Leaderboard

Thanks everyone for such great feedback. I stopped at Tractor Supply today and got a battery. Filled it up with gas and to my surprise it was running after just a few tries. I let it run a few minutes then shut it off to change the oil. I told my friend that after all the feedback here on the forum, I was comfortable offering $250. He said that was more than fair enough for him. So, I am officially the proud owner of my first Wheel Horse. I'm really looking forward to stripping this thing down and start sandblasting. Will be sure to post pics of my progress along the way. Thanks again to all of you.

My buddy and fellow WH collector Packrat, built this to look like a factory built machine! It has 2 brand new 7 Hp. Kohler Engines and a rebuilt 6 Speed Transmission! Everything was sand blasted and restored to perfection. He did a ton of fabrication on this beast, especially on the dual throttle assembly in which he can control both motors any way he wants! He can start one motor with the other motor and run them together or run them seperetly. Plenty of power with this set up. We took this and my restored 653 up to the Findlay Show last year and it was a big hit. How's it look fella's? Hammerhead

It's been a while and other than a little paint touch up I'm done. Here's some pictures of the finished product. I think my parents would be happy with the outcome. The first two are to remind me how far I've come. Thanks for all your encouragement. Hope you enjoy them and we get a chance to meet someday. Dave

congrats on the 1k matt. man, youre catching up to my just over 12 months worth in only 4....... what a blabber mouth......

1 K in less than four months, cheese n rice...talk about prolific. Congrats Matt, now...you officially...da man. :bow-blue:

Congratulations. It was money well spent.

I'd have to say more like: "Steve sucking on the hot toddie in his hand (R&R for sure), and Joe's listening."! Who loves ya Steve?

I paid $100 for my 308-8 running perfect and needing only a $1.61 pulley keyway, no deck, no pto clutch

Well, rather than boring everyone talking about the tractor, I'll let the pics speak for themselves. We're getting close now! Oh by the way, Byron! Byron, is a buddy of mine! Matt :flags-texas:

Hi Mike, yep there are a lot of helpful people watching this build, thank you all for the comments/advice over the years. I'd guess that reduction brakes would be best fitted as close to the diff as poss to give it the best chance of "doing it's thing" without having to cope with extra strain of the wheel to wheel belts. That was my thinking when I put the steering brakes at the back. The reason I went with belts rather than chains is belts are more "in keeping" with a Wh than chains, although the high cost of chains did put me off a bit. I'm hoping the new improved drive system will get rid of belt slipping problem, as the belts only really slipped when trying to turn and the brakes were not enough to get the diff to do it's thing. Tracks should help even more Thanks for your kind words John. It's almost driving, as long as you don't want to turn too sharply Lol, yep the past 7 months have been a bit busy on this project. A little slice here, a little slice there and the trans should fit. The motion and brake levers shouldn't be too bad to make work, just over sized levers with a big kink to clear the engine..... Well, the ability to have the machine turn on the spot ruled today. After many months of of building and trying different things and the brake steering still not working, I decided that I'd have nothing to lose and maybe everything to gain from trying John's twin trans idea. So with a certain pleasure the steering brakes were relocated to a cardboard box. Hopefully I won't be needing these again. The 6X6 looking more like a 1X1 Mr P dropped in to give me a hand with some cutting and moving the heavy trans about. Chopped! The best way I could think of to get the front trans in the right spot was to fit both rear axle extension thingys to the front trans and then bolt it all to the outriggers. Tomorrow the rebuilding the chassis around the trans will begin. I needed to find a nice thick bit of plate to make the front trans mounting plate.. Hhhmm... this should do the trick.. It might come in handy for giving the hood something to hinge on as well

Apparently the three pictures! They're photobucket images so unless you have images blocked for some reason, they should be there. Try hitting F5 to refresh. It's a round hood, hood and frame extended out to cover and fit two starter generator style Kohler engines, with a six speed (two shift levers) oh, and it's shiny.

To a friend under these same circumstances absolutely. 99% of everyone here it wouldn't have been sitting for all these years parked and not running. My personal opinion is it's a $150 tractor and if it's a friend I was selling it to it would probably be a $100 tractor given what's known. If I wanted more for it I'd have to get it running first so all was known about it.

The only way I can get a hundred dollar tractor around here is if it is a parts machine. Like said above I think $250 would be fair for the tractor you haven't heard run yet. I bought one like that, 80 model, had it running and drove it off the trailer.

I didn't see a "cup holder?" I think you should backcharge em.No fun to be held there!

Very good ! It is amazing after almost 50 years how many of these 953 and 1054 tractors are still going strong ! People who bought these in 1963-thru 1965 really loved them and took pride in them as a great all-around garden tractor. Great find!

Rooster, although it may be frowned upon, I've had great luck sealing plastic tanks with JB Stick. It's JB weld in stick form, and I've sealed them up while fuel was still coming out the hole, and they never leaked again. Replacing the tank is the best fix, but if cash is tight, it works very well. Matt :flags-texas:

"He is a personal friend and you want to be fair which is the right thing to do. I don't think an offer of 250 is out of line, or too much. Big deal, it needs a battery, some new fuel lines and fluids changed. Any tractor out there of this age will need all of that anyway. I don't think you would come across too many of these for 100 bucks on Craigs List. Its not like you are going into this totally blind, he is a friend that you trust and he said it ran well when it was parked." You took the words right out of my mouth.

He is a personal friend and you want to be fair which is the right thing to do. I don't think an offer of 250 is out of line, or too much. Big deal, it needs a battery, some new fuel lines and fluids changed. Any tractor out there of this age will need all of that anyway. I don't think you would come across too many of these for 100 bucks on Craigs List. Its not like you are going into this totally blind, he is a friend that you trust and he said it ran well when it was parked.

Yep, I would...especially if other than pile more junk on it, if I hadn't touched the thing in fifteen years? Similar situation allowed me to get my first ...a running '68 Commando from my buddy for $50. (in my gallery) because it was just collecting dust. He knew I had the bug and would treat it right. That's how we define friendship...we do nice things like that for each other all the time. I'm a firm believer, pass on good fortune to the next guy, it comes back to you in spades. .

PADan I just looked on the "Wheelhorseallyears" spreadsheet that I have (and is probably located on this site someplace) -- Anyway your 308-8 was made in 1985-87 -- The tractor model # would be of the form 21-08k801 (made in 1985 and you won't see the '-' on your tag on the tractor) -- Or your last 3 digits will might be 802 (1985), 803 (1986), or 804 (1987) -- The # you have is for the 36" Rear Discharge mower deck that is on the tractor -- The 308-8 has mutiple decks that would fit it

Worked on some weed control and a bit of expansion for the garden. Looks like we will have some squash by the end of the week.

That's no bs.I handed over a sack of mcdoubles and he snickered turned and ran!Bwahahaha

alright dad, real funny, wheres the wheels? what do you think im going to carry it around everywhere. ive got a smile on my face at the moment, but that aint gonna last forever..........

Thanks to all for the kind words. I took Danny out to the shop today, first he sat there petting it like an animal, then the next thing I know he was hugging it! Put the new ID tag on it along with one of the new decals. Here are some pics. Matt :flags-texas: