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Yesterday I had the pleasure of Meeting a great member of R.S. Thank you Lane Ralph for the help and getting me 2 - 1054 mower decks. Truly a great gentleman.

Lane is truly one of the top shelf members here on Red Square. He and his brother Dave are excellent people.

I have not met Lane in person however about a month ago he helped me with a hood for my 1054 and was very fair and I had a great impression of him as well. Members helping other members is what it is all about!

Lane and his brother David are great guys. Always enjoy catching up with them at the shows. And like all the great members I hang with at the events we go to, they make Jeanine and Kent (my wife and son) feel welcome...... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally sold, 6 July 1963, my model 653 sold for $554.50. Still a bargain to this very day.

I've met and dealt with Lane several times and always get a fair deal from him and he always goes out of his way to help!

A little late to the party, but a few comments regarding the oldest vertical shaft WH's: While most of us aren't particularly fond of them, the early V7 and V8 tractors were, indeed, garden tractors. The cast iron and steel geared transaxle in them was designed for ground engaging work and was intended to be as tough as the unidrives featured in the more conventional lines of tractors. Tillers were available and a clevis hitch could be fitted in case you wanted to plow, disc, or cultivate. These were introduced in '68 at about the same time some other manufacturers dipped a toe in the vertical shaft configuration. The concept must have been on the right track since most modern tractor platforms have migrated to a vertical shaft arrangement with its inherent packaging efficiencies even on heavy duty machines from Deere, Cadet, Simplicity, Toro, etc. True, they were a little lower slung than the bigger garden tractors and felt more compact, but they were quite heavy duty nonetheless. Geez, look at the front trame section of the V8's! I think the engine failures of the Kohler KV181 (in the V8's) and the complete lack of marketing were a problem for them. By the time WH had ditched the problematic KV's and went exclusively with the more reliable Tecumseh replacements the line had already gained a reputation as being somewhat trouble prone. I think the hydro units on the Charger versions also ended up being weaker than intended...perhaps since they didn't have a large capacity and (I think) lacked a filter for the system. Beyond the tiller, clevis hitch, and a couple of mowing decks WH didn't make a big effort to support the lineup with additional attachments. On a comparative basis the established, already-old conventional layout tractor offered advantages at the point of sale. They were competing with other WH tractors in the showroom in addition to those of other colors and it apparently didn't make much sense at the time. Essentially, they were way to heavy and expensive to be a lightweight lawn mower but not big and heavy enough to be a multipurpose unit. I am under the impression that some pink slips were issued over the line as well. I think a fair number of dealers hated them. They hung on until the early 70's with the "CG" variants, but faded from memory. Collectors have never zeroed in on these things probably for a number of reasons. Most of those reasons probably parallel the reasons they weren't big sellers when new. Few of us have childhood connections to these things. Many of them were probably scrapped when the engines blew. They have a much lower perceived value than the conventionally crafted machines. . Ans, being equipped with Tecumseh engines certainly doesn't buy them much favor in this Kohler-loving crowd. I think there is a place for these models in a serious collector's fleet. They should be appreciated for what they are and were - a different solution to a common problem. If your tractor has value to you, I encourage you to restore it. There won't be a lot of secondary interest in the thing should you decide to sell, but please fix it up and enjoy it for what it is. With few exceptions this is a hobby that won't pay you back for the time and effort you put into ANY machine anyway. The whole succession of vertical shaft tractors really doesn't garner much respect in our collector circles. But - with some exceptions - WH always offered a product fully capable within its intended class. In most cases, i'd rate their vertical shaft tractors at least as high as any class competative tractor. It started with the V7/V8's and progressed right thru to the 400XT series. There are even some rare machines in the long line of verts. YT-12A anyone? How about the L-chassis 211-3? I think I'm going to launch a PR campaign to clean up the image of the tipped-over-engine class of tractor. Maybe they should be featured at the show. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I have a bunch of them I'd love to sell at top dollar someday! Steve

