perspective

[Tim 97]

i was looking at the forum earlier and noticed a post that someone wanted info on the age of one of their tractors. because the plate wore out I told him to go off of the date of the motor.

I started thinking, how old is my plow tractor? (my snowblower tractor is a '79)

i plow with it, i mow with it, this thing is never an issue

it runs great

never really thought about how old this tractor is. i got it in a trade about 12-15 years ago, (traded it for a tractor that i had about $400 into)

it's an '84 314-8 lawn and garden tractor, it's almost 30 years old

kicker is when i got it it had the small tires and 1" axles- hated the look

i swapped out the fronts and backs to "garden tractor" size.....

think about it, we take this stuff for granted

i see pics of people plowing with roundhoods and such

if you get 10-12 years out of a home depot/MTD new POS you feel good about it

we all have similar stories.....

[roscoemi 245]

I put in about 10 years plowing with a Craftsman and it was the cats meow. I recieved a C121, got it running and did a restification and am using it now. Picked up the Craftsman from my buddy whom I sold it,to load the rear tires for him. After loading it up, my thought was " what a chincy pos, how did I live with this?"

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,122]

You're absolutely correct, but for some that's the entire reason for having a to begin with. I bought my 416-H with the intention that I would NEVER buy another.... well I suppose that didn't happen, still have the 416, but there's been others added as well :)

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,663]

I hear ya Tim. I dont think twice when I jump on my 1975 C-100 and go to work with it. She's 37 years old and I expect it to do whatever I ask as if it was a new tractor.....and it does!!

I also have a 12 year old Craftsman Garden tractor thats in great shape and shows no signs of dieing.....but it does nothing except mow the grass. I think if I used it for the chores my Wheel Horses do it would have expired.

Mike...........

[CRE1992 135]

it's an '84 314-8 lawn and garden tractor, it's almost 30 years old

kicker is when i got it it had the small tires and 1" axles- hated the look

i swapped out the fronts and backs to "garden tractor" size.....

314-8's were not made until the late eighty's or ninety's. But I do believe we all share the same opinions!

-Charles

[TT-(Moderator) 1,129]

The first 314-8 was a 1985 model. (21-14K801)

If you stand back far enough to see the big picture, it's easy to see what caused the demise of the "Classic" Wheel Horse GT..... they killed themselves.

It's not uncommon to see 20, 30, 40, even 50 year old tractors still working their guts out on a regular basis. Sure - they require maintenance and some parts here or there, but it doesn't cost anywhere near the amount of an equivalent new machine.

Now look at the "big box store" junk out there today. The manufacturers pretty much guarantee themselves return customers in 6 to 10 years. They know exactly what they're doing and people play right along with them.

[Tim 97]

hmmm... i can't read the sticker that identifies the tractor serial number. so I went off of the serial number of the engine serial number (1413527)

i cross referenced that number in the Kohler service manual and it comes up as a 1984

either the engine was switched out or wheelhorse put in a "left over" engine.

that is why I called it an '84.

[Don1977 604]

hmmm... i can't read the sticker that identifies the tractor serial number. so I went off of the serial number of the engine serial number (1413527)

i cross referenced that number in the Kohler service manual and it comes up as a 1984

either the engine was switched out or wheelhorse put in a "left over" engine.

that is why I called it an '84.

The tractor could have been built in 1984.

I have a 1977 C-120 that was built on Friday Oct. the 29, 1976. The tag reads 71-12K801 3450 7302 I bought it on May 7, 1977.

[copperhead 38]

As a kid I grew up plowing and mowing on a late 60's Cub Cadet. That machine was sold long ago, but I wouldn't doubt it's still running somewhere. Fast forward to a few years ago. I was in the market for a tractor mainly just to mow my lawn with. My generous boss offer up his rarely used, basically brand new Husqvarna free of charge. Who would refuse that deal?

