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Hi all, started working on my 856, ended up rebuilding the engine and while waiting for parts started working on steering, lots of slop. Pulled tie rods, steering wheel and shafts. Front of frame was wollowed and shaft end worn. Steering block got two bushings and steering wheel shaft cleaned up, installed upper dash bushing, reinforced bushing with steel puddy and new lock collar. Ordered hiem joints for tie rods and will machine new rods when I get parts. Don't forget the green high temp grease.

Robert Campbell Davis, age 68, of Niles, Michigan, passed away peacefully on March 28, 2026, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on November 9, 1957, in Niles, Michigan. Robert was a man of deep love, kindness, and wisdom. Known by many as “The Duke,” he was strong-willed, dependable, and a lifelong friend to those fortunate enough to know him. If Robert gave his word, he kept it. A devoted Christian, Robert was a faithful attendee of Hope Community Church, where he cherished fellowship with friends and family. He found joy in bringing people together and was always looking forward to his next visit with loved ones. Robert was truly a jack of all trades. He owned and operated Energy Efficient Heating and Air Conditioning, where he applied his skills in HVAC with pride and dedication. He also served for 21 years with the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department as a Building and Grounds Maintenance Supervisor, always striving to save the county money and improve operations wherever he could. A proud veteran, Robert served his country in the United States Navy, and military honors will be rendered as part of his service. He had a passion for life and a wide range of hobbies. Robert loved fishing, camping, and traveling. He was deeply interested in technology, including flying drones and 3D printing. A licensed pilot, he owned his own plane at the Niles airport and found great joy in flying. He was also a talented musician who loved playing the harmonica and guitar, with a collection of over 50 harmonicas. In addition, he was an avid Wheel Horse tractor enthusiast, rebuilding tractors and snow equipment, and even contributed writings to Lawn and Garden Tractor Magazine. Robert was a dedicated Freemason and Shriner who gave back to his community in meaningful ways. He made multiple trips to Shriners Hospitals transporting children and played an active role in organizing the Shriners Christmas Party. He helped collect gifts and create memorable experiences for children, ensuring the joy extended beyond the event through thoughtful goodie bags and continued celebrations. He was preceded in death by his parents, Anna Mae (Davidson) Davis and William Campbell Davis; his siblings William C. Davis (twin), Pamela A. Roberts, and Brenda S. Leverence; and his nephew Jonathan Latislaw. Robert is survived by his beloved wife, Maryjane (Harkrider) Davis; his children, Rebecca L. Davis and Mindy M. Haynes and her husband Ronald Haynes; and his cherished grandchildren Lalique Haynes, Hennasey Mahone and her husband Deshaun Mahone, Brooklyn Wade, and Harlem Wade. He is also survived by two expected great-grandchildren, the Mahone twins. He is further survived by his sisters Dolores M. Roemke and Carmel D. Fey and her husband Curtis Fey; his nephews Matthew Latislaw and his wife Kyanna, Philip Latislaw, Harold and wife (Kali) Roberts Jr (twin) Michael and wife (Angie) Roberts, William Roberts and wife Daphne Roberts; and his nieces Anna Latislaw, Kelly Poulos and Jennifer Robert. Robert’s legacy of love, generosity, and ingenuity will live on in the hearts of all who knew him. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered. Arrangements have been entrusted to Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Services. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 2, at 1:00pm-2:00pm family member viewing, 2:00pm-3:00pm public viewing, 3:00pm-4:00pm Service at Brown Funeral Home in Niles, Michigan .A luncheon will follow the service at the FOP Lodge in Niles at 5:00pm. Browns Funeral Home & Cremation Services (521 E Main St, Niles, MI 49120) FOP LODGE 95 (531 N State St, Niles, MI 49120)

Rest in Peace Bob !!

