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Youtube video of my 1979 Wheel Horse C-161 throwing some snow!

I have had roller chain on my primary plow horse for some time. Been pleased but never had the opportunity for an almost direct comparison. Used the primary, Charger 12 yesterday. Took out the backup plow tractor Electro 12 today...what a difference!!!. I knew the back up wouldn't push quite as well as she has regular garden tractor chains on fat turf tires and not as much weight. She did OK pushing but the front end slid sideways way too much as she doesn't have roller chains on the front. I have to see if i have enough in stock and as soon as the snow melts off her she is getting #40 chain. First pic is primary girl...last 3 backup.

Okay, Figured with the long break in any significant weather I'd go ahead a tear this thing down and freshen her up! Started with a 42" dozer blade, frame and self fab'd extension setup which was made of new stock as well as modifying my old standard blade angle adjust level to fit the swept front end tractors. The frame was rough and came with my 1990 520h/ 1995 312-8s (S= swept front axle I added). There weren't any stickers on the plow frame and blade which was a 48". But I bent that and picked up a really nice 42" that did have numbers. Not sure if they are legit but I will post them later. Blade and new wear bar. (3/8" x 4" ) Disassembled and sanded down... Some shots of last of the rust that I was only able to hit with a wire wheel. Then hit with Rust Fix which will turn this stuff into a black primer. Same thing I used on my 520h Rims. Quick peek of what this stuff does on the right side of the photo... More to come... Stay tuned...

1979 Harley Shovelhead FLH 80 "King of the Highway" Mommas Ride Indian Chief Vintage Ural Patrol 2WD with my Girls and Best Man KenB

This is Russ' daughter - dad is back home from a stay at Norwalk Hospital following a fall last Thursday. He broke his T8 vertebrae (in his back) and is glad to be back home. He is walking slowly, but surely. I will try to keep you posted on his condition until he can get on the computer and do it himself.

Couple more short videos . https://youtu.be/QflBJUw0tZs https://youtu.be/7BJbjzxGZYU Clickless.

I needed a hitch for my 3/15. I've seen some real nice ones here so I decide to build my own. The angle iron is scrap bed frame, tough stuff and plenty strong. The side pieces are 2"x2"X1/8" square stock, bought an 8' at my local steel supplier cheaper than I thought. I own a wellsaw horizontal band saw (saved from scrap yard) made the job quick and easy. The receiver tube was a 12" cut in half. Came from harbor freight. Welded, primed, 2 coats of toro red and 1 clear coat. Supports 180lbs of cast iron no problem

Since July I've owned those 4! The 3/14 was sold and replaced with my 3/15. The raider 12 was pretty cool. I had seen it rusting in a yard not far from my house. Told my wife I'm leaving a note about that tractor, she said I was nuts, but I got it and for free. Engine was free, hydro was as well. I sold it to a friend but I took the slot hitch, cable, chains and the rear tach o matic. So right now I have the3/12 and 3/15 set up for winter duty with a 48" plow on the 12 and 44" blower. The 15 needed a good cleaning wheel seals and bearings. I welded up a 2" receiver for it and made a weight rack to hang my suitcase weights. The 12 came with cast irion wheel weights and chains. We had 15" snow here first chance to use the 3/15 with the blower. Wow threw the snow 35', my drive goes up hill and the the chains and 180lbs of weight it operated awesome. Here are pics from the fall. 3/14 loaded with loam, and kids for our October fest hayride. My 3/12 became a haloween prop, also had my pioneer p41 with a big Stihl bar on it

I had to relocate oil filter because it was in the way of the hood/grill on my Wheel horse 312-8The Kohler M12 K301 broke the rod, So i put a 20 Hp Honda engine in it and had to move the oil filter.Not only was the filter in the way of the grill, it was in the way of the mower deck drive belt.The Wheel horse clutch and drive pulley, and belt guides and belt shield all bolted up nicely to the Honda.I will add more picture later of the final project with the deck installed.Before & after pictureAll done on a drill press 2 x 2 x 4 inch long aluminum.

For about $6.00 (my bearing guys price not Toro they are common bearings) I would replace the other needle bearing Needle bearing failure is not a good thing. This is what happens when an axle needle bearing fails All the seals , Input, Brake and axles should be replaced again they are readily available from bearing houses and cheap.

Got one here that's still... an oldie, but a goodie.

