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Hello All! Added THREE tractors all at once yesterday(09/16/2025). Two model 854, and one model 855. The two 854 look pretty nice, but are not running right this minute --does not look like much more than a little tinkering/refreshing after sitting for a long time. The 855 was labelled a "parts" tractor, but except for it being Really well-used looking, it seems to be all there so I am not going to consider it out of play yet. The two 854's have rear discharge mower decks...one is a square style deck, the other the rounded style deck. I think it is really nice that all three are basically the same machine, separated by one year, yet completely different styles--the end of one era and the beginning of another I guess. There is an ID tag on the 855 (serial number 135166) but on the two 854 tractors, there is No tag under the steering like late models. Are the tags in a different place on older machines? Looking them over, I do not notice anything obvious. The 854 with the lower Kohler engine serial number has the round style mover deck, while the one with the slightly higher engine serial number has the square style deck. All for now! Be well and stay safe. [rayg]

A year or three ago we decided to invest in a generator powerful enough to run everything in the home including the well pump, AC, & electric heat and hot water. We've been hunting for a small enclosure for it but as we're all well aware many of the available products are just cheap 💩 Well yesterday the BBT commenced to making one on her own. As usual it's almost all free/recycled materials. It turned out EXCELLENT. It'll be painted all one color. The huge cord will be hung inside the enclosure.

Celebrated on September 17, Constitution Day, also known as Constitution and Citizenship Day, honors the document that guarantees Americans their essential rights. Since its ratification in 1787, the Constitution of the United States has served as the basis for all U.S. laws. Our Founding Fathers framed the Constitution carefully, distributing power between three branches of government. The Constitution outlines the government’s powers, the limitations on those powers, and the rights of citizens. It also outlines an amendment process for making changes in the future. At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, delegates from twelve of the thirteen new states gathered to draft the document that would serve as the basis of all future U.S. law. Delegates at the Convention had two options for setting up the framework of the new legislative branch. The Virginia Plan, predictably supported by larger states, called for representation based on population. The competing New Jersey Plan called for equal representation for each state. The two-house solution known as the Great Compromise combines aspects of both plans and is still in use today. The Constitution also outlines the responsibilities and powers of the judicial and executive branches, how the President is elected, and other nitty-gritty details. In 1940, Congress and the President passed a resolution creating “I Am an American Day,” observed on the third Sunday in May. In 1952, the holiday was renamed to “Constitution Day” and moved to September 17, the day in 1787 that the Constitution was signed. More than 50 years later in 2004, Congress once again changed the name of the holiday to Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.

Hello, long time lurker finally joined. Just wanted to say hi and share pics of my slow growing collection. Started with the Raider 10 to pull a lawn cart. Purchased from the original owner. Thought it would be easier on the lawn than my kubota. I was right but it also started my addiction. From there bought two 854's to make one good one. Then most recently purchased a Suburban 400 with Clinton engine. This site has been very helpful along the way and I appreciate the effort you all put into maintaining it.

My A-60 Electric Wheel Horse has a chain final drive from the transmission to the differential. The master link on the chain gave out so I had my wife tow me to the shop. Since the brakes are on the transmission I had no brakes which got me to thinking. I have a rather steep driveway up to the house and if the chain had let loose there it would be a coaster ride with no way of stopping other than hitting a tree. Not a desirable alternative. I looked the situation over and decided to add a disc brake to the rear axle. Took a little bit of measuring and shade tree engineering but the outcome was well worth it. The disc is much better than the brakes mounted to the Peerless Transmission.

Today is Constitution Day. Please join in celebrating and honoring the document that remains the greatest testament to freedom and, in Benjamin Franklin's words: "A Republic, if you can keep it". When the kids were younger we read and discussed the Constitution on this day. I continue that tradition. Join me! https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/

@Bow_Extreme knows much more about the details of the promoters, and I missed a good majority of the show, we were just cruising through town on the nut for ice cream! There was a full row of hyper cars that I missed, but was very intrigued by the IH truck!

Oh, just a little bit over some of those Wheel Horse collection values of the "I know what I got" sellers. LOL

Front tires masked off and a final coat of silver paint applied. Two coats of clear applied.

"it stays locked up tight right in the old noodle!" Okay, until your 60 something, it is there but where? Hmmm I have has those Barney moments.

Awesome! Both items are worth the asking price. The carb & air filter should fit your 856. Judging by exterior looks alone it WOULD NEED to be properly cleaned and rebuilt before usage. That's the original fuel line from fuel pump to carb. It's canted at an odd angle because there's no fuel pump attached.

