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To those who gave all for our Country... Thank you.

Most of you saw the recently posted AI generated video about the history of Wheel Horse. The inaccuracies were abundant and glaring. Having lived a stones throw from South Bend all my life I vividly remember the tremendous amount of manufacturing in the county with Oliver, Studebaker and many others as well as what Wheel Horse went through as it was happening. You hear a lot of conflicting stories about AMC, Munn and then Toro and what they did to Wheel Horse. I stumbled on to this one this morning and found it to be, by far, the most accurate of any I've seen. My awareness started in 1960 as a child but the memories are still there. Sit back and relax. This is just over an hour long but it kept me glued to the puter screen and brought back a lot of memories. The Brand That Big Box Stores Destroyed: The Fall of Wheel Horse I did catch a major error near the end. Since when was the LX420 the last of the models with any Wheel Horse heritage? It had zero. The last was the Classic GT aka 300 Series, aka 315-8, whatever you prefer to call them. Last year made, 2007. Also, many of you want to see the Ireland Road plant on an upcoming visit to the area. No, it doesn't look like this now but you will still recognize it. The picture they used when making that statement was the BACK of the plant. For many years the less faded paint under the Wheel Horse name was very visible.

Back home after spending 5 cold rainy days at my sister's farm in western Pa. Over 3 inches of rain with a 45* high temp. I did manage to fill a spring gobbler tag on Saturday. Sorry, no pictures...wet turkey do not photograph well. Also attended my 65th Meyersdale High School reunion on Saturday. We do something unique, where we have a banquet every year at the high school for the graduating class and every class that graduated on the 5 year multiples of the current year. We had 2 from 1956, 5 from my 1961 class, 8 from my sisters 1966 class, and the numbers increased until a disappointing 8 of the 2026 class attended. The rain did have the forest floors covered in beautiful green ferns. A 340 mile long bike path passes along the farm in Sand Patch, Pa. Probably a 3 day ride for Mike @Sparky. This path begins in Washington, DC and follows the C & O canal tow path to the gap in Cumberland, Md., then follows railroad beds to Pittsburg, Pa going thru several mountain tunnels along the way. Here it crosses the lane into the farm. Stopped by Red Square Corner at the Big Show site on the way home. No bridges out and all roads in good shape leading to the Show.

I'll have more pics later..... The Trina person and her momma and me and a friend of ours spent another wonderful weekend at Moose Brook State Park in Gorham NH. Woods walking. Mountain biking. Campfire in the 1930s CCC chimney. We highly recommend that particular park. Trina's mom stayed in the camper. We used our tent.

1. I'd start off with a voltage drop test to identify potential bad grounds, and then I'd check compression for being in spec (compression release failure) and likely discover the issue somewhere between those 2 tests.

May 25, 1977, Star Wars (later subtitled A New Hope) premiered in U.S. theaters on May 25, 1977, a day that became legendary as it launched the iconic sci-fi saga, opening initially in a limited release of about 32 theaters before expanding to become a massive cultural phenomenon.

May 25, 1961 JFK announces the US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.

I hate sheetmetal work. Some idiot apparently used my 701 belt guard on a low mount starter engine. They cut a path for the belt to pass and screwed a screen on the front with self tapping screws. Welding sheetmetal is a pain, but I was able to make it look decent. Not perfect but at least it was on the bottom. My hood was torn all up where it meets the frame up front. So I cut the bad spot out, added a new bottom plate, then made a 1/8 tab that wraps into the sides for extra support. Needs a little filler in the weld gaps but it won't be visible when finished. At least these parts will fit right now. A little more work and they will look good enough.

We mowed my in-law’s yard…. It was looking like a hay field…. My FIL doesn’t care how it looks, but my MIL does. it looks awesome now. My last name is White…. My dad used to comment about how good the yard would look after he/we got finished…. And understand, we have ZERO racial bias….. Dad would say, “Now it looks like the Whites live here again!” And, he’d say, “I like our house and yard to look like we’re LIVING here, not just STAYING here.” I miss my dad….. he was awesome…. And I fell straight down out of that tree!

