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She plows! Still need to work on the lift stuff. Try to get another inch of lift, check which lift holes were used etc. Cruised down to the old shed to see if I have any “trapped” mice (aka, DEAD!)

Hello, It’s been a while since I posted… Getting started on the restoration of my 1976 Wheelhorse C160, which is about 30% underway… Decided to finish off the year with some new seat cushions for the old style metal seat-pan/back, and member Matt Castagno made me a beautiful replacement. They are so much better than the original cushions, but look absolutely original installed. Such a pleasure to deal with Matt, and arrived in less than a week to California. Spoke to Matt about sharing his email…here it is…Matt’s contact info is: grnlark@gmail.com Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and holidays. I’ll be posting more in the new year of the restoration. Best, Jason

Only got a dusting in Tennessee

Mine got a work out this morning and they performed great. I got nearly 4 hours of seat time clearing 4 inches of wet snow from 7 driveways and mail boxes.

Great tractor the 312-8. The one pictured I bought new in 1989, My ex wife hated when I bought the 520-H because I then had 2. Got rid of her 21 years ago.

Sunday December 14, 2025 after the big and cold snowstorm! 6 inches of snow and about ten degrees this am. I cleaned off my driveway and my neighbors! The 1974 Wheel Horse 8 hp B-80 worked great! When i went to my neighbors to plow the angle rod push pin fell out of the rod! Went back to the garage to retrieve another! Back in business. I really like the snowplow i have. Only 42 inches wide but years ago i put a five hole sector section in the plow for more flexibility on the angles. I can angle my plow five ways!

Christmas Bird Count Week begins on December fourteenth and is exciting for bird enthusiasts and nature lovers. During this week, thousands of volunteers across multiple countries joined forces to count and document bird species. The observations help scientists track bird numbers and health changes over time, contributing to vital conservation efforts. This bird count is celebrated to support bird conservation and to raise awareness about the importance of protecting bird habitats. Volunteers highlight environmental issues that might affect birds and humans alike by engaging in this activity. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy nature and contribute to a greater cause. Furthermore, Christmas Bird Count Week brings communities together. It provides an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to connect, share their love for birds, and learn more about the natural world. Whether you’re an experienced birder or a beginner, participating in this event is a great way to get outside, learn something new, and be part of a long-standing tradition that benefits both birds and people.

Yes I just did, home depot sells them 8 inches long just like the OEM tube length is. Works perfect.

Not much snow at a time lately but it doesn't melt and blows back in every day. A balmy 16 this morning. The Charger 12 with plastic blade does the pavers in front of the garage

That oily grunge works exceeding well to control rust and corrosion. Several of my machines have that protection. Almost none of my equipment will ever rust out from the bottom up

We were in the 3-5" zone. Got a good 4"er. It started wet at 32* last eve. and dropped to 25*. Cold, dry and drifting now. Four hours, three gallon of fuel and 7 driveways later.

As posted in my restore thread, I put down the last of the colour for my bonnet with the black detail. Clear coating later this week. Now that its starting to warm up down here, painting is getting easier.

Put a temporary replacement bolt in the bottom pivot of the 854’s 42” plow after the original fell out while plowing. See “Note to self” posting.

Here is was I got. Just 3 inch flexible duct that is positioned to catch the high volume of warm air that flows between the cylinder cooling fins and the valve chamber cooling fins. Keeps everything in the cab warm except for my feet. Lol.

Boys and girls, that is some interesting items on the Christmas wish list. My elves are working frantically to fulfill the lists from all over the world, including those listed here. Just remember, I'm making a list to see who is naughty or nice, and though I won't mention any names, some of you are not quite on the nice list yet.

No no no! You never "purchase" another one, they just reproduced on thier own! Or- you just inherited a stray and just had to give it shelter!

I have at least a half dozen of those tubes here. PM me if interested.

Got 'er done without chains. Poor planning on my part, tire chains are still on my tractor with the tiller, buried deep in the garage. Contemplating a second set.

Gosh its cold out there. Some lake effect snow now in spurts. But ole thumper did good. 3/8 of a mile of 4 driveways done. The renters can do the shovel work theirselves.

The Greasy Pete patina protectant, And those spots on the floor are constant reminders to check the oil levels.

It was wet on the bottom. Blowing and drifting now. My 42" PAMed blade didn't clog once.

Worst snow for clogging, I had to stop 3 times and poke it with a stick.

Well, after again wasting half my day yesterday trying to get a plow tractor ready we got a storm that was easier to clear by hand. The boy and I shoveled the drive, cleared the neighbors' wheel chair ramp, and cleaned all of our vehicles and theirs in about 30 minutes. Just scraped a dusting off the driveway and letting the sun take care of the ice sheet under it. About and inch layed in the yards.

