AHenry014 127 #1 Posted October 3, 2019 (edited) Casually searching facebook marketplace a couple days ago, i found a WH for sale pretty close to home. The ad stated that when he could get it started, it would run strong, but only until it gets hot. The tractor was listed as coming with a deck and a snowblower, but the images told a bit more of a story. It showed a bright red, repainted tractor a bit brighter red than normal but was pretty cleanly done. It showed the snowblower (short chute single stage) and aerator. But what really got me going was a sliver of black roundness tucked behind the snowblower in one of the images. It had rear wheel weights installed, so could that possibly, maybe, hopefully be front wheel weights?! Fingers crossed! The price was OK for the attachments, wheel weights, and knowing its a non-running tractor, so i figured id throw the fella a message. Not expecting much since it was listed nearly a week prior, i was surprised to get a response stating that i could come look at it that evening. SWEET!! When i get there, I shake the mans hand and walk towards the tractor. Leaned up against a tree are two front WH wheel weights!! AHH!! Trying not to show too much outward excitement as this totally sweetens the deal, i asked for the story on it. He said that he got it two years ago from a friend of a friend and used it to mow his lawn. When the tractor stopped running well, he wasnt sure where to start as hes "no mechanic". Someone said that he should "check the points and condenser" so he did so by replacing them. Said it still ran like poo so he removed the carb to clean it and replace the intake gaskets. Got it back together and it was STILL running badly, so he parked it for 6 months prior to listing it for sale. After fighting with it to get it started, it came to life spitting fuel out of the carb neck and stumbling badly at anything less than half throttle. I quickly checked the motion and lift functionality before shutting it down. The deck spins nicely, though needing some paint, and the snowblower is also pretty nice, though missing some parts. I ended up striking a deal on it so we were both happy and loaded up the goods. Got it home, unloaded, and immediately started tinkering. When the previous owner was trying to start it, i noticed that the gap in the points (he lost the cover) was HUGE. Knowing that was a good place to start, I adjusted them to within specification. I somehow made it worse as i couldnt get any sort of life out of it! Crap! Checked for spark, maybe a tad weak, but there. Sticking a jump pack on it didnt seem to help either. Hmmmm. Well, lets take a look at the plugs. The one against the hood stand was beyond fouled. I dont know if i have seen a worse plug, but the front cylinder plug came out clean and wet. I turned the engine over at this point and tested for compression with my finger. Rear cylinder good, front cylinder, NOTHING. Double Crap!! I noticed by looking down the spark plug hole that the intake valve was not closing. Removing the hood from the tractor and zapping the tins off, i was easily able to remove the head. What do i find but a screw from the carb stuck between the valve and the seat! A-ha! Removed it and zapped it all back together. Lets see if we have life! On the key it sounded much healthier while cranking until she roared to life definitely running on two, though still running pretty badly. I found that the mixture adjustment screws were WAY out. After getting those set, i took her for for her first test run in my ownership and shes a happy little tractor. I did notice that it revs out very wildly with any throttle input. I looked at the linkage and found all that to be OK except for the governor. Somehow that came loose so i will need to figure out how to adjust that. I didnt end up getting the aerator, but i believe i have some sort of mule drive portion of a rear tiller bolted to the belly of the tractor. It appears as though the transmission drive pulley was swapped out for one with two V-belt grooves, allowing a secondary belt to be dropped to the mule drive. Not sure what ill do with it, but ill keep it in the stash when removed! Now i wish i had the room and/or need to keep it as a hydro drive/lift would be useful. One tractor with the plow, another with the blower, and the third with the deck. But i really only have room for two. This tractor will be get its time in the garage and be 100% before i stick it back up for sale. It will need headlights, taillights/reflectors, some bits painted black again, and maybe a sticker set depending on how it looks when i am done. I will be keeping the front wheel weights and the snowblower for certain. I think it will be going with the 42" mower deck, a spare plow i have of the same width, a set of rear wheel weights, and a set of chains. That will be a very nice package that should make someone very happy. Spot the front wheel weights! Edited October 3, 2019 by AHenry014 4 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 59,692 #3 Posted October 3, 2019 If that screw would have made it through the valve.... Congrats on the score! