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I hope y'all enjoyed my 2026 Big Show photos. I currently have 9 Wheel Horse tractors in my collection. But remember, it's the Wheel Horse tractors that collect the nicest people. See y'all next year at the Big Show.

Have a wonderful day! Be safe. Enjoy your family and friends and freedom to express yourself. Work and play with tractors. Life is full of ups and downs. Take all of it, yet remember the good times more. Our previous generations would want that for us.

July 4, 1776 US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Great Britain.

Might I suggest a reading of the document that started it all? I read the Declaration of Independence every year. Good reminder of how remarkable this Country is - warts and all... https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

For the 29th Annual Wheel Horse Show (that's next year folks.... next year) my buddy John Frock came up with the idea to let people who have never driven a Lever steer or Senior Model Wheel Horse a chance to experience and drive one of these models! They do take some getting used to when operating them as the Lever steer takes some hand and foot coaddition and the Senior does have some giddy go but quick steering. John and Wild Bill will let folks get the fun experience of operating the true Wheel Horse originals. Wild Bill 5683816651059863540.mp4

July 4,1831 "America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)" with lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith has its first public performance at Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts.

Yep he let me take a spin on it as well. It's an experience and awesome part of Wheelhorse history. Definitely puts a smile on your face.

I know a dude who is always willing to let someone take one for a spin. Video courtesy of said dude.

Please keep in mind the men and women past and present who made it possible for us to celebrate 250.

reagan one generation away quote - Search

Happy 250th Declaration of Independence America!

July 4, 1803 The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people by President Thomas Jefferson, we paid less than four cents per acre.

Oh…and this repair was completed in my garage at 95 degrees

and of course it is impossible to get a torque wrench on the center back hose on the control valve so feels about right torque is the answer.

Did some final wiring and got the choke and throttle cables hooked up on the Raider, leftover items from the engine install and points conversion. Picked up an old regulator at the BS, but no charge, pretty sure it’s toast as the stator windings ohm’d ok. Any recommendations on an Ebay unit? I’ve seem them for like $25 from a quick search, but would like something with exact mounting hole spacing. USPS pleasantly surprised me by delivering my 6908 pulley today instead of Monday like it said on the tracking. I was a little saddened to discover the inner bearing bore was wallered out around .035” oversized. I guess i should have asked the seller questions. I didn’t notice the 3 stake marks around the bearing in the pictures. Oh well, not my first rodeo. After driving the bearing out past the stakes, i could see more stake marks around the circumference of the bore, as well as a ridge because the bore as a little deeper than the width of the bearing. After carefully removing just the ridge with a die grinder i was able to get an accurate measurement of .036” over the 1.125” bearing O.D. I found a piece of sheet metal .019” thick (probably .5mm) and cut a strip as wide as the bore depth and 3.550” long and beveled an edge. Rolled the strip over the bearing to give it its shape, beveled edge in. Placed the the shim in the bore and drove the bearing in with socket that only touched the outer race. I think i have a 2-3 thou press fit. Bearing had removable snap rings holding the seals in, so it got cleaned and fresh grease before i drove it home. I think it’ll make for a nice permanent repair. The outer bore was worn slightly also, but not enough to shim. I have a roll of .002” shim stock, but i couldn’t even measure.001” difference, but the bearing would easily push in and out of the bore with my fingers. So i cleaned everything well and installed the bearing with some Loctite 660. Some kind of logic tells me that i’d have thought the larger engine pulley side would have failed like this before the inner bore, being that the larger engine pulley hangs out way past the bearing. But whatever, it’s fixed. The cables on kRusty the donor Raider are completely rusted, and the cables on Whitey were backwards. The choke cable was a locking cable, even though the knob has a “C” on it, and the aftermarket throttle cable had no lock, so I swapped them. I cleaned up the dash while swapping the cables and tidying up the wiring. The surface of the dash plate was a solid rust except for most of the black lower portion. Removed the rust and did 2 coats of Dover White and flat black for the lower part. I should have color matched the screws instead of painting them all red, but it came out ok. I might have to match them because it bugs me now. 😕 After the dash was together and cables run, i fired it up, verified the charging system not charging, took it for a hot lap. No governor either, so i’ll need to figure out how to do the adjustment. Hoping nothing is broken or missing.

Me and the neighbor did some last-minute decorating for tomorrow's Freedom 250 parade.

All new rigs that come here need something, so they all get a turn in the garage for fluids/grease and all that. Well my new C-81 from the Wheel Horse Show had a pretty good oil leak that I didn’t notice at first. Showed up after a 20 minute drive. Turned out the fuel pump gasket was on UPSIDE DOWN! Had a new gasket here in stock and it was an easy fix. I don’t have a gasket for the carb to engine block as that one isn’t correct, but it does seem to seal. Any reason I need to do the carb gasket???

I picked up a tractor once that ran fine but had NO GASKET at the carb.

if you are going to run her long and hard you might want to get the correct gasket as it insulates the carb from engine heat. Honestly I have several engines with whatever gasket i could find and haven't had issues but most are limited duty.

Same here, one set came from Ireland and Germany the other came from England. My great maternal grandparents came over to escape the potato famine in Ireland.

A lot of old Florida "Sanitary Landfills" became Golf Courses over the past half century. Just don't create too deep a divot and you will be OK.

Found this if you trust AI

Other than the bore & big end shape I go by other things as well such as the condition of the rest of the block. Did it see regular oil changes/ kept full? Big end shape will tell you that. Lots of sludge? Has it been apart before? Did it smoke a little/a lot? Were the fins kept clean? In other words what kind of life did it lead in those 2000 hours? If it's going to be a daily driver I am already leaning towards full blown. A parade queen maybe just a re-ring.