It was to be my first real "seat time" in well over 30 years. I began mowing my small suburban lawn... anticipating an enjoyable trip down memory lane. But it wasn't to be. I had no memories of the tractor bouncing as it navigated slightly irregular terrain. No memories of the tractor being unable to climb a minuscule hill easily. No memory of getting stuck simply by backing into a flower bed. And certainly no memory of plastic parts being torn from the machine when I grazed a shrub.

By the time I finished, I began to realize that it wasn't my memory that was failing me...it was an inferior, crappy tractor that robbed me from reliving a youthful enjoyment. To be honest, my original intention was to purchase an old CC. But fate.... and Craigslist, led me to red...instead of yellow and white.

Today I drive a tractor that is only about 5 years older than the one I drove around on as a kid. It doesn't jostle me out of my seat when I drive over small bump...it doesn't hesitate climbing a hill....it seems incapable of getting stuck... and if anything, it will flatten any shrub in my yard before any parts will break off. It may be a different color, but if I close my eyes, I’m a kid again…driving a real tractor.

[Wheel-N-It 2,967]

A couple of my good lifetime long friends (very intellegent college educated guys) play right into that "buy a boxstore JD, drive it 10 years, throw it away, buy another one" mentality. They think I am nuts for loving the old LAGT's. I tried to argue with them years, hoping to convince them the way we do it here at RedSquare is the wise way to go. They of course are unyielding, and one of them just bought another throw away JD for $3500dollars, and the other friend will be doing the same this Spring.

Go figure.............................. but while they lament on how much money they have spent on their riding lawn mowers (that are not even real John Deeres), I'll be enjoying my Wheel Horses :)

[Wishin4a416 2,189]

Yes, there are 2 schools of thought here. Buy one that will last or buy throwaways. My first one when I first got married was a throwaway based on pricepoint. I will not mention the brand but I completely wore it out in 5 years. I mow 2 acres here and plow 4 Drives. Thats when I bought my first WH 312-8. It has 1607 hours now and still working. I picked up a 416-8 parts tractor free when I bought a Blower this Summer and it had over 3000 hours on it. I also have a JD 318 gifted by my Dad and a Kubota BX 2230 I got in 05 that I help the FIL keep 15 acres clean with. I have never regretted buying keepers and will never buy another throwaway.

My neighbor buys throwaways and he gets bout 5 years. They never get any Maintenance at all. Where he stops mowing in the Fall is where they sit all Winter uncovered. Lol.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,129]

hmmm... i can't read the sticker that identifies the tractor serial number. so I went off of the serial number of the engine serial number (1413527)

i cross referenced that number in the Kohler service manual and it comes up as a 1984

either the engine was switched out or wheelhorse put in a "left over" engine.

that is why I called it an '84.

1985 was the first (model) year for the 300 series.

It's really not much different than the automobile industry......

It used to be that next year's model came out in September of the preceding year, but some manufacturers seem to have pushed that up to June or July in recent years.

[leeave96 487]

Without a doubt, the Wheelhorse is one heavy duty tractor AND long lasting too! Sometimes I wish they didn't have an hour meter. Who was it that said, how old would you be if you didn't know how old you were.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,532]

hmmm... i can't read the sticker that identifies the tractor serial number. so I went off of the serial number of the engine serial number (1413527)

i cross referenced that number in the Kohler service manual and it comes up as a 1984

either the engine was switched out or wheelhorse put in a "left over" engine.

that is why I called it an '84.

The tractor could have been built in 1984.

I have a 1977 C-120 that was built on Friday Oct. the 29, 1976. The tag reads 71-12K801 3450 7302 I bought it on May 7, 1977.

Many of the dates stamped on the plates are not correct.

I think they were confusing the model year with the actual year.

7302 is the 302nd day of 1977 = Saturday October 29, 1977 (They should have been building 1978 models at this time)

6302 is the 302nd day of 1976 = Thursday October 28, 1976 (Already selling 1977 models at this time)

The 1977 serial numbers recorded so far range from 480 to 27,341 so your 3,450 is early 1977 model production.

I have serial 15253 with a 7089 build date = Wednesday March 30, 1977. They got this one correct.

Garry