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Try this: Used for years on old colored fiberglass boats... Just rub it on.

Been working on this C-160 since last fall. Engine completely overhauled tranny resealed. Looks better than she did....but I do not enjoy sanding prep painting etc The hood that came with her was chopped a bit and has holes. I have a similar hood that is not cut. I am thinking of trying the Marvel Mystery oil or some other wipe on finish as opposed to serious stripping repainting. What would you all do...

Here’s from in South Glastonbury:

The only bummer to having lots of Tractors is maintaining the batteries and trying to keep the Mice out ....!

I decided to try these out. These look much better that what you see else where, because of fitment. Others have to be retap the holes on the bladder. Also the T has to be filed to fit into the 1/2 turn notch. I think these are so far and looks much better that aftermarket junk.

We were treated to a little sky spectacle tonight. That's the camera enhancing it, but these are more accurate to what it looked like from our deck

Snapped a few pics…phone camera brought out the color way more than the naked eye for some reason.

Here too! And an hour north in Greenwood Maine.

Scotch Brite pad then Penetrol

On my 1974 C160-8 with the Tecumseh engine I used a 3M Scotch-Brite that was the coarser of them. Maroon. Brown. I don't know what color we want to call that. In principle the idea worked out well but in reality it was a little too coarse. It worked absolutely excellent in removing the dirt, grime, dust, whatever had accumulated over the nearly 50 years.... But it was a little too aggressive on what paint was left on the tractor. I do have one other 1975 C160-8 with a Kohler engine that I'll be building in the future. That has nice straight ish sheet metal so I'm very likely to try using a finer grade of those Scotch brake pads to see how it comes out. I'm not sure on what chemical but it does kind of bug me that soaking something with oil would present serious paint adhesion problems later if I decided to strip and recoat. I just used water this last time.

I could see them for the first time here on Long Island! Went to the beach by my house but didn’t have my phone! Pretty awesome.

We see them in York County, PA. I never saw them so wide spread.

What ever one happens to be in the drawer!

@pfrederi personal experience is a simple 2 step process , use an aerosol penetrating oil to totally spay down the areas , let it sit for days , then a clean oiled soft cloth , never sandpaper , for an initial wipe down , might even break thru the grunge , then I use a mineral oil rub down , if its going to break thuu , the mineral oil will do it . at that stage , like a 6" electric palm buffer , with cleaning wax , all the time you are retaining patina and original base coating . think the older units look best with oiled patina look , never shinny just clean and rust free. recovered a lot of neglect with this process, like to leave them in the sun , to heat up and draw in the lubrication , do the same thing on mower decks . patina look and rust free , pete

Soldering the wires creates a drastic change in the stiffness of the wire where the solder ends. This will cause a fatigue failure in the wire when subjected to vibration. This is more likely to happen on a connection to a device mounted to the tractor (switch, coil, etc) than in a splice in the middle of a wire run. I had a 1973 Triumph Spitfire a long time ago that I had installed a capacitor discharge ignition system in. I had cramped and soldered the power connections. Left me stranded in a left turn lane in the middle of 4 lanes of traffic when one of the wires broke off where it solder ended a couple of weeks after the installation.

Just picked up some plug-in connectors and wire clips the other night. Tonight I'm going to go through, and solder & heat shrink my temporary connections and reroute the wires correctly.

Nice to have power out there for lights and even auto float chargers etc.

@peter lena I put Stabil in any gas can I fill. Great stuff. I try and always get ethanol free gas for my small engine equipment, haven't found a close local source yet but haven't looked hard. Pretty sure that the PO was using regular with ethanol. I'm going to be tearing it all the way down anyhow, I'm sure the seals and hoses are eaten up from it. I strongly dislike 3-1 multipurpose. It varnishes like WD-40. I hate WD-40, not good as a lube and Aero-Kroil is way better for breaking. There is 3-1 motor oil, it's a straight SAE grade. It has a little blue electric motor on the bottom of the label. It's great stuff for bearings and pretty high speeds. Especially oillite bearings. I use it on the bearings of my Craftsman/Atlas lathe. I also dislike white lithium grease, ain't good for nothing but caking up into clay. I've done some work on food service stuff or drinking water stuff, can't remember, but it was required due to its non-toxicity, so it's got that going for it. For control cables, I usually use Triflow. You get the penetration but it leaves behind a film of Teflon as well. With the research now showing how bad microplastics are for us, especially PFAS plastics such as Teflon, it probably give us all cancer but it sure does work good. I will likely be replacing the cables on my WH. I'll pickup a tube of the HD green grease and play with it. Never used it that I know of. Have used the green grease for chainsaws. --- Long day, didn't get pictures of snow plow. Kitchen ceiling started leaking at 8:00p. Father in law is coming tomorrow to see the new place and will be here for several days. Joy. I'll try again to get pics tomorrow.

This one sitting in a field rotting away. So I rescued it. Tractor heavy and already have a 856 that needs love and I can't seem to give away. Saw it at a show several weeks ago and it was sitting there crying save me save me. I jokingly offered the owner a frankie for it and much to my surprise he took it. Motor was locked up so pulled it back to camp for a look see. @Achto @Wild Bill 633 and I commenced to wrenching to find out the motor is free but the SG is tight. Got it loosened up and messed with the points. Exhaust valve stuck open ... pop the head and free that up. Fired right off and drives. Service motor and seller says he has the original I could have but knowing him doubt I'll see it. Four year old Battery was stone cold dead... not a volt in it. Threw it on a charger and it did take a charge and seems to be holding it. Surprise surprise. Tires are abit needy but nothing serious. Best part everything is there, original cigar lighter woo hoo, and fairly unmolested. On the splash pad ready for a bath... sheet metal really straight. Seat & hitch worth the price of admission...

