312-8 Finally Complete

[jdleach 525]

I originally picked up my 312 in March of 2014, and became the third owner. While my brother who went with me thought it was junk, I could see past all the dirt and figured that there was still considerable life left in the engine. Also, I figured that other than a lot of broken and missing parts, and numerous scratches, it could be made quite presentable.

 

Once home, the first tasks on the list included the normal maintenance items such as fresh oil, greasing, etc., and a good cleaning. Since March of 2014, I have slowly replaced all of the broken/missing parts. These items included the plastic steering column, almost all the dash/shift knobs, the plastic headlight inserts, new axle caps and steering wheel center (courtesy of Mr. Petitt), an NOS seat from the 2014 BIG Show in Pa. (this seat is of the exact style, and from the same manufacturer, just doesn't have the embossed Wheel Horse logo), various little rubber caps for the height adjustment, etc, both headlamps, and new original style gas cap. Before installing the seat, I took the seat springs and frame apart, stripped and cleaned all pieces, and re-painted. Instead of cotters for the small spring posts, I installed small hair-pin clips. I also removed the rear reflectors, and installed original type tail lights and wiring. The PTO clutch brake was duly adjusted, hairpin clips replaced, and all clutch parts except the pulley were re-painted. The hood hinge was severely worn, and necessitated a new hinge pin, and several holes welded up and re-drilled. Hairpin clips were employed instead of cotters. The muffler was still in quite good condition, but was getting rather rusty. I therefore removed it, wire brushed it down, and painted with a good manifold paint. Still doesn't look bad after two years, but I really need to do it again.

 

Due to pretty severe vibration in the clutch pedal, I also replaced the drive belt, idler pulley, and the mower deck drive belt. To round out all the repairs, I installed a new battery last year, the correct deck wheels, and an hour meter. Since then, I have compounded and waxed the tractor to try to brighten it up as much as possible.

 

The only items left to do, is re-paint the hood and seat/fender pan, and install new decals. Decals are ordered, but have yet to arrive. I figure the sanding, prep, and paint will be done once the mowing season is over.

 

Last missing item, was the chute deflector on the deck. This critter has been missing since I bought the tractor, and has never been very high on my list. On a push mower, I consider them a nuisance, and figured the same sentiment should apply to this missing component. Unfortunately, I find that, at least for my yard here in the city, I need the blamed thing. Since I have numerous flower gardens and the like scattered throughout the lawn, I find that unless I employ some novel patterns when mowing, I will fill the beds with the spraying grass. A bit of a pain, especially when several of the beds have ornamental mulch, borders, etc.

 

Put an ad here in the Classifieds a week or so ago, and was able to procure the correct deflector. From the photos, it looks to be in great shape. He didn't have any of the mounting hardware, but I have subsequently determined that all the pieces are still attached to the deck. The deflector should be here sometime next week.

 

With the addition of the deflector, there should now be no missing parts. While an overhaul of the Kohler is at some point in the future (has blow-by, and smoke a bit. I am pretty certain the engine is the original one, and has never been overhauled.), for now, I only plan on throwing a kit at the carb., and installing the deflector and decals.

 

I have attached a few photos of the tractor as it looks now. Pics. were taken last week. I must admit, I am quite proud of the old girl. She does a beautiful job on the lawn, and is a pleasure to drive. Since you just don't see old American iron like her much anymore, I occasionally get a wave or honk from passing cars on the street.

 

 

[oliver2-44 10,738]

Very nice clean up. ,They are a very capable tractor

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,499]

Job well done, give yourself a pat on the back. looks really nice and proper.

 

Glenn

[rjg854 12,222]

real nice job cleaning that machine up, loos like it's found a good home

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Good looking ...   

appears to be living a happy life. 

[JC 1965 1,532]

Looks great !! Thanks for sharing.     

[TDF5G 2,073]

She looks mighty fine!  Ready for work.

[cleat 7,260]

Good looking tractor, you are making good headway.

 

Before you straighten and paint the hood, make sure you have the stop pin installed that keeps it from coming too far forward bending the bottom.

 

You can see mine in this picture of a rebuilt front hitch, hood hinge assembly.

 

 

 

Cleat

[WHX?? 51,820]

Nice write up jd..and even nicer horse! 312 is one of many underrated tractors and it's comforting to see guys like you see their worth ....keep up the good work. 

[jdleach 525]

Too late on the stop pin Cleat. When I got the tractor, it was gone, the hood already had a crease, and everything else was wallowed out. Did not re-paint my hinge when I re-did the holes and put in a new stop pin, but it does work as designed. Should have painted the pin, as it is now rusty. That said, I will probably just make new pins from T304 stainless steel. I have already replaced a pile of fasteners with stainless, so I may as well do the hood hinge too.

 

Your hinge looks fantastic, good workmanship. Being a toolmaker, and taught the "old fashioned" way, I appreciate looking at mechanisms that are well designed, and carefully constructed. I also appreciate good workmanship in things that have been rebuilt.

 

As fine as Wheel Horses are, the hood hinges are missing one thing, and that is a couple of bumpers under the hinge, so that when the hood is closed, it doesn't flop around and wear the pins out. I am thinking of modifying my hood whenever I get around to repainting it.

