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I saved this jewel from the scrap yard this morning. About a 30 minute trip and 20 minutes of that was backing the trailer up a very winding steep driveway. Has a fairly good deck shell and the gears and spindles feel OK. Plus a sleeve hitch with a pin that is actually free in the transmission. And 2 link vee bar chains.

So ya this is my first post here and my first riding mower ever. I'm 32 had to get somthbig for .87 acres and came across this mower. I have been browsing offer up and other sites and see the JD's, Troy builts, Murray, and so on. I came across this while driving around. Guy let me ride it and for some reason but it just felt good. I'm into old stuff and like to tinker. Just seeing all the gauges and levers with grease points and what not made me want it. I'm sure I paid more then I should have $500 but I don't see why it can't run another 30 years. I drove it about 15min home from where I got it ahaha its a 1990 model 312-8 according to the model numbers. Hope to use this forum as a repair and maintain excellent resource. Also for modification if possible.

last week i had my mom order the correct lift peice for my midmount grader on the 701. well it came in today. and also i put the magnet on what was dads toolbox. I really do miss him guys. something told me to put the magnet there. and dads toolbox is next to mine in what used to be his shed. i still have alot of cleaning to do. but soon ill get to the 754 wheel horse. its engine is on the bench not really in picture at all lol

So one of my bucket list tractors has been a 701. I've came across many but couldn't make a deal happen or there just wasn't enough of a 701 to restore. Picked up a few that were bits and pieces of a 701. But they were broke down and shelved for parts inventory. But came across this one on CL last Friday and I inquired. Well the gentlemen offered to deliver it on his way to work and give me paperwork for it and extra parts. So I didn't even knock down the price. He said he swore up and down the machine runs great and he mowed with it until the front spindle broke. So he delivered it this morning! I had a extra spindle waiting and battery. Well she fired right up and drove around like a dream! Even came with 4 nice hubcaps. Now just got to give it a complete tear down and go through it top to bottom and bring it back to new! I'll post the serial number when i get chance to slowly remove some paint.

Went down to my local small engine shop today to visit with the owner and was gonna buy my son a few of his left over John Deere toy implements(used to be old John Deere dealer from 80s-2000s) and ended up buying him out of all of them! I'm gonna keep a few.. but the rest are gonna be sold!

When I got home I buffed the fender pan out and mounted the seat. Then I buffed the hood and added a few finishing touches. After that I fired the beast up. She's a fire breathing dragon lol.

Seat parts.

The good/bad thing about this hobby is that eventually you accumulate enough parts to bring most Wheel Horses back to life if you really want to... I put about a day and a half of the holiday weekend into this one trying to get it running. I kept expecting to run into a showstopper, and it fought me every inch of the way, but I didn't find anything that couldn't be overcome or overlooked for now. As it turns out, the tractor was a mix of good and bad. First, the bad. The steering system is in really bad shape. I did free up the spindles, but the front axle pivot is worn quite a bit. One tie rod is so worn it will randomly fall off. The worst though is the steering shaft. It literally looks like somebody tired to tear it out of the tractor. The dash surround is ripped apart with a crude attempt at a repair. The casting the steering shaft rests in on the bottom is also cracked all the way through on one side. Not surprisingly, there is lots of flex when you try to steer. I had already swapped out the rotted front tires, but when I went to swap in some good rears, I found the wheels were rusted to the hubs. At least the lug bolts came out without breaking off, but it took alot of PB Blast and pounding with a chisel to separate the rims from the hubs. While I was back there, I checked out the hitch. It's got the slot hitch, but it is rusted solid and wouldn't move. It budged a little with alot of heat and PB blaster, but I decided to move on and save that project for later. So far, for the most part, if it needs to come apart or move, it's a safe bet it's locked up. Enough of the bad, how about some good news... Surprisingly, the engine is not locked up. The seller said it was, so I didn't even bother trying it when I picked up the tractor. I'm not sure if bouncing around on the trailer on the way home (US 51 between Decatur and Bloomington is terrible!) unstuck it or what, but it turned perfectly fine by hand when I tried it when I got home. It had hardly any oil in it, so I took care of that. The key switch was bad, but after swapping in a good one and hooking up power, not only was the engine free, but the S/G turned it over. I had to clean up the points, but sure enough it had spark too. Do I dare press my luck on fuel?... The gas tank was remarkably clean inside, but the shut off was rusted solid in the off position. Hooking it up to a temporary tank and cranking it over, the fuel pump worked fine, but it would only sputter on starting fluid. After cleaning the carb... it runs! Reinvigorated with that success, I decided to go the next step and see if I could get the tractor to move under it's own power. Tapping into my stock of used parts, I came up with a battery, ground cable, throttle cable, a drive belt, and a muffler. It was looking pretty homely with no hood and a temporary gas tank strapped on, so I thought a chrome stack would help improve things. I again fired it up and took it for a spin around the yard, which I'm sure was quite amusing for the neighbors. Surprisingly, there was not a bit of smoke out of the engine at start up or during operation. It surged pretty bad coasting down hill or on flat ground, but putting it under load going uphill it smoothed out. I tried to clean the carb one more time, and played with the main and idle screws, but still couldn't get it to smooth out. At that point the loose tie rod popped off again and refused to stay on. I decided that was a sign to call it quits for now. So, I'm not really sure what is in store for the Commando. The history of the tractor tugs on the heartstrings, but I already have an 854 that is mechanically the same tractor, and is already redone. I also already have two other tractor projects in the pipeline that I want to get to, and some of the parts I used to get this one running are earmarked for those. One of those projects involves putting a K181 and an 8-speed trans in a Lawn Ranger, so it's tempting to pull the engine for use in that project. For that matter, the engine currently in my 854 smokes, so I could swap the Commando engine into that tractor as well. Any decision on the Commando's fate will have to wait. Over the weekend I also picked up a 312-8 that was headed to the scrap yard. I want the 8-speed for the previously mentioned Lawn Ranger project, but, like the Commando, plan to try to revive it to see what is good and what is not. The fun continues...

