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Really there can be so many qualifiers... do you want Wheel Horse branded implements, or include allied attachments (like the Danuser Forklift for GT14?), or include additional aftermarket non-allied attachments (like the Bachtold Fenceline Mower?) I would say let's just get some posted up and see where it goes from there. These are pretty hard to come by. It's far from the rarest though. I know of about 5 including mine. PTO-66 belly mounted Farm PTO.

Guess I shouldn't have shared. I just thought it was cool that something was still being made with a Wheel Horse emblem, and that it's still actually made by Toro, not MTD.

October 4, 2014 I am gearing up for a great show once again! It has been a very busy summer with family vacations, a trip to the big show, and buying my parents place where the show is held. We are looking forward to meeting some new folks, as well as reconnecting with others. We are truly thankful to all of you for making the sacrifice to be with us. We are pretty excited to be able to host our 5th annual meet and greet. I am planning on doing t-shirts once again. More information and a separate thread will be made at a future date regarding this. Please hold off until the thread has been started for putting your orders in. If all goes well we will be out plowing in the fields once again. The bean crop looks to be doing well. More information regarding this will be posted at a later date. Lodging......Warsaw has some nice hotels that are approximately 15 minutes from the show area. You are welcome to camp on site. Please pm me if you are planning on doing so so we can plan accordingly. Food will be available to purchase. Great food at reasonable prices. Swap meet area will be available again. The more you bring, the better the swap meet. Tractors......all brands are welcome. Shiny, rusty, broken, etc are not discriminated against. Raffle.....if you are interested in helping me with this again, I would greatly appreciate it. 100% of the proceeds will be going to help fight against Childhood cANCER. This has always been an amazing part of our show. I am looking forward to hitting the 200+ mark of machines on the property. We CAN do this, I just need your help! More will be added in the future so please be sure to check back and keep an eye on this thread!

Back in 2010, I went to the WHCC show and saw that lots of guys had name tags. So I found a vendor that was making name tags, badges and tractor plaques, and I had a nice name tag made. Well sometime between January of this year and the WHCC show I lost it. Hoping that the name tag guy would be there, I went to the show with high hopes of buying a new one. No name tag guy So after a little inquiring, I found that there had been a slight dust-up between the WHCC staff and the vendor, and subsequently he never returned. So my quest to find him ended last week when I did locate him. I think that they are under new management now, and there is a possibilty that they will be at the next show. But in the meantime, I invited him to join RedSquare, and if there is enough interest, he would like to become a vendor. Here is what I got from him. These are plastic, measure 2-1/8" x 3-1/2", have a pin back. What do you think? If you are interested in seeing his complete catalog, here is the link to his web site. http://thebadgefactory.com/

Bought this one I've used it some to see of I liked it and I do. This was when I converted it to single pedal for clutch and brake. A lot easier than doing it on the ground So much better than the Horrible Freight one I borrowed. Wanted one I could put my mods on also little over kill if only doing GT's

got the Poineer mounted on a DB test bed, until I find another Pond. Put a lawn roller on the tractor and it pulled me around the yard without any trouble, so It looks like its going to be a good one. I have the orginal fuel tank, but it was full of crud and i'll have to get it cleaned up way better before using it. Lucky for me the petcock was shut off and the gunk didn't make it down into the carb.

I agree completely. They licensed rights to reproduce decals. They send a rep or two to the WH show each year. They donated a $5000 tractor to the WHCC club in 2006. The provide the parts viewer on the website. The sell copy/reprint manuals. It goes on... I think Toro kept the WH name alive far beyond what really was necessary. The fact they they were still building the Classic GT tractor in 2007 shows real committment, especially when demand was so low that a few can still be found unsold 5 years later. Deere didn't do that. Neither did Cadet. Or Simplicity. Or...Shoot, the only one I can think of that built a legacy machine in recent times was Ingersoll, but even they may be dead now. I don't lament the new equipment at all. If it is at all similar to other current Toro products it is a well-designed piece of equipent that performs its intended purpose effectively. The fact that it's a lightweight LT and not a lumbering, cast iron GT has only to do with people like all of us who don't buy new equipment. Geez, how many of us even have a Toro push mower? And they're probably some of the best in the market. Why Toro even stays in the consumer market is a mystery to me. Gotta build what sells. Thanks for posting Jason! Steve

