1961 Wheel Horse Suburban 401 Preservation

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Hi All,

 

I thought I would start a thread for the 401 that I bought last week and picked up yesterday. I have been wanting a 401 for a long time and am so happy to finally be able to have one! This is my first RJ/Suburban and I already love it alot!   It is a nice, orginal tractor and also came with the plow, inside wheel weights, and tire chains. Am planning to restore it this winter and hopefully will have it done by next spring. Thanks to Jim Meyer for selling me a great tractor!

 

Here are some pics of when I unloaded the tractor today and also after I power washed it and also of it in it's new stall . I will be sure to keep you all updated on the restoration!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy the pics!

Taylor

[welderman85 53]

Great looking new toy

[AMC RULES 36,940]

Humm...    

looks like I see some of the factory paint emerging there in that last pict.    

[Mr. 856 170]

I want an old round hood so badly. nice score and ill be following the restoration.

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Thanks for the compliments guys! Craig, you are right. Some of the paint did emerge after the power washing! I was suprised how much did show up. If it did not look so bad, I would keep it original, but it does not look very good in person, so it is getting a restoration. LOL!

[Rboski 114]

Great looking machine you got there Taylor!  Excited to see what you do with it.  Does it run? 

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Great looking machine you got there Taylor!  Excited to see what you do with it.  Does it run? 

Thanks Rich for the nice comments! Unforunantly, it does not run (does not have any compression), but I have a rebuilt K91 that I bought from my Grandpa last week that is going to go in it!

[Rboski 114]

I was just curious.  When I got mine it was a little rough on the eyes but it was a runner, it took me 2 years to get around to cleaning it up because I was having too much fun using it.  

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

LOL Rich! Yah, it can be hard sometimes to tear them down and put them out of commision for awhile instead of using them! By the way, very nice tractor there in your profile pic!

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

I am thinking about holding off on my 401 restoration till next year as I would like to get some seat time on it before I tear it all down, plus I don't have anything to plow with for this winter and my only other option would be to use a push snow blower (no fun at all). LOL! Funds are also a little short to start a resto right now too... My only concern is that I may do damage to the trans (It is the 3 piece one I believe)...Should it hold up ok and if I would accidentally break something, is there replacement parts available? I am thinking 6" of snow would be the max for snow depth. Also, do any of you guys use RJ's or Suburban's (5.5 HP or Less) for snow removal? Any input would be appreciated! Thanks, Taylor

[KC9KAS 4,741]

Very nice looking machine. Keep us posted with your progress.

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Very nice looking machine. Keep us posted with your progress.

Will do! Thanks for the kind words!

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Looks like you got a keeper.  I wouldn't worry about the trans, you know there's plenty of guys here who can help you out with parts if you break something.
 
I enjoyed using my Suburban 400 in the snow.  I used it one season for the novelty and looks from the neighbors.  In my experience it did great.  As you can see here, it worked good in about 3-4" of light powdery stuff. I just wished I'd have put on the pedal and rope to angle the blade... it was a little annoying getting off and on just to angle it by hand.
 

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Very Nice Suburban Jason and Thanks for the kind words/info! I think I am going to go ahead and put a different engine in mine (the one in it now has no compression and needs a rebuild) and also service the trans and make sure everything is working good and then use it this winter for plowing and do a resto next spring.

 

BTW, How does the pedal and rope system work to angle the blade? All I have on mine is a chain that is connected to the bolt that you take out to angle the blade...

 

Thanks,

Taylor

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Thanks, it's one of my favorites.

 

There is a pedal that goes on the right foot peg that the chain hooks to.  When you depress the pedal, it pulls the indexing pin on the blade.  The rope connects to the top outer edges of the blade.  You should see either holes or S-hooks there.  To angle blade, depress pedal to pull pin and then yank the rope either direction till it locks back in.

 

Pic below is example of setup.

