1971 Raider 10 Revival

[ebinmaine 75,581]

13 hours ago, jsoluna said:

I'm starting to see why Wheel Horse has such a following.  The simplicity and practicality of the design is awesome

 

There are several "Other brands" we like for the looks/features/quality  like a Wheelhorse. 

I was in fact raised on Cub Cadets. 

 

Fact is... Trina and I have yet to find a model of any other brand that's built as simply and ruggedly as our 60s and 70s models of Wheelhorse. 

Ours are considered a permanent addition to the Herd. They are not just a tractor. 

 

They're Equipment. Carefully restored and maintained by the two of us to be used for many reasons and many years. 

 

Neither of us ever knew Wheelhorse even existed 10 years ago. Now we simply have no desire for any other tractor brand.  

 

 

[jsoluna 352]

Just now, ebinmaine said:

 

There are several "Other brands" we like for the looks/features/quality  like a Wheelhorse. 

I was in fact raised on Cub Cadets. 

 

Fact is... Trina and I have yet to find a model of any other brand that's built as simply and ruggedly as our 60s and 70s models of Wheelhorse. 

Ours are considered a permanent addition to the Herd. They are not just a tractor. 

 

They're Equipment. Carefully restored and maintained by the two of us to be used for many reasons and many years. 

 

Neither of us ever knew Wheelhorse even existed 10 years ago. Now we simply have no desire for any other tractor brand.  

 

 

I can appreciate the different approaches to solve the same problem - I've worked with Cubs primarily for the past 15 years. 

Also fantastic machines, but more complex - and if you compare both the Wheel Horse and Cub to Deere, I believe Deere has the most complex engineering.

[ebinmaine 75,581]

3 minutes ago, jsoluna said:

Also fantastic machines, but more complex - and if you compare both the Wheel Horse and Cub to Deere, I believe Deere has the most complex engineering.

 

Seconded.  

 

I've liked the round fenders of the 60s Deere for decades. I've had one here many years ago long before I had the knowledge and tools we do now. 

Given the chance, and gifted the tractor, ... I'd consider one again... but Trina won't touch a green thing with a 39 1/2 foot pole. 

 

For Cubs... my maternal Grampa had two. One was yellow and white. Model unknown. The other was a red one from around 1980. 682? 782?

I'd get another one for sure...

[jsoluna 352]

Blade refresh details:

 

Wear bar, completely pooched.  It had almost worn through the bolt on one side of the blade, and has been flipped once before.  I'd say a lot of time spent blading concrete driveway, and previous owner probably never adjusted the pivot to eliminate the axial movement.  Replacement wear bar is 3/16" x 2" flat

bar.

 

[jsoluna 352]

Fabbed the lift bar, replaced the lower pivot pin.  Adjusted the main pivot bolt.

[Handy Don 15,073]

12 minutes ago, jsoluna said:

Replacement wear bar is 3/16" x 2" flat

bar.

How did you make the square holes for the carriage bolts?

[jsoluna 352]

Skid shoes. 

 

Wish I had 3/8" coupling nuts here when I did them, rather than stacking three 3/8-16 nuts, but it will work for now.  Welded the nuts to the frame with blade tilted at the factory recommend #2 hole, and on the ground to get the proper orientation. 

 

Made some custom shoes out of 3/8-16 bolts and some 1/4" thick washers.  All of this is just with stuff I had laying around, so please excuse that it isn't the most elegant solution.  Everything is also coated in fluid film and covered in dirt from the recent thaw.

 

They are adjustable and have a jam nut to prevent them from moving once they are set.

[jsoluna 352]

5 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

How did you make the square holes for the carriage bolts?

Drilled for interference fit.  I believe I used a 7/16" bit. 

 

Works great to get the carriage bolt to grab and it is able to be loosened up and tightened again, as the carriage bolts and steel kinda of marry themselves together.

[jsoluna 352]

And finally, weight.

 

Rears are loaded.  Wanted to try something to add weight at little to no cost.  5 gallon bucket, some old rotors, and some of the hardware I've been meaning to clean out of the shop anyways.

 

I ended up gusseting the hitch bar to make sure it didn't bend at the factory bend point.

 

The base is channel iron, long enough to go back and be notched around the hitch bar so it can't rotate.  The channel is welded to a rotor and then guides for the bucket are added.

 

The top is also a rotor, and both rotors have steel plate welded to the centers and 1/2" hole drilled for the all thread to pass through.  The top rotor has guides to center it on the bucket.

