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I have been going through a lot of old pictures from tractor shows, Wheel Horse redos, and places my brother and I visited ! I came across this old posting on our Ralph Family facebook page. I may have shared some of this before but 12 years ago i received a telephone call at home from someone wanting to use a photo of our 1054 Wheel Horse garden tractors that was posted on Facebook! Here is the posting from 2014 and some pictures: We made the American Pickers show (2014) with the photo of the four Wheel Horse 1054 tractors! The credits at the end of this "Grudge Match" episode listed me on the rolling screen! I clipped a few pics from the American Pickers "Grudge Match" episode tonight. They had a couple Wheel Horse tractors at "Doug's" place in Iowa. Frank did finally by a 633 Wheel Horse for $400. Doug was initially asking $600 for it, but he did not budge from the $400 figure he told Frank he needed. The research assistance from American Pickers had asked me to release two photos of Wheel Horse tractors earlier this year. They used the photo of the four Wheel Horse 1054 tractors that we still own. I assumed they were going to buy a Wheel Horse but was never told what was going to happen and tonight I now know they finally bought a Wheel Horse tractor. I like what they did and I was pleased to see that they mentioned we have Wheel Horse tractor meets! ***** Tom Bartlett had the RJ photo ( oops its a Suburban) and We had the 1054 photo! Our “pay”. Was acknowledgment in the credits at the end of the program . We did have to sign releases though they were very thorough!

While searching something else I came across this old thread from 2011. This is both a sad and interesting thread from the past. Gary Pond, Cecil's son, was part of it. Sure wish he stayed hanging around, but I get it. Many of the members that posted on it were a big part of this forum back in the day. It's very nostalgic to see some of those names and remember those early days of RS. This thread may have been hosted on the old Forumer site before Karl made this place permanent. I can't remember what year that was but thank you Karl ( @nylyon) for saving it if it was. The Forumer site owned ALL of the the content before Karl made ours. That's whole story just on it's own and interesting RS history. Plenty of those old threads back in the day had tons of interesting subjects and very knowledgeable people the providing that info so it's sad to see they either passed or simply moved on. If you happen come across any interesting threads from the past or know of one please post them.

Decided that painting these wheel weights was worth the effort. Now I just need to pull the front wheels and get rid of that bright white that somebody painted them with. UPDATE:

August 10, 1846 US Act of Congress passes establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, now the world's largest museum and research complex.

Picked up a GT-1848 last year for cheap at auction as she didn't run...Turns out those B&S engines actually require fuel mixture to run. After going over the flue system she worked great. The hydro engagement lever shook around and rattled a lot. Part of problem was drive belt was missing a couple chunks...but even with a new belt lots more rattle and noise than my 418A. My older Sustrands also rattle and I have replaced the wave washers with not much improvement. (Use a small bungee cord on one to quiet it down) So why is the 418 quiet but not the GT same system right??? Wrong...WH made a change in the later hydros and added an anti rattle spring instead of using wave washers. Looked at the spring on my 418 and went to my box of springs found one that was actually for some WH snow blower that looked close. Shortened and bent the end loops put it on the GT and voila quieter. As the other Sunstrands come in for maintenance going to fix them up as well. First diagram GT 2nd 418 note #29 WH part 107938 First pic 418 2nd GT

But... The way the 856 left the WH factory, your choices would be either a 32 or 36 " gear drive 2 blade deck. The deck in the picture looks to be a 42" - even a good running 8HP Kohler is prety much maxed out with a 36" deck.... my

I had no intention of becoming a Wheel Horse enthusiast. I just wanted a strong garden tractor to be able to maneuver my stone trailer around my yard. And I remembered my neighbor's Wheel Horse tractors from my youth. Of course, once I acquired an old Wheel Horse, I immediately needed information to make it whole again and perform to my needs. I have decent mechanical aptitude and the ability to learn but lacked a quality source of information. Once I found Red Square, I was flooded with said information and an abundance of support for all of my questions. That (and my OCD) is what converted me into an enthusiast. A few of the locals hit me up for tips and knowledge now. Pretty wild. The information that is archived on this site, along with the willingness of its members to participate in problem solving, is amazing! As a bonus, just the sharing of members' enjoyment of everyday "Wheel Horsing" makes this sight a delightful place to visit!

