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We’re just a couple hours shy of making this trip in three days... but we’re getting home safe! Leaving Sunday at noon and being home in the wee hours of Wednesday is still quite an accomplishment and we’ll be ready to pull the blinds and wake up when we wake up. Thanks all for the well wishes and for following along on our journey!

I know the feeling ..... one door closes and another one opens. Just keep looking towards the future. Material things can always be replaced. You and your families happiness should always be your main concern. Much happiness on your move !!!

So I installed my Mule drive adapter....so I can use modern stuff on my old tractors. I also installed the painted overkill support for my MAGNAFLOW BOOM TUBE on the 1257. Also I put the painted parts on the tractor I received from a wonderful member here....Dont you you just love it when a plan comes together and things look very different?

Lived my life vicariously through y’all the last 3 days... but found this video worth sharing!

From my research #26 10-12hp then like above #30 14-16 HP... Now with the smaller carb you would notice a "crisper" throttle response but loose out on top end... Thing of cars small carb economy/drivability big carb not as streetable but good top end for WOT blasts....

Thanks Kev, and yes I would've gladly checked out your truck had I not been in NW Nebraska that week, wish I had been back when yall came to get it I would've drove that 180 miles just to meet you all for dinner

Home, home, home!

Bryce, safe travels Bud! You have the right mindset to make anything from a palace to a cardboard box into a loving home for your family... it’ll all work out for the best! If anyone here isn’t aware, this man offered to drive 180 miles each way to check out Norman, my diesel from just south of OKC... if it hadn’t been for @Daddy Don stepping in to bring his wife on a dinner date to the big city, I bet Bryce really would have done it!

pos? That doesn’t ever fit with a Chevy in the same sentence... Although, did you see the license plate? I hope “JuNK isn’t an omen!

@bcgold, here is the computer data for fuel mileage ... This is driveway to driveway, including a 2 hour idle time for a roadside nap with our navigation lights on and a/c running.

1958 RJ58 would be the first year with a 3 speed transmission. Earlier years had a variable speed tranny that was operated by placing the lever on the right hand side in to different notches to adjust your speed. A picture of a RJ35

The K321 and the K341 should be using the #30 carb. They will run with #26 but with less power. Those 2 engines require more air (larger venturi) to perform the way they should.

I have a restored rj58 they put a tag on the frame on the rj58 and 59 models and on up. If its a 58 or 59 and looks similar to mine there may be a tag on the frame on the left side in front of the motor

Yup. But mower decks are not as much fun. He had to figure out a hitch system, and look at all the little engines he has to keep him entertained.

How did I miss this thread? Just now ran across it. Sorry that I wasn't around to meet up with you! Maybe next time! You're braver than me to haul that on a dolly all the way back. I don't like pulling those across town.. Squirrely little things! What are your plans for the remains? Looks like it's a pretty decent truck.. Is it a ZF6 or auto? And I'm with @WHX24 For that big of a trip and that kind of money, I would've just Cummins swapped it and never looked back

Somebody needs to tell that guy that mower decks are made for his .

Great trip Kevin! Thanks for taking us on the journey and recording all the cool pics. Looks like Mrs P’s SUV did a great job handling the towing duties and gave a comfortable place for everyone to relaxing for over 2,000 miles of travel. So glad that you and your cargo made it home safely and without incident. Now you have some work to do...

Sadly to hear that. My Grandfather have a opinion, that helps me, i accept to my Status in such Situations. He told me Nothing happens on coincidence, everything has it‘s reason. Sometimes time must pass, until you’re able to understand, why that happens. Keep your Head up high, even if you don’t know why this happen now and Take your Time to understand the reason. every farewell is based on a beginning.

You're right! If it had been a POS Dodge, he prolly could have found a dozen donor trucks 10 minutes from his house!

I wish I would have taken a better picture of this car, and the garage in which it resides! It was at cousin Tim’s who helped grab the truck for me in DFW. He has many many many trophies and championships in his garage. This car, he owned 20 some years ago and sold when he found out he was going to be a father. He just recently bought it back, still with no engine and transmission after 23(?) years of it being gone. They are Mopar to the bone!

going to wake up aKohler that has been asleep for maybe 20 Plus years......wait for details....They do shake nicely!!!! and purr like a kitten....maybe 25 years....who knows.....or 30years....details will follow, along with all specs.for engine

Here's mine Edit: I'm running LED lights in mine. You can kinda see them through the lens. I dont ever use the tractor at night, but I put them in just in case.

Depends how close to factory stock you want it to look. That plate in its original form is relatively solid. Might be better off to get the bucket and lens assembly from different tractor and retrofit it. Another option of course would be LEDs if you wanted a modern lamp that uses next to no energy and gives a brighter whiter light. If you do a search on this site the term LED will come up quite often but if you scroll down enough you'll see where people have made them look very close to original.

Here's a list direct from Kohler carburetors to models...

Ain't too bad at all

It’s ok Jonah, I’m sure I’ll land in TX again for something this clean. All you up north fellas, ever seen a 20 year old body bolt unzip with an 18 volt impact in about two impact hits? We pulled the running boards for dolly clearance and tossed ‘em in the back. I could not believe how clean everything was! Body bolts in a northern truck could be an all day if not weeks of soaking (think WH steering wheel removal) project! The dolly was good the whole trip, shy of movements, swaying and noise... but I’ve pulled a lot on them and was prepared. The lack of a steering wheel lock was a big struggle, I’m glad I packed a couple 2” straps to lock down the center link in the steering system!

I was talking to a guy about a one ton dually flat bed down there, but it didn’t pan out. I would have been so happy to make Norman into a dually and maybe a double decker! 912 horsepower? Ask @BOB ELLISON how well this thing moves down the road, I honestly don’t think it needs any more power, just reliability. I plan to head stud the new block before I even finish the swap and will add the lift pump system too. One thing that the GM design is lacking is fresh clean fuel being pushed to the CP3 injection pump. The filter system isn’t filtered enough for what the injectors were designed for, then injectors get the blame for being known to fail. The fuel system fails the injectors, if you ask me.

I see the house across the street is for sale, I wonder why?

Yes, just above the oil filter is the oil sender (on my P220 anyway). The sender is leaking at the top so Im just going to add a gauge and scrap the sender. A pain to get to.... Just have to ground the wire for the hr meter. ebinmaine's comment on steinertractor.com. I wish I had asked sooner, they have exactly what im looking for... thank you

Guess they wanted 5k for head work on the Duramax ZXT and got a feeling he got a steal on the TX truck plus quality time with the fam = money ahead. Plus he just stuffed a HD clutch in Norman. You ever see the business he hauls around to shows?? Thought I had a pic of what he run to a show here last year. That was a lot of stuff on any 3/4 ton then tooling down an interstate!

wheelhorsefan, i can relate to that, and the rest of your pre running service details. something that i have been doing now for quite a while is to just look at and listen to any function on the horse. more often than not , i am adding a washer , isolating a wire or hose ,and always improving a lubrication friction point. my frankenhorse , 82-c85 magnum 12 , runs and operates so smoothly , its amazing. combine that with a lucas grease fed rebuilt mower deck , and its very quiet and effortless in its function, improve anything you find that can make your horse live on , pete

Check steinertractor.com

We just made it in to Michigan! 1 hr, 40 minutes to home! A big rig standing on the Jake Brake woke me up from a cat nap and I’m ready to drive if Mrs. P needs me! We woke up at 4am Dallas time and have tag teamed it home like champs! It’s either 1 am or midnight right now, I think the truck is on MI time and the iPad isn’t yet. When we started our trip I guessed 2 am, but wouldn’t have been surprised to see 4 am when we pulled in. It”s looking like our 60-65 mph speed has proven just that.

Don’t forget Harold Pond first worked at the Shaw Du All tractor plant in Galesburg, Kansas before moving to South Bend, Indiana during the depression. The Shaw Du All was a smaller orchard type tractor. The Ponds brother in law also worked at the Shaw Du All tractor plant and later moved to Liberty, Indiana and started making the Garden All tractors. Wheel Horse Under Cecil Ponds direction later bought out Garden All in 1959. See picture of Shaw Du All from Garden Tractor Talk.com posting .

Now that is top notch surveillance!

Got my new decals from @Vinylguy yesterday. Decided to go with one of his custom designs and not the original. Put them on this AM. So that completes my 416-8 " refreshing " You can see the post in the resto section. Happy with how it came out. Took it for a cruise up and down my street ! Second thought it still isnt complete... I forgot I have the engine decals on there way. Follow up coming soon.

