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OK, this is slightly on the STRANGE side but had to share. The other day a guy from georgia (state) emails me and ask's if I WANT a D180 ? I second guess replying to the guy but...well just had to. So, I emailed the guy back and he said he acquired a D180 from a close friend of the family, was purchased new from that family so it was a one owner. He stated that he started to restore the tractor but after a couple of years lost interest, tried to give it back to the family friend he received it from but no one was interested??? So, he said he searched the internet and found a post that I made on REDSQUARE that I needed a D180 to complete my D series collection. The crazy thing is that he wanted NO money for it, ya FREEE!!!! All I had to do was pay for shipping. A week later and multiple bids on USHIP , the tractor is now on its way to indiana as a matter of fact should be here Tuesday morning. The shipping cost was very cheap,$240 . Ya, right, $240 for a D180. Woo Hoo!!! I have a couple pix as I know...THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITH OUT PIX! But once I get it home I will post my pix of it. Thanks

My son wanted a fun tractor that he didn't have to worry about scratching but he wanted it cool and different from eveyone else's tractor. Most of the things that were done to it were his idea's, he has been getting his hands dirty working on it along side me. I'll let the pics speak for themselves of what we have done so far, we picked it up less than two weeks ago. The first picture it is riding on the back of my trailer the day we got it home. There are still quite a few things we are going to do to it, this is just a start. We might change the color of the rims, just not sure what color yet. He has named it Rusty in memory of our puppy we lost a few months ago.

Perhaps they used it to clean dirt out of a ditch. :hide:

I've dealt on CL and Ebay and they both can be problems at times. Actually did two things that I don't recommend. I bought a snowcab based on the pictures from a fella in Iowa and payed with paypal and he shipped it. That deal turned out ok but you can see where I put alot of trust in it. The other was traveling over 5 hrs to get that 520h. That also was a good experience. I talked to the guy quite awhile to make sure he wasn't going to sell it out from under me once I committed . I'm glad I did but I think that sometimes the thrill of the deal will get in the way and cause you to do things that you normally wouldn't. In my early days on Ebay I bought a motherboard for my son's computer for Christmas. Payed for it but never got it. So I called the Police Dept. in this guys town and they knew him as a con guy. I ended up buying another motherboard for my son but the missing motherboard appeared the day before Christmas. Not sure what happened but I still think the Peoria Police Dept had something to do with it.

I post on here once and awhile and post some pictures but i hardly get a response from anyone. Is there anyone on here that is actually interrested in the older "rare" tractors? I posted a picture of a 1946 Pond lever steer which is the grand daddy of all other Wheel Horse tractors and I think got like 5 or so comments, and then some random person posts a picture of like a 300 series and it gets like 30 replys. In the garage there is the 46 lever steer, (2) 55 ride away seniors, (8) 55-57 rj35s, (2) pond walkers, (3) rj58s and a 401 but people look past those and would rather look at a Raider 10 or a C120 or some newer tractor. I dont wanna seem like a prick in nice terms but i dont see what people see in the newer tractors. Im not saying they arent nice tractors or nice to have but i believe the older tractors are looked over. Im only 26 years old and i take pride in my tractors and enjoy the old hard to find tractors but it seems like no one seems to care about them anymore. I was reading the posts about wheel horses vs other brands and it kinda got the idea to post this. What im looking for is feedback i guess of why do the newer tractors get so much attention?

Hi guys, Just brought home a couple of oddball tractors. First is a burns. I do not know much about this tractor, I'm thinking it was made in the early 60's and there is a tag on it that says it was made in georgia. The other tractor is a jacobsen javelin 26. This is a very neat tractor and it has a clinton b1290 in it. Here are some pictures. ~Jake

Every make of garden tractors have a few design problems that crop-up over time, be it Cub Cadet, Simplicity or Wheelhorse. What this thread is about is identifying those areas of potential trouble so we can all be aware of it ahead of time so we can try to prevent unnecessary damage or how to fix it when we find it. In no way is this thread about running down these fine Wheelhorse tractors. As an example, years ago I read that some of the early 520H Wheelhorse tractors with the swept forward axle and 60 inch decks had the potential for cracked frames where the angle iron frame is welded to the steel plate that attaches to the tranny. I also think Toro beefed up the design to eliminate this potential in later models. Also we talk all the time about the valve seats coming loose in the Onan engines and speak of keeping the engine cooling fins clear of debri. Recently I have read about the 300, 400 and 500 series having steering columns that are not as strong as earlier models and can cause problems. Between the C series and the 300, 400, and 500 series tractors, what are some of the inherent problems that one can expect to encounter? Perhaps we can make a list of problems, i.e. like frames cracking, what is the cause, how to prevent and ultimately how to fix. Don't know if a tread such as this would merit being a "sticky", but it would be great info for all of us Wheelhorse owners trying to keep them going another generation - or two! Any replies to the above would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Bill

I know how I felt when my C-160 collection was complete. It felt great, but now I am wanting more. A 416-8 I think will be next.