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 51,661 #4 Posted October 3, 2019 5 hours ago, AHenry014 said: After getting those set, i took her for for her first test run in my ownership and shes a happy little tractor. Love the sound of the Kohler Twins! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WildmanC120 613 #5 Posted October 3, 2019 Nice score. Enjoy it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHenry014 127 #6 Posted October 4, 2019 3 hours ago, 953 nut said: Love the sound of the Kohler Twins! Ugh me too!! It beats the pants off the 16hp Briggs twin I have in the work horse. Would love to have this engine in a gear tractor, but don’t have the heart to swap them out. anybody recognize this? It’s driven off the trans pulley which was swapped out for a double vbelt. I’m very tempted to swap it out for the one on my 418C but don’t know what I’d use it for haha. What is it used for?? It’s extremely beefy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ohiofarmer 3,157 #7 Posted October 4, 2019 So swap them out already! Obviously that tractor has had a lot of work done on it already and they were not beating a path to his door to buy it the first time. Sure there are collector tractors out there, but the 400 series is not one of them.. Make your little herd the best it can be Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHenry014 127 #8 Posted October 9, 2019 Got to tinker a bit more the past couple nights. Got the spark plugs back out and glass bead blasted as one was terribly fouled. I removed the carb to have a look at what the previous owner did to "rebuild it". Nothing notable to mention other than a bit of crap in the bowl. I had a carb kit on hand so it got a full clean and rebuild. I randomly placed and tightened the governer lever, but it seems to rev out wildly at any input of the throttle lever, so that will need some further attention. Other than that the engine feels very strong and does not smoke one bit. I actually think this engine will be replacing the 16 horse Briggs on my Work Horse. I went to Zagray this past weekend and scored a Magnum 12 for next to nothing. Coming off a wheel horse already, it will bolt right up to make this tractor a 312A. So thats the current plan! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHenry014 127 #9 Posted October 30, 2019 Ive tinkered quite a bit with this tractor in the past couple weeks. I ended up swapping the transmission drive pulley with the one from my 418-C for no good reason. I am still not sure if i will ever end up using it for anything, but its cant hurt to have i suppose. It was a pain to swap but I was having a hard time leaving it behind! I played with the twin on there a bit more and got the governor set correctly. The previous owner told me that it ran fine until it was hot. I hadn't though much of that comment since there was other far more important issues to take care of, but closer inspection yielded a small melted spot and small hole at the back of the coil can. I didnt try running it long enough to see if it would happen but that would certainly do it. I did end up removing the twin and installing the m12. Easy swap from kohler to kohler hardware-wise, the biggest issue being the wiring adaptation to the magnum. I got everything sorted and went to start the tractor. It didnt give me a lick of life so i checked for spark. It had none, which was odd, so i just disconnected the main engine plug to determine if i had ground going to the coil. The spark was back so something wiring it not right. More research told me that i have the wrong ignition switch since it is a magneto engine vs the original points/coil engine. Anywho, got the m12 fired without it plugged in and it turned out to be a clean running, strong runner. Very happy with it on there. The correct ignition switch showed up yesterday and was installed last night. Just needed to swap a couple pins around in the connector. Verified that she charges and got a battery hold down made up from some scrap lying around. I grabbed a can of satin black spray paint and went to town. Got the grill re-blacked and the wheels painted. I really like the wheels black! Some more paint here and there and then its time to move onto which implement it will be sold with. I think it will go with the snowblower it came with. That snowblower and the 17 horse twin were originally destined for my Work Horse, which takes care of the mowing duty during the warmer months, but plans have changed. A week or so ago a friend of mine was shopping around facebook marketplace. He leaned his phone over to another friend, both of which are cub cadet guys, and the second says "hey those are wheel horse rear wheel weights". Mounted on a 1968 Cub Cadet 104 were WH wheel weights. The tractor looked to be in good shape, came with a bunch of attachments, and the price was very right with more than half the cost/value in the wheel weights alone. It turned out to be only a couple miles from home, so i couldnt say no. The initial idea was to keep the weights, fix the tractor and resell, but i fell in love with it a bit. Didnt take much to get the tractor back to perfectly running shape. As with WH, i enjoy the craftsmanship and simplicity of them. I think this one will stick around for a while. It came with a snowblower so that is the reason the blower will likely go with the 417A frankenstein. The Work Horse will also be for sale and i will be mowing with the 418C. All in all, im very happy with this tractor and like the others that have come and gone, will likely regret getting rid of it. I am going to keep the twin for a future something or other, not sure yet. Find me another WH with a bum engine perhaps. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 59,692 #10 Posted October 30, 2019 Sounds like you’ve gotten bit by the @PeacemakerJack CC bug! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 51,661 #11 Posted October 30, 2019 1 hour ago, AHenry014 said: initial idea was to keep the weights, fix the tractor and resell, but i fell in love with it a bit. No one on here has ever had that happen to them before! 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,670 #12 Posted October 30, 2019 I resemble that remark!!!! Most recent case: a 1054A now named Rusty!!! that is intriguing @AHenry014 that you found a set of WH weights on a 1960’s cub that you are keeping. @Coulter Caleb‘S first tractor is a 125 Cub. He was only 8 when we bought it. Had the set on the inside of the rear wheels. I now use those on my plow tractor. Last summer Caleb back halfed it because of a leaking gasket and then rebuilt the driveshaft wear components while it was apart... (Please take note of his safety boots!) When I looked at this picture, I told him to run in and get some shoes on! The driveshaft coupler on the engine was worn badly and Caleb replaced that. He had it back together in a couple of days and we used it with a chipper shredder attachment to clean up a brush pile. Tough little 1968 machine! I too, would like to see a pic or two of your 104. I had a 124 about 6 years ago that I bought, cleaned up and sold for a triple the investment dollar 💵! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHenry014 127 #13 Posted October 30, 2019 Ill grab some pictures for you guys! I thought i was going to get run outa here! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,670 #14 Posted October 30, 2019 They’d be running me out first... you just gotta be prepared for some good natured ribbing... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHenry014 127 #15 Posted October 30, 2019 Naturally haha 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHenry014 127 #16 Posted November 6, 2019 Ok what the heck attaches to this?! got the blower attached and the lift tube made, but this crank has me stumped. Doesn’t look like any picture I’ve seen. It’s a shirt tube blower, so can anyone lend an idea as to how this is supported and what the handle is supposed to look like? thanks all!! Some pics for good measure. She’s coming together!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 46,754 #17 Posted November 6, 2019 Fraid to say that's another PO cobblement Henry. There should be a support that goes into the mid attach that supports a simple 3/8" crank rod back to the operator that turns the chute. Btw the shorts with this "cable steer" as I call it never was a very good mouse trap. I usually look to convert it to a tall chute gear turn. Aside from the CC idiots who obviously have the wrong forum, I'll not mention any names Jack, I love reading your writeups! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 59,692 #18 Posted November 6, 2019 I wonder if that was a modification to work with a custom cab? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHenry014 127 #19 Posted November 6, 2019 Hmmm, well it appears very factory, but my research got me nowhere. I will just see if i can separate it from the u-joint and then just make up something that mounts in the mid-mount like the later tall chutes. The cable chute definitely leaves a bit to be desired, but this one works okay. Might mess with the cable tension a bit to delete some slop, but it does turn! Got the lift tube made up last night with some garage scraps. Works excellent with the hydro lift! Got the PTO engaged and BOOM, the auger bearing opposite the chain explodes and spark start shooting out! Got a bearing on order last night for just about 6 bucks so i am happy with that repair cost. Used an old trick to remove the outer bearing race. I learned it when removing bearing races from some ATV hub i was working on years ago. Just weld a bead on the entire ID of the race and it will shrink it just enough to slide right out. Then on goes the headlights i have as spares, then weights & chains. That will about wrap this one up! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 46,754 #20 Posted November 6, 2019 1 hour ago, AHenry014 said: but this one works okay. Wait till it slushes up and ices... but yes keep the cable tight and keep it and the chute base well lubed. Those chain tensioners in the front right can give a guy grief but they are often found at TSC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites