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a 4x8 Harbor Freight utility trailer is the PEFECT match to a wheel horse. it's narrow enough to fit down my trails, carries a ton of weight and volume with the plywood sides on, and makes the ideal hayride vehicle. so far we've had 5 people max in the trailer, and found the smoothest ride is up front, so that's where grandma and grandpa sit when we hit the trails. Camping: All the toys out: Hauling lots of branches away to the burn pile: We've been using it so much that it gets a parking spot right up by the cars:

Yesterday 1 corner... today ends with 1/2 the hood done so far.

My "other" favorite line of historically significant, early tractors! Jim Turner created Engineering Products Co (EPCO) in 1946 with his wife, Dorthy Welbourne initially manufacutring his Economy garden tractors in Milwaukee which by 1951, turned into multiple "brands" of tractors sold though a varitey of sale channels. (ie: Power King, Country Squire, National, etc...) Like many manufactures in this timeframe, alot of recycled automotive and suprlus parts were used. His father in-law, Everette Welbourne owned Pioneer Mfg (Page and Red E brands) which is where Jim started his engineering career and met his wife (the boss's daughter) before deciding to go out on his own after spending his time in the Army durring WW2. Pioneer and EPCO however didn't compete directly with oneanother in that Pioneer mainly sold hand held and walk behind equipment where EPCO only sold riding tractors targetted towards truck farms/vegitable gardens. By the late 1940's, the popularity of these small tractors gained so that Welbourne decided they needed to add a riding model to their product line and from the basis of a Red E walk-behind tractor, they created their first riding tractor, a model 14 which was really a terribly designed tractor by all standards and didn't last long. Figuring that their son in-law already has a proven line of well built tractors with a whole fleet of attachments, and Turner wanted to expand his sales network, there might be a win-win solution for both companies. From 1951 - 1957 Red E sold the model 15A tractor, which was a rebadged Economy painted the Red E red/black color scheme as their own sold through Red E dealers. Outside of the color scheme, decals and the name on the ID Plate, they were identical to Economy/Power King branded tractors. Serial numbers were sequencial too, so following a Red E badged tractor on the production line could have been another Red E, or an Economy, Power King, Jim Dandy, etc. This is why it's impossible to confirm how many Red E variations they actually built. The earlier EPCO made Red E's like the one pictured from 1951-1955 used the Wisconsin AEN engine (similar to the WH Ride Away Senior) while the 1956-1957 models were identical, except using the Briggs & Stratton 23FB engine instead. Currently only about (45) total Red E badeged EPCO tractors are known making them a relatively rare tractor to find these days. As I understood it, there was a bit of family friction between Turner/Welbournes that resulted in Pioneer going back to the drawing board and offering their own linup of riding tractors in 1958. That unforunatly though wasn't for the better as the EPCO tractors were much better built than what Pioneer replaced them with which ultimately led to the end of Page/Pioneer tractors over the next few years. As mentioned above, I authored a series of ariticles published in Lawn & Garden Tractor Magazine on the EPCO line of tractors called the "EPCO Files". The Red E article is in the Nov/Dec, 2018 issue. Rob

Many people who were growing up in the 80's spent time listening to Van Halen. Sadly Eward Van Halen passed away today. May his music live on. A here's to a great guitarist.

Most useful plane for precise rabbets.

Or am I looking past the bikini's to see the wardrobe malfunction in the back ground ?!?!

Thanks buddy! I'm hoping to devote some more time to this group. I've had a lot going on, still do, but I miss the group. I've been monitoring some all along but ...

Thanks everyone. It was a good day. It will be better when my new toy (hopefully) arrives friday. It’s red but not a wheelhorse.

Serial 37241 is a model 653. Garry

That's one of the true virtuoso guitarists who was far and away beyond even the greatest of the greats in his capability to play

RIP Atomic Punk.

Tom @Shynon mention he had one Not much out there on them. Rob @oldiron613 or anyone care to school us? They look somewhat seniorish. Guessing a Wisconsin motor? Appears later models had hoods.

Well I guess I got my point across.... No idea what caused the multiple posts...

My bet is that the WELD on the Friction Control ROD is broken. Look at the TAB on the left side of the Hoodstand... is the weld cracked/broken.

Sunday I had the first chance to try out my WH mulching leaves. I don't have a recycler, just a standard 42" SD, but was happily surprised by how well it did. Without a mulching cover, it took quite a few more passes, but the leaves are gone. For now. And of course, when I was done, I parked her in the side yard and gave her a good cleaning with the air gun. Ain't she purty? Even for a "new" one?

Tad bit of a lengthy post but it'll give some background to the newer folk on Redsquare. Trina and I have done full frame off restorations on two tractors. Right now we have four that run and drive and five current or future projects. Her 657 is named Pony. My 1974 c160 is Cinnamon Horse. I'll include a video at the bottom that shows us in a parade at Owls Head Transportation Museum last summer. We are both in our mid to late forties by the calendar but more like around five at heart. Back in school she was one of the rare females in shop class. VERY mechanically inclined and grew up in a family full of carpenters. SHE'S the one that does most of the disassembly. A fair amount of the reassembly. 99.9% of the painting . I do all the wiring and some of the reassembly and of course all the research on this incredible site. All three of the tractors we have painted so far have ended up with Navajo White Rust-Oleum 2X engine and wheels. Changes on her tractor include several that were on purpose and one in particular that was not. She changed the seat to an Old-Fashioned metal tractor seat. Most of the tractor is painted Rust-Oleum 2X Poppy Red. Satin texture because the sheet metal was not in perfect condition and it's a lot more forgiving than a gloss paint. She has AG bar tires on the rear and tri-ribs on the front . I went through and rebuilt her 3-speed transmission. The thing we DIDN'T do on purpose is change the engine. When we went to restart it after the restoration was finished I had no spark so I tried to remove the flywheel and broke the crankshaft nub off the front. There's a 1979 B & S from a snowblower my grandfather bought new in it for now... I've had all the parts to put it back to original for at least a year but we just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Cinnamon Horse has a few modifications as well. This one was built to be extra heavy duty and also physically heavy. Right now it's my main go-to tractor. I have larger than stock fluid filled tires at all four corners. Front tie rods were changed out from the stock size 5/8 rod with standard 3/8 tie rod ends. It now has 3/4 rod with 7/16 Heim joint ends. Hood ornament is a flying swan from a good friend of mine's old 1979 Kenworth w900. Lots of Pete trucks also used that same ornament. Exhaust stack is a muffler built by Jim Kemp and topped off with a 21-in tall chrome pipe. I have a trailer hitch that is bolted through a custom-made self fabricated plow bracket. The hitch has a 2-in square receiver. The plow brackets move the mounting point of the plow forward roughly two inches and down about 1.25 inches. This was done to give extra clearance to the oversized front tires along with the angle pivot handle. I am not the smallest fellow in the world so to give myself a little extra legroom I mounted the seat on 2-in square pieces of multi-hole steel stock. The seat is back a good strong two or three inches from stock. Main paint color is Rust-Oleum 2X Cinnamon satin. Current projects are the Charger hydro and Colossus. There are threads on both of those where you can find all the info. Future projects are: 856 that will be a military tribute tractor with a Chrysler single cylinder engine. '68 Raider 10 6 speed to be built as a worker. 1974 C160-8 with the rare Tecumseh engine.

Rode my youngest granddaughter for the first time on one of the Wheel Horse tractors! Sophia could not get enough of the riding in the cart! After riding she had to try out every Tractor parked in the garage ! She then started in on helping me with some work on RJ parts! Thats what I did with the Wheel Horses today!

Wanted to see other people restorations. Always like to see the small details that were put in to make it different. Tell how long you’ve had it. How you got it. And 1 thing you changed when you restored it. And 1 or 2 pics of course. I’ll start. Here’s my 856. I got it earlier this year as a birthday present from my girlfriend. 1 of the many things I’ve changed is the color scheme.

Oh balls. ..Dan's lookin at a beach ball when a bikini in the pic!

Not a vette....... but if I had one, I’d sell it and get more of these

Its not what I did for my Wheel Horse today.....but what we did for our Wheel Horses today....rjg854 was here in Clinton Corners, N.Y. ...and grabbed the engine for his project. I want to tell you, this site is full of great people. He drove 4 hours to get a super nice 12 HP Kohler......and to put the icing one the cake, we talked like we knew each other for 60 years !!!! Hes on his way home now, and was instructed my myself to let me know when he gets home safe......I feel like my DAD

What a loss, his music will carry on He said he thought the cancer was from keeping the brass guitar pick in his mouth

This stuff takes nothing but your time Eric. Probably 12 hours invested, standing in one spot working that one side of the Sr. hood so far.

Red E part of the EPCO line. Economy, Power King, Jim Dandy, Power Queen. L & G Magazine did a series on the entire line up

One of Dan and my buddies has one set up for plowing and it does well.

I don’t have a hub puller for 4 lug hubs... yet. I will utilize the head bolts from a recent Duramax project.. they fit through the hub holes just dandy!