So i walked into the Beer store and a native buddy of mine is standing in line. I walked over and says to him Hey Bobby little weiner, hows it goin. he looks at me and says not bad pale face, not bad, what are you up to. I say just gettin a case for the wife. He looks at me for a few seconds then says......GOOD TRADE.

Come on Jim.........this is fun isn't it? Urban Meyer has been on the recruiting trail once again..........things never change...........

:WRS: AMC rules, 16HP Thumper, #1 Wheelho or what ever else you go by, just don't change your avitar or we will never know who you are. :ychain:

At some point Wheel Horse did put a second setscrew in the hubs at 90 degrees to the existing one It may help your problem. Usually I have found that the hubs that wont stay tight are wallowed out in the bore. The hub does need to be a reasonably close fit on the axle in order to stay tight.

Hey Trouty56! The whole family is all about tractors, myself, husband, and three sons!

That's GREAT Me too also. Was thinking about the gas in that old car that's lurking in that shop somewhere. What brought that to mind, A gentleman I know just bought a house that had been vacant for five years and there was so much junk in the garage he found a car in there and after unloading it and a new battery it started right up. Must have been real gas. :eek: JIM

Don't drink, or smoke Jim...but will confess to the red addiction.

Not the most elaborate definition, but a magneto ignition system gets power from a magnet that passes a laminated open armature onto which is mounted an insulated coil of wire surrounding another coil of wire. The primary winding is "several" turns of heavy wire and is connected to the spark plug. The secondary winding surrounds the primary wiring and consists of many turns of smaller wire. Windings are fully insulated and do not touch each other. When the magnet passes the armature, the secondary winding is charged with electricity, producing a magnetic field. Breaker points or some other type of timed switch break the circuit of the secondary windings, causing the magnetic field to collapse. The collapse of the magnetic field produces high voltage in the primary windings - which fires the spark plug. The condenser is a capacitor and is there to absorb the residual electricity that 'burps' back through the secondary windings when the primary windings discharge. Since the points are open at that time, they will arc and prematurely burn without the condenser present. If you follow the circuit path from the points back to the secondary winding of the coil, you would find the other end of the windings are grounded. That is why you see continuity to ground at the points even if they are open. If you don't have continuity, the coil winding is 'open' - which normally means the coil is bad. Older battery ignitions work on the same principal - except that a battery is used to energize the ignition coil instead of magnets.

It was a Birthday Present in August of 2011. I tried to attach photos from a tractor show in 2012. All the boys love riding it because its so fast haha

What can I say...disgusting for sure and a terrible week. Browns and DA BEARS loose and the Packers win...can't get much worse then that. :bow-blue:

Yes! I bought it off some kid who was clearing his grandparents barn for $400 for my husband. The kid did not want it because he didnt know what was wrong with....well it was out of FUEL! Its runs Mint and I was lucky enough to find a mower deck off craigslist, needs work but does the job. I would love a original plow or snow blower. I know I can modify but i dont want my husband to go through all the work. Hopefully something will come along

Another set of those dual stacks will look awesome on that one too.

Now how lucky is that???.....what a deal!!!

Ford style can be made to work. Even though it is a 4 terminal arrangement, the 4th terminal on the old Ford style is not for grounding purposes. The 4th terminal is actually meant to be wired to bypass the ignition coil resistor on start up to provide a temporary "hotter" spark on older vehicles. The 4th terminal on a old Ford style will become hot with 12 volts when the trigger terminal is active. IF you physically have the room for it, AND the starter stud terminals have the same side studs AND the current wiring can reach the new relay, yes, a 3 terminal or a 4 terminal Ford relay can be used. The Ford relay can be grounded by fastening the metal mounting tabs of the relay to a bare spot on the chassis OR fastening a ground wire from the metal tabs of the relay to a good chassis ground, Check with Autozone or NAPA. They have a minimal garden tractor parts section. I believe I saw a 4 terminal relay in their self stock for around $10. The Ford relay is much heavier duty and will likely be the last one one you need to replace on the tractor, but there are likely to be some size and placement issues that will get in the way.