My eyes, my eyes o how the green hurts my eye!!! O wait, Don,t flog me I own a green one too

Here is a start. Click on the pictures Garry

Nice save Ed. The free hitch alone... was worth the price for admission.

Just got a S/G back from my local Genny guy. He replaced the original (bad) VR 4 terminal with a 3 terminal absolutely no problem he said and it works. Gen terminal goes go the A Armature post (which also has the starter cable. Batt terminal goes to + on battery. Good point on direction of rotation!!!

Bob, just for grins take a look at the data plate on the S/G and make sure it is for a Cub; they rotate backward from ours.

Nice save. Here's mine

Once the enamel is fully cured (at least 30 to 60 days) you could spray Krylon on it and it should be okay. Best bet though would be to use same brand and type to clear coat.

I have seen internet chatter assuming this would work but no definitive confirmation. Although from images they do look like they would work. I may take the plunge and be the guinea pig. Pic of Predator blow up and pic of Honda coil.

This should do it for you. As a new member you may not have the rights to add an event. If you can't just say so. Someone else can put it up for you. Although I'd also say you don't really need to put it on the calendar... there's about 5 topics already going on this event.

awesome thanks! lol ya drove to the place it was at then rode it home maybe 10-15 min ride in the mower..ahaha then I walked back and got my car. Also if you live in pilot point and have a 6 acre lot and notice a a small patch mowed either "I'm sorry" or "You're Welcome" I might get one for my wife down the road Thanks for the welcomes everyone

I'm really happy that I stuck with the repair over the engine swap, no smoke at all and fires right up even with the original vacuum pump!

I run an electric PTO on my Predator and have had no issue, (have not had occasion to run lights at the same time). To my knowledge the Predator do's not have a side thrust bearing so I avoided the manual PTO.

This now C-175 started out as a C-81. Engine is a NOS Short block KT-17 with parts from a JD 317 and a true C-175 with a blown motor and an isolation mount.. Had to get a new hood and modify the hood mounting to clear the muffler. still hit at times. Has about 180 hours on her but I was tired of the engine bouncing around. The isolation mounts were aging...I know you can make replacements but I was looking at my 418A with a solid mount an realized that would be cheaper and easier to switch to that set up. The only difference between an M18 and KT 17 Series II really is the ignition system ( I have never noticed much vibration in the 418) so I got a mounting plate from A to Z and put her back together. Smooth is all i can say. The new mount is lower than the old one so I guess i will have to replace homemade hood mounts (gave me extra height) with standard ones. The only hard part was getting the front iangular support for the isolation mount off. Th darn bolts were damn near unaccesible had to drop the front axle. Other than my sentimental favorite Lawn Ranger L107 (my father bought her new ) I think C-175s are my favorite horse. Plenty of power and smooth with out the electrical complexity of the 418s and 520s. I have 3 now....

Only had an hour in the shop. With Predator the charging system is too weak to power the lights and electrical PTO etc. So for now I'll use a solid steel dash plate that I'm in process of fabricating. That will also allow me to punch holes for more modern switches and gauges should I choose them. As can be seen I have a excellent dash cover if I was want to use one. I still need to do some to it but I got it 90% done today before I had to focus on life stuff.

Amp gage is in the tower . My C 160 and B80 didn't have it in the shift plate both are in tower under regulator rectifier . Well now my C 160 has one in the plate for a tachometer i installed.I had to move the volt gage down to plate and put tachometer up because of depth of tachometer. But it came with a AMP gage.

Actually Chris after further further review those fenders and seat pan do look nice ...I would contemplate leaving them !?!? Might look different in red/white if you are not going the original look?

Thanks and thanks again for the conformation on the square pan.

Unless someone had an over abundance of black paint,why would someone paint a WH black?Nice little tractor though.Have fun with your new toy.

Nice find! Did the gentleman you got it from have it for a long time? In looking carefully at the photo of the rear, I notice it doesn't appear to have the correct rear fenders. They appear to be from a 62-64 round hood. They don't have the tell-tale sharp points or the fender supports under the seat. But a very nice find nonetheless! 701's are getting hard to find, in any condition!

Building one is what I had in mind. I think I can do it cheaper that the $1500 that a Johnny costs.

Thank you all for the B-Day wishes.

Very nice complete tractor, a little body work on the hood and you will have a great restoration project there.

I love 'em . Put them in a curio cabinet in the man cave ! If I were closer to you , I'd buy the whole kaboodle !

Excellent save Ed! Keep the Horses in Pennsylvania. Stallions love Penn's Woods!

Don't park the toys near a , . The horse could lay waste to the toys by running over them or just lay waste on them.

Your best bet is to get a wiring diagram for the Cub and whatever the other engine came from. There is little or no standardization of colors from one maker to another. You could bolt it down and start the engine and use a volt meter to see what each wire is producing.

I have a $40 one from IR and although it is noisy, it does work well on the end of my air hammer. I like this and it is a lot less messy than sand blasting. I've used it to remove heavy scale and at very low power on some delicate sheet metal. Just the vibration itself has removed some of the rust I was trying to clean up. So I think these are very useful good tools to have. C-85

Good save Ed.. The deck looks to be Ok from the pics.

I also drive I-68 on a regular basis Bob. Exiting at Cumberland, Md. to visit my Mother and at Keysers Ridge to visit my Sister in Sand Patch, Pa. I think the runaway ramp you refer to is on the West bound lanes of 68 and to my knowledge it has never been used. The I-68 highway in this area is really undeveloped and relatively straight allowing a runaway to come to a stop without incident. IMO, the most dangerous section is the East bound lanes coming off Big Savage mountain into Cumberland. There is no place to for a runaway to avoid the very sharp left turn as they enter downtown Cumberland. There are mandatory brake checking pull offs for all trucks and many warnings to gear down and stay geared down until they are thru Cumberland. My Dad was a over the road hauler and his rule of thumb was to descend a mountain in the same gear you have to use to climb it. That works pretty well until the two speed rear end gear shatters during a gear shift and the engine stalls due to the overrev losing all vacuum assist braking. Don't ask how I know this....

Great progress so far Aldon. If you can somehow get another pulley to put an alternator in there... The SI10 group is great and I used it on my Raider. https://www.dbelectrical.com/products/alternator-tractor-delco-10si-with-tach-john-deere-allis-massey.html?adpos=1o1&creative=196860178238&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgabMlMeQ1gIVTlcNCh2x-Q3tEAQYASABEgKTZvD_BwE

That first victory lap on a that others have given up for dead is soooooo satisfying!

Its a man cave...TV, Stereo, computer internet, coffee maker, refrigerator, heat and A/C of course you have to add calendars (some go back to the 90s)

You can hook a test light across the two fuse terminals to save fuses. As long as the short exists it will light the light. Keep in mind anything else that is turned on and using power like a relay will also activate the light. Disconnect items until the light goes out. Pay attention to wires around the steering shaft below the dash. The shaft turning against a wire will wear the insulation off leaving an almost invisible bit of bare wire shorting against the shaft. Look for a flat worn area in the insulation. Garry

Very nice project and the calendars on the wall are not bad either.

1967 857? 1991 312H

Yes. voltmeter, hour meter, very small cup holder...

Be safe Richie. We're keeping a close eye on it because of the kids down there. It's looking ugly.

I got a cheapie HF scaler. It works so well I bought a box of extra needles the last time I was there getting my free comedy show at the check out line!

Nice save, and a good winter project.

From what I had noted, it was a different charging coil for 18amp system. Honda part number: 31630-ZJ1-802 I'd double check that since I never got to that point with mine.

Looks like the original k482 can be saved after all! Thanks to Gene at Machine Specialties of Chambersburg, PA. The carbon is burned out of the cast iron and then the weld is possible. The machining and tapping was all done on a squared platform. I believe this should suffice. Now it's another topic, gasket rebuild,finished the gaskets & paint. I appreciate the option to buy another power plant, would have dropped right in too! However, the original has been salvaged, many thanks to R.L. for the willingness to sell and or ship another engine. (I couldn't justify buying a spare), as they say in New England, "stop talking outta the side of your neck".