filter would not have been good to circulate around.

Looks fantastic!

I rescued a 2500 watt ONAN gen set from a scrapped '70s era Snow Cone truck. It was used to power the freezer for the crushed ice. The unit was hard wired into the truck battery and started and charged the battery. The fuel line was also plumbed into the trucks fuel tank. I added a fuel tank, wheels, and a retractable tongue for towing. I didn't add a battery because it starts so easy with the rope. In addition to the 120VAC output, It also puts out 13VDC and could be used as a battery charger. It has the idle switch. When this is on, it only revs up when it sees a load.

I agree with Paul on the spark plug tester. Maybe switch wires and see if the problem switches to the other cylinder? I was kind of wondering if you have a head gasket with a slight leakage and it is warming up and then sealing properly... Spark test definitely needs to be done first.

Get well soon, Richard!

Later on I spoke with owner/operator. I did not take photos at that point but he had already disassembled part of machine that failed. Essentially it is a 3 foot in diameter cast iron spoke wheel with gears. It fits into a keyed shaft. It literally snapped in half. There was evidence of an old crack at the bottom corner of machined key way that was about one inch long. That gear is what makes machine move and also about the only thing that holds it when going downhill. It looks like the constant stress of trying to go uphill and the constant brutal back and forth finally did it in. I don't find what happened surprising on a piece of cast iron which is so brittle and prone to cracking with impact. One could actually hear that impact in those machines as they would constantly switch from forward to reverse trying to gain traction. Knowing what I know now, it is definitely not advisable to take those machines on a steep grade even with a perfect surface. There is no second provision to stop it and considering their weight it most likely would not work after a catastrophic failure like that. In addition to that these things are basically a real bomb with all of that pressure built up inside. If that pressure relief valve was also to fail while attempting the climb, that operator being so absorbed in trying to make it up the hill that he probably would miss the gauge reading. I hope that all of those operators and show officials take a good look at the safety of bystanders around those machines, but it seems to me that they will not. The whole event was just taken in stride by all of the others as I could see it. Like a minor mishap. I am also not sure how much the responsible parties in the show know about it. These events are held without too much fanfare and not too many people see them since they are a bit away from the major activity sites, perhaps a good and lucky thing. I believe also that I am the only one that actually filmed it, although there are numerous eyewitnesses. Quite a bit of irresponsibility in many peoples parts. I have a steep driveway and I never back down into it unless everyone is up on top of it. As bad and as shaken that operator was I told him that it was actually the luckiest day in his life for this could have been a fatal event.

I was actually trying to be serious but that’ll work! I would probably have a deer and a pair of shorts to clean up if that walked in front of me!

Very cool! Did you paint wheels or did the previous owner? Didn't do the best job masking I see.

Here it is on tractor