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Circa 1974 Buffalo NY

Just picked this up. First brand new truck I have bought since 1987. Prices have changed a bit since then. Of course it is red. Every option available for an XLT except the sunroof. 5.0L Coyote engine with a 10 speed transmission. Here it is still at the dealership. Here I have just pulled into my driveway. Cleat

I decided to upgrade the front wheels and spindles on the latest 312 to 8" rims and tires.This seems to be a popular thing to do so decent 8" rims can be difficult to find at an affordable price.With this in mind I chose a different path,The first step was to buy a 4 bolt hub kit and stub axles from the ROPS Shop.The axles were reduced in length so that the 1 1/4" section was just over 1/2" long.The remainders were chucked in the lathe and the big end was faced off to 1/2".While in the lathe a 3/4" hole was drilled stopping just short of the threaded area.The spindles were from a 417a.The axle end was in excellent condtion but one of them had some damage where the wheel mounts.The seller discounted them for this flaw but for what I had in mind this flaw was not an issue.The wheel portion was shortened by a 1/2" to make sure that it didnt bottom in the drilled hole.I wanted the big end to butt up to the spindle shoulder.I used emory paper to clean and roughen the spindle in preperation for the next step.I mixed a large amount of JB weld and with a popcycle stick applied a liberal dose to the bottom 2" of the 1" sleeve.I slathered JB weld on the last 2' of the spinde near the shoulder.The spindle was inserted in the 1" sleeve with a twisting motion to coat both surfaces and burp out the trapped air When the epoxy pushed out of the jonit between the two parts I wiped off the excess and set them aside to cure.

I just got a 42" RD deck for the C-160 Took the deck to @squonk so he could use his air impact to remove the blades they were that tight. Sharpen and balanced the blades, installed new deck and PTO belts, and mounted it to the tractor and took it for a test mow. It's nice and quiet and cut well. Who knows I just might get rid of my zero turn.

I just inherited this bad and I'm looking for some help with a few things... First off, does anyone know how to find out what year it is? I'm just curious as to how old it really is. I know I need a new seat and looking for suggestions on where to get one and if there is a cheaper seat that fits it as well. I started looking on line and that is how I ran across this group. Looks like this group might be a lifesaver for me! I prefer to have older equipment that is in great shape over the newer stuff that is cheaply made and has all the emissions controls, etc. I have found a new air filter on ebay, but if you guys recommend a better parts place I'm all about supporting small businesses or businesses that help people keep vintage equipment going! If anyone has any recommendations on things to watch out for or cares to share info on this bad boy, please do!! My dad had it on a trickle charger for years and had installed a fuel shut off valve, so it fired right up! Thank you!!

Just closed the gas shut off on mine today. Used it yesterday to mow and sweep the yards. Also got my chain out and plucked the satellite dish out of the lake house lawn. Much improved view of the lake now. Was putting tools away in the shed today and noticed a heavy gas smell. The shut off valve on the gas tank was open . Anybody notice my new red title?

We’ll have to ask @953 nut what the story behind this donkey is... I’ll note too... in the last picture I didn’t realize until now that’s I captured Bud’s hot rod with a blown bead in Portage, WI last year!

I bought my house in 1992 for $79,000 I am still there house long since paid for. I guess that is part of the reason I can afford a new truck. Plan is to retire next year so I will have a new truck and fairly new car (2015 Cruze with 30,000 km that my mom bought new and I have inherited). I go in for hernia surgery next week (this has been on hold due to covid ) and hopefully after that I will be able to retire with no major health issues.

Here is the largest tree I pushed so far...

Of course you have. Because you can. Today, while working on the back end of the 310-8, I wanted to cleanup the rusty phillips pan head screws for the shifter panel and side covers. Wire wheeling small screws hurts after a while. Right? So I found a 3 1/2 long piece of scrap 1/2" alum round stock that I had already turned down a bit on one end, chucked it up in the lathe and drilled and tapped 1/4-20. With a jam nut, I could easily smash the screw heads into the wire wheel with good control and clean them up good. I'm thinking I might make a 5/16" and 3/8" too. Back in the day I'd routinely sacrifice my fingers to the wirey gods. Not so much anymore.