I dont know if its cheapness can be determined from a snapshot Taylor. I bet if you bought it to mow a 1acre or less lawn and didnt ask it to pull stumps, push snow-dirt-gravel or haul firewood out of the woods if would be just fine. I think the biggest reason tractors of this caliber die early is because of poor maintenance and the owner using it for chores that a garden tractor should be doing, not because its a cheaply made machine. Mike.......

I think I threw up a little...

There probably too scared to try and sell that here with the Wheel Horse name and Logo on it. For fear they might get stones thrown thru there windows. In my opinion it looks to be a joke. Shame on them for even thinking of calling that thing a Wheel Horse. Just my .02 cents worth.

I finally was able to bring home what I feel is the ultimate garden tractor. Ever since getting my 518xi, I have been searching for a 523Dxi. Passed on a couple, missed a few but finally got a fantastic deal from a JD dealer in VA. I already have had offers to resell at a profit before I brought it home! It is a 1998 523Dxi with 605 hours that has a 52" mower deck, brand new snow cab, snow blade (with spare edge) that has been barely used, a pair of turfs, two pair of filled ags, clevis hitch, disc harrow, and rear grading blade. And a picture of: "Poncho", "Cisco", and now "Paladin."

picked this up a few days ago. surging like crazy. i already did a full tear down and cleaning of the carb. i think i'll do it again and hope it works.

This is my little old dog, she has degenerative nerve disease and her back legs stopped working. I decided she needed some wheels so after searching the interwebs and seeing prices around the $375 mark I built this one.

Title says it all. My intent when I first bought the 312, was to do all the maintenance items, fix anything obviously broken or missing, and use the tractor till this fall/winter when I would do some serious restoration. But these damn things have a nasty habit of growing on you. Slowly but surely, I have repaired, replaced, re-worked, or otherwise restored a significant number of items. And I just can't seem to stop. All I have to do, is walk past the tractor, and notice some little less-than-perfect part, and I begin planning of fixing it. Just this week, I bought and installed a drive belt idler. This is covered in a separate thread under Transmissions. The other undertaking this week was the stripping and repainting of the seat frame. After picking up a new seat at the Big Show and installing it the day I got back, I have been seriously irked by the rusty frame and springs it was attached to. So...last Monday I dismantled the seat, frame, and springs, took them to work, and sandblasted everything. Applied a coat of primer, and painted the parts semi-gloss black. Most all the hardware was wire brushed and painted. Was pleased to note that there was almost no wear on the hinge, and even the rubber bumper caps were like new, no cracking or checking. Pretty pleased with how the seat frame came out. Maybe now I'll just leave the tractor alone till winter..... but probably not. Noticed that most of the paint is gone from the PTO pulley, and the muffler has some rust on it. The Rodent (granddaughter) gave the tractor her seal of approval by making me ride her around the yard.

Yes that is a rare 1957 Wheel Horse Model # RJ35 with a Kohler engine! It is an early production 1957 with black rims. This is in really good original condition and should be left like it is and not restored. So I will start the arguments about the " to restore or not to restore" a rare original condition WH.The paint can be cleaned up well with some WD40 and four OOOO steel wool. The rims appear to be painted black and they only did that in 1956. So it is probably built in late 1956 or early 1957. The engine serial numbers can help identify it, if Clay jumps on board this thread. It also has the rare brake option on it. The tires all look pretty good, just don't over inflate them or they will get ruined. Like Stevasaurus said the rear tires are on backwards, just switch them from one side to the other and that will fix that problem. Hope you get this rare machine. The price is a little high but it is worth it, just hate to pay that much for it. What a good looking old girl!

