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Not "with" my Wheel Horse, but with some wheel horse parts... My poor old yard trailer needs some love. It's built like a tank, but when my buddy made it for me 20 years ago it had 20x10x8 tires on it, and they just finally fell apart. I had stuck some 8 inch wheels on it, but if it sat low before it nearly drug the ground after. The dump feature was also useless. So one thing about doing tire wheel mods with 520 front ends was that I had a decent set of wheels and tires from one that I could use. So I cut off the axles and welded on a 6 inch extension and bracing, and slapped the 520 wheels on. Not perfect, but it will work great with my heavy rear hitches now and it also will dump properly. It still needs a little cleanup, but full functionality has been restored! First pic is obviously the "before"...

Finally swapped put my short chute for a tall chute I got at auction a few months ago. Looked to be complete for $50...but it was missing parts...2 hair pin clips and a third one was bent This should scare anymore snow away

Well…winter storm “Elsa” is over in east central WisCo and she left a mess to clean up. Caleb is busy working and so I went to his house yesterday afternoon and surveyed the “damage”. Easily 12” on the level and several drifts that were in excess of 16”. However, the 520HC and two stage Ber-Vac were up to the task… The driveway looks pretty decent in this picture but as I trudged through the snow up to the house I walked through several drifts up to my knees! Hidalgo started without incident and even though the snow was heavy, and I had to drive slow but steady, the blower was handling the white stuff capably. I stopped midpoint down the driveway to grab this shot to give some perspective of depth. Nothing compared to northeast Wisconsin but the deepest level snowfall I’ve had to clear in a long time. I’m really thankful for this setup for Caleb. It will definitely handle whatever gets thrown at him in the upcoming years. I hope you guys affected by the storm all had “fun” on your tractors and stayed safe!

Same here. Once the tins go on you can only see the PTO side of the fins, and it looks nice and clean.

March 18, 1933, American automaker Studebaker, then heavily in debt, goes into receivership.. Studebaker eventually rebounded from its financial troubles, only to shut down the assembly line and transition out of the automobile business in 1966. The origins of the Studebaker Corporation date back to 1852, when brothers Henry and Clement Studebaker opened a blacksmith shop in South Bend, Indiana (seems we3 have heard of that place). Studebaker eventually became a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn wagons and supplied wagons to the U.S. Army during the Civil War. Around the turn of the century, the company entered America’s burgeoning auto industry, launching an electric car in 1902 and a gas-powered vehicle two years later that was marketed under the name Studebaker-Garford. After partnering with other automakers, Studebaker began selling gas-powered cars under its own name in 1913, while continuing to make wagons until 1920.

Getting involved with cars back in the late 1960's, one of my friends who was notoriously tough on vehicles bought a 1962 Studebaker Lark.He was the type to have 4 or more $100 junkers in a year. That car left him stranded a few times - its nickname was the "Steadybreaker"!!

This is the last of my tractors for rebuild or gone thru. It was about three years ago I pick this up from Stevbo. It runs pretty good. Many new parts.I think I made it better than it was. I had many others to work on before this last one. I thinking of keeping this one. Also I ordered a Gravely muffler for this also.SORRY FOR BAD VIDEO. I am rusty at doing Vids. I used do this in all my posts years ago…….. I hope you enjoy it..Fell free to ask any questions. IMG_1075.mov

2hr 45min for me and close enough tow a trailer full to sell . I even think the wife would be happy to take me .

Do I look like Big Unit?? I'll not go here Plunger. Oh what the hell ...

Okay MADGE Thought you were into Palmolive.

Got a good start on one of the 520’s today. I was kinda dreading the exhaust but no broke bolts . Im pretty sure intake manifold was loose on rear cylinder, bolts were loose but I may have broke them loose and just forgot? Actually had more trouble with unplugging lights to remove hood than anything. Probably be a shame not to go ahead and decarb heads and adjust valves while its tore down this far. I assume you can get to rear cylinder without removing motor?

Front end & wheels done. Wheels came out nice but were a real pain getting them apart as the bolts holding the halves together were rusted tight. the heads are slotted and even with a well fitting very large screw driver tried not to mangle them to use them over. Make matters worse they are fine thread fillisters. Finally got them all out. Lots of time in the blast cab. Most guys would have went with a gloss black but I went with flat. Goes better with the final patina. Also was able to use the original tubes as they were very heavy rubber not like what's out there today. Tried a finnish of MMO on the frame but just didn't like it so went back to linseed oil.