That's amazing...goes to show you how great this sit is and that there's still good people out there. I watch a show called shipping wars based off of uship be cool if your was on tv. Congratulations Jeremy

The tractor turned out great. I understand the dog stuff thing I have 4 dogs and I try to pick it up but you can never get it all so cutting grass is like driving throught a mine feild

Now that's funny, but so is this... You're a good sport BK. :ROTF:

Hmmm, I could have charged storage fees on the Cub. I would havehad to leave it outside the Fairgrounds though,(wrong color) :)

Little guy is sayin " do you feel lucky, punk? Well do ya? This here's my 44 magnum". :teasing-poke:

I think you meant, Oh HOW I OWN Michigan! I'm practicing too!! I'm impressed Jim, I didn't think Buckeyes could spell.... -BK

The 416-8 I picked up is an '85 with the single cylinder Kohler. Runs like a beast, great machine. Good luck with yours. Just ordered new vinyl decals and stripped the hood. Still like the '73 no name, automatic w/ electric PTO. Why? Don't know. Fixin' the steering column, partstree.com delivered the sleeve today. Need a new seat, lots of gaffer tape on this worked seat. Grandson loves this Horse, and everybody elses too!

Here's the insanity of the last week. Cleaned up the shop some more and fooled around with the dune buggy a little: Got the Rat rod engine and trans together and started on the frame: Doors blocked down and 3rd coat of high build. Blocked them again and needs one more: FINALLY! Got a good roof skin for $40 from a local yard with a sawzall: Drilled out spot welds and sandblasted drip rail: Stupid local car: Charlie

Kind of what I was thinking....."Yes dear, I will thin the herd"...........NOT!

NEBRASKA AT IOWA ..................(NEBRASKA) MICHIGAN AT OHIO ST.................(OHIO ST.) MICHIGAN ST. AT MINNESOTA.....(MICH ST.) ILLINOIS AT NORTHWESTERN....(NORTHWESTERN) INDIANA AT PURDUE....................(PURDUE) WISCONSIN AT PENN ST..............(WISCONSIN) Well, here we are at the final week of the season, Michigan Week, and where is the #1 Michigan fan? Gone. Took his ball and went home. Why? Can't stand the heat? Oh boo hoo, they're pickin on me. Somebody swiped the yellow M off my hat. :ROTF:

All I can say is WOW...would like to know some of the shows you guys go to. You guys have a lot to offer here, like Jason, I have seen some of what you have at other shows...always special. This site is not really like "Antique Tractors" and is not meant to be, but anytime you can show that kind of stuff here and tell us about it...I am all ears. Thanks for sharing. I love the panzer and the Bantams and the lever steers...etc. :)

I see my brother has posted a few pics of our tractors.There shows quit a few tractors with hefty price tags.But dont get confused as to think we are rich or anything.We travel to about 10 shows and swap meets a summer and peddle parts there.And as some of you know sometimes u make a dollar or two.Thats how we have finaced most of these purchases.

:handgestures-thumbupright: definitly a nice lookin machine there..Glad ya got her back on the road!!

Results may vary. If you are going to be using the paint around anything that might drip fuel onto it or someting you will be handling alot Duplicolor is the much better choice. It won't wrinkle anywhere as easily as Rustoleum will if fuel is spilled on it and it doesn't take two months too cure. Any Duplicolor paint that you use, even if its a gloss finish it will need to be clear coated for the shine to come out. I have painted many an outboard motor with Duplicolor paints and I would NEVER consider using Rustoleum on an outboard, it just won't last on an outboard motor. I've been using Rustoleum for close to 35 yrs. now. Its real easy to use and if you have some experience and patience the results can look like a professional painted it, but at the end of the day it is still Rustoleum paint. I painted this award winning 1956 Evinrude with Duplicolor paints 6 yrs. ago. It has seen alot of use and she spends many hrs. out in the sun. She still looks freshly painted. Granted, I haven't yet painted a tractor with Duplicolor paints, not even sure I would. I did paint a tractor with some leftover cans of Cherry Red Krylon paint I had left over from a project. The shine looked just OK at first, once I added some clear coat to the situation it popped much better. Here are some pics, results may vary.