Just make sure that you have good gasoline flow first. (No plugging at the bottom of your tank and the valve). A new fuel filter if you didn't replace it at the beginning of the year. Pull the hose off the carb intake and with the spark plug wire pulled off the plug and not arching where your going to ignite gasoline, crank the engine and see how much gasoline it pumps from the hose into a clean empty jar. (Look for dirt or debris in the gasoline it pumps too). When your sure you have a good gasoline flow, then start with a carb cleaning. (Actually should look at it if its been that many years anyway. Your Magnum has no points or condenser so going for the fuel and carb seems the logical first steps

Yes. This is the 2nd set I got off him and couldn't be happier.

All my Horses wear Terry's decals! Top-of-the-line for sure! If Terry doesn't have it, he'll make it for your project. Ask!

I've been reading here for several months and I am very impressed with the people, knowledge and machines on here. What made me a fan is my dad. I have a Wheel Horse 414-8 he bought new and when he bought his next one 7 years later I bought the 414. That was 20 years ago, she turned 27 this year and still looks as good as the day she was bought. I am in central Ky and had the need for some snow equipment so I started searching Craigslist. About 5 weeks ago it was off to near Dayton. I bought a C145 with a cab and snow blower and thought I was good. It was sure gonna be nice to blow the snow in a nice warm cab. Then about 3 weeks ago it was off to near Dayton again. I found a 310-8 with a tiller, blower and 48" blade. I thought another tractor with a blade would be nice also and I could sell the tiller + blower. Then I must have woke up with some kind of Wheel Horse fever or something. Week before last I found 9 more tractors with 4 extra hydros, 5 decks, 2 snow blades, another tiller, another snow blower, part of a trac vac, and more extra parts than I have ever seen. It took both of my trucks and trailers to haul it all (pics below are when we returned). Last Tuesday I also bought another plow and several plow mounts along with 150 original wheel horse belts, some clutches and other things. Last Friday we went to Indy and bought 2 more plows, another snow blower, some tire chains, a mule drive and some other parts from 2 different people. What did I do next? Put up a wanted ad on Craigslist for more Wheel Horse stuff. Somebody help me please! After buying so much stuff I knew I would need some help from people smarter than me on some of this stuff. So here I am and thankful this place is here.

welcome to the group

I agree with Jake....1965>1054a. Mike...........

Thinking I may have seen one of these listed on Ebay this past week.

Wow....you dont mess around when it comes to buying!! Mike.............

It's a stationary farm PTO... for running things like grain bin augers, hay elevators, water pumps... anything you can run on the farm from a stationary PTO using a small horsepower engine.

It was Jack (Wishin4a416) who told me the JD dealers carried the part. i think its relatively inexpensive, would be worth the effort to replace it as the duct tape probably won't last too long with the heat etc in that area......

MARTIN you are the man!!!!!!!!!!!. sure enough i went and put my finger over it and it fired right up and idled perfect and revs up wide open with NO surging. i can't thank you enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Starting to re assemble parts.

Starting the tear down. Let the boys do some work.

I see your problem from your pic......... Above the mixture screw there is supposed to be a small plug covering that hole, (look inside you will see 2 or 3 little holes through to the venturi) yours is missing, probably blew out while cleaning....... This will most definitely cause the symptoms you have now...... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is either a 953, 1054, or 1054A

Looks like a GT14 to me

steve argentina was second Koen

Topics merged.

I know ours talks and consumes more!

Steve, sense Bob is on the east coast, his post counts first because he is in the earlier time zone. ​ If you walk around your block counter clockwise enough you can make your time go backwards! Agree about the fuel oil in the grass. We had to use food grade grease on the golf course to keep from leaving dead grass streaks.