 

[CasualObserver 3,406]

I should add one word of caution, be careful if you use it. There is not a spring trip option on this style of blade.  If you hit a stationary object or a substantial driveway crack, or something straight on... you will stop.... and hard!

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Thanks for the info Jason! I think I understand how it works now. One more question for you and other RedSquare members: My steering wheel is cracked pretty bad in several different places (The rubber/plastic molding). Is there a way to fix this or do I need to get a different wheel? Thanks, Taylor

[Uncle Buck 246]

Thanks for the info Jason! I think I understand how it works now. One more question for you and other RedSquare members: My steering wheel is cracked pretty bad in several different places (The rubber/plastic molding). Is there a way to fix this or do I need to get a different wheel? Thanks, Taylor

I can tell you what I would do, but that does not make it right. I would fill the area with either JB Weld, or body filler then sand to shape. Once that is done paint the whole thing with rattle can satin black. I am not saying that is how a purist would do it, jsut how a guy with more time than money would get the job done.

 

If that machine is running I would leave him in his working clothes, but that is just me!

Edited September 25, 2013 by Uncle Buck

[CasualObserver 3,406]

My steering wheel is cracked pretty bad in several different places (The rubber/plastic molding). Is there a way to fix this or do I need to get a different wheel? Thanks, Taylor

Sorry Taylor, missed this response and question.  Here's a link to the restoration of a steering wheel done by a member a while back.

 

.... hrmm.... can't manage to find a link to put in here right now.  But there is a restoration kit you can get from Eastwood I think with an epoxy resin.

[Uncle Buck 246]

 

My steering wheel is cracked pretty bad in several different places (The rubber/plastic molding). Is there a way to fix this or do I need to get a different wheel? Thanks, Taylor

Sorry Taylor, missed this response and question.  Here's a link to the restoration of a steering wheel done by a member a while back.

 

.... hrmm.... can't manage to find a link to put in here right now.  But there is a restoration kit you can get from Eastwood I think with an epoxy resin.

 

That epoxy resin in the Eastwood kit is PC-7 which is really just another version of JB Weld. One will work as well as the other for this application. Also, essentially that Eastwood kit is for the most part going to show you how to rough finish the repair spot then sand to finish working down to very fine wet/dry paper to remove any areas that would show sand scratches prior to prime, then paint.

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Thank you for the suggestions guys! I really appreciate it! Someone actually told me about steering wheels that you can buy on Ebay that are very similar to the one's on RJ/Suburban's and I think I am going to get one of those instead of fixing mine... I do appreciate the suggestions though!

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Update on my Suburban 401 Restoration: Took off the snow blade today so that I can work on the tractor easier and move it around better...Will put it back on before winter as I think I am going to use the Suburban to plow snow this winter before I restore it next spring. Also, took the original 4 hp out today as it does not have any compression and I could not get it going. Luckily, I have 2 other K90/k91 Kohler's (one is rebuilt and one is not) laying around (that I bought from my grandpa for this project) so I am going to put the one in it for temporary (Will put the rebuilt 4hp in later when I actually restore the tractor). Am putting the one in now so I check everything out and get some seat time! I have to admit, these little Kohler's sure are easy to work on and move around! Here is a little interesting side note: The K90/91 that I putting in the Suburban now (Is the red one in my pic) is actually the same engine that my Grandpa had in his RJ58/59 when he bought it new in '58/59 and also the same engine that my dad later used in his mini bike as a kid when my grandpa sold the RJ so it is a great piece of family history and I think it is cool I will be using the same engine in my own tractor 50+ years later! Next step will be to get the engine in, get a few things hooked up, and take the Suburban for a test run! Sorry if this was a little long! LOL! ~ Taylor

[Mike'sHorseBarn 2,605]

This looks like a nice straight little tractor! I have a 401 as a well and i just love that little thing!

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Thanks for the kind words Mike! I like mine alot too!

[slammer302 2,154]

I love mine just need a new block so I can I have it running my block was already 30 over k91 kohler