New member with Suburban 550

[Otherbean 0]

Hi, a few years ago I was given a 1960 WH Suburban 550. It had an 8hp briggs on it but the previous owner managed to make the engine fit without too much permanent damage. I need to fix a few dents on the hood but its fine otherwise. At some point I would like to restore it. I have a few questions about it.

1. Could someone post a pic of the correct gas tank? Mine had a briggs tank in it.

2. For collectibility must I find an original 5hp tecumseh or will a Kohler K91 be sufficient (I have the kohler on hand). I realize it would then require a different belt guard and muffler sheild. (both of these are currently missing)

3. I have weights on it and I don't know if they are original. I will try to get some pics and post them.

4. Does anyone have a picture of the original throttle control for the 1960 Suburban?

I'm sure I'll be posting with more questions when I think of them.

Thank you for this great forum!

-Chris

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Hi, and Take a look through the picture gallery at both the tractors (400 and 550) and the literature... lots of documentation here in the forum.

To answer your current questions...

1. You can get a physical description and measurements here and if you look through some RJ/Suburban restorations you should find a pictures of the correct tank.... the one that Mike's RJ is doing comes to mind.... here...about halfway down the page.

2. If you switch it to a K-91, you will make it a 400. What makes you think it was a 550 to begin with? Just curious. The belt guard and exhaust shield are the same on either model.

3. Get your pics up... lots of wheel weight guys here, and hundreds of styles out there from many, many brands. If you have questions about posting pictures, there's a post here that can help If you still have trouble... just holler.... lots of people who never thought they'd be able to figure it out either will step up and get you squared away.

4. In the For Sale section of the classifieds, pinned second from the top...there is a post by a forum member who makes reproduction dash plates for the 1960 Suburbans... there are multiple pictures there.Here's the shortcut link

Hope you enjoy it, and again, :hide:

[joebob 45]

:scratchead: Jasons right we need to see photos , to make sure of what you have, 400/550 the 550 is a 5.5 lauson and hard to find so a h60 or 50 will work if you want to go that route I just seen my first 550 this weekend and it was next to my 551 so I took alot of notes , it should have a up draft carb to be right or close to original the electrics is mounted differant and a few other small changes ,mine had a 7hp brigs on it, but the seller still had the 5.5 that came off of it so I lucked out and just had to rebuild it ,lucky me ,good luck with it and enjoy red square

[TJ 184]

:scratchead:

[chazm 413]

Hi Chris

:scratchead:

[MikesRJ 558]

:scratchead:

Your fuel tank question I can answer;

The fuel tank used on the 400/550 was the same tank as used on the RJ58/59.

A few words of warning about tanks. Several are listed on ebay and are listed as "Wheelhorse" tanks. They are not WH, rather they are Kohler tanks for the stand-alone engines, and will not be correct for any of the WH equipment due to the placement of the outlet nipple.

What you are looking for is an oval tank with the fill spout on top at one end of the tank, and the outlet nipple on the bottom near the opposite end on the tank.

See the picture below.

The correct fuel tank is WH P/N: 1785 (which was superseded by WH P/N 2676) and looks like the following;

[d180man 5]

Hi :scratchead:

[bitten 134]

Hi Chris and :scratchead:

[Suburban 550 28]

Hi Chris and Good luck on your restoration. The Lauson 5.5 h.p. is very hard to find. It probably would be easier to find a K-91 and make a 400 out of it. The sheet metal on both the 400 and 550 are identical. Ken (chevelletown) makes beautiful reproduction dash plates for these tractors. When I restored mine, I had to really hunt for a missing parts to keep it as original as possible. Everybody on this site is very knowledgeable so don't be afraid to ask for help. Here is a before and after pic of my 550.

[clintonnut 127]

Here are some tecumseh engines:

H55's are hard to find but anything between an H50 5hp and H70 7hp would be fine. The horse power wouldn't be the same but the engine would look the same.

Here's an H-50:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TECUMSEH-H5...VehicleQ5fParts

Looks pretty similar:

http://cgi.ebay.com/tecumseh-engine-nice-s...id=p4999.c0.m14

[Otherbean 0]

Thank you for all of the info,

Ray your tractor is beautiful!

The reason I believe it to be a 550 is that the previous owner said it had originally had a lauson engine, his father had owned the tractor for a very long time and may have even been the original owner. Are the 550's harder to find and more collectible than a 400. I would like to get a lauson for it, tecumseh engines are a dime a dozen but finding the right one might be like finding a needle in a haystack. I do have a running k91 on hand but it has the wrong oil pan for the wheelhorse frame and it needs a cylinder head too. I'm not in too big of a hurry on this tractor but am trying to get all the info I need and any currently available parts before they go NLA, I have three Allis garden tractors already in peices for several years that need to be finished before I start this one. I think I may need to replace one of my front rims too (someone put fluid in the tires and it rusted out the wheel). I also have the opportunity to get a sickle for this tractor but am not sure if its worth all the space it will take up (shed is beyond full) I have also attached a pic of the weight, not a great pic but the only one I had on my computer, they mounted it on the inside of the wheel for some reason.

Attached Image

[Red Iron 1]

:hide:

I like those weights, hidden and gets people wondering why is

that little tractor so heavy?? You found a great place for answers

for everything on WheelHorses and then some! We all love pictures!

Would be nice to try finding that original engine too. Have fun with it.

:scratchead: