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Our 1985 WH 310-8 has been parked in a dry shed since 2000, after it started fouling plugs within a few minutes of run time. Always meant to get back to it, but life intervened. I retired last year and am finally getting to my to-do list. I am starting a refurbishment (not a full restoration) of the WH and plan to track progress with pictures. First thing I need to do is replace the rotted tires so I can more easily shift it around. I received the new Carlisle's this week, but found one of the old front wheels is rusted through the bead so I am looking for a replacement. Any recommendations out there? Here are some initial pictures. I pulled the wheels, mower and fender today. Getting ready to pull the engine tomorrow if I can figure out how to lift it.

Well even though it was blowing and windy got to finally see some warm weather to paint my wagon

A few friends and I did a resto on a Bronco 14 last winter for a friend of ours. Here are some pictures of the end result.

Mrs. P has a couple girlfriends over. Kids have one friend over. Shop night!

rjg854 - The plug was fouled with burnt oil and it was exhausting blue smoke 21 years ago. I pulled the head at the time and the piston & head were caked with burned & wet oil. I decided to find something else to work on at the time. It was my sons' training mower when they were in high school in the 90's and I suspect it took a lot of abuse when I was not around - if their learning experience with my cars was any indication. I'm taking the engine down to richmondred01 next week to tear down and do a more complete diagnosis. A few years ago I would have tackled this myself, but my to-do list now has "playing with my grandkids" on it as my #1 priority. 953 nut - Thanks for the link to the hydraulic cart. I was planning to use an old bomb hoist (and two grown sons) but this looks like it might be useful for the frequent times where it would be nice working at bench height. Here are a couple of pictures after it was cleaned before starting the tear-down

Time to get my 2020 Easter Peeps out of storage. Like bourbon, I like some age on my peeps.

NO... no thats cheatin.... we catch you cheatin we is sending this sickle after ya....

New guy here and thanks for having me. I’ve been picking up a few lawn tractors this winter and doing what needs to be done and then selling them. Not WH stuff but, let’s just say, stuff that’s been made in this century. I’ve decided I’d like to work on something a little older and I’ve been watching FB for tractors. I see WH stuff but don’t know much about them. I saw a reasonable B80 this week but missed it so now I want a WH machine in the worst way. It looks like a lot of folks are fans of the brand. I have little knowledge of this brand other than what I’ve researched In the last week or so. I’m a retired guy that just loves to “wrench” on something. I’m not a collector (yet) and would more than likely sell whatever I worked on once I got it to a dependable state. I don’t need to make money on it but I do need to enjoy it. Can you give me any info on what models are common and would be a good candidate for minor restoration? Looks to me like the WH era to watch for is maybe mid 60’s to early 80’s. They are still around and solid machines that can be found at a reasonable price. I like this mid-size lawn tractors with a deck. I like original stuff. I doesn’t need to be pretty, but I like things to work well. Anyone in the Grand Rapids area who cares to talk tractors can PM me.

Been looking at adding tools to our arsenal here and there. I currently cut metal with a sawzall or jigsaw for the most part. To try for better precision on angles and overall ease I picked up an inexpensive Porter Cable chop saw.

Finished the under side of the 1257Heavy paint on frame and then tried out a paint on the rims... said copper.... I don't know... 🤔

You’re right about the age ranges. Most of the stuff you mentioned can exchange most attachments as well. I have two daughters at home, the young one really enjoys projects with Daddy and they are both quite good with their motor skills. Garden tractors seem to be a perfect learning tool for them both and not too intimidating. This was early last year, so we’ve added quite a few along the way.... but check these videos out for some inspiration!

Oh yum! Peep Pee !

to the forum. Lots of good folks here who are willing to help. If you've got questions ask away. Somebody will be along who has seen whatever problem you have and has solved it. A carb rebuild on a Kohler is very easy. I use spray carb cleaner and torch tip cleaners (gently!). Takes less than an hour, unless the carb is really filthy and needs soaking. My local hardware store stocks the rebuild kits for the carb for somewhere between 10 and 20 bucks. One thing you will want to check on the carb is for excessive play between the throtitle shaft and the carb body. If it is loose, it can be repaired with brionce bushings typically available in the small parts drawers in the hardware store. Something else you should consider is changing the fluids in the engine and transmission. New air and transmission filters are a good idea too. A trip around the tractor with a grease gun won't hurt either. Doing this gives you a known starting point for your maintenance. While this is primarily a Wheel Horse site, we also enjoy other brands. Go ahead and post about your Sears in the alternate brands section of the forum. Good luck and have fun.