I was 11 years old…and once Star Wars hit the big movie theaters I was able to see it and I LOVED IT! When my son was old enough to watch (he was probably around the same age as when I started watching) we sat home and binged the entire series on VCR tapes.

Trust me everything looks better on the internet...

I didn't do much, as is typical of a Sunday. The boy and his GF were told by her mom yesterday that they couldn't hang after church today because there was too much to do to get ready for their Memorial Day cookout. My son volunteered to go over and help, and I made sure both kids knew that as soon as her mom thought he was being more of a distraction than a help she was going to call me to come get him. I never got called, and went to pick him up at the pre-arranged time, and was told that him being there got her (the daughter) to work harder than she normally would have. So I guess I did something right with him.

Interesting observation. But not where I was going with my earlier missive. While it might not compare to the year-round humidity that Charlotte experiences, the bulk of what most would call the Midwest has appreciable humidity. Summertime from Ohio to Missouri is probably indistinguishable ftom the Mid Atlantic to the Palmetto state. What I mean to imply was that two paths for boosting octane and oxygenating fuel were taken in the US. One used MTBE - predominantly the Eastern US - and the other used Ethanol. The corn belt states preferred ethanol. Eventually MTBE was phased out around 2004-2006 as it has other environmental problems, so ethanol introduction came later to the East. Putting ethanol into fuel tanks solublized the water and schmutz that had accumulated and put it into customer’s equipment. This happened a couple of decades earlier in the Midwest than it did elsewhere, so the more recent event trumps our memories of the acute issues that developed. Humidity can play a role though. Some amount of water is grabbed out of the air and dissolved into the gasoline. This isn’t an infinite loop though. It’s highly unlikely a volume of fuel can saturate just from exposure to air since as the water enters the fuel it decreases the affinity for the ethanol laced fuel to grab more out of the air. As the gasoline evaporates though, it can leave the water mix behind. But this isn’t particularly unique to blended fuel as water accumulates in all breathing tanks and evaporation leaves behind an undefined and undesirable witches brew in all tanks. steve

Lots of replacement parts are purchased and installed that weren't needed because no one bothered to diagnose the actual problem. You need to take a systematic approach to find the actual problem. Why won’t my starter turn over from the key switch?\ Lets take a logical step by step inspection of your starter problem. Is your PTO in the ON position, a wheel horse will not start with the PTO on. Have you had the battery load tested at an auto parts store? Have you cleaned and tightened all electrical connections including grounds? Are all fuses good and fuse holders cleaned? If these have all been done, we can check components of the starting system as follows; don’t skip a step or you may miss the problem. Be sure the transmission is in neutral and the parking brake is set. Take a pair of automotive jumper cables and connect the black cable to your battery "-" and a good clean spot on the engine. Now connect the other cable to the large post on the starter and touch the other end to the battery "+" terminal, does the starter turn over? If the starter turns over the battery and starter are good. If it didn't turn over try the same steps with the battery in your car/truck, if that cures the problem then the "good" battery wasn't so good. Presuming the starter turned over move the jumper wire from the starter post to the other end of the wire going to the starter which is one of the large posts on the solenoid. If the starter turns over when the battery is touched by the jumper as before then that cable is good, if not you have found your problem. Presuming the starter turned over move that jumper to the other terminal of the solenoid, connect the other end to the battery and use a small piece of wire to temporarily connect the battery "+" terminal to the small terminal on the solenoid, this should cause the solenoid to close and the starter to turn over. If not, the solenoid is probably the problem. If this was successful remove the large jumper cable and use the small jumper wire to the small terminal of the solenoid, the solenoid should close and the starter turn over. If not the cable to the battery is the problem. Presuming all of these have been successful remove the black jumper wire and repeat the small jumper to small terminal, if the starter turns over the ground is good. If all of these components test good then remove your ignition switch, be sure the transmission is in neutral, parking brake on, clutch depressed and PTO off. Use a small jumper to connect the terminals that were connected to the “B” and “S” terminals of the ignition switch. If the starter turns over then the PTO switch and other safety switches are operating properly and your ignition switch may be bad.

Finally got around to putting on the new tires. New hose are on the steering cylinder. When the wheels are turn to the right and the axle is tilted up the left front tire just touches the front cylinder fitting. Not sure if I am going to mess with it or not. Have to start working on fuel line, pump and sheet metal . Painted the wheel with Krylon metallic paint/primer. Not a restoration grade job but they look okay.

