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Economy Power King Economy Tractors were designed to be an affordable garden tractor which could be serviced by the owner. Simple straightforward construction utilizing readily available parts resulted in a machine that was dependable and easily maintained. Company founder James E. Turner had been a designer for the Red-E tractor company. He was the son-in-law of one of that company’s founders and in 1946 decided to strike-out on his own to build four wheeled garden tractors at his newly formed Engineering Products of Waukesha (EPW) company. The concept of utilizing off-the-shelf parts and subcontracting manufacturing of castings and machine parts was rather revolutionary at the time. EPW was designing and assembling the tractors while most of the expensive overhead for machining, casting, metal stamping and other costly processes was borne by the subcontractors. The first year was devoted to design and engineering of prototypes and very few tractors were sold. Early models had cable steering which was later replaced with chain steering and eventually a steering gear was utilized. Early units were not fancy, they were devoid of any sheetmetal and had a cast-iron seat without padding. They had a Wisconsin air-cooled single cylinder engine attached to a modified Crosley bell housing, clutch, and transmission. The transmission unit was modified by adding pulleys for belt power transfer. A modified Ford Model-A rear axle assembly with reduction gears at the axles, much like the Red-E tractors, was used as a final drive. The Economy tractor was tested at the University of Nebraska in 1952 under test number 483. Economy tractors also carried the names Power King, Country Squire and the Jim Dandy along the way. Country Squire Garden Tractors were built from 1951 to 1962 and sold by mail-order through magazine advertising and sales booths at state and county fairs. They were powered by 9HP Briggs & Stratton or Wisconsin 9.2 HP air cooled single cylinder engines. Jin Dandy joined the ranks in 1964 and a part of the Economy line of tractors through 1977 It was a bit smaller and more affordable than the Country Squire. The Jim Dandy could be equipped with 10, 12 or 14 horsepower engines. The larger Power King line also came along in in 1964 being offered in 10, 12, and 14 horsepower Kohler engines. In 1977 the Economy name went away and a new numbering designation using rear wheel size and horsepower to derive the model number. As an example, a 1612 has 16” rear rims and a 12-horsepower engine. Power King was sold to Support Services International in 1990 and production moved from Waukesha to Beaver Dam. Production continued until the late 1990s when Power King was sold again. Eventually the Power King assets were sold to Yazoo-Kees and production ended. Mission Manufacturing now owns the rights to Power King and supports the tractors. Country Squire 9 hp 30/48" deck 1951 – 1962 Jim Dandy 10HP 10 hp 48" deck 1964 - 1967 Jim Dandy 12HP 12 hp 48" deck 1965 - 1970 Jim Dandy 14HP 14 hp 36/48/60" deck 1968 - 1977 Power King 10HP 10 hp 48" deck 1964 - 1967 Power King 12HP 12 hp 36/48/60" deck 1965 - 1970 Power King 14HP 14 hp 36/48/60" deck 1968 - 1977 1212 12 hp 42" deck 1982 - 1990 1214 14 hp 42/48" deck 1988 - 1993 1217 17 hp 42" deck 1983 - 1987 1218 18 hp 42/48" deck 1988 - 1993 1218HV 18 hp 48/60" deck 1994 - 1999 1220HV 20 hp 48" deck 1997 - 1998 1612 12 hp 48/60" deck 1977 - 1983 1614 14 hp 48/60" deck 1977 - 1993 1616 16 hp 48/60" deck 1977 - 1983 1617 17 hp 48/60" deck 1984 - 1988 1618 18 hp 48/60" deck 1977 - 1983 1618 18 hp 48/60" deck 1988 - 1993 1618GV 18 hp 48/60" deck 1994 - 1999 1620 20 hp 48/60" deck 1989 - 1993 1620HV 20 hp 48/60" deck 1994 - 1999 2414 14 hp 48/60" deck 1977 - 1988 2416 16 hp 48/60" deck 1977 - 1983 2417 17 hp 48/60" deck 1984 - 1988 2418 18 hp 48/60" deck 1977 - 1983 2418 18 hp 48/60" deck 1988 - 1993 UT620 20 hp 48/60" deck 1989 - 1993 UT620HV 20 hp 48/60" deck 1994 - 1999

@ACman and Kyle My SIL, Mrs. P and Niece

@Blasterdad @WHX?? and Me @Achto @Streetrodchev

What have I done to "my" Wheelhorse? Brought it somewhere else! Here's my Ole Man in his purple hat driving the C121 we built for him to mow with.

Probably gonna wear out my welcome with this machine, but I have a serious crush on this tractor.

Getting all the lil bugs worked out. New seat has been ordered.

Took a walk around the pasture.

The decks are on there Randy. You need these special glasses to see thru the invisible paint. I could send you a pair for $79.95 + $29.95 S&H. PM your address and bank account routing number and I'll fix ya up.

@dmac Did someone mention wide deck?!! 😂

@Shynon @Achto @SylvanLakeWH don’t tell @WHX?? where I found these front tires! Has anyone seen my short starter generator? I found the tractor that needs it

@Sparky C’mon Mike, you can’t have those beefy wide tires and a dinky little 36” deck! It is in the rule book, page 6 Article IV Section VI states that one must use a minimum of a 42” deck but preferably a 48” when 23 X 10.50-12 rear tires are installed. Basic stuff you should know here Mike!! I have a 42” RD down here if you want to jump on the ferry! 😜

Just need the dang grass to grow a bit more Maybe she needs a wider deck than a 36” RD?

Nice day so I changed the oil in onan swapped 314. Leveled the deck and tried a test cut. I’m out of town in a few weeks and wanted it working for GF to cut the grass if needed.

Yep I’ve got one ready to go. Fully rebuilt.

A big thanks to @PWL216 for bringing this to me. This'll be a future project for the BBT and me. The numbers show it to be a 1974. The engine has been replaced. Unfortunately the serial/spec number isn't legible. The engine appears to be blue...ish (?)

Hotel booked, staying in Gettysburg. First time attending the big show and i can’t wait. Bringing the wife and my two girls😁

Correct!

Using the Horse to haul some logs with my Dad today for his log burner

I wasn’t finished plowing, though my friends left! I made a few passes on Justin (Case) with the 8” plow I ran behind Putt Putt yesterday. It worked best in 1st gear, but still worked!

Today Libby and me went for a putt with our riding gang, er group. They’re very thirsty guys so we always meet at J&J’s Tavern/ The Harrisburg Country Club. Then off to The Getaway, next Tamarack Marina on High Rock Lake, next Gold Hill Village for a stop at Flynn’s Village Grill. Gold Hill was a gold mining village, and in its heyday was bigger than Charlotte during that time period. Supposedly saloons and brothels made up the majority of businesses in the village by far. Nice little ride. Logged 133.5 miles.

Whaattt, You didn't rig a plow on Jeff's trac chair?

Forget them front tires... I like them nubbies on the rears... Starter...? hhhmmm... starter... where's the ground? I detect a whiff of cheese curds for some reason...

Did someone mention a " wide deck " ?

My power washer has an 8hp Honda with a CAT pump I forgot how many GPM and PSI it is but if I put that spinney thing nozzle on the end it will definitely strip loose paint with ease. However sometimes I don’t feel like dragging it out to set up just for something small. I’d like to mount a 220v one near my garage door and have the hose on a reel. Turn on the water, flip a switch and you’re ready to go! We had one at a place I used to work and it was very handy. At first I was skeptical but after I used it once I wanted one. I thought about selling the gas one to help fund the purchase of the electric, but I need to wash my house occasionally and I’m thinking there’d be too much friction loss by the time I got to the other end of the house coupling hoses together? I’d need over a hundred feet of hose. Thoughts? As a volunteer firefighter I’ve taken many classes on friction loss GPM, length of run, pressure, blah blah. After doing this for almost 36 years, when the you know what is hitting the fan I’ve yet to see anyone break out a chart and say “Hang on, I need to figure out the friction loss!” Obviously the trucks have gauges to tell you what is going on, incoming and outgoing pressure. Most importantly is the guy on the nozzle has the correct pressure and this is done with experience and radio communication. Sorry if I got a little off course there 😂

Nice day here. About 80 degrees. Got restarted on my porch project by cleaning bricks until my back told me to stop - only got 40 done. Tomorrow, I will make my makeshift table (plywood on sawhorses) a bit taller. 'Only' 200 or 300 more bricks left to clean.

After cutting the yard, and taking the two Horses for a romp around the neighborhood, I washed Libby’s car… then blow dried it…

Ribeye, potatoes in aluminum foil and mushrooms for supper. Mom is in charge of mushrooms, I grilled steaks and cooked the potatoes on Green Egg. Great to see mom doing better. If you remember, she had major surgery a few months ago following a mistake during a biopsy. This is the first mess of mushrooms I've found in several years. I rode my electric bike and found them along the "railroad to bike" trail.