That pack mule is an old metal trophy topper I picked up at a flea market. Our tractor club was re-purposing a bunch of old trophies to hand out at our show and the mule was in the bundle.

I've got a 1994 Toro Wheel Horse 266-H with a K61 Trans axle. I bought it used twenty two years ago, so most of it's use has been mine. Five years ago, it was getting pretty sluggish. I tried the change of oil, but that made no difference. With nothing much to loose, I took it apart and examined the moving parts. The gears all looked pretty good except the final drive pinion. The hydraulic pump and motor had scoring on the surface that contacts the center block. This scoring allows the hydraulic oil to bypass the motor or pump. So, I found a nice plate glass surface, silicon carbide sand paper, and got to work. I used 220 at first, rotating and pushing and pulling to keep the cutting as even as possible. When all signs of the scoring were gone in about an hour. I used paint solvent as a lubricant. Then I cleaned everything up and and started over with 320 grit. I did this to both cylinders and the center block. When reassembled the thing was as lively as ever. Definitely put a grin on my face. Now, five more years of use, the little red machine is again limping along. So, rinse and repeat. New again. Yippee. But, there are some things I learned. The pinion is worse than it was last time. I think particles of pinion were the major contributor to the pump and motor scoring. The first time, I reused the filter because it looked pretty clean, and I was right in the middle of mowing season. This time, the filter had collapsed and wasn't doing it's job. The new filter is much better design. It is reinforced with metal so it won't collapse. Another lesson learned is that Toro used a special build of the K61. If you look in the overhaul manual from TuffTorq, the motor block is oriented with the "dimples" up. That is how I reassembled it. Big swear word. It ran backwards. Got the Toro manual and it shows the motor block with "dimples" down. Switched around it runs fine. Like I need more practice taking that thing apart. So a few lessons learned: 1. Silicon carbide paper can be used to recondition the contacting surfaces in the motor and pump. 2. Take a picture of the motor/pump assembly before you take it apart to make sure you can reassemble correctly for your application. Or mark the parts. 3. Use the new style filter with metal reinforcement. 4. I tried to do an in-chassis change of the motor block when it was running backwards. Not practical. Gravity is not your friend for some of the parts. If you have an oldie and want a few more years out of it, this isn't too bad a job. tom

@stevasaurus bought it all up!

Hear ya Richard... even then busted one kid brutally kicking the dash trying to start it.. JD but still... parents standing close but ignorant. I Put the hammer down. Better news... Kodak moment...my fav tub puller and locked cocked and ready to rock for a mini show!

Been out in the front yard today cutting and cleaning this old red bud kept cracking limbs hanging down so I finished cutting it up. Might try and put a couple pieces on the lathe to see how they turn.

Explosives, always explosives!! Randy

I didn't get the glasses!

here's a couple different ones I picked up over the years

to the club! Did they send you the secret handshake, decoder ring and X-ray vision glasses yet?

Just got home from a little side work set by the shop took my buddy out for a ride now it's time to relax!

Today was a nice day for a trail ride so pulled out 3 tractors. After the 312-8 did mowing duty I figured why not take the C-120 out on the trails and check out the Cabin. The Phoebes love building their mud nest under the overhangs on top of the window trim. While taking pics I noticed the C-120 looked like it needed a WD-40 rubdown so I headed back under the shade tree and applied a coat, as @peter lena says, feed the paint. As the 417-8 had nothing to do I thought it would be a good place to set the ice cold Coors on the hood. One last thing I did was to check the fuel in the 120 because I had not used it for a few months. I got off the seat and tilted the seat to check the fuel guage and guess what, the fuel tank is under the hood, does that mean I am getting old or own to many 3,4 and 500 series WH's .

Well he does come down here every now and then to visit in-laws so maybe I could snag him when he comes down! Right @pullstart?

Just have @pullstart come over with that new toy he has been playing with.