Hello, I found the charts that show what rototiller fits which years, but the tiller I'm looking at doesn't have a model number on it. Is anyone able to tell by looking at it to see if this will work on a 1993 416-8 manual or a 1996 520 hydro? The guy only has the tiller so I'll end up having to piece the rest together.

From my cousin’s house near the NC/ VA state line. Visible here but not nearly as bright. Back in May when they were visible before, they were this bright here. Had a lot of green visible then too.

That will work, however you will need the pulleys that clip into the mid-mount Tach-A-Matic, rear axle mount and lift cable. Good news is that those tines on that tiller are in great shape with plenty of life left in them.

If you want to paint without sanding as much, a wire brush on a cordless drill is way easier than sandpaper. I’m sorta lazy, and it works well for me.

I lucked out and found some parts from a great guy in New Hampshire! I bought a hub, and the rear axles, no housing. I was only wanting the left axle and fortunately he offered to leave the two together for the price of the left side. Should have time to rebuild it in a couple of weeks.

Another mower followed me home today... I'm like a magnet these days! LOL! The price was right at $70. It's got a 12HP Briggs and Stratton I/C engine, I got it placed in the Wheel Horse and was thrilled to see that the bolt pattern was exactly the same as the original Tecumseh from front to back: And I've got good clearance in the front: The air filter looks a little awkward... I may try to relocate or at least do a different cover so it looks a little better: I'll need to do some research to figure out where a battery was supposed to go, but there's a spot where I should be able to house it: The fuel tank? I'll either need to modify the steering console thingy or find something else... The last item is a question... well, two questions. I measured the vertical height of the upper pulley on the driveshaft and it's about 1/4" higher than I need. Question #1, I think this is what y'all meant by adding a spacer... I just need to add something of the proper height to the shaft above the pulley assembly to get the vertical height set right, right? Question #2, I don't have any plans to use this guy as a mower. Is there any reason I couldn't chop off the lower pulley? Jonathan

You could sell a couple that isn't used much to make room, That is after you get the ones you need.

EB just take some of that money you have squirreled away and buy another hydro Wheel Horse with the lift on it. You know you need just one more another one after that. Sooner or later you'll have all the part to convert the lift on the C-121.

@Bar Nuthin would recommend a ball hitch for frequent hook ups , also have my attachments propped up for perfect back up / drop on ball fit , all related are lubricated for ease of movement , lever connection , pete

74-77 is too new for me. D series all had splined shafts. My Charger/Electros all had woodruff keys. Maybe WH thought 16hp was too much for a woodruff key??? Swapping the drive pulley would resolve any mismatch.

No worries. I'll throw an ad up.

Sorry Eric, no help on the rock shaft.

I'VE USED THEM KITS FROM I SAVE TRACTOR, THEY WORK GOOD WITH NO PROBLEMS

Thanks guys! I'll at least do what the owner's manual suggest, I appreciate the input. I'm off to (hopefully) get another donor mower, fingers crossed. Jonathan

here is photo of 42 recycler bottom if you were looking for photo ??

@Handy Don Interesting… It’s almost like Wheelhorse/Toro was going to offer something to finish it but never got there. @Rob R definitely, I have two cats who seem to keep that stuff at bay. There was only one instance within the last 10 years or so I’ve had any mice get in. @kpinnc yes, my father has come up with a few good ways to deter them. If I ever get any I’ll try some of those methods.

Remember when we used to laugh at anything "Made in Taiwan"... Now they're the good stuff. Norman for President!!!

@ebinmaine prompted me to put this up here. This is on a 36” geared RD deck but the principle is the same for the 42” belt RD. I used ordinary stainless hardware--round headed hex socket screws with flanged nylock nuts

Untill the feds figure out they can tax it...

Yet legalized in the District of Columbia. Makes perfect sense, clear as mud, exactly the same yet totally different…

I'm not up on my Cheech and Chong. Why does Leo have giant cans?

Oh man... da grinder went out da window man... now what?!?!?

Got the parts I needed for the headlights and replaced the filament bulbs with bright LED bulbs. I have some stainless steel tubing I may polish up and use as reflectors behind the bulbs. Question: The original wire going to the headlights was gone. What is the best way to route the new wire?

Just a thought on the rims. I had some front rims with holes and pin holes, rotted tires setting outside... I cleaned the rims as best I could with wire wheel and die grinder (get rid of any sharp edges). Used epoxy and fiberglass over the larger holes and coated thickened epoxy over pin holes. Painted them and put tires with tubes on them and have had great success keeping them in service.

Hey, the tires are worth more than that!

As I thought about things, it occurred to me that if I bought just an engine for $50-100 that I'd still be missing a number of needed parts like a fuel tank, fuel pump, ignition and seat all of which together might start adding up cost-wise. I found someone selling a newer model Craftsman for $70 on Facebook Marketplace, did some quick research and took a gamble that it'll do the trick... if not, I may already have a second project on my hands! LOL!

If you don't plan to use the mower deck the lower pulley can hang below the end of the crankshaft without any problem.

Thanks so much everyone, I appreciate the guidance! Jonathan

Change the paint. It'll feel better.

That is one beautiful 86!