Fixed that for ya ...

Buy land... they ain't makin' it no more... Mark Twain

Slightly off topic ...I know when you use a crowfoot on a torque wrench facing forward yo have to adjust the torque setting. If you have it to the side as in the picture do yo have to make an adjustment??

Please keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers today. Today I will bury my wife of 35 years. She passed away on June 28th while I was holding her hand. Thank you, Dan https://www.thompsonfuneralhomelebanon.com/obituary/rita-bailor

Torque settings for ORB fittings should be made in accordance with this chart. Too tight will kill the "O" Rings. You will need to use a crows foot placed to the side of the torque wrench to get a correct reading. JIC ORB Size SAE Thread Torque Size SAE Thread Torque 4 7/16-20 140 In/Lb 4 7/16-20 220 In/Lb 5 ½-20 180 In/Lb 5 ½-20 260 In/Lb Dash# 905 O Ring 6 9/16-18 250 In/Lb 6 9/16-18 320 In/Lb Dash# 906 O Ring 8 ¾-16 550 In/Lb 8 3/4 -16 560 In/Lb

I grabbed this Horror Fright fan on the clearance shelf yesterday. Then got 15% off and used my $15 HF money as well!

The C160-8 got a fresh oil change, spark plug, pressure washing then a light rub down with some fluid film. It’s out basking in the sun now.

I've seen that too. If you can get that one to reseal and set exactly where it was, it'll be fine for now.

Thanks guys and good advice Bob. Trouble is Cindy doesn't want to see her suffer even tho I tell her we'll know when the time is right. On a happy note we are going to pick up a new addition. A Westie pup in MO and hopefully have a visit with @ronwh We had this all planned out long before the bad news. Leaving right after the Portage Show.

I found one last year I thought it was gonna just be a parts tractor, it had some decent looking ag tires I wanted to have for my 314, and a short frame mower deck that I need to go with the B100 (I still haven't finished). The seller said the motor was "no good", it was cheap and close enough I could make it there and back in less than a day. Turns out the bad motor was a stripped spark plug hole, the ag tires were already fluid filled, tubed, and didn't leak. I love this thing

That's a tough call Jim. We are dealing with a similar issue with one of ours. Kidney failure. We asked the vet that question. He said she will let us know when it's time. That seems like good advice.

I just went out to look at the @Sparky tractor that currently has the grader mounted. When angled, the forward edge is at least an inch lower. Maybe more. Yours is fine.

I'm sitting here thinking about how lucky I am to have had great-grandparents come to this country from Europe and settled in the Baltimore area only about an hour or so from where the WHCC show is held each year. Aside from that, I'm smoking 6 pounds of pork shoulder to make pulled pork for the family. Happy Independence Day

I also used the marine primer bulbs for many years and they are effective in repriming the fuel pump. The fuel drain down problem is a result of both of the fuel pump check valves failing to seal properly. This can only get worse and the pump will eventually fail to supply a good fuel supply to the carb. With the price of a good primer bulb and a good e- pump comparable in price, When my primer bulbs start to harden and crack, I now replace them with an e-pump.

Happy 4th of july Take it easy today !

Happy Independence day!

Happy Independence Day! 250 years of freedom!

A lot is determined by the size of the both the block and the crank. This is best determined with the engine disassembled. The bore needs to be measured for diameter, roundness and taper. Three sets of two measurements - at the top near the end of ring travel, midway down, and the bottom of ring travel, taken 90 degrees apart. This will determine if just honing the bore is sufficient (most likely not at 2000 plus hours), or if boring to the next oversize is in order. The tools required are a telescoping bore gage and the correct size micrometer. A dial caliper can be used, but is more difficult to get accurate readings. Note - if the top of the piston already says .030, reboring may not be possible. It is easier to measure the crank journal. Same idea, three sets of measurements 90 degrees apart. Again, if the crank has already been cut .010 undersize, it may need to be replaced. If you have a local trusted Machine Shop nearby, let them do the measurements if you do not possess the proper tools..... One more area - valves, seats, & valve guides. Those need to be inspected for conformity to Kohler specs and are replaceable if needed. IF you go the rebore and recut route, get the oversize piston and undersize connecting rod BEFORE any machine work is done to allow the machinist to remove material for optimum clearances on both.

Check for vacuum leak on 2 piece manifold where it goes together. Had the same problem with my 520H thought it was a dirty carb but manifold fell apart when I took carb off so I'm sure it was leaking and I just went ahead and done a decarb, adjusted valves and rebuilt carb why I had it took apart the far. it runs like a new one now. Almost forgot added an electric fuel pump also, very much recomend and your starter will thank you for it also. Fires up almost instantly now and the fuel pump I removed seemed very healthy but would take forever to crank if mochine set for any length of time.

Lemme know what your cure is. I got one the same thing and cleaned it the proverbial @Ed Kennell three times with massive doses of sea foam and still not right.

Some years ago @Pullstart shipped a palleted tractor plus some parts to @Tractorhead in Germany. More recently, I shipped a palleted box of family heirloom furniture to Ireland. Being used furniture of low market value, it was under the duty threshold at the time. There were very explicit rules about size, weight, and all content as well as documentation--detailed but not onerous. With so many source-destination-content-timing combinations, it pays to consult a shipper with direct current knowledge.

If you do the swap from K Series with battery powered ignition to a Magnum the wiring can be easily modified using the information this thread.

Dan I can not imagine the pain you must be going through. Stay strong. Better days are coming.