Mount plow - ✅ Mount chains - ✅ Mount centering guide - ✅ Check all bolts and pins - Happily start plowing snow and after 20 minutes wonder why one end of the plow won’t lift -- ✅ Stop and investigate and discover lower pivot bolt missing - ✅

Hey maybe, just maybe we can get the gov to assign a date as a national holiday. "spend some time with your tractor day"

Got about 6" of wet heavy snow. Coming down fast at 3:00am. Coffee first then plow. 20251214_070924.jpg

Thirty some years ago I afforded and opportunity for promotion to maintenance planner. The company I worked for wanted to switch from reactive to proactive maintenance. Let me tell you....... that was one tough transformation. It took the better part of a year to convince the maintenance personal, foreman to mechanics, that it was better to service, change filters and make repairs before things became big issues. Prior to, it was just firefighting maintenance. I told the personal that we are a maintenance company, the operators are our customers. It was our responsibility to hand the operator a safe functioning machine. In to the second year it really turned around, equipment was safe and ran good. Production went up and maintenance cost down. We had about 300 pieces of machinery in the fleet. I always made myself available to talk to the operators. No one knew the equipment better. Well after all, they spent more time with those machines than their wife's. So spend some time with you tractor today!

Matt’s seats are high quality. Matt does it right!

My 312H came with rubber chains. Using Locally made steel vee bars for years, I was expecting that I would never keep these. I was surprised and amazed. They were as good as the steel except on ice. They were better on the bare pavement. They are still on my 312H.

Made sure my plow rig was ready for tomorrow’s possible snow event. Won’t be a deep snow but still needs to be cleared off the driveway. One headlight…but like most of ya’ll I have spare old/used ones kicking around. My 510-8, half the horsepower but twice the dependability!!!

Just a brief vid on how it works and why I used it. Removal of old hub and install is on my tube channel.

Never know like Bob Ellison God rest his soul. The low backs were one piece ... at least my sixties ones are. Maybe there was a low back with two pads?? Not gonna go look -7 out now. Pretty sure he does make a low back cover tho. If not I have a guy that makes the one piece black & white cover real reasonable. . edit: Looks like there is. That your 857 with a six Squirrelly?? Nice...

1/2 inchx8 inch black metal pipe does too! Just used that as an experiment and it works perfectly

Here is my solution to the transport problem: two 5/8" x4" carriage bolts, six washers. two nuts, two spring clips,and two wheels with pneumatic tires borrowed from my hand truck. It works great!

Got some shop time today. Popped a couple 520H tie rods off for a fellow Redsquare member. Trina got the Military Tribute Tractor "Millie" in for a couple belts. The S/G belt was so worn the unit was barely charging. The drive belt was also well worn. We did some investigating here and found that the universal transmission pulley was too wide and also too deep. 68" belt is far too short. 70" too long... Unfortunately the middle option of 69" belt was also about two hairs too long. This tractor has a 6 speed that had no pulley with it. I believe the best course would be to get a bushing from 3/4" down to 5/8" so she can use the original 3 speed pulley. We do need to figure out how to find that bushing/ adapter. @Achto @kpinnc or others? We also found the belt guard is bent and/or has a broken section near the engine. Trina filed that down.

Here’s the test drive

Clever! We got about 5” of pretty heavy stuff. Wound up doing my driveway and street sidewalk and three neighbors’ driveways. One real steep and I didn’t want them trying to use their small snowblower, one where their snowblower kept clogging, and one where the owner is recovering from cancer and shouldn’t be doing major exertions. Gotta admit I enjoyed the seat time while being neighborly! Now the clogged-blower neighbor wants to know what a Wheel Horse and plow would cost--we’ll talk!

Bonnet is finished with colours. Will throw down the clear coat this week, and then put it back on! 20251214_153732.jpg

I hope everyone gets something from their wish list this year! As cold as it is today - even coal wouldn't be such a bad thing

Well it lives and runs

Wheel Horse offered those blocks years ago, I believe they were 3/4" thick, very simple to make as they only have two holes to drill.

Well oookkkk ...if you insist.

blasterdad...sweeeeet CJ! ML3...beer, crown royal and cigars. talk about like minded! too bad you live so far away. regards mike

@Ed Kennell says they work great. Was always gonna get a set But believe it or not just plain turfs with weights is workin pretty good. Those fronts Mike are the exact same as what @Achto has on his sno pusher.

Yup. Got them on the blade and blower tractors. A must to protect our long asphalt drive. After using them I like them as well and probably better than steel. I do quite a bit of dirt work with the blade in the summer and they are great in the dirt too.

I got one step closer to putting the snowblower on my 522xi. I replaced the flaky old PTO clutch (which slipped intermittently when it was warmed up) with a new aftermarket unit. As far as I can tell, the build/fit/finish looks as good as the old clutch, which I assume is the original, since the machine had very low hours on it when I bought it years ago. The only difference I noticed is that the new clutch hub doesn't extend as far forward as the old one, making it a bit harder to get a good grip on it with a 1-1/2" wrench. The new clutch came with a 1/4-inch-thick washer to make up for it (based, I suppose, on the assumption that the user would install a replacement bolt of the same length as the old one), but instead of using the thick washer, I installed a replacement bolt that is the same as the OEM bolt, but 1/4" shorter and torqued it per the service manual instructions. After installing the clutch, in hindsight it occurred to me that I 'might' have been able to swap the old hub for the new one to make it easier to get a wrench on it, but it's in now and working fine, so it will stay that way.

Better get to it before someone calls you a "Sally!" Grab a roll of these and throw them under the leak. They are cheap. Fix it when it gets above 40°!

he looks lonely and seems to be taking a nap

Picked up these rubber tire chains at this summers Wheel Horse Show. Anyone use them? Thoughts? Might set up a second plow rig with these on it, see how they “grip”