UPDATE! The last week: Got bored in detention today.... Had to stay til 5:00 for being late to school once in the last month Christmas e'ry day Decided I must build one of these with a 4bt in it soon (within the next 5 years :bom: ) This weekend: Friday, Saturday, Sunday= 30 hours in the shop total! Here we go! Got the door jambs in bare metal, welded up the seams and skim coated the welds with filler, epoxy primer, ready for paint. NO pic sorry! Here's the floors today. I sandblasted for 2 hours and did all four cab mounts, floor bracing, and any seams on the bottom side. There was no rust except around cab mounts. Only surface though. Before: Wirewheeled dirt and paint off, wiped down and then forgot about the bottom side until today. Sandblasted areas: 1st coat of epoxy primer. Only have a quart left out of the gallon can. Probably need another gallon or two. I have primed the entire cab except roof and cab back and the doors. Then used rubberized undercoating and did all the seams to seal them up. Did 2 heavy coats, let flash dry then gave the entire thing another coat of epoxy. Should be able to forget about it and just powerwash it clean every once in a while. I like this better than black or bed lining. Looks more factory appearing and easier to see any chips, rust, dirt, grease, or oil leaks that could be a problem in the long future. I don't like seam sealer much because it cracks over time and it is a messy appearance and messy to apply. Sealed the inside panels: Nick's rat 2000* paint Had to turn it around to clear the valve covers: Made a unique exhaust stack to resemble a stove pipe elbow and then flared the top! It is 3" welded to a flat plate with a home made exhaust brake that will work on a pull cable Antique gauge for boost: Charlie

Went down this afternoon and spent 4 hours total inside. Used most of the time to put away the mess of the past two days, organize stuff that was in boxes from the move and did a little metal work. Fixed a hack job on a wheel horse tractor hood. Had to graft in a patch. Then I paint stripped the P7100 after plugging off all the ports. I think I'll rebuild it myself. I'll purchase the tools and do it. If I keep the shims and clocking right on the DVs it shouldn't need flow benched but wouldn't hurt down the road. P pump looks amazing without paint. Then I mocked up the rad support again with different headlight buckets trying to figure how do do the cleanest easiest job. I think I figured it out... More to come later.... Finished my buddies manifold. It was a 6 off my engine, cut down, ported and a plate welded on and cracks v'd out and welded up. There were 4 cracks . Then hit it with 2000* paint. Center pillars look really nice!!! Rust under cowl inside. I think I'll just blast it and then graft in a small piece where the worst was or seam seal it and forget about it. Charlie

Got quite a bit done on the truck! Friday, I spent another $870 on paint, then drove west to pick up my NOS 70s birdbath hood which I paid $50 for. From there I took the block, crank and rods to my dads friend who builds pro class diesel pullers and he's doing my machine work. Pretty excited to get the block back! Did cowl work. First I welded the cracks, then added plates over the cracks and at the windshield corners where there are gaps in the panels. Should make the cowl a lot more strong. Then, I mocked up the grille to IC rad support. Using 60s dodge truck headlight buckets makes it much easier because they have their own bracket which mounts flush to a rad support. I will have to recess the rad support headlight area to work with this setup. I think I will just sell the rad support and use a gasser one because I'm running non stock radiator, intercooler and A/C. No point to hack up a nice rad support for a specific application. I guess I'll sell the rad support. I do like the 70s grille much more than the 1991-1993. My buddy who is in college, his father is a toxic waste area cleanup coordinator. They have a surplus of equipment from sites so he gave me a next to new Ingresol Rand 80 gallon air compressor! It is double in tank volume and puts out 17 cfms rather than 3 cfms!!!! I can't wait to get it hooked up! NOS hood: Finished inside. Removed all seam sealer and body caulk and found surface rust starting under it and a couple holes under the dash behind the seam sealer. Glad I removed it and addressed the issues. Finished wire wheeling and DA sanding the floor and gave it a coat of epoxy primer inside! Hood was sanded and sprayed with high build primer as well as another coat on the doors. Then a quick mist of a guide coat: Hope to spray some Mango Tango saturday on door jambs, firewall, interior pillars and underside of hood! Charlie

Exactly what I said. When you add weight to the tractor you increase the down force. But i stand behind my statement that nothing is pushing up. Pushing down harder on something will stress the opposing force's top side, but that's not pushing up. Sent from my Galaxy Tab using Tapatalk 2