@WheelHorse_Kid has a Commando 8 with s/g and stirrup foot rests. I would suggest a deep degrease and a gentle pressure washing first. Some guys have had success with a light wet sanding. I haven’t tried it on anything yet.

Today I cleaned my house, puttered on the C-85 and put more panels on. My father and I got the K341 generator extension off and realized that the block and pan are completely different than the tractor stuff. So, the spare M12 may be going in for the time being. Then I went to a car show with my father here that’s on Tuesdays all summer. Puttered some more on the C-85 when I got back. Now relaxing to bed. My father’s 67 Mustang Coupe.

My first thought when someone mentions a garden tractor is my grandfathers 1965 Big Ten, as a young kid I can vividly remember my dad and grandfather hauling fire wood out of the woods across the meadow to the where he stored and stacked his fire wood. I can remember when I got to drive the Big Ten for the first time, I was king and he was there to show me how to mow and how to change the oil and how to remove the deck and put the plow on to turn the garden. So I was set on a mission to find a Big Ten. He sold his and upgraded to a 716. I tried to search for his but I got to two owners than it just disappeared. So I found this one in Erie, Pa. I dragged it home and showed him what I got I was so proud of myself for finding it and getting it running, I was able to get him on the tractor at 90 and he had a huge smile and talked about that tractor and memories he had. It is always amazing to me the attachment me have to just a simple little tractor. I was not able to get a picture of him back on a Big Ten, I made a promise to myself to redo this little tractor and show him but I didn’t make it. So it sat in my shed for a couple of years and now I’m ready to get this done. Started the tear down and these tractors are a lot more complex than wheel horses. I really enjoy the simplicity of wheel horse. I guess that is why wheel horse is so popular they are easy to work on.

Hello All I recently picked up a barn find commando 8. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do with this tractor, Since the body parts have lost most of the paint color, I need to get started with the 8hp Kohler engine, that may a deciding factor as to what I do with tractor There are no rust holes only the sheet metal has a lot of surface rust. So what do you guys say about this tractor.

Sorting and organizing is pretty much finished. Labeling is well on the way.

I would start by giving it a real good degreasing and cleaning so you can more easily see the leak. You would not want to disconnect a hydraulic line that is dirty and get anything into the hydraulic system either.

Front wheels masking removed. Now to let them dry for a few days before the next step.

both of my Commandos are like that

Morning, First post as a supporter of the forum. Wondering how much this is realistically worth and would it fit my 856? Seller asking $25.00. What are the upside down U shape piece for? Mine doesn’t have that. Seller also has this starter generator for sale as well, worth picking that up? Seller asking $40.00. Thank you.

Thanks you. I use one of these small tire changers. To help with damage and make the tire install easier I do a few things: 1) As you can see from the pictures above, the tire tool has a rubber ring on the bottom side. Be sure this is used and is clean and smooth. 2) I cut a piece of rubber and pit it between the rim and the metal plate that goes above the rim to clamp it into the tire tool. 3) The rim can now be mounted into the tool making sure the side with the valve is up. 4) Wrap the top edge of the rim with a couple layers of electrical tape (be sure to wind on the tape in the same direction you will be turning the tire installation tool). 5) Put dish soap on the electrical tape and inside edge of the tire to make things slide easier. 6) Put the tire in the sun for a while to warm it up and make it slightly more pliable. 7) you should be able to push one side of the tire onto the rim by hand with both the tire and the rim slippery with soap. 8) Now for a little trick, using two clamps like this one. squeeze one side of the tire and it should then be easy to get the squeezed side down and into the recess by the tire valve. 9) Make tire the tire installation tool is free from burrs or sharp edges then lube the tape on the rim, the tire bead and the installation too where it will contact the tire and the rim and following the instructions with the tool you should be able to pop the tire on. 10) remove the tape and hopefully there will be minimal damage to the rim paint. I always count on at least a little scratching so the final coat of paint is done after the tire is mounted.

Thanks, most of the sanding is done with a 5" random orbital and 120 grit paper. Loose paint and rust is removed using a grinder with a wire wheel. I just block sanded the spot putty because the power sander would have just removed it all. The light coloured spots you see is the remaining spot putty filling in the little dents that I could not fully hammer out. This is the spot putty I used. As mentioned above, I use regular red oxide primer.

