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first parts painted with primer a split in the hoodstand welded me cleaning the chassis more parts cleaned and primed chassis and front axle painted gearbox painted after my uncle and grandad fixed a broken hi-low shift fork and and put new seals in. lots of stainless nuts and bolts from the steam rally wheels after cleaning (note I was cleaning my little brothers lawn ranger wheels too) first wheel primed front wheels painted and fitted transmission bolted on rear wheels painted with carlisle cleated tyres from Jim (Mith) - thanks to my dad and grandad for fitting them and not scratching the paint back on all fours Ewan

hurry up ! I want to get my garage back so I can start the GT14 restoration :P

A little time saver to confirm an Onan ignition module is functional prior to installing it, reassembling the engine and keeping your fingers crossed. The diagram below shows how to wire up a standard tail lamp assembly and a few alligator clips to complete the testing. All the wiring and testing can be accomplished on the bench. One Caution - DO NOT TOUCH THE BLACK MODULE LEAD TO 12 VOLT POWER AT ANY TIME. IF NO LOAD (lamp or ign coil) IS PRESENT IN THIS LEAD THE MODULE WILL BE DESTROYED. The modules I have tested so far power have all powered up with the tail light on. When the trigger ring is rotated near the "nose" of the module, one of the two magnets embedded in the trigger ring will turn off the lamp and continued rotation of the ring will pass the second magnet over the "nose" and once again turn on the lamp. An ignition coil puts about a 3 - 4 amp load on the ignition module. A standard automotive tail light will also put the module under approximately the same load and provide a good simulation of the ignition coil load. This post has been promoted to an article

Hi, my name is Ewan I'm 15 years old, I got my first Wheel Horse 18 months ago from Neil in Somerset, UK. I have been working on it for the last 9 months, here are some pictures. btw, my dad is meadowfield, my grandad is norlett and my uncle is Raider10. I have already met a few members at the UK wheel horse meeting last year. When I first got it home. It was very very rusty as it had been parked for a long time outside. most of the bolts needed a lot of heat to undo more rot the front axle was broken I have been cleaning the parts in my dads e tank belt cover cleaned up - thanks to Stigian getting there - more rust than tractor the hub set screws were snapped off hoodstand in the e tank

That is the #5010 transmission...check out this video and see if something does not catch your eye...or ear for what it might be. The video is of the #5010 trans like what you have. http://s419.photobuc...TRANNYS0015.mp4 If I was to guess what it may be, I would say that you have a worn bronze bearing or 2 in the differential housing. If they are worn enough, the play could be enough to cause the pinion gears to bind and that may produce a click. The pinion gears are strong, the weak points are the axle gears, which chip, crack and/or break. I have been rebuilding some of Jake's #5003 & #5010 transmissions. We have replaced the axle gears in a few of them, and the bronze bearings were worn out in these transmissions. Try this...put the rear end on blocks and put into reverse gear and run. You can grab either of the tires and stop it's rotation...the other tire will continue to turn in reverse. Try it with each tire. Do you have the clicking when both tires turn and does it stop when just one of the tires is turning??? With a worn bearing, the force in the trans in the opposite direction could lift a gear enough to create a binding which may come across as a clicking noise. Let us know.

why not swap rear over into the b80, not sure if the 12 hp will fit in to the short frame thought. with the trans swap you could be back up and running in a couple of hrs. then find another wheel horse with a bad motor to put the 12 hp on eric j

So I began stripping apart the $20 B-80 that I snagged on Wednesday to find that the engine starts and runs great! I was shocked...we began stripping parts and decided to try out the tranny. Funny picture below of how I rode it around my yard! Sadly, as I drove it around I blew the carb bowl gasket!! So then I got it back into the garage as it sputtered along spitting gas and began the complete pull apart. I will keep everyone updated as this will for sure be a weekend by weekend project. You can tell this tractor was kept outside...

Got my little round hood fitted with a snow blade today, it does pretty good for as small as it is, for small snow falls I'll play with this, but bigger snows I'll use the 520, the hyd lift on this is nice, I can pick the front tires up about 3/4" off the ground for good down pressure, and still raise the blade up about 6" off the ground.