Time to clean up shop for plow day! Just kidding, I have tons of work to get done before then!

I use the same acrylic enamel paint on the engine that I use on the rest of the tractor. I never paint the aluminum cylinder head or the bearing plate. The only place that the paint ever discolors is around the exhaust port.

Actually, he has a Colossal task ahead of him...

Our son got us one for Christmas a few years ago... we said no thanks... don't need another digital big brother...

Got to be sure you aren't using the Bohemian Rhapsody (6 minutes) or Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Chile ( about 15 minutes) or the chicken breasts might be a bit overcooked.

Rolled into the Delaware Beach house yesterday amid heavy rain and warnings oy 75MPH winds. Lucky the winds peaked out at 45MPH but the temp dropped to 28* this morning. I made the girls (Mrs. K and her two sisters) a deer hunters breakfast this morning. Venison scrapple, sausage, and puddin with home fries and eggs. Then took a walk on my crowed beach to walk off a few cal. t'wis a short walk at 28* and 45mph wind. 98.6* in the tub warmed the old bones up.

I did some upgrades tonight to the 1445. I’d like to have it be a house machine this year for plow day. The rear end is super heavy, so some front weight was in order. I also put a new Lowell lift cable on too. The flywheel is the stocker from Norman when I upgraded to a South Bend Clutch a few years back. It’s pretty heavy.

this topic has been beaten to death.

That makes those "buck-a-minute" telephone psychics look something like a bargain!!!

Hi all Thanks to your help, I replaced the ignition switch by 2 simple switches and succeeded to start the engine. I know now that the ignition switch has to be replaced. I'll try to find a new one. Thanks again

Dawn Power wash after you regular degreaser works pretty good.

Love the sound of an ONAN blowing snow on a 520 for sure. Have had good luck with them. Nice job.

Happy birthday, brother from another mother!

The C81 I picked up last summer had a common crack issue on one side at the back end of the Hoodstand where the Z shaped bracket, rear fenderpan and seat hinges bolt on. So didn't my parts donor tractor, but on the opposite side.... Looking down on the Hoodstand it is a 3 piece spot welded construction shaped like the letter "H". The solution was to split the left panel welds and do a mix-n-match of the better parts, reinforce those corners, and reassemble with pop rivets. I used 1/8" x 1-1/2" angle iron cut to shape and drilled for four plug welds each. This was easy to do with it split apart.... almost impossible to do together... I used the original hole for a nut & bolt and 2 pair of locking pliers for the fixturing.

Too bad it wasn't built that way originally!

Mr. Honda ... That motor won't fit in with your repos ... I best come get it ... I'll second that. Worst problem I've had is getting the block clean enough to get regular paint to stick unless it's a full rebuild.

Maybe snow removal equipment will be the feature???

You really need to do some research on those Balance gears as soon as possible. 50, 55 years ago when those were first introduced that type of advertising slogan was accurate. Now however, things are worn out. Do a search on the site.

Nice job on the engine Kpinnc!

I just picked this guy up today. My plans are to clean it up, remove the mower and use to run the trails on my property and carry firewood.

Is you suggesting a 5hr trip???

I agree. My phone is bad enough.

I've never actually said that, I just insist that anyone I know who has one unplugs it and de-powers it before I go into their house.

@c-series don @wallfish Ya gotta start em young.

As usual, these "betcha didn't know" posts caused me to did a little deeper into the subject. From today's reading it was expected to orbit for two thousand years but due to unexpected drag (and some other scientific calculations), it will re-enter our earth's atmosphere after 240 years. Very Interesting.

The show grounds and events sound good. The snow plow on the front of the "D" might be indicative of early May weather possibilities in Indiana.

Back in my Sanford and Son days I would run across the old round glass globe clocks that had companies logos on them at yard sales and flee markets. The ones in great shape were a bit expensive butt the ones that the cord were cut off or the motor didn't work and had some aged look (patina) were cheap. Over the years I collected several, some you could just replace the cord and they worked, some a little tinkering would get the mechanism and they worked which make the back light work. I hung all of them in my shop running or not, a few years back I bought a battery power mechanism and put in one and it fit good, a couple of washer and it ran just fine, no light though. Put it in a few and they worked.