It finally warmed up enough to get the tractor started. Some fresh non-ethanol fuel was added to the fuel tank I pumped some air into the fuel tank with a hand pump to fill fuel line and prime the carb. Rear of tractor was jacked up so it would not take off on me since hydro neutral has not yet been set. Engine started virtually immediately. I let it run for a while to warm up and verify it was running well. Air cleaner housing installed. Air cleaner element and cover installed. Air cleaner cover installed. Idle speed base and governed set as per manual. Hydro neutral set as per manual. Tractor rear was then set on the ground and I was finally able to take it for it's maiden drive. It drives perfectly. Here is the manual I use to set the idle and hydro. Wheel horse service manual.pdf

I have had a few text with Duke over the years. He did a beautiful job on his 520- H Snow Chucker after the C 120 was sort of under powered with the 2 Stage blower. Inside the cab it looked like Las Vegas at night. We both were members of the Masons and Shriners and served as officers and worked our way up to serving as Master of our local lodge's. Quite a guy with many talents as well. I remember he was telling me he had a very bad experience with a Chiropractor and he was never really the same. We never met in person but I consider him a friend. Rest in Peace my brother.

March 30, 1981 "Chariots of Fire" directed by Hugh Hudson and starring Ben Cross and Ian Charleson premieres at a Royal Command Film Performance (Best Picture 1982)

The only guy I ever knew that had a Hula dancer in the cab of his snow chucker.

Well oops I did it again! Picked this up today. Runs ok at about half choke but is clearing up so may just be bad fuel. But a carb cleaning will still come. This is the only picture you get today. More to come tommorow.

Hello all, Nice to be here, I am here because I recently had a 1965 Wheel Horse GIFTED to me, she runs and rides but has none of the original attachments with it. I am also unsure of the exact model(and possibly year) but am told it is a 65. I have some pics I will post of it if anyone wants to help with ID'ing it! My plans aren't concrete yet but I would like to make either a mowverlander out of it, or maybe some sort of mower hot rod type thing, either way its a blessing and something my kids and I can do together.

Movies in 1981

Well' better late than never I'm told..lol I hope this helps someone in the future. My 414-8 fronts are Deestone Easy Steer Tri-Ribs (4x8). Wheel Horse GT rims I think?? Sorry I bought my rims off EBay yrs ago. If you look for narrow rims you might watch out for wheels with the steel center caps (tapered bearings). I have two sets, they're 8" rims & like 3 1/4" & 3 1/2" width bead to bead. Other members here might know other narrow sizes & tractors they came on, idk? Most front rims are 4" to 5" wide though. I prefer the WH rims with tapered bearing like older Cars/Trucks, Campers, Boat trailers etc.. The center axle hole size can be changed out via bearing size if one chooses, so it could fit 3/4, 1/2 axle dia if needed? Smoother rolling wheels & their center hole dont wear out & wobble like a non bearing wheel with age, just the bearing will so its a cheap fix. Tapered bearings are tougher than a reg ball bearing setup, its built for highway speed, higher heat & pothole abuse. Just saying. If you find them grab them. Fyi- Deestone Easy Steers high center rib raises your tire up on the harder surfaces so a tractor turns one handed. But in mud/soft dirt the ribs sink in so the tire grips instead of sliding across the top of the soil. My Rears are Carlisle Super Lug 23x9.50x12 or so I think? Not near it to see, never been off so idk actual Rim Width? I traced the letters with a white Paint marker so don't go searching for white letter Super Lugs. lol I put bolts though the back side of my hubs & use (chrome) Lug nuts on front side. Much easier to install my wheels, its like fitting car rims on the rear now. Hope this helps, sorry long!

I’d like to add that “The Duke” was my inspiration for me to get a tractor with a cab and two stage blower. I remember him posting those videos here on RS with his “Snow Chucker” and thinking that I need one of those!! He had all those gadgets in the cab😂 and was the first person I ever saw add rubber paddles to the impeller to get some more chucking capability! So Rest In Peace Bob, your talent and love for these machines did not go unnoticed. Your fellow Wheel Horse enthusiasts will never forget you ❤️ God bless you.