Got it mounted and tried it out, not much snow here, but enough to play in, it clears the front weight with tons of room, and with the solid lift link I can pick the front tires about 3/4" off the ground, and it still lifts the blade about 6" up off the ground. More pics in this post http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/3-wheel-horse-tractors/page__prune_day__100__sort_by__Z-A__sort_key__last_post__topicfilter__all__st__30

I LIKE THE ORIGINAL LOOK MYSELF. I DID THE MUSCLECAR THING IN THE 80's-90s WHEN IT WAS SOMEWHAT AFFORDABLE. I RESTORED THEM TO SELL FOR A PROFIT, THAT'S HARD TO DO NOW WITH THE PRICE OF NOS PARTS TODAY. THE WHEEL HORSE TRACTOR ARE EASIER TO DO AND PARTS ARE EASIER TO COME BY. THE ONLY THING I THINK IS EXPENSIVE IS A NICE SEAT. I HAVE BOUGHT AND SOLD 15-20 TRACTORS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS. I FIX THE THE MECHANCIAL ITEMS,CLEAN,POLISH AND USALLY PAINT THE DECKS. I USE THE CORRECT FASTNERS AND PLATING. I RESTORE THEM THE BEST I CAN WITHOUT SPENDING A TON OF MONEY ON THEM. YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A BUYER WALK AWAY BECAUSE IT IS ORIGINAL AND NOT JUST SLAPPED TOGETHER . IT'S ONLY ORIGINAL ONCE AND KNOWN AS A SURVIVOR AND THEH A ORIGINAL RESTORED. DO WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD. TO RESTORE A TRACTOR LIKE A CAR YOU COULD SPEND $2000 OR MORE ON IT. JUST ENJOY DOING IT, I DO. JUST MY TWO CENTS. BOWTIE IN OHIO

I had a B-80 that I was forced to cut the steering shaft below the dash housing to remove it. I then found a good steering wheel and steering shaft on eBay for about $40.00. I still have the old wheel and cut shaft hanging in the shed to remind me that sometimes, no matter how persistent you are, you will end up losing.

The first 314-8 was a 1985 model. (21-14K801) If you stand back far enough to see the big picture, it's easy to see what caused the demise of the "Classic" Wheel Horse GT..... they killed themselves. It's not uncommon to see 20, 30, 40, even 50 year old tractors still working their guts out on a regular basis. Sure - they require maintenance and some parts here or there, but it doesn't cost anywhere near the amount of an equivalent new machine. Now look at the "big box store" junk out there today. The manufacturers pretty much guarantee themselves return customers in 6 to 10 years. They know exactly what they're doing and people play right along with them.

Well it's a while sense I built any of these hitches and I have had a steady flow of PM's from you guys wanting some more hitches. I have been very busy this last year as my parents have been going through a lot, Spending half of my free time over there helping them out and know I have to move my brother and his family over to my parents so he can help take care of them. So Tom and I will be doing another build of our hitches. The price has gone up as our cost has gone up for the steel. There will be two different hitches for the main product this time. first will be the good old sturdy classic and the second will be a shorter version that will be able to fit a tiller with leaving the hitch on. I have had a lot of you asking for this and I think I can do it for just a little extra in the cost of the hitch. I will drill a new hole for the pin close to the flared end of the receiver, and cut the other end off so it can be mounted up tighter to the rear axle. I will test this hitch as I do have a tiller know and I can check the fit after the first one is built. I did missplace the dimensions for the for the XI hitch I built for Burrly1 and Shallowwatersailer. I have access to a 520xi at my local dealer that I have been keeping a eye on and will get the dimensions that I need this weekend. The paint will unfortunately be changed to Regal Red as my favorite Valspar Restoration series paint is no longer available. I hope it drys good before shipping as I don't want packing materiel sticking to it while they are on the way to you.The old paint took 2-3 days and the new says 24hours but we will see. I am also doing a custom hitch for are friend in Australia. He wants one for his 520 with a loader. the difference between the standard and the XI and a custom hitch that was built I only have Saturdays to work on these as I have my daughter Gabby every day know as I don't want My parents Driving to pick here up any more. So It may take tell the end of the month for these to get built. I will do my best to get them done as fast as possible. Remember that these are built to order, I require 50% down to build you a hitch, and the other 50% when its ready to ship. I use USPS to ship these and only ship on Sat. I will give you a shipping quote when you give me a address, and delivery conformation and a tracking # will be given to you when its shipped. I have 40+ hitches built and sold and have lots of compliments so far and I thank you guys for liking my hitches. The new prices are : 1 regular hitch $120 + shipping 2 short hitch for tiller $130 + Shipping 3 XI hitch $130 + shipping 4 custom hitch to your dimensions $120 - $140 + shipping depending on what you need and cost of materials. extra plates and bolts $10 To mount hitch to tractor if you don't have a rear plow-tiller mount. Any questions you can PM me or post here. If you want one I do like to talk to you in person on the phone as I like to make sure you are happy with what your getting. Thank you for looking an