I was wondering what my Wheel Horse Tractor cost when it was new? I search the site and didn't see any documents or and information on prices. It would be cool if someone had a list or if there's a list out there on all the Wheel Horse tractors from 1950s to 1990s on prices when they come out of the showroom. Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

I still have my receipt. 1987 418A = $3295. 42" sd mower deck $512

Hi Butch, All the major brands have attachments like WH did. Wheelhorse had the only product line that made implements that fit a broad spectrum of tractors over a long period of time. The no name 70's tractors to the C series to the 300, 400 and 500 series all had, (for the most part), interchangeable implements. No other manufacturer of tractors did this. Many manufacturers changed their model years frequently and each model change meant only that model year implement fit that tractor. Also......don't be too hard on Toro. They could have killed the 300 & 400 series tractors when they purchased Wheelhorse but they didn't. As a matter of fact, they kept the line going for almost 2 decades including the availability of parts. They even added the 500 series to what they called the "Classic" line of Garden Tractors. I would like to think that Toro may have actually helped Wheelhorse rather than hurt it. They may have gone under in the late 80's had it not been for the Toro buyout!

I still have my receipt from 87. 312-8, wheel weights, 42'' side discharge and snowblade. 2969.00

I had the pleasure of meeting Lane, David and their uncle at an Evansville (Indiana) tractor show several years ago. We had a great time swapping stories. I spent the entire afternoon with them as my wife went to town to shop. When she came back she asked Lane "How much do I owe you for baby-sitting"? That got a good laugh from everyone. I make it a point to visit with Lane every chance I get.

In 1991 I bought a brand spanking new 1990 Laredo, 100% fully loaded including A/C . I paid a whopping $13,000 for the Jeep and it was likely the best vehicle I owned. I put 110,000 miles on it, many off-road and sadly traded it in in 1997 for a "family" car. Aside from flipping the Jeep, it went just about anywhere I wanted it to, and without a lift. Loved that XJ! Oh, when I traded it in, I got $9,500!

Tonight is another big night for the kids in tractor club. Stay tuned for updates. Thank you to everyone that is following along on this journey!

There are two styles of 36" Tillers and one of them is NOT for the 312A tractor. It is for much older model tractors from the mid 60s to mid 70s and the front connecting bar on is has an offset that MAY be your whole issue. Have a look at these pics and you'll see what I mean. Please excuse the pics....I borrowed them from ebay listings and are the best representations I could find at the time. NOTE.... the difference in the mounting bar and the whole bracket too, as CIRCLED. If you bought one of these older tillers, you MAY be able to change the mounting bar(s) hardware to upgrade it to the later style.

I know how much you guys like photos, so I thought I would post a few and update my progress. I have started blasting some of the smaller parts in my new Harbor Freight blasting cabinet. It works pretty good after I replaced the gun with an old Campbell Hausfeld that I had. I am using walnut shells and am pleased with the progess. This is my first attempt at anything of this magnitude. I don't plan on rebuilding the engine and was wondering what is the best way to repaint it? I have torn it partially down so I can clean it better, but was thinking about reassembling most of it then blasting it and then painting. Can the cylinder and head be blasted and do a good job while it is still installed? What type and color of paint should be used on the cylinder and head? Does anyone have any tips on a particular order for reassembly of this project when the time comes? I have been taking lots of photos, bagging and marking the parts, but I'm still a little concerned about the reassembly process. My memory isn't as good as it used to be! I almost forgot, does anybody have any ideas where the blue carb might have come from?