Under the right conditions you can get a great finish with Rustoleum rattle cans. I've achieved finishes that rival what a skilled painter can do with a gun but I've also had issues. It does take a long time to harden up but once it does it's pretty tough. Do several light coats with just enough to fully 'wet' the surface. You'll see when it gets to that point. If you let a coat dry for more than an hour or so (depending on thickness and conditions) DON'T respray for several days, a couple weeks is better. I wait at least a month. Forget what the can says about the 72 hours. You need to wait longer in most cases. You also need to be careful about the temperature and especially the humidity. With that being said, a gun with skilled hands behind it would be a better choice.

She's a little rough around the edges, but she treats me right.

Boy you guys make me wonder what I'm doing different to get such great results with my Gator blades. I have 2 sets, one on a 48 SD that I took off my 1996 416 and put it on my Dads 1973 12Hp Automatic because his original deck was shot, and the second set I just put on a 42 RD that i just bought for my 416. My Dads lawn looks like a golf course and mine isn't far behind it. I would say the only difference being that my Dads lawn is well established and fertilized professionally, mine isnt fertilized professionally and therefore a bit thinner. I did put my gators on my 42" RD WITH, yes thats right...WITH the new set of factory blades that I bought to use until the gators showed up. I honestly will be a fan of gators for life. I havent had any issues with grass sticking up in stripes where they miss.

Wheel Horse was one lawn and garden equipment company that Toro had a lot of respect for when they took the company over. They even continued to produce the "Classic" GT model(s) until 2007 without butchering it in to something flimsy for some 20+ years after they bought Wheel Horse. It was in 2007 that they began farming out homeowner grade lawn tractor production to MTD, so business wise we can see where it would make no sense for them to continue producing a one off model garden tractor with a high price tag and limited sales. But that being the case, I think at that time out of respect Toro should have permanently stopped using and associating the Wheel Horse name and logo with their products, regardless if this new LT is only sold overseas. When younger generations unfamiliar with the Wheel Horse name see that little LT, instead of rightfully associating the name with tough garden tractors of the past, it will be just another tough sounding name on a cheap lawn tractor. -Mark-

I suppose you can't really blame Toro too much. The modern day homeowner has changed so much in the past 25 yrs. it ain't even funny. Most homeowners these days want NOTHING to do with maintaining their property, they are either too busy or too lazy. With very little in the way of sales due to lack of demand the price goes up and we all know that a REAL Wheel Horse cost big money to build. At the end of the day Toro has been pretty good to us by having quite a bit of parts still available to us. A lot of outboard company's have turned to China to produce their motors in an effort to cut costs. No thanks, I'd rather row. I'd like to thank Toro for not outsourcing Wheel Horse to China. As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. I'd like to tour the Toro plant if I'm ever in the area, it looks like it would be pretty interesting.

Maybe Toro is gearing up for a full fledged come back! Then again, probably not. Sometimes, its better to just burn out than it is too fade away. It is very interesting that Toro still carries the Wheel Horse name on a tractor. Why? I think it would be nice if you were still able to special order a REAL Wheel Horse. There are probably a ton of reasons why this wouldn't be cost effective but it sure would be a nice gesture from Toro to all of the Wheel Horse's purists of the world. Even if there were no buyers waiting in line for a REAL Wheel Horse at least could say the offer was on the table. Thanks for posting, it is pretty interesting.

Thanks for the pics. I like the looks of the bagging system. It's a cute lawn mower, It's not like it's trying to be a garden tractor.. :hide:

Can't see where that would interest collectors in 30 or 40 years.........if it's still around.Yeah right.

Just the "Wheel Horse Emblems" are still being made.

Never be in my herd!! :deadhorse:

Yuk...too much plastic.

Even though Wheel Horse made some LT's, it's still impossible in my mind to consider any Toro LT being a real Wheel Horse other than a sticker making its claim on the name. I thought all Toro's lawn tractors were farmed out to MTD for manufacture now? -Mark-

the 312-8 has plenty of power for tilling. hydro lift would be nice for lifting the tiller, but unless your a 95lb. girl, its not that bad. however the hydro tranny is very nice for mowing.