Check out what came with my C-160 that I just picked up!

I have my tires loaded, weighted and hang suitcase weights off the rear hitch. With the two stage snow blower out front the extra weight on the rear helps to counter balance especially in reverse or if the front wheels drop over the edge of pavement as the AGs don't have much traction in reverse. For the few hours my tractor is in use during the winter I don't think the suitcase weights will do any harm considering the way I see some of these tractors loaded up.

I do not use any, and (knock on wood) have not had any problems. Any gasket stuff would work though, the permatex is good, copper coat is one of my favorites for this. I make sure the metal is clean, scrape and wire wheel brush...lightly file any burrs on the outside edges. With these older trannys, sometimes you put it together and something is just not quite right. Much easier to tear back down if you did not use anything. They never used anything when they built them at the factory, you can tell by how easy the gasket scrapes off. :)

Here's a pic from last year. Have only had to use it 3 times this winter so far...

About 25 years ago I built 2 snow plows, one was a V plow and the other was a one way plow. What I used for the moldboard was a 60 gallon hot water heater. I just cut it in half the long way, for the Vplow I just started cutting material out of the middle but I stopped a 1 1/2" from the top and bottom, and kept pulling the ends back until I had a 90 degree angle, welded a piece of 1/4" steel in the middle to work as a divider. On the front of that I cut a 2" radius on one end to help it raise up over the bumps in the sidewalk. Then made some push arms to push it with. For the one way plow I closed up the left side of the moldboard and bent the right side up some for more clearance. On the left side I also made another piece of 1/4" buy 2" high stock radiused to go over bumps. For cutting edges I had some worn grader blades that I cut to the right length, and made sure the holes were spaced to be centered on the moldboard. I used these for a long time after, and they always worked fine. At the present time I'm trying to get my big snow plow dealer to get me a 3' to 4' rolled piece of steel to make a wing plow to put on one of my WH tractors, hopefully this year. I've got close to 60 miles of township roads to plow for the last 34 years, and when thats done I love to play plowing and blowing snow with my Wheel Horses. I have 4 tractors that I enjoy plowing with in my spare time.

Those are Deestone tri ribs, I love them, the center rib is taller like a true tri rib should be, little better pic just before I put the plow on.

That blower's belt was in the outside groove and I cant say if it was the correct belt or not . I sold that unit a few years ago when I upgraded to my tall chute. I do recall when the short chute was on my C-125 that the belt would only work on the outer pulley because of the hood. Mike........

This is a picture of a seat-pan that came on a used 18 Automatic >> This is a picture of a seat-pan that I purchased, thinking it would work for an 18 Automatic seat cushion and mount as you can see there is only one set of the 4 square holes in a larger bolt pattern. I am wanting to know if anyone can tell me what model this seat-pan may have been used on? P.S. It is a crinkly black finish that the previous owner said was original Wheel Horse paint. I think the pictures that I have seen of 18 Automatics were red seat-pans.

Kevin, I have not attempted a steering wheel removal. here is a hyperlink to a RS file on steering wheel removal plus doing advance search for previous posts will shed some light on a stubborn wheel removal.

engine got new rings seals and gasket, also rebuilt carb.