Painted the underside of some 416-8 tins to get a feel for mixing Rustoleum/acetone/hardener. For my first time I’m happy. The weather really wasn’t ideal for painting but I will definitely wait for better conditions to do the top sides. This was also the cheap harbor freight purple gun.

Today after Work i tilled the Field than i cleaned the whole area arround the House and put all on my Horse Trailer and do a ride with the Trailer into Forrest to the Dump. I decide to ride the Road along, GPS tells me 18 Km/h ok not fast but not too slow. after i ride back onroad 😂 and put the Trailer back into shed. At least i decide for a extended Trail ride to the swamp Area - about 2hr Ride. Here i have a Break, took few Picts and ride back.

The belt is on. I hope it correct. Also working on a parking brake. I think I'm making headway.

ARRRRGGGGHHH the SUSPENSE!!!!!!!!!!! Its ALMOST as bad as Colossus!

To RedSquare! A tip for the site... you can type the “at” sign then start typing a screen name to tag the person @Farmer_John

You can see how dangerous these things are. Where are his FEET???

Vintage Peeps are excellent for filling holes in field stone foundations! I think they make em out of left over spray foam cans!

Wow.......I didn't know they had a 310-8 on the Titanic.All kidding aside,good to see another horse coming back to life.Should clean up pretty well.Good luck with your project.You'll get lots of help here.

If you have a Napa nearby it's 75-200 fluid IIFFF it's still red. That's old type ATF. Filter is a Napa 1410 or Wix 51410. Same filter. Avoid fram.

My experience on N/A bikes, cars, and small engines has been that straight thru exhaust kills your low/mid range torque but can slightly increase hp at the top end of the rev range IF you have a modified valvetrain/cam and can increase the redline. On a stock engine all you're doing is generating a ton of noise and ruining driveability. That said I loved how my stock Yamaha XS650 sounded with straight through 1.5" pipes cut real long... Shorter pipes caused it to pop and backfire too much even after jetting the carb but the longer pipes took care of all that. Now on a turbocharged vehicle, yes straight through is always better across the powerband than running a muffler but there are much different dynamics at play when boosting.

A few pics from there in 2018

Most ground work and setting in done on back. Modeling will follow after the rest of groundwork is done.

It's a custom set up for sure. Needed to accommodate for a limited reach. The plow frame was originally for a short frame tractor. It was stretched to fit this Bronco 14, pivot handle placement was moved, and a custom cable set up to pull the lock pin. When finished, it worked very smoothly.

Just picked up m 2022 peep supply. Hope I can wait a year to try out the new cotton candy flavor. Too bad they didn't come in the bunny shape. Bunnys are better than peeps. The bunny ears dry better and really get crunchy.

I didn't eat many sweets when I was young. But the older I get the more I want...

If you get a wheel horse you'll want to keep it and sell whatever you're using now. And

I like Peeps...

Yup. Family tradition here - we make s'mores over the burning Christmas tree using the leftover Easter peeps on the 4th of July.

Always working with as much on hand as possible i had to make a shaft adapter for the pulley. The engine I chose had a stepped shaft.

The fact that your hydraulic system is functioning without having service for twenty five years is a true testament to the toughness that was built into them.

to the forum. Lots of folks here have traveled the same road you are starting down. If you get stuck, post a question, as somebody here has already come across it, fixed it, and will be happy to give you advice. More likely, several people will chime in. Just a caution, without being a supporter, you will be limited in the number of photos you can post.