Its all good till the rear exhaust seat falls out and turns you into 510h Been there and did that Tony

This one is throwing me for a loop. From what I can remember the black hoods didn't come out until 1980. So I checked my 1979 brochure, and they do show a black hood, but it's a C-171T (why the "T"? Twin cylinder engine maybe). But the only C-161 they show is not a black hood but similar to the 1978 C series and all the other 1979 C series. I checked the two other sources that have all the years all the model numbers, and it shows a C-161 with a twin Briggs. I then check my 1978 brochure and there is a black hood C-161 twin. So, I think the 1979 brochure came out and Wheel Horse intended to have a C-171 with a 17 hp twin cylinder Kohler K17 in it. But for some reason they never produced that model, maybe shortage of K17s or something interfered with manufacturing them, so they carried over the C-161 Twin from 1978 to replace the C-171. Has anyone seen a C-171T? Did it ever exist? 1978_Horses.pdf 1979_Brochure.pdf Wheel_Horse_Products_Master_Model_List.pdf wheelhorseallyears.xls

Two problems; starter motor turning slowly is likely from poor electrical connections. Clean and tighten all including grounds and have the battery load tested. Problem two; hard starting could be fuel and/or ignition. Most older fuel pumps tend to leak back to the tank and are not good at priming themselves, get an electric fuel pump and mount it lower than the tank. The points gap also sets your timing, use the method below to set the points. Kohler static_timing.pdf

Sorry to hear of your mishap, Jim. Hope that's not your beer arm. Get well soon.

Get well soon jim

Rule 1 Always wear a goalie mask when walking on the ice! Sorry to see this Jim. I thought I had a bad day dealing with idiots. My son broke the same bone when he fell last summer. If you get bored while recovering, I know a guy with lots of old monster movies you can watch.

God speed... can't wait to see you back in your saddle Russ.

Boats are never really FREE. Looks like a fun project.

Opened up CL last night just to get a good laugh at the sudden price increase in snowblowers locally and boy people didn't dissapoint! Last week's mid $200 machines somehow went and became $400 machines! LOL After being tickled for a bit by people's opportunistic ways, I refreshed the page before closing it (never know) and JACKPOT! A new listing shows up for a "70's Wheel Horse Snowblower"! I read the ad and it was obvious this fella needed some money quickly. *Side note* : If you don't want lowball offers, don't put "I'd like $160 but make me an offer, need to move it quickly" in the title. So I sent the fella a message offering $100 cash if it has compression and spark and got an almost immediate "Sure does. Just needs a fuel line and it's all yours." WOOOOHOOOO! Went and picked her up and it's way better than I thought! Has the WH enclosure and everything! True to his word, I swapped the fuel line, drained the gas, changed the earl, popped in a new plug, and first pull humming! Come to the conclusion it's a 74' Trailblazer 7 - two stage with the Tecumseh 7hp (by Lauson) motor. I'm STOKED!! I' haven't moved snow with it yet but everything appears 100% operational and mechanically sound. I'll be taking the enclosure up to the nice Asian lady (who does some fine upholstery work) to get new plastics and a couple patches done. I have NO idea what these go for, but I'm fairly sure $100 isn't putting me on the short end! Don't matter because she's not going anywhere. Any input, advice, suggestions, tips, etc.. are more than welcome! Thanks! (Snow moving update and more pics to come)

They roll over like stated above. The #40 seems to stay put. And @857 horse Howard, a 10 Ft piece will work to do both with some leftover. Most good hardware stores sell it in a box with 10 Ft chain and one master link so you'll need to buy a second master link. Normal cost is about $20 +/-

Nice job on fabricating your tractor rear weight/hitch receiver setup. Love the Dubay's Tractor Center sticker on the back of your rear fender seat pan. Have you been there? It is off the beatin' path in CT. Still operates as a tractor center (Mahindra tractors). Was a WH/Toro dealership back in the day!

Ready for cleanup and paint. I thought I had masking tape. Nay

real nice pair of horses paul they look great together .I too have run roller chain for years,and I also tried bike chain,it worked great but soon started to roll over and deform,then fall off.thats one thing ive learned,if you have a tire that goes flat even slowly the chain will fall off,so fix those slow leakers before putting the chain on

Sorry the best I have right now. Cocktail hour You asked about other chains...I was wondering if anyone had gone bigger than #40. Maybe like the chain drive in my big tractor (Case DC3)

Stop by a motorcycle shop and they might give you some chain. I burn up at least one a year, so think of the possibilities. Maybe ask the mechanic what kind of beverage he enjoys... You know what to do

Gravely http://s508.photobucket.com/user/bushbuck1/media/gravely8120027gravely812.jpg.html Garry

just to put everyone mind at ease I've decided to against the swap - like I said, I get these ideas - I don't know where they come from but i'm smart enough to trust the wisdom here on the forum - thanks guys!''