40 is when I needed glasses. 50 is when everything else started to go. You've got some time...but not much. Happy Birthday. Hope you have a great day.

i think this is a great topic,i cant add anything that hasnt allready been said,have fun,have a great reliable,versatile,easy to work on machine for not a ton of money,i am very lucky to have a bit of all aspecks of the hobby,a trailer queen that i completely tore apart and redid,to a beater that has been robbed of all good parts,to some real good workers ,thats what is nice about garden tractors,its reasonably afordable to own more than one

I soaked mine with penetrating oil for what seemed to be weeks before I could start getting the pin to move. Just kept spraying it on daily and hammering with a punch until it finally started moving, then more penetrant and hammering daily until it came out. Not fast but worked. I would suggest antiseize on when replacing.

Kevin: That drive does remind me of something -the Incline Railway on Lookout Mountain. About 70 degee incline even though you may have a little less! I kind think the rubber tire chains that I have been using might be an added benefit to the grade issue on your drive with the added weight. If you get ice or ice packed up on your drive sliding is an issue. I do not have a grade issue on my concrete drive but the rubber tire chains sure surprised me how well they grip. Here is a photo FYI. Just an added thought!~

First of all, check with Terry the VinylGuy. www.redoyourhorse.com. Once you have determined that he has the decals you want, make sure that the size is such that it will cover the area where the old ones will be removed. If everything is okay, try removing the old ones by heating them with a hair dryer, lifting a corner, and slowly pull them off. You may find that the paint under the decal looks better than the paint on the rest of the hood due to fading. Clean the surface with mineral spirits, let it dry, then apply the new decals.

I like to stay as close to origional as possible, but part availability, and choosing pant color will never be exact. Some of the parts are becoming very hard to find. I still want all mine to be functional while I still want them to look good. I get a lot of people who stop and say, heh, how old is that tractor? This hobby is more than just trying to relive the past to me, it brings people together doing things they love and talking about memories. I like origional, sometimes even untouched, but like to see tractors that were done with pride. I am not into the tractors that are chopped up or changed into something they were not. But thats just me, to each there own. (In fact some have made me kinda sad). I think we all have to remember that life is short so lets have fun and make memories with family and friends. Now where is my red spray paint can? Let these tough tractors that were made with pride and brought memories live on and make more memories for years to come! May I live to be an old man sitting under an oak tree talking to my friends and family about the fun that was had and the work that these little gems are able to do!

Nope he needs to give it to me.

You're a Wheel Horse preper. You never know when it's doomsday for the old engines so it's always nice to have a back up. I guess you could always run the new engine in it and save the original.

As the saying goes "To each his own." ask 100 people you'll get 100 answers. I have a 655 done up about as close as I can get it to original but with SS fasteners and I am not ashamed to admit that I drive it around all year get dog crap on the tires and scratches on the hood, about a week before the MI show I drag it out give it a good bath and touch up the scratches. From 10 feet it looks great get any closer and you will see the worn and bent steering wheel, wrong dash decal, never did do the rims, a little rust on the hub caps and the deck sounds like hell. But it is still my baby and a trailer queen in my eyes. I also have a few others that go from workers to wrecks to rollers with no engine or non running and a ratty old puller. But the other tractor I bring to the show is my C-125 worker that is more of a C-175, it's ugly, mean, and nasty but boy is it fun to drive around all weekend. Will I ever turn it into a trailer queen..Hell No! And if you try to judge either one I'll probably tell you where to go. Point is this hobby is too much fun to get all technical and the documentation for such probably doesn't exist. Toro can't even track any of the serial numbers cause someone tossed the records out years ago if they were even kept at all. Each dealer did their own version of prep and installed options after they left the factory, and it wasn't as if they were made in the millions like autos or even close to the numbers that the more popular of farm tractors were. They were a smaller regional manufacturer with no distributors out west and in the deep south, yeah they made em under license in Europe but they didn't have the following or backing of a JD, Cub, or Sears. For a company that started out in a garage and was eventually buried and died under corporate greed it is amazing that they are collected and restored at all to the degree that they are now.