Turning off the pump would imply, to me, that someone who works there was watching the customers at the pumps... unless they have some advanced video surveilance and AI watching them. Here, there's usually only one employee unless the station has more than say, 5-6 pumps. No one is watching....or cares. Heck, I've seen people smoking within 10 feet of the pumps, with gasoline flowing, in one case I think it was an employee of the gas station. Imbeciles. I think early on they were saying that the cell phone could cause a spark, but I think that's been debunked. In New Jersey (where I still visit frequently), until recently it was the law that an attendant pumped your gas, now I think it's optional but most stations still have an attendant, which is a good thing - they'll be watching. Also, many of those older stations don't have a convenience store anyway, so there's no reason to leave your car unless you're cleaning the windshield or something like that. [Edit to add:] As JoeM said, "It's their world......we are just living in it!" My wife and I once in a while remind ourselves of this fact: Picture a person you know who you consider to have "average" intelligence. Now remember that roughly half the people walking this planet have intelligence below that level. Kinda scary....

Lots to look at on the rat rod IH, however the clearance lights on the roof are probably unnecessary as low as it is now.

What I have read is that the phone itself doesn't cause a fire but the issue is the distraction so you forget what you are doing.

You’d be blown away at how much paint is still under all that rust! 600 grit wet/dry paper and some dish soapy water. Easy gentle strokes forward and backward. Keep it wet. Avoid the radiuses too much, they will wear faster. Go slow and check your results occasionally. Here is an example, this one was about as rusty as well. We also ran a little buffing compound across it at the 2018 Big Show too.

No need to replace the switch. Just add the solenoid and get rid of the heavy wire to the switch if you want to. Replace with 14 gauge wire. The original switch should now outlast the rest of the tractor.

In the UK pumps would be turned off if you were using a cell phone. You get a warning over the PA system but if you dont heed it they shut off the pump. Thing is lots of people pay at the pump using....their cell phone. It's a fire regulation thing, we were told the same thing about personal radios on forecourts.

He had a table at a show and it looked like nice stuff. Had a complete set on display. I think they are covers that you put over your foam. Check with him. He wasn't real pricey either.

Bottom of rear fender painted. One coat of clear applied. Bottom will just get one coat.

Here’s my Commando, with the wrong hood decals!

I picked this up today while I was on marketplace looking for just any aerator. I've had a couple in the past but not built like this one. I actually need one this time and lucked out finding this one. I've seen a lot of Wheelhorse implements but never seen a spiker aerator.

I remember that tractor well! After you bought it it looked like a whole new rig.

I truly have to admit, I have a one in a million woman, and after 48 years we are still happily married. She has her craft room on the 2nd floor of the barn, but I'm not allowed to take pictures of it.

I know that I'm going to get a lot of pushback on this, but here goes. Patina: A: Usually a green film formed naturally on copper and bronze by long exposure or artificially (as by acids) and often valued aesthetically for its color B: A surface appearance of wood grown beautiful by the touching of humans leaving oils that get darker and richer over time. Rust: The reddish brittle coating formed on iron/steel especially when chemically attacked by moist air and composed essentially of hydrated ferric oxide. Nice find. I love my Commando 8. But Patina? Nope, that's rust. No matter what you put on it, rust will continue to slowly eat away at the metal.

Thank you all as usual for the help and support. Glad to be part of such a helpful family of tractor enthusiasts

I have some videos of the Roadapples Legacy tractor coming soon. Truth be told, it’s still in the toy hauler from the weekend we met up!

Posted at the same time!!! Great ideas are timed perfectly!!!

Water is pumping!

Smooth it down with scotch pads then wipe or brush this on it. Available at Lowes.

very impressive !!!!!! do you do all bloc hand sanding? or do you use any power sanders or grinder sanding discs etc? When convenient, could you post a photo or tell us the light redish primer paint product you use? thanks

I do have the original one and it was still working but I decided I wanted to switch it over to the solenoid and low amp switch to make it a little less likely to let all the magic smoke out.

S/G engine with stirrups on a Commando?? Must be a very early one... I'll bet there's more red paint under there than one might think.

I finished up a new dock sections today. Next year, it will be installed 90 degrees to the main dock in front of the pontoon mooring spot. We will keep this section of the dock adjusted to the water level, making it easier to get on and off the pontoon.

Wow! Good score! I have a similar one made by Ohio Steel, needs plenty of weight to be effective.

Decided to take my tractors to this show to help represent Wheelhorse's. Got them cleaned up and loaded up to drop them off tomorrow.

I used a little spot putty on the small remaining dimples on the rear fender. Block sanded until as flat as I could get it.