Thanks John for the post. I went thru the beginning twice. It was deferent then. Tractors were every where with lots of good meaningful posts. I guess we come a long way from how you posted pictures in photo bucket. I am glade we do not do that any more. It is well worth the $20 a year to easily post of our tractors. So many attachments and all the manuals you’ll ever need all in one spot. I would say one of the best run forums on the web.

The site is now in it's 20th year. I joined in 2007 and was maybe member 30 (I don't quite remember). At one point it was the Karl and Mike show, since they were the only two active members for a while. I believe a guy named Chris started the site before Karl took over.

Happy Birthday @SylvanLakeWH, we are all glad you were born.

I started off looking for help changing a starter on my 312-8 and ended up re building re wiring and re powering a C-141 auto. The people and info here has been invaluable figuring out the ins and outs of my tractors. The perk of how long the site has been around, is if I have a question an old post has the answer.

The information shared by members past and present has contributed to a well of knowledge that we all can draw from. Without Red Square and our moderators all of that would have just gone away.

Since I already changed the plug I will try the 301991 switch. Per gasaholic I tested the switch. With the 301991 switch in the “on” position there is always continuity between battery pin and rectifier pin. There is no continuity battery to magneto pin. In “start” position there is continuity between battery pin to start pin and no continuity to magneto pin. In the “off” position there is magneto to ground continuity. IKnow none of this is news to anyone here but I wanted to test the switch to be sure there is no power to the magneto. At this point it seems safe to go with the 301991 switch and if the safety switches don’t work I will switch back to battery wiring system and add the kill relay. If there is error in my thought process correction is appreciated.

Here ya go Kevin

If you have the circled item on the front of your Magnum you have the 15 amp system. No box you have 3 amp unregulated. \

It’s hard to swallow EB, but life in general can be at times. Roughly 4 or 5 weeks ago, our dark grey cat Bruno stayed out all night. That’s sometimes common occurrence around here, but Mrs. P and I had that eerie feeling that something happened. Momma says she finds comfort believing that he walked out of our lives and into another family’s. I on the other hand think he met his demise picking one more fight and ended up in the food chain. Either way, it’s been different but it seems like it’s been our easiest loss of any pets. Now we are down to Rooster and Lynx.

95 & 97 had the silver centers, 96 had the gold. The color of the plastic changes with age and sun exposure.

The gold one's were for the 1996 50th anniversary tractors. The rest of them were in fact gray.

It is not the rectifier you need to be concerned about, it is the magneto if in fact your engine has a magneto.. Be sure of the ignition type and appropriate switch before you go changing anything. The R terminal in the lower left would be the correct position IF you have a battery ignition system. The two drawings you have shown are not not the same. Please check the model number and ignition type before proceeding. Your hand drawn wiring layout is for a battery system. Once we know what you are working with we can guide you through the process of eliminating the start push button.

https://youtu.be/erc4IeGwfjk?is=toAKT_LGXRKZfmjK I tend to like these types of songs.

Old posts are awesome. I run into them on a very regular basis while searching for information. Some great stuff back then. Some great stuff today too. This website has been an amazing resource for dozens of reasons.

First time I've seen that color. I thought they were all gray with gold emblems but since I'm not a hub cap fan I have these sitting on a shelf. I think they were made for the anniversary model.

A request of this nature is best handled by sending Eric a Personal Message thru the Forum.....

Thank you ,but I don't think this 420 will ever be as nice as @cleat 's resto's. I do put a lot of effort to bring the '' ROUGH 420'S '' back to a spot in WH history but, I just can't stand looking at the abused 420 and 520's that I have seen in pictures on this GREAT Red Square forum and try to do my part to ease the pain that has been inflicted on me, Seriously . Thanks

LOL! This C-81 is a parts rig and I decided to strip it down today..trans will sit on a shelf as a spare but I wanted fresh fluid in it before it gets stored away.

