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This year has been quite a memorable ! Picked up many of interesting Wheel Horse tractors and implements and parts . But never in my life time did I ever think I would ponder on this. I've seen pictures of it and a few of our very select fellow Horse Colleges own this. It all happen about a week and a half ago saw it on online classified it was there for a few days I emaied and they still had it. He said he woukd hold it for me. I made arangements on my day off to go pick it up. The night before I was to make the journey he calls said he got email from some one in Georgia said he will double the amount and Vinmo the money. He then asked me which part was i after since there was two thing for one price in the ad . He says that's what the other guy wants ! He then asked if i want it for that price since i was the first one. Just Vinmo him the money I said I wont since I've done that before and never got what i paid for. That kind of pissed me off told him I have cash at pick up. He apologized and said he will honor our deal and to make thing right he'd throw in some extra parts since his wife was after him to clean up. When I picked up the implements I asked how he acquired it. He said he got it with the his 60s charger he had bought . Then he asked how much is it worth i told him only what some ones willing to pay for it. He said it looks old. I Then told him how rare it is . So I think this is going to be the Crown on my 1955 Rj 35. Since it was made for it early on. Let me introduce Wheel horses first mower deck the RMR 3255 ? three blade deck. Before the gear deck. The belts look like it was hardly used for a 70 year old piece.

Ask and you shall receive ! Notice the bonus tool on the left side. 😆

c-series don ..I plan on cleaning it up greasing it mounting it and then aleast try it out . Do a video of it mowing a least once and then keep it as a trailer queen for the 55 RJ 35.

Example of a leaf plow similar to one I’ve seen landscapers use near me. They don’t get every leaf or leave a pristine lawn. The guys I see use blowers to make a pile and then use these to move piles either off the lawn or to a place for pickup/shredding. Blower again for the “left behinds"

i assumed it wasn’t. Hopefully I have it waterproofed enough. I sealed all the wiring connectors with silicone, covered the entire motor with tightly wrapped electrical tape, covered that with a nitrile glove, and then found something to use as a cover. Hopefully it all keeps it dry.

I guess you could flip them over for a sharper blade ?

Here is the final assembly before I tear down and prime and paint. Note this is a 5cu ft vs a 4 cu ft that brinly originally used so I should be able to get about 400-500lbs of material in here.

Air cooled, splash lubricated engines will not be adequately cooled or lubricated if left idling for more than a minute or two.

First 1955 brochure notice the deck

Your spark plug looks about normal for not having worked hard. With small air cooled engines running a bit on the rich side of the fuel mixture is preferable to being on the lean side. If the fuel to air mix is too lean it contributes to overheating.

It looks like a lot of fun. I can't think why a duck or why a Jeep, but I'm sure there will be a reason. My wife Mrs.W is duck obsessed, we have em everywhere in the house. Her circle of friends have a duck called Dolly and wherever they go on holiday, Dolly goes too, and sends back a photo on the beach or at a restaurant. It's quite funny to see her travels. Dolly playing cribbage in menorca. You never know, Mrs.W might start the trend over here lol.

If they're not leaking air, l feel it would be better to leave them alone. Putting stress on the sidewalls taking them on and off may cause more harm to the tires. Leave well enough alone. That's my 2 cents.

Put it to work again today,

I bought a walk behind mower from a co-worker back in the 70's. He said it vibrated when mowing. Turned out he had taken the 4 blades (looked like yours) off the domed center piece, sharpened them and put them back onto the top of the dome instead of underneath. Put them back under and vibration was gone. Used that mower for many years.

Today, I’m on day 7 of an unintended vacation. The parent company of Hannaford the company I work for had a cyber security issue on the East Coast last Wednesday. They shut down systems that dealt with confidential information due to a concern for customer privacy. That effectively shut down Hannaford to Go. So, I’m on standby, until those systems come back up. Nobody seems to know when that is. But, I’ve got a bunch of PTO so it’s fine for now. On the bright side, I’ve caught up on my house work. I’ve also got some DIY stuff planned, and have been finishing off the 308 with some parts and pieces.😎 I’d rather them fix the issue now thoroughly, than in two weeks around Thanksgiving when we are swamped.

Aren’t you glad truck maintenance and repair are not in your job description?!

Turn it off. Not good to idle these old kohler k series.

300, 400 and 520s before 1990 had the motion control lever in the console. I attach my foot pedal to this lever on all my hydros. 312H '88 520H

I don’t have truck eating stories about gravelys, yet, but I did get into the gravely world last winter with a 2004 professional 14. The last year I believe they made the old style gravelys. I almost sold it before I bought the wheelhorse, but I thought I’d probably regret it. It’s just so unique.

So the way you engage the deck is..... The long curved rod connects to the bottom of the lift arm. The lift arm in lowered position the deck is off. In raised position and locked the mower is on engaged. The mower is bolted solid to the frame in 4 places and doesn't float like modern decks . Check out the pics.