Wouldn't it be nice to see an NOS RJ right out of the box without a single scratch on it? I'm afraid that every single supposedly correctly restored RJ out there would certainly be "over restored" if such a thing as an NOS RJ existed to compare all the rest to. I'd be willing to bet the farm that the paint jobs out of the factory looked like crap compared to what we see now at the shows that are supposed to be "restored correctly" (or even just an average paint job by today's standards.) Who is going to want to do a sub par paint job to try to copy how it was done back in the day? I can hear the comments from onlookers already, "man whoever restored this could have done a much better job on the paint job! That is what is great about Wheel Horse's and the guys and gals who own them. We don't get our undies all tied up in a knot if something isn't just so. Ask a Wheel Horse guy what color red is the correct color and more than likely he is going to tell you to paint it red and it'll be close enough. As far as points judging goes, no thanks. A guy can do a real nice job making everything on his tractor original and as close to the way it came out the factory's doors as humanly possible, rebuilding all components himself along the way, BUT, if he paints the tractor himself and he lacks the skills to do a killer job on the paint he'd fail miserably if there was a points system at our shows. And that would suck in my opinion. Fact is, most cars that are judged at car shows were painted at a body shop and the owners probably took out a second mortgage to get the work done.

As has already been said, part of the fun of this hobby is in the work of "restoring" the tractor. As has also been said, "restore" seems to have many different meanings where GTs are concerned. I make some modification to each and every tractor I work on. This is partly due to a lack of OEM parts here, as well as a tendency to think I can somehow make an occasional tiny improvement to MY tractors for MY use. Some of my machines are what I consider highly modified, but I try to make the work look at least "correct" for the style and use of the machine at the time. In my opinion at least, until some type of cash awards start poppoing up for shows (which I hope NEVER happens to our hobby), then my restores will be to MY personal satisfaction first and foremost. If someone else likes it, great! If not, that's OK by me too. That's not to say I haven't asked others for their opinions, it just means in the end that I have to be happy with the outcome of my work. If there are any "Wheel Horse Police", they can go fly a kite. As a side note: I've seen many restorations at the PA show, and many of them by far exceed the quality of work the factory produced. Better paint, better attention to detail, and far better hardware and components than any that EVER rolled off the assembly line. Personally, I think it's a testament not only to the skills of some of the collectors, but the love for these little tractors as well. I think such things as this are far more important than someone elses idea of a "perfect restoration". In short, my opinion of a benchmark restoration is the one that makes YOU the happiest. Paint it whatever color you want, make any changes you want. In the end, YOU have to look at it in your shop and get a case of perma-grin. What others think can be icing on the cake, but if you don't absolutely love it- what's the point of doing the work?

To me there is no right or wrong way of a restore. Like said before it's a hobby and it's up to the individual. Now with that said if a person wanted to get everything right down to factory perfect, they are going to have a hard time with a Wheel Horse because the factory used what was ever on the shelf at the time. Wheel Horse was famous for odd ball tractors at the beginning of a run and at the end of a run. I have seen them come from the factory with two different brand of tires on the same tractor. So to try and get a on the spot, dead on factory perfect is just about impossible with a Wheel Horse.

I think I know what's on your mind on this issue. Some people take more time and research as they rebuild their tractor than others do to make them as original as possible. But there are few "chalkmark guys" in the wheelhorse world. Some paint, others powdercoat, some stainless fasteners, some zinc. But it seems nobody gets anal about a tractor unless it's really rare, then they typically leave it alone or fix what is nessassary. The attitude is different, this is supposed to be a fun hobby and not become a job with ISO standards applied. If WH tractors were judged by some absolute set of "factory" standards dictated by "experts" , then me and my tractors would not apply.

I don't buy a restored tractor unless the seller is giving it away or wants it placed in a good home. I buy the best originals I can find as well as afford. One of my prizes is a 1983 C-175 Twin Automatic with only 285 hours on it. I have replaced the high back logo seat with a flawless high back logo seat, the plastic fender with a better plastic fender and one belt guard with a better belt guard but all parts are originals and no repaints. I did replace the drive belt and idler pulley assembly since those are common issues with that model. As far as restoration goes it is whatever the restorer chooses including custom or original. They all look good. I don't have the time, tools or skills and that is why I buy replacement original new or used parts when I can find them. I try to get all the mechanical functions in order first which is what I enjoy most and then worry about appearance. Some of the older models look great with their well earned war wounds and weathered finishes from years of hard work, especially when they still run better than the ones at Home Depot that are made from recycled beer can and plastic soda bottles.