[Wheel-N-It 2,976]

3 hours ago, WHX7 said:

Nice write up jd..and even nicer horse! 312 is one of many underrated tractors and it's comforting to see guys like you see their worth ....keep up the good work. 

Total Ditto on all the above! You got yourself a good tractor that should give another 20 years of service. That might include an engine rebuild but completely worth it.

[jdleach 525]

Van, I intend to use this Horse till they pat me in the face with a shovel. I totally enjoy using it. While a "total" restoration is not in the cards, as it is a working machine, I do plan to incrementally improve both its operation, and appearance, and keep them in as high a state as time allows. 

[Wheel-N-It 2,976]

7 hours ago, jdleach said:

Van, I intend to use this Horse till they pat me in the face with a shovel. I totally enjoy using it. While a "total" restoration is not in the cards, as it is a working machine, I do plan to incrementally improve both its operation, and appearance, and keep them in as high a state as time allows. 

Good plan JD. I had the same thought in mind over the years with the 312-8 that I bought new. Here is a list of upgrades that has brought the basic tractor to what it is now;

520 rear wheels and tires

Wheel weights from a Simplicity walk behind tractor. These weights are just enough to give more traction.

Upgraded the front wheels and tires to 8 inch. 

Added the rear lift for using a tiller and other ground engaging implements

Replaced the original seat with a nice high back seat from NT and redrilled the seat mount to move the seat further back for comfort

Replaced the 12hp Magnum with a 14hp Magnum. I did this because I use 48" SD mowing decks. It's good to have the two extra horsepower in tall grass. 

Hopefully this list will help you with your 312 upgrades. What I did was all easy bolt on stuff. PM me if you have any questions.

 

 

[GMan 82]

JD,

If you don't mnd me asking, where did you get your plastic bezel inserts for your headlights? It is my understanding that they are no longer available from Toro...........................Thanks in advance! ..........................Gary

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,499]

JD, when I got my 520, the bottom of my hood, under the black was rusted, the paint off. I sanded repainted under the black, then repainted the black around the headlights. The top of the hood I just wet sanded, compound and waxed, then a new set of decals from Terry, vinyl guy on this site, it looked great.. Your hood looks good. Just commenting is all.

 

Glenn

1 hour ago, GMan said:

JD,

If you don't mnd me asking, where did you get your plastic bezel inserts for your headlights? It is my understanding that they are no longer available from Toro...........................Thanks in advance! ..........................Gary

Gary, keep your eyes on flea Bay. They come up now and again, NOS. And put a ad in our wanted section here. Just a suggestion.

 

Glenn

[jdleach 525]

If I recall correctly Gman, I got the bezels from a vendor on Ebay. They were NOS, and came in original packaging. That was two years ago. I would think they could still be procured relatively easily.

 

Or, you can do as Glenn said, put in an ad in the Classifieds here on the forum. A lot of these gents have purchased spare parts from various sources for years, and probably have a few sets lying around.

15 hours ago, Wheel-N-It said:

Good plan JD. I had the same thought in mind over the years with the 312-8 that I bought new. Here is a list of upgrades that has brought the basic tractor to what it is now;

520 rear wheels and tires

Wheel weights from a Simplicity walk behind tractor. These weights are just enough to give more traction.

Upgraded the front wheels and tires to 8 inch. 

Added the rear lift for using a tiller and other ground engaging implements

Replaced the original seat with a nice high back seat from NT and redrilled the seat mount to move the seat further back for comfort

Replaced the 12hp Magnum with a 14hp Magnum. I did this because I use 48" SD mowing decks. It's good to have the two extra horsepower in tall grass. 

Hopefully this list will help you with your 312 upgrades. What I did was all easy bolt on stuff. PM me if you have any questions.

 

 

The upgrade to larger wheels and tires, wheel weights, a clevis hitch for attachments, and a high back seat, are all being considered by me.

 

That said, I prefer to keep the motor original. When it has lost enough power, and blow-by gets bad enough, I will do a rebuild, and a correct one. Valve grind, bore, piston and rings, crank mag'ed and turned/polished, etc.

 

The reason I am not going to go for a more powerful engine, is that I have made up my mind to get another Horse. Been thinking about an addition for the last two years, and have finally set my sights on locating a black-hood with a KT17. 

[jdleach 525]

3 hours ago, JERSEYHAWG / Glenn said:

JD, when I got my 520, the bottom of my hood, under the black was rusted, the paint off. I sanded repainted under the black, then repainted the black around the headlights. The top of the hood I just wet sanded, compound and waxed, then a new set of decals from Terry, vinyl guy on this site, it looked great.. Your hood looks good. Just commenting is all.

 

Glenn

Gary, keep your eyes on flea Bay. They come up now and again, NOS. And put a ad in our wanted section here. Just a suggestion.

 

Glenn

Glenn, the photos are kinda deceiving. The black portion down to where the hinge is located has some serious scratches. Looks like it has been into some barbed wire at one point. The top of the hood also has some pretty bad places. I don't intend to strip the entire hood or seat pan, just sand and feather, and smooth, then paint the top of the seat pan, and the outside of the hood. Since the tractor has always been stored inside, there isn't a bunch of rust underneath anything.