Thank you all very much!!! I hope to get to meet you all someday. Once my kids get a bit older, I would like to go to the big show. In the meantime I am getting my old 1800's mortise and tenon beam 35x65' bank barn fixed up and hoping to eventually do a gathering of horses, wheel horses of course

Where Jeep Ducking Started The practice of Jeep Ducking originated in a small town in Canada in 2020. A woman named Allision Parliament, from Ontario, who was having a particularly bad day, randomly bought a bunch of rubber ducks from a convenience store and gave one to another Jeep owner with a note that said, “Have a Great Day.” The intent was to bring a smile to the individual and spread a little cheer that we all needed during the pandemic. The small interaction turned out much better than expected. The Jeep owner walked out of the store and at first, was confused when he saw a rubber duck being placed on his Jeep. However, after reading the note that was left behind, left a huge smile on his face. That night, #DuckDuckJeep was born after being posted on Instagram and the rest is history. Ducking is not always a Wrangler thing, my wife's Cherokee displays its ducks with pride.

After looking more at this deck the only way to pitch or level the deck is to adjust the stud mounts up or down by loosening the nuts on top or on the bottom.

i used to pick up and deliver at the Portland distribution center, as well as Winthrop.

I was thinking the same thing Richard...reversable. Very cool for sure.

If you want to idle it, idle it at at least 1/2 of full throttle and run it at 3/4 to full. For the length of time you are talking about, shut it down. If it was one of 2 trips, I would idle at 1/2 throttle. Another factor to consider...temperature. I would shut it down in hot weather, 1/2 idle in cold.

Save the fuel and the planet. I shut down for stops longer than a minute or two.

The blade tips appear to be reversible. Are they sharp on both sides?

I put my snowblower on a couple of weeks ago. It’s a single stage blower for the XI series. I have a two stage but it is just to heavy for this old man to drag around. I had to make a connector for the chute rotation. It worked fine, but I wasn’t very impressed by how well it worked. so I dug around in some of my junk and found a power seat motor. So I made a new shaft to hook to the gear that rotates the chute. Ran the wiring, mounted a switch, and then tested it this morning. Works great. Now I think I’ll think about a cab. IMG_5935.MOV

First 1958 brochure for RJ 58 model. They were still using RJ 35 photos . Notice the deck on 1956 model with black rims. So some time in either late 55 or 56 they went to the gear drive deck.

Unlike Pete, I do not use Sta-Bil. My only experience with Sta-Bil was a bowl full of gel in the spring, and a complete carb cleaning to get rid of it. Using straight ethanol-free gas ever since with zero problems. I know lots of guys like lots of different "snake oils", but removing the problem (ethanol) in the first place will eliminate the need to doctor your gasoline. Just my opinion, but I have been working with and maintaining small gasoline engines since 1964. Problems only began when ethanol was introduced.

For what it’s worth, I’ve used green slime in several yard equipment tires that have good tread, but dry rotting or puncture damage that would cause it to lose air. If you roll it around a lot to get full inside coverage, it works quite well. Mine have held air all season. In fact , the front tires on the 50” gravely deck attachment take like 50 psi, but are tiny. When I bought it, one wouldn’t hold air more than a day, and after the slime, it held all summer. Just a thought.

I third that.

Very cool! I’d like to see that without the belt covers on

I'd want to get the gas in the oil sorted before further running. Plug condition is secondary to that. I'll agree with @oliver2-44. Run the plug.

I have one of those too and never knew about that belt deck until now. Nice score!

Do I recall this tractor/engine had been sitting awhile? The 2-3 hours you're put on it probable haven't been working it hard, lots of starts, idles, short runs, etc working on and adjusting things. Then with the gas in the oil that's not a normal situation to compare things. On you plug ceramic insulator I see some tan (good) on one side and black on the other. Could be running a little rich, but with the recent gas/oil problem I wouldn't want to adjust it yet. But these carbs are not hard to adjust, read the carb section in the Kohler manual for starters. For my 2 cents, that engine needs several hours of good working run time to really be able to say what a plug reading is telling you. PS, I have a 1965 Case 180 with Kohler k301. The cylinder is wore .009ths over new (that's a lot). I only run it taking it to shows, so no hard running. It smoke a touch on startup, but really don't see blue oil smoke while running. it fouls a plug to a no start point in about an hour, but no knock and no balance gears. Thankfully, I finally found a machine shop that will grind these small engine crankshafts. So its on the rebuilt list.

The 308 is coming along. One new Tractor Supply high back seat and it’s almost ready for winter.

In that kind if shape ... yah hen's teeth. I've got a few older decks but nothin pre 58/59 Nice score

Maybe it’s a Jeep thing, but I don’t understand. My kind of nice gesture is helping with a flat tire, or loading something heavy.

Yes and still sharp

I like the replaceable cutting tips on the blades. Are they sickle mower blades?

With the deal came also a a last year 07-05DC01 Tub cart in pretty good condition only missing the dump lever . Also a first year front mount Mule drive in excellent condition and misc parts

Seconded.

It’s really fun to see a Jeep with tons of ducks on it, honestly it’s pure joy and fun to give and receive. Sean’s first duck

AND…. 400 miles has been achieved! Pedaled just over 17 miles today. The weather here is still warm so who knows, might squeeze in another ride or two, but if the bike ends up in my basement hanging from the ceiling I won’t be disappointed.

Same here. No chance to contaminate the oil and if they are located below the fuel tank, no need for primer bulbs or valves to prevent fuel drain back. Batteries and starters will thank you for the instant starts.