I am doing one right now and I will not follow any strict guidelines. I have nothing against anyone who does however. To each his own. I just want it to be clean and look good to me. I did a 67 Chevelle 20 years ago and did it the same way, to suit me. I cloned an L-79 version that I had when I was young. Again I say, I have nothing against the purist who wants to do it the way it came off the assembly line. In fact it is good that some choose that direction for the reasons you gave. Its just not the way I want to go.

Most anything is alright as long as you don't paint it Green & Yellow.

Here's where my head is at...... People need to quit over-thinking these tractors and have fun with them.

hears mine. click on the pic to watch the video

here is my c141 automatic with a tall chute blower, 140 lb wheel weights on the back. (this is the one that was giving me trouble during the storm saturday all is well now) this is a 314-8 with a 42 in plow. put the front weights on for this storm, help steering alot also have rear wheel weights, 150lb of suitcase weights and then another 30 lbs of plates on the plow to scrape better. you can just see the plates in the picture

if this is whats happening....... This last storm it started to squeak & stop under a load ( heaver snow ) . I'm not sure but it seams like I sheered a pin or something . Motor is still @ high RPM everything else stops until I back out of the load . , seems like either the belt is slipping from a weak spring or more than likely the pto clutch isnt tight enough when engaged and is slipping. when you say everything stops, is the pto bell (pulley that the snowblower belt attaches to up on the engine)still turning? the belt still turning?

I would do both if you really want a rust free part. My first RJ had sat out in the open weather for probably 20 years. Some of the parts were really pitted bad. I only had a sandblaster at the time. I sand blasted the parts and when I looked at the part under a magnifying glass I could still see rust in the crevices. I researched and built an E-tank. I let the parts sit in the tank for a few days. It was amazing evan after sandblasting how much rust was still attracted to the sacrificial steel plates I used. I think a lot of wether or not someones E-tank work well or not depends on their setup. I did a ton of research as well as talked to a friend who is an Electrical Engineer. I have a 35 gallon plastic garbage can and a 12 volt DC power supply that put's out around 15 amps. I also use 1/8" steel plates that are about 2' x 12". When the part is in the tank, it would be ideal to have sacrificial material surrounding 360 degrees. The process works better when the rusty surface is directly facing your sacrificial material. It also works better if the material has a lot of surface area. A solid steel plate will work far better than steel rods or mesh etc. I have four plates in my tank and try to make sure the surface I need cleaned is facing one of them. Sometimes I have to leave a part in place for a day, then rotate it a little for another day. When I cleaned out the tank after a year or so, there was over an 1" of sludge and rust at the bottom. The sacrificial plates where slightly black/rusty with minor pitting. The other key thing I noticed is you need to keep the sacrificial material clean. I remove mine after each part and scrape off any junk that may have accumulated. I have used the same steel plates for almost 5 years and they are still in great shape. Just my $.02

it looks great all completed and at work. you did a great job

I guess it didn't take long running wide open to keep enough snow in it to blow.

I run 65 lbs on the inside of each wheel: Have considered adding the WH outside weights... But haven't run into a situation where I've felt I've needed it...

Here is another idea. This is the muffler setup I put on a Charger 12 I restored a few yrs. ago. I never smelled when I got off this tractor. The muffler was off a Cub Cadet 122. I agree with Kelly, a stack setup can look good if done right, most times they aren't though.

Nice work Duke! Sounds like those wheel weight got pretty frustrating there for awhile. I'm glad you found a method that work, now the rest of us can do it that way, and not have to go through the royal pain in the backside that you did! The decals look great, and thats one tough looking machine! Matt :flags-texas:

hey i bought a wheel horse 520-8 out of state college this is what it lloks like now