This video was taken back in oct 2015 . I was amazed what that little 4hp kohler could do ! Think spring... https://youtu.be/pSnWliSydIU

A free boat is like a free puppy... there is no such thing!

Good Morning all, Same boat day after "blizzard" Tony

Thanks for pics. I have this same project coming up this summer. My plow frame need the extension kit and the plow needs a new wear edge. Not to mention a good clean up and paint. I plan of fabricating my own parts. Keep the updates coming.

Check your battery and if the cables are original, replace them

I hear ya....my motorcycle is "sleeping" in my basement. I would so rather be riding it than pushin snow!! Mike.

I have the K341 in a 16 Auto and it fires up with no problem even in single digits, machine sits in an unheated shed. In cold weather I pull the brake lever to disengage the hydro on initial start to help things out but I don't find the engine to be a hard starter by any means. I do know if the valves are out of adjustment, points are not set just right, or the throttle shaft is worn they start hard,,,,, I didn't have the points set just right once and it was a bear to get started, hard turning over in low temps. Of course there are the standard stuff like good compression, good battery, good starter, good spark. The K's have ACR so it should wheel over pretty well with a good battery and good connections on both the + and - side of things.

Pretty sure there is something wrong with that shovelhead, it's not "marking it's spot". You might want to check that out....

I can't remember the last time I fell. But I'm told I broke something with my head!

Ya see Jim...something else you have in common with Squonk.

Yup major upgrade this year! Invested about $6 in new wire to wrap around the snow chute controler. With just a couple hand cranks of the rod I can now smoothly and quickly rotate the snow chute from left to right, or straight ahead and deliver massive amounts of snow with deadly precision striking my targets some 25 feet away. All executed without a laser dot or gps. Intoxicating power indeed:)

My daughter and I turned to this forum to learn all we can to get it in working condition. Good to see a family coming together to save a from a family member. None of us were born knowing how to fix them, we learn from each other, but thanks for mentioning it.

Here @AMC RULES ! Well here's a short video of my son on the RJ in a hay field that hasn't been tilled in forever . Still can't believe how much torque these little guys have . I hope some of you guys can get a laugh at one my sons " daa" monuments . https://youtu.be/CTZlgzr89vg

Jim, hope you heal up quickly and completely.

OK...I just saw this a little bit ago and now, I have had some time to do a little thinking about this. Usually, when somebody falls (like out of a tree) or on the snow...you would fracture your wrist. After all that is what everybody sticks out there to break their fall. You break a bone in your upper arm...a humorous bone no doubt. After much searching on Google images, 98% of the people that fall and break that bone are picking their nose while they are walking on a slick surface. Say it ain't so JIm. I hope it does not hurt to laugh my friend.

Sorry to hear about your stumble Jim, get well soon mate

Sure sorry to see old man winter took you on a close up tour of gravity and ice. You, my friend didn't deserve that painful and unexpected injury on the way to see the Doctor. Get well soon buddy, You gotta quit making these damn Doctors rich............

Thanks for letting us know about your dad. Knowing Russ, the way he bounced back from his last injury, he should be good-to-go soon. Our thoughts and best wishes are with him and his caregivers.

Snow blowers were built to capture and direct the snow while the blower moves it. You NEED a second with a snow blade on it.

Resale value is one of the questions I dislike the most. Here's what I will tell you: Buy it and run it for a month, after that you wont care one little bit about resale value. (And that's why many people on here have garages and barns full of these creatures. I have limited space and half an acre and I currently have 5 plus a bunch of attachments.) Longer winded answer: resale value is impossible to judge. There is no blue book on this stuff. If there are a ton of them out there, the value will be low, if there are only a few the value will be high. As long as the restore was done well, it wont hurt the value. More often then not "refurbs" were done poorly and those start to show problems much faster than a well done one. Buy it, use it, love it. If you are OK with the price then its a good value. Oh and by the way, you will love it here the people are awesome.

Fixed that