You folks have some dang nice lookin' machines, wow! Here's three favorites before and after, although only one is a true restoration. 520H got a full 'above the frame' resto and mild custom, including oil filter relocation and cooling mods, early decals including mid 60s style belt guard decal, LED lights, mild patina by sanding through the red down to a coat of red oxide, etc... I ended up selling it to fund a barn full of older models and sometimes regret it. She was a beast! 'Hoss' is a round fender custom was built from a pile of parts- C120 chassis, early long hood, 8 pinion 8 speed, early rear fenders, and a hopped up K321 with mild pulley swap incase I want to take a trail ride. 'Wheel'n Horse' is a well used and worn out 654 that had a junk engine, now a swapped out, hopped up 11hp OHV generator engine, adjustable wheelie bar, and pulley swapped- this one runs 28mph on GPS and is a blast to trail ride!

Haven’t seen you around in a coon’s age Dennis! back!

yap, @pullstart it does..

I hate all of you people here. Ya know why? I have this new fangled 1989 310-8 and I realize now, "I'VE BOUGHT THE WRONG ONE!" EDIT: Guess I'll be build a barn soon.

Here’s an After shot, then Before. This is Putt Putt. Putt Putt is a 1962 502. The frame was replaced with a ‘64 frame and front axle, the transmission is an 8 speed from a ‘78 C-101 and the engine along with a custom baffled Cherry Bomb stack is an 8 horse Kohler out of an air compressor. I still call it a 1962, though only the sheet metal is as such. The front weight is an aluminum housing my father in law brought home as a scrapped customer project figuring I could do something with it. I filled it with concrete and it does a good job holding the front end down.

Yah well across town ain't exactly a trip to WI. You break down in the loop in Chi town yer only hope is the Dino or Jack to come rescue. We'll be busy with Friday night fish fry! Well maybe I'd come get you with the Dodge ....maybe even flip you few bills for scrap value and so as you can get a REAL truck!

Started the process here today of cutting through decades of horrendous paint jobs... in pursuit of that glorious... factory original...red gel coat.

Evening, all. Round hoods are something I've not messed with much.. had a 702 once upon a time and now an L157. To cut a long story short, this tractor has been in the woods for nearly 20 years and was in about the same state when it was found and moved to THAT spot.. Good friend of mine is going to attempt to unseize my early Waterloo Boy engine, so I took this thing on as a repay to the favor. It's getting a B1200 Clinton for power, and while it did have a rear end, the housing is cracked, the gear shift rusted off, and it's just.. past it. So the tractor.. Clearly has been modified in a few ways. Multiple unexplainable idler pulleys. Repainted an off black. Has an odd flange on the front rims. It did have 3 lug hubs. Pinned on steering knuckles, no dropped axle. All of which leads me to post 1962, into the 63 model year. No belt cover. Only a serial number to go by. 37240. Tank is a 2 piece and it has a flat 3 spoke steering wheel. So clearly not a 1964. Is there any way to differentiate the models this far back? More just curious than anything else.

Thanks Eddie for your great Soundtracks who have always accompanied and surrounded me my whole Life. Another huge Star of the Metal Heaven dimms, but his guitarplay and Music last in my Memories. R.I.P.

And he did it in the "Kitchen" Beat that Jim!

As seen in the following video I most certainly DO use the steering wheel. It's one of the ways i use to prevent myself from ending up in a heap on the floor sadly resembling a tangled shadow of my former self.

Who’s towing the Dodge?

I always liked the Simplicity Landord models and the Broadmoor models! They were a great lawn tractor!

Happy Happy Ritchie!

Hey! HEY!!! I might resemble that remark....

Hopefully I've contributed something to help balance things since I've certainly got a ton of help from this group! It's great the we can share for the benefit of the entire group. Imagine trying to gather ALL this information prior to the Internet and this forum! I remember AOL and before! How we have advanced! Now we can all become YouTube brain surgeons!

Grooving the old fashioned way.

Crazy? Maybe. Jane likes to rear up, she’s one of those wild women who you’d least expect to get all kinds of crazy. For being one of my lightest... she sure does have a lot of bite!

I learned how to use a tire machine when I was a junior in high school. Since getting married, both father in-laws (one step) had one too. When Grandpa decided to sell his, I knew just what to do! I have been able to break down as small as 10” wheels with it, but cannot change 20” monsters like some modern vehicles come stock with. For the most part though, it does everything I need in the shop!

Tom what’s the pile of tractor on the front of the trailer? Might not even need to go to Portland between all the fools on here!

I actually have a support with a 4.5" tube with a bearing in both ends behind the tower

Do these pics help?? Should look like this: 2nd pic is in NEUTRAL position

“Frank” was brought up just earlier... but it’s a custom I built for my wife over 2018/2019 winter. It is a Charger 12 chassis, C-101 Engine and 753 Body. I built numerous parts for this, including the toolbox and seat adapter, and the front “hanging weight” battery box too. The rear hubs, wheels and tires re from a David Bradley walk behind. We call Frank a 1073, according to the numerical patterns of Wheel Horse. It’s my rendition of what a big block automatic round hood would have looked like in 1963.