Hi, I am Gary Pond (Cecils son who worked for Wheel Horse for many years until sold). My son Jonathon Pond, sister Constance, and I had the pleasure of visiting your annual Wheel Horse Collectors show in PA the year that Michael Martino came out with his 2nd edition of From the Horses Mouth. As my Dad was a number of years earlier, we were greatly impressed and proud to see the large gathering of the wonderfully restored old Wheel Horse tractors and owners. Michael tracked me down about 5 years before the 1st edition to see if Cecil was alive and could be contacted. He told us of the Collectors Club and the need for more accurate information. That started a long and happy relationship (friendship) between Cecil and Michael. A family member (Jonathons Mother) showed me a link to your blog. The Pond family wanted to say "Thank You" for all of the heart felt comments about Cecil, Elmer, and Wheel Horse Products. Our appreciation and respect to all Participants. The above photo shows 4th generation Jonathon Pond with a tractor that his Great-Granddad Elmer Pond designed.

sounds like you got a decent handle on it .

@Lane Ranger regularly watched that show , and noted seeing horses in stuffed garages / sheds , etc , think the pacific west shows' were the best for , small hamlets , towns , ever in new mexico , like walking into the past , must stop , https://www.google.com/search?q=billy+the+kid+museium&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS866US866&oq=billy+the+kid++museium+&gs_lcrp=CBtdXNldW0aEmxvY2FsLXBsYWNlLXZpZXdlchgKINXttL0M , also pie town , nm , https://www.google.com/search?q=billy+the+kid+museium&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS866US866&oq=billy+the+kid++museium+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIP PIE TOWN NM , tiny restaurant , local farmer s , restaurant , middle of nowhere , worth a stop , pete

OK, we have been looking at 310 systems until now. perhaps you can tell us what the Kohler engine SPEC number on the engine that has been transplanted into your 310. I don't think that any 14 hp Wheel Horse had the 3 amp charging system but the spec will tell the truth.

Happy Birthday Jim...

@Armadillo👍, are you sure of the year of manufacture for your ? You mentioned the 103990 and 103991 ignition switches. These are in no way interchangeable electrically. Does your engine have a battery powered ignition system or a magneto? see the illustrations below. Under the seat there should be a sticker with a model number, 21-10K801 21-10K802 or 21-10K803 will have a battery ignition system and require the 103990 key switch. Models 21-10K804 21-10K805 and 21-10K806 will be a magneto ignition and require the 103991 switch. The attached thread explains what happens if the wrong switch is used. .

I just knew my pump was going bad once but I had left the pulley loose and it would spin on shaft, but sometimes it wouldn't spin on shaft and would work fine. I couldn't figure out why it would work great sometimes, sometimes wouldn't work and sometimes it would be slow, I finally noticed the pulley walking in and out on shaft and had enough since to tighten it up. Mine also never made any weird noises. Hopefully yours will be sumin simple too. I did change fluid in mine thinking it might help so at least sumin good did come out of it .

Between you and Trina I'm sure she'll recover. Dogs are amazingly resiliant.

Here is the manual showing the right pedal. If you enlarge my update picture, you can see what I did. I made the pedal, real simple to make. It basically is just free floating but enough slack to keep it forward of the foot peg. I put a spacer on the inside and flat steel with a 3/4” hole and a locking collar on the outside to keep it in place.

Today after work was touch up and detail painting, fixing scrapes and chips day.. much nicer.

Pardon the obvious, but that puts your rebuild at nearly 40 years old. Probably time for another one. The last one I did only lasted about 25 years so you got your money's worth for sure.

You know Trina. You know how busy she always is. I can't possibly overstate how much she's been doing to care for the dog.