Its kind of hard to learn how to use something if it's not in our hands or at least in front of us,and at first glance this ruler looks confusing and complicated but in reality it is very simple.Let me try to explain it a bit. This particular ruler is graduated for logs of lengths 10,18 feet on one side, and 12,14, and 16 feet on the other side. On main side the bottom of ruler reads 1 through 48" like a regular ruler. One uses that to measure log diameter. Log length has to be determined through some other means. On main side above regular graduation, there are two other rows of numbers. With the exception of the first number at left in each row, they are board feet numbers. Same thing on the other side except there are three rows of board feet numbers. The very first three numbers on each row at left side right after it says Doyle Scale are the log lengths this ruler calculates.18 and 10 on main side, and12,14, and 16 on second side. All numbers to the right of vertical lines are board feet numbers.On other side those numbers are to left of same line. So looking at photos below and using a 7" diameter log the numbers right above it to the right of line are6 and 10 board feet. 6 board feet for a 10' log and10 board feet for a18t' log. Flipping ruler to the other side and looking at the same 7" diameter log line there is 7 board feet for a 12', 8 board feet for a 14', and 9 board feet for a 16' log. Using a small diameter log these numbers don't make sense, and that is because this system in this ruler substantially under measures smaller logs. The larger the log diameter the more accurate it is. It is intentional since a smaller log always yields a lot less than expected, so when buying a log it is already accounted for when using ruler

ID decal should have the model number and serial number. Those should lead us to manuals. Can see the corner of it. Garry

Here is the window sticker on my new truck. 2020 F-150 Windowsticker.pdf Options on this one are more than I paid for the whole truck in 1987 (I got a brand new truck for $12,000 taxes in back then, of course it was a very basic truck). Luckily Ford is desperate for sales during the Covid virus and I paid less taxes in than the list (sales tax here is 13%) by a few thousand. Dealer also threw in Line-x spray in bed liner. This is my old truck, a 2002 F150. I sold that one for $7000.00 and put that towards the new truck. Old one was nice and the 5.4 pulled well but the new one is nicer and the 5.0 in it has a crazy amount of power (and it is still breaking in with just 600km or 360 miles on the odometer).

Did that back about 1989, but I went bigger and welded mine on. I welded them at two places back at the bend and between the bearing surfaces where I drilled a 1/2" hole.

We plenty of trees of course. We also have plenty of tree cutting utensils. Cinnamon's stack is about my height so if I can't walk under anything in the forest paths we cut it. Colossus will be just a bit taller.

Biggest problem with stacks is tree's. Only tractor I have with a stack is the Black Horse. No trees in fields.

I don't know about the Wheel Horse gods being angry but they led me to find my C-141 😀

3M two faced tape. They've been using it on car & truck emblems for years. Wal-Mart carries it...

Wow, that’s cool! A goon like me would scratch his head, then find out when cutting is finished

Correct. Used to determine approximate board feet of lumber in a log prior to milling it. Useful if you are buying or selling logs for lumber. Yes they are still available and made by Lufkin. Its a Lufkin 524.New ones are white in color. This one is vintage and it is yellow which is kind of hard to find. Something that @pullstart may find useful in his new adventure.

I think you need to wash your legs or shave them.

Well got some stuff in the mail today. Got this nice spark plug / coil wire from @squonk He was kind enough to send it as a gift. Thanks Mike ! I also got my engine mounts. Replacing the rubber mounts with solid mounts. I havent tried to install them yet because I was busy painting the wheels!. I brushed a coat on first then used spray can to finish. They came out pretty good I guess. I am never happy with any of my painting. I forget the color name but it isnt " WHITE". Its a 10 footer. Looks good from 10 feet away but at 10 feet its a beauty !! Keep you posted on the mounts.

I think it’s the hedge. Hoarding all the hedge.

What a Crazy Dax. Today Mart‘l stop over and scream in his loudest Voice out of his huge Tractor - STEFAN, COME OUT WE HAVE TO TALK. i thought oh oh, maybe not a good Sign, i have heard he stops the Cows and want to rent his Land. I feared he want‘s my little Land back, but than i see his daughter was at him and i wonder what happen. Ya told me ya want a bit more space, nooooow My daughter meant we shall make a Gentleman agreement. I asked what kind of agreement ? Nooooow i Need my time in the forrest and i‘m tyred to mow this Area, here and along the House and you do it on your side continousely and clean. I have also heared you be realy upright and help others without any questions, even a Valley ahead. - i like that, that is the right spirit, so that‘s the reason i‘m here. Ok, listen, i wanna offer you, if you mow that for me you can have the whole Area where the Tree stay‘s for your purpose free of charge. This area have about 100 squaremeters - you can use it for whatever you want do with it. Plow, seed potatoes, garlic, flowers or even pumpkins or just simply mow it. you just have to mow the Way’s to my house and between the two sheds - did we have a Deal??? And in about 2 years i clean an bigger area of 70 squaremeters in the front Shed if you like. The cost is (really cheap price) for you. What a question, yes! The area appears smaller on the pict than it really is.

