New project

[wheelhorseofcourseohio 0]

Well my son brought home 1257 last week. It was in a field for about a year. Appears to be mostly original, someone added a hydraulic lift but otherwise original. Of course the seat is rotten beyound repair and the steering wheel has been broken.

That leads me to my question.

How interchageable are these 60's tractors? Particularly the steering wheels and seats.

Any information or help would be gretly apreciated.

Bill

[Martin 2,130]

from my experience with 60s tractors the steering wheels and seats are very interchangeable, the seat pan on the 1257 if oem should be already drilled with the standard wh 4 bolt pattern. you can bolt on a variety of seats that use the pattern and even use the later c series seat springs if you want. the steering wheel shaft on them is just a 3/4 shaft with either a key or just a roll pin and other year wheels can be used with out a lot of work. even different brands of garden tractor wheels can be adapted without a lot of work. might need to re drill for a roll pin on some. ive changed around a few of mine and discovered a little along the way. check out my 1057 build in my signature for what i did regarding the steering wheel and seat......

[wheelhorseofcourseohio 0]

Martin,

Thanks for the reply. I copied some pics out of your 1057 build this past weekend. Mostly the electrical layout and dash wiring. Nice build.

I am now on the lookout for a seat and serring wheel. If anyone has an extra, please reply.

Bill

[TT-(Moderator) 1,129]

Prior to the "safety patrol" interfering with rear fender width in 1968, the rear fender is a narrower - including the center section where the seat mounts.

Some replacement seats are too wide to fit correctly, so you may need to add spacers or - better yet - springs from a newer model.

I installed the earlier rear fenders on my '68 Charger and added the springs for a better ride & and a little more leg room.

[Martin 2,130]

if you want something good as far as a seat goes, and dont care if its not exactly wh original, get one of the michigan seat company seats that northern tool sells. same as what i used on my 1057. they run $50 but they are new and the material is nice and soft, and will look good for a very long time. most of the used seats by now have got hard and are close to cracking or are already cracked and only seem to get worse with a lot of use..... a new one will be comfortable and wont eventually fall apart on you. heres a link to them.

http://www.northernt...oduct_7687_7687

Edited February 3, 2013 by Martin

[wheelhorseofcourseohio 0]

TT,

If I may ask. Where did you get your seat?

[wheelhorseofcourseohio 0]

Thanks Martin. That is exactly what I was looking for.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,129]

TT,

If I may ask. Where did you get your seat?

I found them on eBay a few years ago. They were "blems" and were fairly inexpensive.

I am pretty sure they were for mechanic's roller seats. LINK to a similar example

[jeremi3210 688]

Ive got a 1257 very good tractor. On mine the shaft for the steering wheel has both a hole for a roll pin and a slot for a half moon key also is threaded for a bolt. I would like to see the hydraulic lift set up on yours. Thanks.

[Martin 2,130]

and as tt mentioned, adding the seat springs is a great idea, and becomes necessary with some seat replacements including the michigan one......

heres what i did

[wheelhorseofcourseohio 0]

Martin, thank you for the information and especially the link to Northern tool.

Jeremi, i will see if we can get some picks of the hydraulics.

I just hope ther are no real big surprises when I try and start this thing. That is when I will find out how much f a project I have on my hands.

Thanks everyone,

Bill