Moved my old camper trailer to the back of the property today. Leveling an area for it now Will be the new goat pen. Trailers been sitting around for 2 years since I tore the 30 foot camper shell off it. Old lady wants a goat so figure this is a hell of a good base to level with some 8 inch block and build off of. Let me know what y'all think! She wheelied up on me 3 times climbing this hill. Now I'm pondering some weight bracket of some sorts for the front Maybe that brand new weight set I had to have an have used 4 times will be a victim for this project.

Tied into a Onan I got from @Blasterdad at @Pullstart plow day. Someone started taking it all apart and don't know why. He said it ran when parked and debating whether or not to pop the heads and check things out. Seems to have good compression. Hear tell new head gaskets are junk tho. Cleaned up nice & maybe give the flywheel some red bling.

Lots of pumps at Surplus Center. Look there if interested.

https://www.northerntool.com/products/concentric-high-pressure-hydraulic-gear-pump-0-517-cu-in-model-g1232c5a300n00-10567 GPM can be fine tune adjusted by the speed of the engine and different size pulleys

Garry @gwest_ca, I had never taken the time to place the two switching layouts side by side. Very interesting to a wiring geek like me. I took your information and carried it out to see what would happen if a 103991 (Magneto) switch was placed in a Battery Ignition tractor. With the exception of a frustrated person wondering why nothin works the outcome would be rather harmless. In the OFF position the R and A terminals would be connected Ground, no big deal. In the RUN position the I, A and R terminals would be connected, nothing would happen but no harm would come of it. In the START position the S an I terminals would be connected, once again nothing would happen but no harm would come of it. On the other hand, if this situation were turned around and the 102990 (Battery Ignition) switch were placed in a Magneto tractor things get a bit more interesting and a whole lot more expensive. In the OFF position none of the terminals are connected and all is well. In the RUN position the B, R, A and M terminals are connected and magic smoke will be released from the Magneto. In the START position the B, A, S and M terminals will be connected and the engine will turn over but there will be no spark because the magneto already is toast.

Gary I got to meet your Dad several years ago. We used to have a Wheel Horse dealership we ran out of are farm in Northwest Indiana. While I was young on summer vacation from school I got recruited to help assemble new tractors from the crates. One day I was busy assembling and in walked Cecil with sales rep. Guess Cecil was making the rounds to some of the dealers that day. My Granddad introduce them to me and said that he recruited me for some extra help because sales were up. Cecil then spoke up and said " Good work for the young man, helps the family out and keeps him busy in the summer." Boy did my Granddad jump on that and the next few summers and school breaks I was working at are dealership along with farm work.

I'm not sure how to reply to individual comments on your blog. I can read the posts but don't understand the mechanism to correctly respond.....so please excuse my lack of propper etiquite. No, I did not work for AMC. When Wheel Horse was sold, I moved my family from Georgia back to South Bend, IN where both my wife (at the time) and I were both born and raised. We had gone from South Bend to Bedford, NH to Merietta, GA and our son and daughter had transitioned from New England accents to Southern accents. 1st grade was approaching and we decided we wanted them to be educated up North and near grand parents and aunts and uncles. Cecil was under contract to work for AMC for 5 years, but that was hard for him to do and I don't think he lasted more than about 2 or 3 years. The big corporation methods were far from the way he did things. Lets just say that they had a parting of the ways. LOL I have joked that the only reason AMC bought Wheel Horse was for the box seat tickets on the 50 yard line in the Notre Dame football stadium and the basketball box seats. I say that tongue in cheek because I can't remember seeing any real engineering changes to the products after Cecil sold. It was like, all the following owners just milked the original designs for all they could get out of them. And naturally we all could see the slide from #1 down and down. My guess is that now John Deere is #1.

Well your correct my birdhouse has never had a bird living in it & never will as long as I'm the owner. I hope you all enjoy the pic . !! ~Shawn~

This loss is much larger than just the creator of Pond/Wheel Horse Tractors. This is a loss of one of the last great Americans who started with an idea and built a successful business through hard work and determination. The inventions that he created will continue to be relevant into the future because of their shire design and because they were designed with a purpose of satisfying a need outside of himself. With that I say, “Thank You Mr. Pondâ€Â.