Well I finished off this tractor and I am very pleased with the results. My decals arrived yesterday from @Vinylguy. I originally ordered the original matching decals but then at the last minute I changed my mind and decided to go with the custom set. I am glad I did. I love the look. Take a look at the before and afters and let me know what you all think. Painted the deck and the wheels, the rest of it is original paint. Replaced the seat. Adjusted brakes and clutch. Changed oil. New fuel filter and air filter. New spark plug. Runs strong and looks great. I just like to show what a little elbow grease, a few cans of spray paint, and some new decals from @Vinylguy can do for your tractor. Thanks for looking. Look forward to your comments.

Changing out / upgrading an xi ignition and three of the four coil mounting bolts would not budge. The spud was flexing and was close to stripping out. I used this old timers trick from my mining past when we had socket head bolts that were tough to get out. Of course there the bolts were rather large and we used a sledge hammer not a small ball peen. Apply tension with the ratchet and giver a few taps on the butt! Just another way to help stuck bolts out.

Good luck my friend, please keep us posted. You know us folks here wish you the best. I commend you for packing up and doing what’s best for your family 👍🏻

The last pic, looks more like it. It doesn,t have the the long lever on the right side. I am going to look at it again, this wkd. Everyone on this forum has been so helpful, I now know where to look for numbers, that is great! Thank you

Great job! Looks new 👍🏻

It's pretty basic. There are two ways to make more power: burning more fuel, which means putting more fuel and air through the engine, or burning what you are putting in there more efficiently. When you are running at WOT the best way to do it is to pump more air and fuel until you've reached the practical limits of doing that. At part throttle the amount of fuel and air you can pump is intentionally restricted by the carburetor, so your goal is to increase efficiency. Increasing efficiency means you can actually use less fuel to do work. If you've got the carb at part throttle and can only fill the cylinder half full of fuel and air you have to do things to get the most out of that. Increasing compression is one way to do it, but you can only go so far with that before it causes other problems. For example, if you increase the compression ratio from 6:1 to 7:1 you have actually reduced the volume of air that will fit in the cylinder by 17%. At some point that will cost you power. You can accomplish the same thing in a low speed engine by closing the intake valve earlier in the cycle. Another thing you can do to help part throttle efficiency and power is advance the ignition timing. This is why cars had vacuum advance before computers took over. I'm not sure you could do that easily on a Kohler, but if you could do it you would get a lot of benefit from it.

I agree Jim, until I got really into the early Pond/Speedex tractors, the only models I had ever seen in person were the 60's/70's era, round hood hood S-Series tractors. I guess that was part of the draw to the early models for me in that here in Wisconsin, there just aren't any early models. One thing that Elmer/Ceceil did well at, better than Harold in my opinion was marketing and establishing their sales channels and dealer networks. From what I've found, most of the early Speedex's didn't go very far from their location in Ohio, with most still being in OH, MI and PA. All of the Speedex tractors in our collection were "imported" into Wisconsin which is what I enjoy about showing them locally; very few folks around here have ever seen one.

Absolutely Lane, I agree that Shaw Manufacturing in Galesburg, KS was the the grand-daddy and initial influencer to all off the Pond family tractors, employing Harold Pond, Elmer Pond and Harold's brother in-law, Gelnn Heilmann early on. Shaw tractors were built like and intended for similar truck farm, small vegetable farms as most garden tractors pre war were, utilizing many recycled automotive parts as well. To me, the early Shaw tractors are some of the most facinating early garden tractors to look at.

Got side tracked, one of the stewardesses mirror frame broke. It was a cheap varnished pine thing - couldn't resist blinging it up for a laugh. Spent the night painting and decorating it in between doing my actual job.

We’ve travelled a bit today... err.. yesterday.... err the last few days. Somewhere close to 2500 miles once this is all said and done.

The sow keeps her new born cubs for two years of home schooling, this looks like a recent graduate. Feasting on a nest of red ants which are now busy carrying eggs off to a safe place. When I cut the lawn on our two acres, I cut in such a way as to make the cut grass into windrows leaving it for the bears to feast on. its usually gone the next day.

Looking out the back window at my son in laws today I could not believe my eyes! I heard a motor yesterday running that I thought sounded familiar. I had a double take look as I thought I saw a hood and a decal that looked familiar. This is in Madison, New Jersey! yes it is a 1980’s or 1990’s type Wheel Horse with Kohler motor! I will take a jaunt over there to the neighbor sometime soon and see if I can get some closeups!

The other tractor sitting in the neighbors yard! And lots more goodies!

That is a beauty Dan and I like the name on the license plate—SAWEEET!