A few threads ago in the Implements and Attachments forum 'Sybesma07' posed a question about dating a 10 cu. ft dump cart / trailer. Despite the low res photo from an ad I guess, I recognized it as looking remarkably the same as one that I’m restoring at present, the thread is here: It also made me think of the research I’d done into dating carts like this which I thought I ought to complete and share so here it is. The information was pieced together from the Toro Lookup site, the Wheel Horse Interchange document, and cart manuals from the RS repository. If you have any corrections to make or have photographs to offer then please do chip in. --------------- In 1976 the range of WH trailers available was expanded from just the 5 cu ft dump cart and four wheel wagon to include 10 and 18 cu ft dump cart models. The 1976/7 10 cu ft model (10DC01) is distinguishable by the fact that it had a tubular draw bar. It had the red / white WH decals (large on the sides and small on the rear panel) and I strongly suspect the loading decal (21) was also red / white. -------------- Literature for the 1978-80 models (also designated 10DC01) shows that the tubular draw bar had been upgraded to a C section rail. Despite a new decal design having been introduced for the 1978 range of tractors like the C-121, the diagram shows that the red & white WH decals were retained certainly for a time. I suspect that this was a way of using up old stock. The example that I’m restoring has a large WH decal on the tail panel rather than small but does have the newer style black loading warning sticker. --------------- The 1980 – 85 model was designated 10DC02 and incorporated a further change of design in that the draw bar spacer (12) in the previous diagram which bolted to the tub bed was redesigned and now bolted to the front panel of the tub (see below) This diagram shows the new C-121 style decals for the sides. The fact that no decal is shown for the rear panel is probably an omission from the diagram as it is shown on the 18 cu ft model. The catch has also been redesigned to suit the new spacer bracket. ---------------- Attachments and accessories lists for 1986 model tractors indicate that WH dropped trailers from its range completely at this point as manufacturing of them at South Bend had ceased. I suspect that pricewise they could no longer compete with third party manufacturers. Although trailers are not listed on the Toro site for specific tractors from 1986 the Interchange document shows that during 1985 WH started buying in trailers from Ohio Steel (who continue to make attachments under contract for well known names today). Trailers listed from 1985 onwards included the following dump carts: a 4 cu. ft., two 7 cu. ft. (one with a sloping back), a 10 cu. ft, a 17 cu. ft. and an 18 cu. ft. I guess that this represented the Ohio Steel range at that time. These were given simple product codes like WH4 (4 cu. ft. cart) and these codes are not recognized by the Toro site. There were no four wheeled wagons. Out of interest, 1985 also saw WH start to buy in various other attachments e.g. sweepers from the Lambert Corporation and the 10†Moldboard Plow from Ohio Steel. It is possible that there was some kind of collaboration between WH and Ohio Steel in terms of carts prior to 1985, I say this based on the fact that the Ohio 7 cu. ft. with sloping back (designated WH7-1 in the WH range) has a pretty much identical trip lever to my 1978 WH 10 cu ft cart. Looking at this photo posted in another thread by 'varosd' it also seems likely that the first Ohio Steel 10 cu. ft. carts made for WH would have been welded rather than bolt together construction, perhaps the tooling was transferred. --------------- So where do the 10 cu. ft. WH carts that look like the Agrifab bolt together models fit into the story I hear you ask. Well, a search of the Toro website for ‘carts’ brings up some models for which no years are given and no diagrams are available. A complete list can be found in the Interchange publication where they are listed as: 79900 4 cu. ft. Cart, 79901 10 cu. ft. cart, 79902 14 cu. ft. cart, 79903 17 cu. ft cart These are also listed by Toro as being manufactured by Ohio Steel so I think one can guess who still makes the 10 cu ft carts for Agrifab. Trawling through the compatible tractor models listed in the Interchange document it would appear that Toro WH did not introduce matching tractor models to specific outsourced products (like the Ohio Steel carts) in all of their documentation until 1993. . 1990s WH 10 cu. ft. cart by Ohio Steel - photo from a post elsewhere by 'AMC rules' There are marked similarities between this tub design and other generic carts were badged up for a number of well known names; examples I’ve come across include ‘Lambert’ and ‘Husqvarna’ though there are other differences. Could this just be the evolution of the cart by Ohio Steel or are these carts by another manufacturer? Knursen has suggested to me perhaps by Lambert. Does anyone have a Toro / WH badged trailer exactly like the one above? Out of interest the Toro Lookup site’s list of the later ‘bought in’ carts includes a 10 cu ft ‘poly dump cart’ – has anyone seen one of these? Anyway, hope all of this may help others date one of these carts. I don’t imagine there are many good examples of the 1976 – 1985 South Bend produced examples around anymore, certainly here in the UK most that have come up for sale in the last couple of years (only a handful at that) have been the later Ohio Steel type. Sorry for not including much about other sizes of carts in this potted history but this took long enough - perhaps some other time when I'm feeling inspired. To conclude for now a couple of pics of the 14 cu. ft. cart made for WH by Ohio Steel and posted elsewhere by 'wh5208speed' Andy (obsessed, or possessed perhaps, by carts at the moment)