Yes sir! A C160!

Mebbe so but it looks great from Maine.

Belt is 1/2" X 70" Same as this 857

I never thunk of that. Less humidity likely makes ethanol not nearly as troublesome with carburetor equipped machines.

My cleaner has a 30 minute cycle. I typically run carbs 3 times. More on really dirty ones.

Explaining what "this rig" actually is and some pictures would certainly help

Watch which solvents you use. Many common ultrasonic solvents are caustic to aluminum. There is one on Amazon that is aluminum safe. Not cheap, but better than ruining the carb you are looking to save. https://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Solution-Carburetors-Cleaning-Immersion/dp/B09KK6KR3Z/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=MW4TT953L7DP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Hf_fBUuXW1HjooHlm4YwrBUClH2-3mM_H0HsbKVuqsEr6xWToJl7pLZH2SE2-xMxl9-GXlWUOxmOjCVfWK65n1QUWwDHE-Ig7OIPL9WTQ7WVsFmSWxodHSxVfb-U8qD0SaaO8UlL2IsXuXlpV38sxnOn_rDrwLSlySXPMKkzkZbrvs8yh8oPNdujjtpF7PlnBxsgibVw3D4OY6A5Qbz4ibIW5qZgP3SpbVhX0xBIJ4io4_dLZ6zXkrlj3nl2biQYHbtYIvG4K-00gcY69oNCZULueCRC2vA5DavITXrx-r4.8PaEza685VoiKldJEjDUbJ954mL2_u1HO3n2B5tZcj0&dib_tag=se&keywords=ultrasonic%2Bcleaner%2Bfor%2Bcarburetors&qid=1779653786&s=automotive&sprefix=ultraso%2Cautomotive%2C157&sr=1-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Great running into a few of you guys yesterday early. Spent the day over at the garden tractor pulls. When we first started pulling there were 3 wheel horses and my son was bringing 2 of them. Yesterday at one point we must have had close to 12 to 15 of them. I decided last year to give @WheelHorse_Kid the choice to show or pull. My thinking was he only has a few more years pulling in the youth pulls and I have I hope a bunch of years to sit at shows. He chose pulling this year and last. We had a great day and pulled well after everyone had left. We were packing up at 7:30 last night. We had a record number of stock class tractors and a few newer 1000lb class tractors. Great to see the hobby getting a little bigger. Sadly the only wheel horse to take 1st was my old 14-8speed that I literally dragged out of the bushes last weekend for my son’s friend to use in the stock class. While he drove it around at the show after the left axle decided to widen the stance a little bit. So now I need to tear it apart and figure that out. But all in all the 2 boys that I brought came home with 4 trophies and it was a great day. Here are some pics from over where we were. I added some of the non wheel horse ones but I think you guys will enjoy. Ben who runs the pull built that cub cadet that you will see has multiple drivers on it in the pictures. He built it for himself with a hand clutch since he is paralyzed but he lets kids use it to try and get more into the sport. I believe it had 4 different drivers yesterday. Also 2 dads suited up and stole their kids tractors for the 1400lb class. Let me tell you that 13’3” I pulled felt like forever. But was super fun. I may have to build one for myself. ScreenRecording_05-24-2026_14-35-14_1.mov

The circus tent is ready! I know 3 's are going to be there. Not sure if the other 2 's are going to cut loose with the cash for fuel and make it. Gonna miss the short walk to the concession stand for a burger.

Clean the starter mounting pads on the starter and where it bolts on the engine. Check and clean the ground cable.

Here's another. The PO converted to a Manual Choke.

Yeah, an interesting science experiment or demonstration. I couldn’t be bothered with the tediousness for any regular usage. Disposing of the “water” with its uncertain chemical composition would trouble me, as well.

Water will strip the alcohol out of the fuel. The alcohol does not want to bond to gasoline nearly as badly as it does water. Add water to e10, shake, and allow it to settle and you can skim the pure gas off the top.

Are indicating that you're "bumping" the starter to get the engine past a certain point? If so, I'd look at the timing (if adjustable) or maybe a valve adjustment?

An electric clutch for the PTO to drive a mower deck would be easy to do and depending on the engine use in the repower may also be the best. If you are thinking of an electric clutch for the drive clutch for the tractor ; don't do it.

Quick ride around the lawn 2026-05-24-204250962.mp4

I like the sound of those diesels, kind of unique.

If it were mine I'd be wearing ear plugs.

My 418-8 came with turf 9.50s on 7.5" wheels.

Better than what I coulda done.

Search box upper right hand corner. Type in 753 then use the more options drop down to and click on files and hit the search button. You will find lots more including engine manuals.

Not knowing what attachment you're intending to run makes it difficult to have an opinion. Mechanical clutches are plentiful and serviceable. The sudden start of an electric clutch is what turns most folks off. Soft starts are available but add $150 or so to a build.

Fantastic post! I was also in scouts and have fond memories of leaders bringing various goodies to throw in a dutch oven. Mostly cherry dump cake or peach cobbler. We don't really have rhubarb down here, but @squonk has hooked me up in the past, and I really enjoyed it!

Mostly water control. Ethanol solvates water. If the tank always has alcohol-laced fuel in it and there isn’t a gigantic leak that lets in rainwater, any water that does enter the tank gets dispersed in the fuel and passes through the engine. Without the alcohol, the water droplets sink to the bottom where they can accumulate and eventually enter the fuel system as one big slug. Secondarily, the differing solvent properties of non-polar gasoline and polar alcohol keeps things dissolved in the fuel. So it helps keep things cleaner and avoids a buildup of something. This presupposes starting with fuel, a tank, and a fuel system that is already clean and dry. When alcohol fuel Is introduced to a system that never had it, it can mix in the water and water-dissolved gunk and drag it up into the engine. Likewise, it can dissolve things that accumulated in (and was not soluble in ) the gasoline and stuck to the tank and pull it along. That does create issues. Lastly, ethanol gas is cheaper. I don’t have my head in the sand about alcohol fuels creating legitimate problems for some. It was either Ed K or Bob M who pointed out it can accelerate the demise of laminated fiberglass marine fuel tanks. Polyester resins (used to make those tanks and the gel coats that lined them) aren’t particularly alcohol (especially methanol) resistant. So that’s not great. there are also some material compatibility issues with plastics and metals. Generally the 10% dosage doesn’t make these critical though. I do think it catches the blame for uncovering other sleeping issues like existing water and dirt contamination. It can also hide a moisture problem for a long time until the fuel gets saturated with water and it drops out all at once in the dreaded phase separation phenomenon. The Midwest doesn’t seem to be plagued with the same extent of problems that are attributed to alcohol on the East coast. My guess - and this is a guess - is that the octane improver MTBE that was used out east instead of alcohol postponed and exacerbated the alcohol-related effects into more recent times. As long as your stuff is clean and dry and it’s kept clean and dry I don’t find any personal benefit from avoiding it. Steve

@Jrblanke

Nothing beats a great desert on a campout! In our troop, the adult leaders (usually two or three) and any guests were assigned a patrol and took turns with all planning, cooking, eating, and other chores. No spectators. The patrol leaders were in charge.

5.79 in this neck of pa. Picked up 3 cans the other day 88.88 For me it is worth every penny. When you have a lot of machines that sit from time to time it is a okay, not to mention the mowers use less of it. Last year I spent $304 on non e fuel. That cuts all the grass, pressure washes and fuels up a quad. There are a whole bunch of other things I could cut out if I want to save a couple bucks.

Worth every cent.

Received the reproduction stainless-steel fuel tank and reproduction bed floor for my M37 yesterday. Both look good. Nice TIG welding work on the tank, and it has welded-in internal anti-slosh baffles, as well as a drain plug and the usual other connectivity. I assume that they pressure tested it, but I'll check it anyway at some point before fueling up. It should be just fine, but if by some chance I happen to discover a pinhole, I can always fix it with my TIG outfit. The bed floor is a fairly hefty 14 gauge. It's a two-piece floor, just like the original.

Even if there is fuel coming from the pump a systematic check of the fuel system could reveal areas of deferred maintenance that need attention.