Sickle mowerEdit Eicher tractor with a mid-mounted finger-bar mower Sickle mowers, also called reciprocating mowers, bar mowers, sickle-bar mowers, or finger-bar mowers, have a long (typically six to seven and a half feet) bar on which are mounted fingers with stationary guardplates. In a channel on the bar there is a reciprocating sickle with very sharp sickle sections (triangular blades). The sickle bar is driven back and forth along the channel. The grass, or other plant matter, is cut between the sharp edges of the sickle sections and the finger-plates (this action can be likened to an electric hair clipper). The bar rides on the ground, supported on a skid at the inner end, and it can be tilted to adjust the height of the cut. A spring-loaded board at the outer end of the bar guides the cut hay away from the uncut hay. The so-formed channel, between cut and uncut material, allows the mower skid to ride in the channel and cut only uncut grass cleanly on the next swath. These were the first successful horse-drawn mowers on farms and the general principles still guide the design of modern mowers. https://smallfarmersjournal.com/a-short-history-of-the-horse-drawn-mower/ cart Below is a short excerpt from SFJ Editor and Publisher Lynn R. Miller’s Horsedrawn Mower Book, a complete and informative guide to the horse drawn, ground drive mower. I am prejudiced in favor of the traditional ground drive, horse drawn mower. I am bound to push this fine tool as appropriate and even necessary for each and every horse or mule powered farm, even those which have chosen to put in the starting lineup, motorized mower units. The horse drawn sickle-bar mower has only been in popular use since shortly after the U.S. Civil War (1860’s). Earliest crude production models started to appear around 1845. Many refinements were made and the basic style of the “push-pull” frame came into being at the end of the nineteenth century. The late model, enclosed gear units began to appear in the 1920’s. “International” still made the HD mowers until just after the end of WWII. (They would have continued long after that were it not for government programs to force the draft animals off the farms and replace them with new tractors, a move seen to absorb the economic displacement which follows the dramatic end of war-time economy. This was a period and a rationale which gave us high-powered chemical herbicides and pesticides as well. War, it would seem, continues to destroy long after it concludes.) The enclosed gear, late model John Deere, Case, Oliver, David Bradley, and McCormick Deering International mowers I (we) are so fond of had a zenith of popular manufacture and use that lasted just short of 25 years. Millions of farmers with millions of mowers, built to have a serviceable life of 100 plus years, all pushed into the fence rows. I say, it was far too short of a period, I say we ought to still be using them and benefitting from their efficiency and practicality.

Hehehehe. Agreed.

Trip out to get some cam locks for the new water pump, discovered a garage that has replaced their air compressor then at another location a pair of snow machines.

Thanks for your input! Im new to this forum and wheel horses but it looks like I'm here to stay now. Already arranged to pick up 520 and got the price a little lower.

The spring it set to auto engage the parking brake. I can clutch before it auto sets. After looking at it I probably should have it auto release instead. Maybe that's why the spring looks wrong?

it's not that I don't appreciate all your thoughts and everything but if you're gonna go to all that effort why not send the little pulses of electricity someplace much more fun? Like a 119 decibel electric solenoid powered air horn for instance? Or a flip up front step for those pesky sales people? Or even right back into the ring that they are already holding on to? Insert Vincent Price: moohoohooohahaha

Another tip...I find the best spot to "monitor" the forum and whats happening overall is the "Activity" Dropdown at the top Left of the page. pull that down and select "All Activity" and it kinda gives you a play by play as posts happen! Welcome aboard!

Thanks, just signed up for 2 years. I'll put the check in the mail later today. Thanks for pointing it out. I was not aware of this limitation until you pointed it out. Someone might want to consider automatically sending a welcome package to newbies that gives them some of the helpful hints that the regular users know (like how to reference another member - @8ntruck) Maybe a direct link on the home page as well for becoming a supporter

Looks like he’s been shaving with it as well!

He's got some NASTY skinned knuckles too.

It's called a sickle which is slang for sicko (psycho) . As in you have to be a sicko to use it wearing flip flops.

The Sundstrand has no mechanical braking system, the hydro stops the tractor from moving when in neutral. The Hydro lever being sensitive around neutral is commonplace. There is a spring loaded friction device on the motion controller that can be adjusted to take care of that, see page 22 (part 1) of the manual below. This manual will tell you how to set the neutral adjustment too. https://wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/

Your transmission may have 10 W 30 motor oil or ATF in it. Check the color of the fluid on the dip stick, if amber it is 10 W 30, if red it is ATF. the filter you need is the NAPA 1410 or Wix 51410. To drain the fluid it is best to jack up the front end of the so all the old stuff will be removed. Lowell @wheelhorseman can fix you up with a new proper hose and the rear lift, give him a call. https://wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/

Under the seat is a tall pipe and a square headed plug. The dipstick is attached to the plug. It takes TYPE A automatic transmission fluid if the fluid is red. If it's brown, it may have been switched to 10w30 engine oil. Don't mix them.. After that many years you'd be best served to put a new filter on and change the fluid though.. takes about 5qts As far as checking it, just remove the plug, wipe it down than thread it back, and check it.

Let’s defund the post office rather then the police.