Mrs. 953 nut has "Seri" on her I Phone as a personal assistant distraction. Seri can give more incorrect answers in one minute than anything I've ever seen. Mrs. 953 will ask it a question, it will respond with "I did not understand your question." Ask it the same question phrased differently and it will tell you where you can buy what it thinks you were seeking information about, but not the information you were seeking. Some times you will be having a conversation about a subject and Seri will chime in with some worthless information. Yesterday Mrs. 953 asked me how wide the straits of Hormuz are, Seri chimed in and said she would give us driving directions. NO THANKS Seri.

Not sure how much snow we actually got due to the high winds and drifting, but I would say somewhere in the 8-12” range. IMG_4747.mov IMG_5124.mov

You get any snow down there Jeff? Thoughts on me just putting chains on the fronts? Fronts not loaded ... they claimed it didn't pay wouldn't gain much weight? They would be much easier to get on and off like our horses. You look like you got pretty much flat ground Plunger. At the love shack I got hills that won't quit.

Did some spring greasing and swapped some wheels and tires around to free up a set for a new project Found a cracked shifter boot on the c165 and replaced it with a new one I had on the shelf. It stays under cover but glad I got around to doing some routine maintenance and caught it.

Fixed my weight bracket and put the suitcase weights back on the Bronco 14. At least they are a bit straighter than before.

Just caught this thread Jack and looks good so far. House looks to be a fine starter for a young feller. Looks like he could use a shop/garage/man cave but with our combined sliver wizardry skills I'm sure we can bend a nail or two. You need any help Dan is sitting right here ... Don't forget I have some 520 parts. If he still needs a deck I have one here I can't let him have but he certainly welcome to borrow it!. Really ...He sure has come a long ways!

A quick update… dad came over yesterday and we assessed the situation. I suggested using this old spare third arm that I had acquired years ago with a parts tractor. Dad skillfully fabricated the upper “ears” and welded them on to the lift arm—works great! he even cut a slot in them for a little bit of float like the factory arm has. next up: we took and old spare crank rod and fabricated a bracket and welded a hook on the end. It works like a should! Today, I’m going to pick up a belt (gonna try a 5/8x65 as I saw that suggested somewhere on here). I also need to get two helper springs. I have the bolt for the front attach-a-matic and I purchased a set of turnbuckles but realized that the sheet metal where the turnbuckles attach is pretty thin. So, I cut and drilled a piece of flat bar stock to reinforce the area behind it. We are getting close to delivering this to Caleb’s house for winter snow removal duties!

I managed to decarbon mine with the p220 in place.

The only part of your engine that becomes hot enough to damage regular spray paint is the head and the cooling fins around the cylinder. The head should never be painted and the cooling fins should only be given a light coat of high temperature paint, I prefer flat black for the fins.

Too scary for me!

Thanks Don for the thoughts on the bolt. It was handy (like your avatar) and I’m on a time constraint (I leave for Israel on Monday). This upcoming summer, I’ll get a custom rod made up. Today’s project was to clean up the hood and fender pan, then load the tractor, and head to Caleb’s house. This tractor is in such good shape (the seat notwithstanding) and so I felt that the chalky hood would shine up nicely… I wasn’t wrong…I only spent about 20 minutes on it for now but was excited with the results! Not bad for 37 year old paint! my little 5’x8’ trailer was “just big enough” to fit the tractor with blower attached. Caleb got off work about an hour early so that he could be the one to clear his own driveway for the first time! For those of you that have known him for a decade—can you believe that he is now a first time homeowner??? unfortunately the throttle cable is not functioning well. We are going to need to outsource a good used one or find something better. however, even at about half throttle, that Ber-Vac was handling the snow with ease and the torque of that Onan is impressive! For those of you that enjoyed reading the Iron Horse thread, this picture is also there. This is my dad in 1975 clearing the snow at his first house with his 1965 875. 50 years later, his grandson is clearing his driveway at his first house with a 1988 520HC! Wheel Horse—a generational experience for the Stertz household (like it is for many of you!) Job well done for the old machine! using the bagger frame to hold some weight (about 100 pounds) may not be the prettiest situation, however it works just fine. Caleb has a full rack of suitcase weights but no bracket. I suppose that next spring/summer we can fabricate something to hold those. At least, he can now clear any accumulative snow moving forward this winter…