The Longevity of a Wheel Horse

[dlashb40 44]

As a retired 61-year-old who inherited 4 of my Grandfather's Wheel Horse tractors, I found a valuable resource in this forum. Here, I connected with Bob Parks (Racinbob), who at the time lived nearby and kindly agreed to help me identify all of them. I ended up keeping the 1964 Model 854 and sold the others. The 854 is a solid, primarily original tractor, and I've been using it since I was 6-years-old. I also had the RM-364 mower deck attachment, which had not been on the tractor for many years. Once again, this forum proved its worth as I could identify and obtain some attachment parts that I was missing. Last week, after some adjustments, I put the mower deck to use and mowed nearly an acre of grass without any issues. The sense of accomplishment in identifying and restoring the equipment was truly inspiring, and I felt like I was a kid again. 

 

As someone who doesn't consider themselves 'mechanically inclined,' I've grown and learned much through this project. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of those who guided me and showed me that with the right support, even the most daunting tasks can be tackled.  

[ri702bill 9,940]

Nice!! The 854 is one of my favorites. I inherited my FIL's 702 and it came with 2 decks - the original "suitcase" style RM-362 and a later RM-326. IMHO, the later style outperforms the early model (but that cut grass looks great.) 

 

 

Edited February 19 by ri702bill

[953 nut 61,824]

1 hour ago, dlashb40 said:

The sense of accomplishment in identifying and restoring the equipment was truly inspiring, and I felt like I was a kid again. 

A lot of us share this feeling every time we get on a Wheel Horse that we have repaired or kept going.          

[ri702bill 9,940]

My FIL passed in '92, but it's like he is always there when I turn the key & press the starter button....

[Racinbob 12,190]

I'm glad to hear you got the deck back in working order. I like the new tires on it. Here's a shot of it when I first saw it.

 

 

An excellent unmolested machine and very popular model. 

 

It was back in 2015 when Doug posted about the four tractors. I saw how close he was so I contacted him about checking them out. Geez, imagine twisting my arm to go look at some old  machines. He had this 854, a 657, 701 and an Indy 500. I was happy to hear he decided to keep the 854. The 701 went to a young member here in Virginia via me hauling it to the big show and another member relaying it back to Richmond. The 657 and 500 Special were pretty rough but to a guy with the dreaded Wheel Horse addiction they had potential. I simple said they needed to go to somebody who could marry the two and make a good tractor. I don't remember the timeline but sometime after the big show and getting the 701 delivered Doug contacted me again. He offered me the two crippled tractors just for the hauling. Like any of you guys I jumped at the offer. The 657 and Indy 500 share probably 98% of the same parts and it was a project made in heaven. Here's the end result with a K-161 that spent an easy early life working for Mickey Mouse on a sprayer. Many of you will remember the thread I posted on it along the way. This tractor is now on display on a busy highway heading out of Mishawaka in a 4-season porch along with the Suburban 400 I restored. 

 

 

With all the enjoyment I got out of meeting Doug, hauling the 701 and restoring the two old machines I think the best part is when he said he decided to keep the 854 for himself based on our conversation. 

Infectious little tractors aren't they?