When I was small my dad once said if he ever had a tractor it would be a Wheelhorse. Well he never did get a tractor. But that is a name I never forgot and I never did ask him why he would have chosen a Wheelhorse over all the others. So when I started looking for my first tractor about 8 years ago it had to be a Wheelhorse. But there were some other big names out there like Cub Cadet and John Deere. Do they or did they ever offer the implements/attachments that Wheelhorse does? My C-175 Automatic raises and lowers that heavy moldboard plow hydraulically with a throw of a lever. It'll do the same thing with the snow plow. Wheelhorse even has a generator and a MacKissic chipper which I know is a workhorse chipper. Toro sure ruined a good thing. I guess all the outdoor power equipment has had it's durability reduced. So did Wheelhorse ever have any competition?

Before After

1999.00 for 310-8 and 550 for 42 inch rear discharge deck Feb. 1989

You need to get into collecting literature! A lot of times you'll find price lists in those treasure chests. That 420LSE you pictured was $8000 in 1986. But relax, that price included the mowing deck. What a value! Wheel Horses were always quite expensive. We tend to trivialize this today when we buy a running C-series for $300. Steve

No that's not mine just a sweet picture I found when I was researching for WH tractor prices.... Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

what a nice tractor

Diagram here; http://www.partstree.com/parts/?lc=toro_consumer&mn=E5-48SC01%2C+48%22+Side+Discharge+Mower%2C+1988&dn=3328-950-_9500012-0003

check your brake lines, they rot fast. i have seen mint jeeps (any thing mopar really) come in for brake lines, more then once. my friend had to replace his 4 times on is mint 98 wrangler.

Steve, that was a very well written, and informative reply. I concur that these machines are not a garden tractor, but they are the closest things you will find to one in terms of ruggedness and construction. I remember when I first bought the V7, it is a 1969 model, I had to remove the mower deck to replace the blades and do other work to the underneath. Liked to killed me lifting the front of that little tractor onto some blocks. Was 29 then, at 55 now, it would kill me. As I said in my first post on the subject, an examination of the carcass a week ago showed the great similarities in the V7 and my 312-8, namely cast iron everywhere, and substantial frame construction. The same type and style of dash as used on the letter series big boys, etc. Kelly, if you ever run across any V-series carcasses that have parts that will fit my V7, let me know. I think I would really like to restore this little bugger.

We've got many members here on ... doing restorations twice as nice as his stuff... and typically doing them at a third of his costs too.

I just got the OK from my Boss for the vacation time! I'm looking forward to seeing you guys on Thursday:)

sounds like the same problem i have, bought a rt-366 tiller and im trying to put it on a 312-8. It does not fit if you find a place to buy the correct mount please post it, i am having trouble talking myself into hacking up the current mount i would rather pass it along to someone in need.

I got a few pictures through out the morning but it was an awesome turn out of people and tractor parts (some flower pots too... lol Chuck...). The food was great and the weather was even better. Thanks to everyone who came. The fall show & Swap dates will be posted very soon!

Steve, absolutely no problem......you helped me, your helping Bob, that's what it's all about! Bob, good luck with your build.

You east coast guys sure swap some nice tractors with each other..... You've all got nice machines!

With some careful application of Mothers aluminum polish... I was able to get all the rust bleed off of my original decals Ken.

I've heard they make for the perfect plow machine. Looks really good...how's it run?

Welcome to the club Wish mine looked half that nice!! I'm super jealous

Not the prettiest, but one day......

Got some more done tonite. Motor mounted and some items attached. Im lovin this rain. Means I get more garage time. Have to stop at Busy Beaver for some more bolts tomorrow that we don't stock at work.

You bet I will post pictures Steve. I really appreciate it. As of today I have all the other parts that I need ordered except for the S8K's. At the price of those I'm going to make sure how many I need. Mike, from what I saw on the Skype video those axles look really great. This is a special project to me. The Suburban 400 I stumbled onto is the very same model that was my Dad's first Wheel Horse that he bought when I was 6 years old. Well, I've been saying 6 but it just hit me that I was still 5. I didn't turn 6 until late in the year. Steve, you WILL get paid for the shipping. You're doing me a tremendous favor and your expert advice has been priceless.

My golden is loving it. She now has a ton of sticks/roots that are hanging out of the ground or around the holes in the back yard.

good haul! look forward to seeing it at newby

It has been a long time coming but finally an update. Here is the result.

got it last night runs great now I have to find the 3 pt hitch parts

I fought and fought a similar issue bypassed all switches and if I moved the ignition switch back and forth a bunch it would finally fire up changed ignition switch did all other that I could think and finally pulled out these wires that rubbed against the steering shaft on the backside where I could not see them. No more issues for me...hope you find yours soon, as I have very little hair left after this one.

Really no one said it yet - Is she going to fill it with sea horses? Maybe a horseshoe crab or two. Anyone else. And it was built by a wallfish. Nice job sir.

Went to Mentone today had a great time. This is my fifth year there. Each time I go, it gets better and bigger. Enjoyed talking to everyone. Great way to start the season. How about that "Chops Fire Pit" that was some good eating BBQ.

Not looking to bad at all mate keep it up I'm just starting on the tin work my self on B-80. It's not as bad as that tho Ian

Tecumseh #31820

if you have the early front rims the 4.00-8 work well in my opinion. they look a little stretched out on the wider fronts. not sure what the early width is off hand, but the later ones are the 5.38 x 8. heres how they look on the early rims.....

Paint looks pretty good now...maybe just reshoot the hood and fender for now.

A little update. By Ken B's 9 to 5 standard I am extremely slow and by the way no where near as good as his work. Anyway I am still plugging away at it. The attached picture doesn't show much progress because most of it is hanging from the ceiling. You can see that I have reinstalled one of the long body panels. Soon I can start installing some of the others (I want to be sure they are thoroughly dried / cured first). I had an axle seal leaking a little so I decided to replace it while I am at it. Well, what fun. The hub was seized to the axle. I worked on that probably more than a week to get it off. I was thinking I might have to destroy it to get it off. I alternately applied heat and penetrant while I had a puller attached to the hub. In desperation I drilled a couple of holes in the hub to apply more penetrant. I used the air impact wrench on the puller screw a little at a time. Finally one day I noticed a "little" movement (big sigh of relief). Got it off, cleaned axle, removed seal and installed new one (that was the easy part). I drained the transaxle for seal change. I was not happy with the looks of the fluid. It is very dark, I am thinking the trans may have overheated. The tractor did go ok before this. I plan to refill and run it after assembly and flush it a couple of times with 10W40. I removed the rear tires form the rims and sandblasted the wheels and primed them. Matching white off the shelf to the new fromt wheels seems impossible. The new front wheels were powder coated. I contacted the manufacturer and they said they could not help me. I needed to take my truck to a body shop to have the top of the cab repainted so I took the wheels with me. The Tech said he could match the paint pretty close so I am going to let him paint the wheels. I still have other parts to process so it will be quite a while before it is finished. I went to the show and ordered decal sets from Terry The Vinyl Guy for the D200 and B80. See, I am optimistic that I will finish the D200 and get on the B80 LOL.