In the aviation business, the running joke is that avionics technicians are always a little off. Probably from dealing with the sparky side of the aircraft all day. For 15 of my 20+ years working in the Chicago area, I had the same FAA primary avionics inspector who would come out and audit our operation at least once a year. I also dealt with him a lot on other aviation related things so we would see each other quite often. I would always joke with him that he was a little off and that he was the reason for the stereo type. One day I asked him where he had grown up and all he did was give me was his parents address when he was a kid. So I instinctively when to Google maps and did a search and his childhood home was directly across the river from TMI. I jokingly told that explained a lot. However, he did say that he was in the military in 1979 and not at home at the time of the incident.

If you remember, last spring I posted that I was trying to cultivate morel mushrooms. For the past four years, as i find morels, I washed them and threw the water in the area pictured below. I have found 5 to 7 morels the past two years. Last year I expanded my seeding and used a slurry recipe that I found on the internet that utilized karo syrup and ashes added to the morel water and then diluted with water and poured over the ground. Just a few minutes ago I checked and there's 4 morels. They pretty small and are found just left of the wooden fence post. I've left them in hopes of them getting a little bigger. We have been awful dry and I have watered this patch a couple of times from my well. Suppose to rain off and on this week. I think I'll go out and cover them with an aeriated plastic container and maybe give them a little drink.

Well, not so much ready for snow but a reward for faithfully plowing snow. The 520HC got it's old oil drained and the filter removed. (that is water on the footrest from a well deserved washing it got just before this). Oil drain cap installed and a new oil filter installed along with re-installing the rubber air filter gasket. 1.6 litres of 30W oil was added. I used a Motorcraft FL-400S filter.

Nice job, looks like it will be good for 65 MPH.

I did similar... With the need to counterbalance the mass...

I believe it's the white wire from the engine. A 3 amp charge circuit does NOT have an external regulator/rectifier. That Magnum engine uses a diode in the wire to achieve the rectifier from AC to DC. The key switch doesn't have ANY circuitry in it, just contacts to direct current and ground. A rectifier - converts the AC current produced by the stator into DC current A regulator - regulates the current for charging a battery to prevent over charging The ignition circuit has nothing to do with the charging circuit and vise versa Starting circuit has nothing to to with either Consider them 3 independent circuits that run through 1 common key switch.

Although he wasn’t active here the last few years, he was at one time very active. I’m sure plenty of you remember The Duke. Bob Davis was only 68. RIP @HorseFixer

As expected, it came out looking better than new! I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are already looking forward to your next project!👍🏻

To all Vietnam Vets and Vietnam Era Vets, thank you for your service. Today is Vietnam Veterans Day. I was reminded of this by an email to pickup a free sandwich at Mission BBQ today. Just walk in and show a copy of the email or your credentials.

My favorite memory on Skype. Bob was a big Michigan guy. Had Michigan rugs, blankets, flags and even toilet paper! One night on Skype was me , Duke, Jim D, @stevasaurus and @C101powerplower (Koen) Of course the topic was Big 10 football and Koen made a sarcastic comment about Michigan, Well Duke went nuts!!! Jim D an Ohio St. guy was sitting in one of those old metal swivel desk chairs with the big recliner spring. He started laughing and reared back and flipped the chair over! He completely disappeared behind the desk and his head phones went flying. Never forget that night!

Hi GWest & JoeM.. BINGO.. the Muffler sounds solid with the Tap test, but when tapping I bumped the Muffler Shield and Ting there it was.. so Kudo's to Joe for a good ear calling the muffler Ting. With the engine not running with just a very light tap on the shield rings the pipe like a little bell. Oh, I'm so happy.. ;-} Thanks a lot. goes to prove three heads are better than one. Here are pics of the shield and contact point.

KT17 Series are a good engine. The engine data is on the small plate I circled. Clean it carefully the number rub off easily. With spec and serial number we can see if it is newer.

Here it is! It’s a little rough in some spots. So some spots will get repainted. It runs ok on half choke so a carb cleaning and drain the old gas is coming for this. The previous owner said this engine was replaced? I’m not familiar with these engines so maybe someone else will chime in on that. There’s 1488 on the hour meter but haven’t ran it enough to see if that works. The hydro needs an adjustment as the lever is really loose. The deck has some patches but I do have a 48” that I can put on this.