 

Will have to do some trials to see if I need to remove weight so the steering isn't too light.  Brief test run a few minutes ago went well, but that was with the blade up.

Edited 3 hours ago by jsoluna

[702854boy 381]

8 minutes ago, jsoluna said:

And finally, weight.

 

Rears are loaded.  Wanted to try something to add weight at little to no cost.  5 gallon bucket, some old rotors, and some of the hardware I've been meaning to clean out of the shop anyways.

 

I ended up gusseting the hitch bar to make sure it didn't bend at the factory bend point.

 

The base is channel iron, long enough to go back and be notched around the hitch bar so it can't rotate.  The channel is welded to a rotor and then guides for the bucket are added.

 

The top is also a rotor, and both rotors have steel plate welded to the centers and 1/2" hole drilled for the all thread to pass through.  The top rotor has guides to center it on the bucket.

 

Will have to do some trials to see if I need to remove weight so the steering isn't too light.  Brief test run a few minutes ago went well, but that was with the blade up.

You might want to find a different spot to put that weight because I don't know if the hitch would poke a hole through the transmission over time.

[jsoluna 352]

4 minutes ago, 702854boy said:

You might want to find a different spot to put that weight because I don't know if the hitch would poke a hole through the transmission over time.

 

I don't expect to keep the weight on year-round.  We don't get hammered with snow here typically.  Maybe 5 hours or so of run time during the winter.  

 

Is the bottom of the transmission case really thin?

[702854boy 381]

Just now, jsoluna said:

Is the bottom of the transmission case really thin?

It's not very thin, but it is cast iron, it might fine to work with and not break, I just wasn't sure it it would break something with all the weight you have. I'm sure someone with a little more knowledge about all of this could chime in and give us both a little more information as I am still kinda new to Wheel Horse. 

[Treepep 930]

On 11/20/2025 at 10:58 AM, jsoluna said:

For future reference:

 

These tires are Ocelot P334 23 x 10.50 - 12.

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Nice.  And the seat?  Mind sharing your source sir?

[Handy Don 15,073]

13 minutes ago, 702854boy said:

You might want to find a different spot to put that weight because I don't know if the hitch would poke a hole through the transmission over time.

That is a drawbar intended for pulling and no more than a moderate tongue weight.

 

7 minutes ago, jsoluna said:

Is the bottom of the transmission case really thin?

Not especially thin, no, but it is a casting, not forged, and not reinforced for the load you are adding.

 

You’ve created a lever. If there is 50 pounds of downforce centered 12” from the pivot pin and the other end of the drawbars is two points maybe 3” from the pivot then static pressure alone is 100 pound of force on each tiny point. Hit a bump and the pressure could easily double or triple.

Edited 3 hours ago by Handy Don

[jsoluna 352]

13 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

That is a drawbar intended for pulling and no more than a moderate tongue weight.

 

Not especially thin, no, but it is a casting, not forged, and not reinforced for the load you are adding.

 

You’ve created a lever. If there is 50 pounds of downforce centered 12” from the pivot pin. The other end of the drawbars is two points maybe 3” from the pivot. Static pressure alone is 100 pound of force on each tiny point. Hit a bump and the pressure could easily double or triple.

Understood.  I'll keep the weight to a minimum.

 

I figured this was a non conventional approach and would be getting some critical feedback.  Even a little extra weight out back would be good, I don't weigh much myself, but I'll make sure I take it easy on the old rig.

Edited 2 hours ago by jsoluna

[jsoluna 352]

4 minutes ago, Treepep said:

\

Nice.  And the seat?  Mind sharing your source sir?

That's a Vevor forklift seat.  I have used them on other tractors and find them to be great seats for the price.

[Handy Don 15,073]

16 minutes ago, jsoluna said:

Understood.  I'll keep the weight to minimum.

You've put in a lot of effort. You certainly have the skill to revise that rear weight.

The bracket that holds the rear end of the plow is attached to the very strong castings around the axles. Extend that. 

Here’s an example from one member that uses both the axle housings and the drawbar pin and gets a 2” receiver into the bargain. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Handy Don

[jsoluna 352]

Oh, that is sweet.  I'll look into revising the design.  Thanks for the feedback 🙏

[ebinmaine 75,581]

31 minutes ago, jsoluna said:

Oh, that is sweet.  I'll look into revising the design.  Thanks for the feedback 🙏

 

@76c12091520h sells a very nice hitch that uses the sides and the lower 3/4" hole as bracing. Very strong.