Well. To the best of my recollection.... I have 7 here now. Cinnamon Horse C160-8 is a combination of two. So this one's technically #8.

I have an Economy Jim Dandy, bought it in 1985 when I was 15 ! It’s been in my basement for over twenty five years now. I keep thinking I’m going to restore it but I really should sell it, as I’m not sure I’ll ever get to it. Every so often I shoot a little Marvel Mystery Oil in the spark plug hole and turn the engine over a little so the rings don’t get stuck.

Houston... @ebinmaine's got a problem... Are you past fingers and toes for counting on 160's??? Nice haul!!!

My C-165 Automatic

when it comes to the longevity of the tractor or its over all well being i use OEM WH products -- so my oil filters are WH originals -- for whatever the few dollars difference may be i prefer the WH products for something like an oil filter

It's possible you sheared a key in one of the rear wheel hubs. Draw a line with a marker from the center of each axle onto the hub. Try to drive and see if one of the hubs turns on the axle. It takes just one to fail to cause a no-drive condition. It could be the right one because the axle is out past the hub. I don't think it could be the pulley behind the fan because the fan is turning.

Definitely will see low pressure being an issue if using ½” or ⅝” hose. I’ve got my water pressure regulated to 30-ish psi and I use a single-piece ¾” hose that seems to do ok with a nozzle. I’d have no hesitation using it with my 2.7 GPM pressure washer. I can see how handy it would be to have a semi-permanent washer set-up. In our area, of course, it’ll expect you to flush/fill with RV antifreeze before any really cold weather!

I took a look at the manual and see what you saw, ni part number. Ebay has more than one part number for roller bearings on Peerless but none are a direct match to the 920-010. Best bet may be to get an accurate measurement on the axle and the housing and then find one that fits.McMaster is probably the best place to look. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/bearings/ball-bearings~/

That paint scheme and decal combo looks really nice! As always- well done!

My parts book show the 6410 lift bar was used on the 42 inch dozier blade model 6-1111 (formerly BD-426). The 2 piece cultivators used lift link part # 5581, 3777, or 1949 depending on the vintage. The "pull type" grader blades from that era used the 5678 lift link. Later ones used lift link part # 104357.

@Ed Kennell, Funny, I was thinking as I took those pics… ”None of my Wheel Horses have had an attachment reinstalled on them since I spruced them up. The deck(48” SD) for the 520H needs just a few little parts before it will be complete after the restoration of it. The deck(42” SD) for the GT-1600 still needs a complete overhaul. The GT-1600 also came with a mid mount scraper blade that I need to paint. Shameful ain’t it…

Gotta love them Vanguards!

OK, where do you get the invisible paint you used on your decks? They do make a nice cut.

Hot water pressure washers pump cold water into heating coils to heat it. Some cold water units do actually state a maximum temperature for feed water. Be careful that you don’t damage the pump by feeding it with water that’s too hot!

For the first time in a long long time the “twins” were both out doing yard work. I worked this morning and then came home to do some yard work. I try to base my timing of my yard work (thatching, aerating, fertilizing, etc) on when we do it at work. We started a couple weeks ago at work but it seems like every weekend it’s rained and kept me from doing it. Sure enough it poured twice while I was out. I only did the front yard and part of the side. The back which is the biggest piece of the property can wait. The twins are my 71 Bronco 14 and my 73 12 automatic. Both with 18hp vanguard v twins so that’s why we call them the twins. The 12 auto pulled the green thatcher (don’t hurt me gotta use what I have) and the bronco was on the vac system. Alex isn’t home this weekend. It definitely felt weird being able to drive a couple tractors of my own and do work with them. He usually jumps to do it as soon as I mention anything tractor work related.

Fair warning: with a pressure washer wand in hand, EVERYTHING starts to look like it needs washing--keep pets, children, and spouses out of sight!

The 103-990 is compatible with the wiring of your safety switches. The majority of Wheel Horses made in 1982 were battery ignition and rather than having two different wiring harnesses for the same year Wheel Horse used a kill relay on the Briggs magneto ignition models. If you used a 103-991 switch you would need to rewire the whole tractor. You could do away with the old Kill relay and replace it with an off-the-shelf unit from any auto parts store.

Have you considered putting a helicoil thread insert in the head. It fairly easy, you can get a kit at your local auto supply or amazon or ebay