C120 evolve to.. C140 Custom

[sgtsampay 149]

Hello everyone. I have not falling off the face of the earth just yet and have been working on the old C120 that I got from my Grandfather years ago. I didn't really use it much as the old K301 was leaking and very worn out. So, I just let it sit in the barn for a long time. Well I got to thinking lately and I was like it time to get it going again. So I took it to work and stuck it in my work bay to get me working on it. 

To start we need to do something with the engine. Well, one of my co workers had a good shape K321 from a Cub Cadet. So, they was the first thing to do. (The first two photos of of it mocked up.)

Once it was secured, I had to redo the whole wiring harness from scratch. The old one melt at some point and I figured it wouldn't hurt to wire it up correctly. I even used different color wires!!! ( I know right! HAHA) 

 

Next was the old 48in mower deck. Yes this deck is used to cut my neighbor's 3 acre horse pasture. So the deck will not need to cut pretty, just handle large tall growth compared to a normal yard. So I welded a rebar for the bottom front to help keep it from loosing its shape. I also replaced the old worn out original blades with some gator G6 blades. (They were a huge bear to drill out the hold from 5/8 to 3/4. That metal is super tough.) I also had some wheels hanging around that I have been wanting to use for a project, so I made them fit for this one. They look and seem to work so much better than the factor rear wheels. 

 

After that came the front bumper. I got this sub compact tractor bumper for free 5 years ago that i wanted to mount on the wheel horse. Well it finally happened and now it looks great! It will protect the front of the tractor from the brush and other whatnot in the field I will be mowing, plus it looks cool. What I did was use some scrap metal, welded the bumper to it and then bolts this to the front of a mule drive. The mule drive still works as it should and the hood even opens enough for me to refuel the the mid gas tank and check the oil. 

 

Final thing I wanted to do was add a secondary fuel tank to the tractor as the center tank only last about one hour or so in heavy mowing. The field is a 5 min tractor ride from my house and i do not want to keep stopping and walking back over or riding over. I found a scrap fuel tank and welded up a bracket, bolted it under the seat back feet. Then plumbed up some hoses to a valve that is mounted on the dash. Turn it left and it turns on the center tank and turn it right it turns on the rear tank. I think it works pretty well and I was surprised it all fit behind the center tank under the dash. 

 

I fixed the oil leak at the PTO input shaft on the transmission with a new seal. I also notice the right wheel hub has a wobble to it. So I got the hub off, and use some JB weld with a key trick in the key hole. The hole was a little worn and the key wasn't sitting in perfectly. Now its all snug as a bug. 

 

What's left is the drive pulley to get here and then I can put on the PTO clutch. Then the side cover plate and right foot rest for a test drive. All should be good. Oh, and the drive pulley will be the hydro one sleaved down to 1in so I can still have faster 2nd gear. 

 

Overall I'm very please with how this project came out and I hope it will do as I want. Mow the field in heavy growth conditions. Thank you everyone for the inspiration and I hope you all have a great day! 

Edited Thursday at 12:13 PM by sgtsampay

[sgtsampay 149]

More photos. (The field photos are what I have completed so far using this deck before the updates along with my C160 hydro. This grass is about 2-3 feet tall and really worked the tractor. Now, yes a real bush hog would be better however, I do not have one I figured I can use what I got and once its cut down, it will be way easier to maintain. This is after him letting it go for about 3 years due to his house burning down and his health going poor for a while.)

 

Edited Thursday at 12:09 PM by sgtsampay

[ebinmaine 80,039]

5 minutes ago, sgtsampay said:

K341

 

Niiiiice work!    FYI that'd be a C160.  

 

 

I like the second fuel tank idea.  

 

[sgtsampay 149]

Haha, you got me. I corrected it to K321. LOL. I hope the second fuel tank idea works well. It was very easy to install and get going. 

[8ntruck 9,159]

Second fuel tank should be a workable idea.  Seems to me that Wheel Horse had a kit to add a second fuel tank - not a real common item, though.