That is not the rear axle housing...it is the axle hub. You need a new one...A-Z is an excellent choice. The "C" series uses 1 1/8" axles. You can send A-Z a the picture you posed here. He is getting about $40 + postage for a hub.

LOL! Obviously my dad was in law enforcement and happened to know someone who worked on police vehicles!

Big Blocks Rule!!!! Brag away!!!!

That is the point of these whatizits. To learn something new and potentially useful to many others out there.

Same procedure I used to recondition the valve plates on the Sundstrand hydro used in my Alice Chalmers 720. I finished up with a 1200 grit wet n dry silicone carbide paper and ended up with a supper fine polish on all the surfaces.

No theres not much difference in HPs l think its more bragging rites than anything.

Figured out what I want to do when I grow up...

Fun story here... As I've mentioned multiple times, I grew up with a 1970 John Deere 112 that ran a mower deck and a snowthrower. Nice machine, and it was the only tractor we ever had or needed for the whole time -- there was never any need or want to replace it with anything "new" over the years. I can remember my father's search for a tractor when we bought the house. He looked at the top brands being sold in the area -- JD, Simplicity, Cub Cadet. But NOT Wheel Horse. "Not as modern. Outdated design. Old guys' tractor," he had nothing good to say about WH. Add to that, he was the top collections agent for the IRS in South Bend, and he never liked the thrifty way that WH operated in; no opportunity to grab any extra tax money for Uncle Sam. (Well, his words weren't always that nice, but you get the picture...) So JD it was that won out. The 112 was a very good, well-made and engineered machine. Like anything with a reasonably wide frame, it meant all the belts had to run inboard of the frame rails. Combined with the complexity of the vari-drive setup, it always made belt drive belt replacement, and even swapping the mower deck and snowthrower a bit more curse-word-inducing. And JD parts only went up in price over the years. Some of them were proprietary, although they were well-made and other than belts and a tension pulley bearing failure for the mower deck, it never really had anything fail that I can remember. My father was rightly proud of that tractor, but he never missed an opportunity to turn up his nose at any Wheel Horse he saw. Well, fast-forward to my adult life and the need for at least a lawn tractor to deal with the yard. Now, I don't have my father's disposable income, so something used was in the cards. As I started hunting, I had to settle for what ever a few hundred buck would buy, which turned out first to be a little AYP/Craftsman from the 80's, and later a Bolens "Suburban" which was fairly powerful for a lawn tractor, with a Briggs opposed twin and a nice 3-blade deck. But all along the way I kept researching what I wanted for a keeper; a proper garden tractor. Even as my income became more comfortable, I still focused on older equipment. Everything new was just too expensive, too complicated, and quite possibly not long-lasting enough. So whatever it was to be had to fit my thrifty urge. And I came to the conclusion that nothing fit the bill as well quite as well as Wheel Horse. Simple, heavy-duty construction. Standardized, common parts everywhere. Some of the toughest transmissions ever. Implements interchangeable across decades of models. What wasn't to like? So when I finally had the cash, I jumped for a 520H and thanked my lucky stars. Now, I miss the old JD 112 a bit; I'll never have it as it was sold off somewhere in my father's divorce or death; I'll never know. But given a choice, I'll take the Wheel Horse as my worker any day. Yes, the Wheel Horse design shows its age here and there with it's quirks, but there's just no substitute for the brute strength and reliability. The more modern designs like the JD traded some ease of service and economical simplicity for "keeping up with the times". The 520 has some modern conveniences bolted onto a bulletproof, time-proven platform, and that's just perfect for getting the job done right. Maybe someday I'll find an older JD or other brand to fix up for fun, but for relying on a machine to get work done, Wheel Horse is where I'll head very time.

Built a corral for Cindy's 702. Not sure but I think Tom @Shynon or his boy Mike @prondzy suggested this for shows to keep unruly kids off. Bad news is she developed a clutching issue that needs sorting out. Oh well.