The Vanguard block is aluminum, not cast iron. Start fine and go less fine if required. To plane the block deck, I have (2) Arkansas sharpening stones, 2"W X 8"L X 1"T, light gray and white in color. The lighter the color the finer the grit. I have also wrapped 1500 grit emery paper around the stone.

Don't know where you get your wood but I wouldn't count on it being flat enough to remove material for a flat surface. If your cylinder head has been flattened on a sheet of glass you could place it on the cylinder deck, lightly tighten the head bolts and use feeler gauges to check for irregularities.

Check out his tractor @Achto mother to ole pale face?

Sounds like there is a pretty good chance.

That must be one big bleeping dawg! Today I added a seat strut on my primary worker. Helps keep the barn cats off the seat if it's flipped up... Then the same machine finished the fences, then moved a load of briars and underbrush, then a load of junk moved to the storage building. As always, it did alot! Still a favorite!

Back on this project! Motor is in! 450hp 383 stroker with aluminum heads and a retrofit roller cam setup. I've got the old seat recovered with new vinyl, new vinyl headliner, new carpet, new speaker/subwoofer combo and a new Blueteeth radio. TONS of pictures coming soon....

More progress today. Did not get it finished but I'm definitely in the home stretch. Should be able to finish this up with another days work. Maybe It will be ready for some Easter glamor shots.

Sent ole Blackie down the road today. Kinda sad as I bought her back in '95 brand new. Brought my second born home from the hospital in it. Dino splilt his wine in it. Cab corners gone and lot of rust but hopefully keep him out of trouble and he's real good mechanical. Sold it to @jeremi3210 's boy Jacob for a buck. Figured what the heck only get a couple hundred for on market. He's a good kid and due to get his DL the end of next month. 'Sides he does a lot of work for me at plow day and camp. Now i can really boss him around! Certain stipulation tho are grades in school and no more missing or tardy! It's more than road worthy yet but Jer got a brand new 10k trailer and wanted to take it's 🍒 Really a nice rig. 20' and very wide. Get a few GTs on it.

Got one tie rod done, my son came over with his girlfriend's car (she said it's making a clunk clunk, click click sounds,) well the ball joint was toasted, front rotors and pads, oil change. So didn't get to make two. The steering wheel was brown rusted, well I stuck it in sonic cleaner was evaporust, came out pretty clean.

That is the original spec number so I doubt this is a replacement engine. Series 2 are good engines...

Just clarifying for others that you are trying to make sure that the block surface is flat “ decking the block “ and doing this to a cylinder head would be called “ surfaced “ at a machine shop . First thing that comes to mind around here when you say deck is a mower deck .

Picked one up or sold one Junior. This thread is for the ones leaving your ranch. No matter its all good as long as we get more . If i'm not wrong a 417-A is one one Plunge's @JCM favorite tractors!

Thank you to all of my fellow Vietnam Era Veterans and those who continue to keep our country free.

The engine on the 1965 and 1966 would have been a 241AS and the engine on your Wheel Horse is a 241S and the PTO is 1967 or later while the seat is a 1965 to 1967 unit so I'm going to say it is a 1967 model 1077.

The one on my left is my original bought new in 1994 with 1230 hours. The one on the right is the one I just bought.2001 with 236 hours.the original has the tires that was recommended by you guys that are awesome and will be the first upgrade on the new one.

All part of owning an early gear drive deck. Post what you are looking for in the "Wanted" section...

It happens. Steering wheel is a dead giveaway for 66/67.

If it fits it ships

One of the trees I cut to make way for the driveway on our Ky. property was an oak about 18" in diameter. It started falling the way I wanted it, then a large vine up in the canopy that also hooked into another tree tightened up and pivoted the fall direction almost 90 degrees. Ended up with a 40' tall leaner. Was at the end of the allotted working time for that trip, so I took it as a sign that I should pack everything up and head home. When I got back to it, it had blown down. Was real happy to see that!

Thanks Mike! I got the 3D printed back end in, finally. Major USPS delays. 🙄... Here it is held against the trailer. Here's the wheels painted.