[ebinmaine 80,039]

6 minutes ago, 8ntruck said:

Second fuel tank should be a workable idea.  Seems to me that Wheel Horse had a kit to add a second fuel tank - not a real common item, though.

 

 

Correct. It was a rectangular 5 gallon tank meant to be added to the 500 series tractors behind the seat. 

I have a tank here from a Toro zero turn that looks very similar.  

 

 

[Handy Don 17,146]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Correct. It was a rectangular 5 gallon tank meant to be added to the 500 series tractors behind the seat. 

Fuel load could easily outlast the operator’s bladder. 

[ebinmaine 80,039]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

Fuel load could easily outlast the operator’s bladder. 

Quite true 

[sgtsampay 149]

Update:

I replaced the battery connectors and then put in a much smaller and way battery CCA battery. 

[ebinmaine 80,039]

11 minutes ago, sgtsampay said:

smaller

 

Be sure to keep the battery from sliding around in the tray.  

I've had to use little chunks of wood and/or felt as "spacers"

[sgtsampay 149]

I used chunks of wood for that purpose. Its super snug right now so it should not move.. 

[Pullstart 70,970]

On 8/20/2026 at 12:05 PM, Handy Don said:

Fuel load could easily outlast the operator’s bladder. 

the world is our bathroom 

[sgtsampay 149]

Update: 

so I put jt all back together minus the belt cover. The cover is able to mount due to the idler pulley rubbing against the side of the cover. So I just made the clutch brake on the tractor chassis so I can run the whole thing without the cover.

 

So during the test drive, I started to test mow. Well two things happened. First the midmount let go due to the spring being weak. I later took it apart and put in a much stronger spring that keep the wheel lock in place. Second thing was how forward the mower deck is pointed. I will be later today, correcting this via the truion in the thread rod.

 

At least it drives and works correctly the most part. 

[sgtsampay 149]

Update: so I corrected the mower deck and now it seems to have a blade height of 4.25in at slot 5. So I’m pleased. Slot ; is about 3.75 or so. 
 

I also removed the second set of blades and are just running the gator g6 blades as I felt with the x blade setup the rpm would only go to about 3200rom with the mow deck on and without the second set it will go to about 3460rpm. So clearly the engine was just about maxed out with spinning the dual set of blades and that’s even with it not driving the hydro. I do think there is a difference in power with this deck on my c160 hydro. Which I figured I would t notice due to one being an 8speed and the other a hydro. It’s interesting. 
 

well thank you all for reading about my latest project. It was fun sharing. 

[ineedanother 2,732]

4 hours ago, sgtsampay said:

Update: so I corrected the mower deck and now it seems to have a blade height of 4.25in at slot 5. So I’m pleased. Slot ; is about 3.75 or so. 
 

I also removed the second set of blades and are just running the gator g6 blades as I felt with the x blade setup the rpm would only go to about 3200rom with the mow deck on and without the second set it will go to about 3460rpm. So clearly the engine was just about maxed out with spinning the dual set of blades and that’s even with it not driving the hydro. I do think there is a difference in power with this deck on my c160 hydro. Which I figured I would t notice due to one being an 8speed and the other a hydro. It’s interesting. 
 

well thank you all for reading about my latest project. It was fun sharing. 

Curious what you're using for a tach. I've had this one a little while and it's okay but I'm not in love with it.

[sgtsampay 149]

9 hours ago, ineedanother said:

Curious what you're using for a tach. I've had this one a little while and it's okay but I'm not in love with it.

I’m using an engine tach. The blue one on the top let side of the dash. It’s a little slow at times but it also counts the hours as well. 
 

I have not use a lazer tach at work yet to see the pulley speed or anything like that. 

[ineedanother 2,732]

Cool. I've got that one here somewhere and used to use it with chainsaws. I remember now that it worked pretty well. Thanks