Got quite a bit done yesterday and tonight. Welded up about 70 holes that used to be trim and engine bay accessories and then ground them all down. Next was spraying all inside and outside surfaces with Matrix Rose colored etch primer. Windchimes! Today, I started bodywork. Using the 3M brand filler is much better than bondo and a bottle of 2 part glazing filler, I was able to finish both rear doors and the drivers side front door. I didn't have the time to do the front fenders but they have filler on them. I used a 14" air-powered long block to get the filler knocked down flush then blocked it out by hand with a 14" block and 220 grit. Used the remaining etch primer on the drivers cab floor and door jambs. I am welding up all the seams on the rockers and lower door jambs for added strength. Started bodywork on the firewall. This is going to take some time: Welded up cowl completely. Still need to weld in reinforcement plates in 2 places on each side. Charlie

It's going to run me about $1000 in paint supplies to paint the crew Spent $583 today for everything but only got 1.5qts of color. The color is $137/quart. Has 10 different color tones mixed in. Very tedious to mix but done by hand with a digital scale so it is accurate. Should get everything stripped and etch primed this weekend! Worked with a really great guy in Willow Grove PA. His is a private run business out of his garage at home. Has a huge selection of every auto cosmetic thing you would ever need. Way better pricing than anywhere else. All good products too. I went with matrix brand with the Mica clear coat. Here's a peek of the Tango! Charlie

Started out using brush on stripper in a gallon and was suggested the Rustoleum Aircraft Stripper aerosol and I'm never using brush on stripper again! It's nice because it soaks in, does not require water to remove and it didn't leave any nasty residue! I'm still going to wipe all surfaces down with metal prep and wax/grease remover to be safe but it is a really great product. $8 a can sounds pricey but I was able to do all of my doors and fenders as well as both sides of my bed with 2 CANS!!! It scrapes pretty easy too! Here's some bare mexican metal bling! By the way this is moving it should be MANGO TANGO in time for HALLOWEEN! I'll have a big orange jack-o-lantern of a cab in the shop! I guess right now im carving my own pumpkin! Load of ugly panels Not so ugly now! Took me 3 hours to do a fender using the brush on stuff and took me an hour and a half to do each of the rear doors with the spray on stripper. Rear doors don't have any dents so I don't think I will need any bondo on them! Just high build primer and block it out! Picking up paint supplies Thursday to take care of this bare metal pile that is continuing to grow...My buddy says I now have a bare metal fetish. I gotta admit it is pretty nice to look at! Charlie

Got one fender prepped! Took 3 hours to paint strip and sand with 80gr then 100gr then 220 but it is SUPER NICE!!!! I did both sides and took care of 100% of it so I plan to epoxy prime the cab, doors and fenders this week. Just takes MOTIVATION!!!! If you ever wondered why dodge paint peels, it is because, in my truck's case, they did not use primer! On top of that, the zinc/galvanizing that was on the metal is not a good bonding surface because while I was using scotchbrite on the inside, it was powdery and obiviously not a good suface to paint on. Yes, taking it down to bare metal is a TON of work but realize this, you HAVE NO IDEA the quality of the paint that is currently on the surface, how well the metal was prepped or what is under the paint! I found on the cab that the floors looked great and the paint was nice but when I took the paint off the metal was starting to corrode underneath! It was not visible from the top side but the factory paint didnt SEAL the suface. The bare metal gives you 110 better adhesion, protection and quality of the product. If you keep the vehicle for a long time, a good paint job lasts 20 years so when it comes time to do it again you just have to take the clear coat off and ruff up the base. Using good products will prevent the extra elbow grease of maintenance down the road, hold up to oxidation better and the paint surface quality is going to be that of a show car. Yes I know, its a truck and it will be worked, but it is a creampuff and I want to make it look good and last. I like doing it right the first time. In the coming years, trucks of this era especially crew cabs will be increasingly harder to find and rust free ones will disappear. It is the same with redoing a wheel horse! Yes, sanding the original paint works but a little more time and not rushing will make it that much better! After 80 grit. This was done with an electric Black & Decker DA sander. It is small and meant for small jobs but i restored a whole wheel horse tractor with it and it works quick! You don't always have to sandblast! Just need to weld a couple trim holes closed and delete the antenna mount.

Actually Craig, you can still buy pull behind reel mowers, but their kind of expensive. I looked at them, and I still have plenty of orange paint left. Who knows? Matt :flags-texas: