Leaderboard

I bought this in New Carlisle, OH from a John Deere guy. He didn't know what the big fuss was when my Wheel Horse guys gathered around and started to google over it! haha!! It's a little sweetie! Will be an easy restoration for me this winter.

Well dad and I need another project like we need a hole in our head but what the heck, you only live once! This past Sunday we finally made the trip over in to Ohio to pick up our new Wheel Horse Hauler. We grabbed ourselves a 1953 Ford F500. This is the last year for the flathead V8 and it sports a 4 speed tranny with a top speed of about 48 mph. The truck has the 12 foot script flat bed on the back and the wood is still pretty solid. Everything works as it should minus the cab lights. Those need to be rewired which will happen down the road. All 6 tires are in great shape and it has minimal rust issues.....it has some but nothing too crazy. The previous owner believes the odometer to be correct at 42K original miles. We are currently experiencing an overheating issue which I believe a few radiator flushes will cure. The thermostat seems to be working fine as it won't overheat at an idle. The future of this truck will be..............well that is to be determined. Right now we are going to enjoy it and gather up some things to make it a bit better. This will be a local swap meet and show hauler. Not wanting to travel too far with it as it isn't going to win any races. Here it is.......

Like this? Yeah... they're out there. As for the tiller.... I've been happy with my Wheel Horse one. Digs like a champ.

Hi Everyone, I was at a local fall festival and decided to bring some tractors for fun lol. Here are some pictures. Hope you like them!

Ken- It is the only help I can get around this place.. He really is. I told him I was tired while taking a break for dinner and said I think I am done for today. He said "I will do the hard work, you can stay on the tractor"... What a great kid. We worked last night until we ran out of fuel in the tamper. First thing this morning he said "Dad, we need to go get more gas".

Well I must admit that I have dropped the ball on updates. For our loyal followers, we are still plugging away and making progress. The end is in sight!!!!! We managed to meet the entire summer and only took a couple weeks off. We didn't miss a beat once school began again in the middle of August. Things have been very hectic on my end and I apologize for not sharing the updates that many of you look forward to on a weekly basis. I will try and pick up the slack! We have been lucky enough to show off our projects in two parades, received many compliments, and a group of kids that don't understand the word "quit" Thank you to everyone that has supported us......who would have ever thought things would have turned out the way they have. We are truly blessed! Here is one picture I snapped tonight. The past two days the tractors have been on display in the front entry way of the school so the entire student body can admire the craftsmanship of the kids. We will be rolling them back in to the club barn tomorrow to work on getting these closer to completion. I will try and get some other pictures posted soon! Here you go...........

Found a tractor listed on CL with snow cab and two stage blower, less than 100 hours on unit. Older gent moving from WI to AZ, he had purchased new for $5500 in '96 per dealer receipt, owner's manual, and service records. It had never spent a day outside of his garage. Thought I had uncovered The Great Find, and started dreaming about owning a near mint show tractor driving over to his house, caller #1 baby! As we were opening his garage, he first mentioned that it had gotten "a little rusty" from the salt on his driveway. Soon discovered that would be like saying Dolly Parton is a "little busty." There wasn't a piece of tin on it that wasn't covered with rust and bulged up paint scabs over top of rust; it had even undermined the decals. It started okay, but moved really slow even at full throttle. That is the second 520H I've passed over that went really slow even pushing the hydro lever forward, and I thought they were supposed to go even faster than my 8 speeds? He said; "I didn't bother to wash it because I didn't know anybody collected Wheel Horse." So, for lack of a hosing off each Spring, that ultra low hour garage queen was ruined by rust... I was distressed, and I figured that after the rust pits the metal that bad, and the chrome air cleaner is solid rust and even the hood louvers are all rusty, it wasn't worth even $1K to me. I suppose some would have parted it out and made money, but I was too disappointed and figured maybe someone better equipped could restore it... Sorry if this is posted in the wrong section. "wyzmark"

Was thinking of different ideas for a front weight on my 633 and this is what I came up with. Simple yet effective. It weighs 40lbs and it's made from flat steel stock and concrete filled lolli columns. Just had them around the house. The best part is if I need more I can jus weld on what I need.

Thought I'd use my very original first name nobody else here has.....

I think I like original colors better.... less to distract from the Wheel Horses that will be on the back of it! The bright red would be a great contrast against the truck and really stand out!

Love the older trucks. I've wanted a '48-'51 since I was about 11 or 12 years old. My Uncle next door had one and let me drive it around the yard. Then one day coming back from town he let me drive on our road the rest of the way home. I was in high cotton that day.. Red would look awesome on that ride!

Thanks everyone for the very nice comments. We are gearing up for another night of club. We will be moving the machines back out to the club barn and continue on with our journey. It looks as though we will be adding a couple of members starting next week. I am wanting to fill the vacant spots that were left by the students who are now 7th graders. They will get the crash course and will start disassembly on the tractor the kids won during the essay contest. The kids that have been previously in the club will continue on with the tractors that you have been following. Exciting times and a lot going on!

PAINT IT RED.......

Here we are last week at the Homecoming parade showing off our projects!

Wade, it would have been good for someone who already had a 520. The motor was noisy (very heavy rust on the muffler) but ran well, the cab was white/black and mostly orange colored and did not cover the engine enough to be "heated", but the glass window and wiper blade were nice. The seat was untorn, and the wheel weights were perfect. The back of the blower had been rattle canned with runs and paint over the decals, and the big decal on the impeller body had the Toro half flapping loose. The auger and main body were very rusty, but I like the mid mount design and it would have worked to throw snow I think. The steering had a big "dead spot" on center, is that common with the gear reduction set up or was it wear? He never had a deck on it, so the hours were low, but given the choice, I've learned to go for the mowing tractor with more hours but no salt damage. Probably Martin the indefatiguable could restore it, but the original factory magic was forever gone. So rest easy, you didn't miss out. Thanks for your replies, all.

The 520H snow blower project is finished waiting for snow and the MTD 700 is cleaned and oiled and actually mowed the lawn Sat. So, today was the Commando's turn. This I what I started with. It actually runs and drives. After about 2 hours, I had this. An hour later Some of the crud I found Wonder how long it's been since this horse saw some maintenance. Hard to believe it could actually run in this condition.

Ed Cole took photographs of the collection in 1991 to orient Minneapolis Saint Paul employees to the different products made over the years. Toro has now closed the South Bend plant. The museum tractors were at the Ireland Road plant, the dusty ones were at the distribution warehouse in Elkhart. Ed’s photos are shown as forty-four images in the gallery album “Wheel Horse, Inc. Museum Tractors.†What is the disposition of these tractors today? Has the collection been scrapped or sold? Are they available for the public to see?

I say strip it and restore it.... it looks like it's been painted before by the runs on the hood. They taped off the decals... but still seeped a little. There's paint on top of the edges.... that's not factory.

Best front lineup I've ever seen.

great idea! original thinking score 9.5

I'm betting... not for long. Nice herd.

Just saw this and I also have to agree with the others, Looks very nice in it's original condition!! Nice Find

I think you are right, guys! Maybe just a preservation restoration. She sure looks good! I'm pretty happy! I want her to run though. My Cadet Spirit of 76 has been such a letdown.....did tons of work on it and it still doesn't run. This little 401 will be fun to zip around on!

Great looking little 401 Kate !

I'll be there sat morn

Wow!!! That's like finding an original untouched Model T. I wouldn't do a thing to it. Its perfect as is.

Yeah i should have known better

You go girl! Nice Horse.

That is a very nice find Kate...you have a good eye for the horses.

Got some stuff today that comes in two parts. It is for fixing stuff like this and can be used over paint. Going to give this paint some time to get hard before try to fix it. I was thinking that I might get away with removing the foreign material and then using a tooth pick spray some paint on it and fill the resulting holes and then sanding it down. Bought some more sand paper today 1,500 and 2,000 grit. I am going play with it a bit and if all fails I will repaint the whole hood. All it takes is time and paint and I have plenty of both. Each time you do something it becomes a learning experience.

It looks to nice for a restore , Id leave like it is.....nice Wayne

That is an awesome little tractor may I suggest trying some rubbing compound on it before you you go tearing it down? it looks absolutely original from here. very nice

No. I took a private tour of the corporate facility in Bloomington with Ed a few years ago just before he retired. I don't know if they generally offer tours, but he had offered and I took him up on it. They had quite a bit of equipment (mostly current model Toro products) here and there on display through most of the building, but most of the building is not a "public" area, only the lobby is. If I remember correctly, all they had in the lobby that day was a giant commercial Exmark zero turn with 72" deck. There was quite a bit of historical literature and promo stuff framed and hanging on the walls all over too. It was really cool, and I was very thankful he took the time to give me the personal tour. I had a post with a couple pictures back when I did it... let me find it.... here it is... He told me about the Wheel Horse museum tractors on that visit but we were unable to go see them. When I asked him if the pictures you posted were the same ones we had talked about during my visit, this is what he told me. So, hopefully these will be brought out, freshened up and made visible again. Hard to guess. Toro has a pretty long history with a lot of equipment and companies, it would be interesting to see them honor them all in some sort of museum of their own....especially if it were open to the public!

Wow. That is a little sweetie. Best of luck. Glenn

I had the same thing happen on my B-100 Automatic. The pulley bolt came loose and let the inside splines of the pully wear out. The shaft should not have been damaged as it is hard steel. A replacement pulley with the bolt tightened fixed the problem.

I'm surprised the lines got wet!

I would try installing a tapered piece of wood inside the bottom flange of the belt guard to restore the proper support for the slack belt when shifting. It can be fastened with a couple wood screws thru the bottom flange where they will not be seen and easily be removed when you replace the oe engine.

What, happened to me? Did the Good n Plenty, Castrol Oil, Hardees Wheel Horse Blow up or did I crash?

Great job Scott !

Branching out is encouraged. I have a couple Deeres, a Cub Cadet, and a Simplicity. It's neat to see how different people address the same problems. One thing that strikes me is how far WH was willing to take their concept of he ideal tractor layout. Fundamentally, there isn't much separating a 1961 model 701 from the last classic tractor built in 2007. Sure the engines grew and features changed, but the tractors are remarkably similar. Not so when you contrast what deere or cc were up to over the same span. The first deere 110 looked a lot like the layout of the 701. Twenty years later the competing series from both manufactures were miles apart. WH remained a simple, minimalist design for years. It got the job done. Other manufacturers continued to evolve. Some for better, some not. Get your tractor of another color and enjoy it. You'll hear some ribbing here and there, but it's only in jest. I've hit the point where I'm really starting to appreciate what some of the other manufacturers offered. But I haven't put the horses out to pasture yet. Steve

Way to go, Scott! Keep up the good work. Great to see kids able to get their hands dirty and to feel that sense of satisfaction after each club meeting.

Hi Don, Actually I added another label. The black one is from Toro and the yellow one is mine. I bought a nice No Spill diesel can as well. After I bought it, I spent an afternoon trying to cross reference a yellow molded cap seeing as Toro makes diesel Ground Maintenance equipment but no luck. I have also noticed that there are Green caps for diesel fuel now as well. Is that due to Bio-Diesel fuel? John

Sometime around 1980, I started using graphite paint (EZ Glide or Slip Plate brands) to coat the underside of decks. My first one I still have and it has never cut one blade of grass without that coating. I bought this 42" rear-discharge deck new and coated it with graphite paint before ever using it. Today it has no pitting and is absolutely as good as new! All decks that I service for myself and neighbors,get the following treatment: 1. scrape all the clumps out with a stiff putty knife or similar tool 2, go over everything under the deck with an air powered needle scaler to remove any additional hardened grass clippings and rust scale 3. go over everything with a wire wheel on an angle grinder to expose clean, bright metal 4. apply two coats of graphite paint (make sure you have good ventilation, this stuff will get you!) A deck treated this way still requires periodic cleaning, but not as often nor as difficult as cleaning one wiithout it. I have attached a photo of a recently treated cub deck.

I had to go over to the neighbors this evening. His "Orange" tractor won't move. Yep.... he was correct. So I pulled 6 crazy hairpins and removed the deck. Then I grabbed the steering wheel to tip it and put blocks under the wheels so I could look under it ............ I about flipped it over on me when I gave it a good yank. WOW.... that's light! Anyhow ... the problem is a melted plastic idler pulley. The bearing is not smooth. Comparison.... The "RED" one ready to work. The "Orange" one napping.

I spent all day fishing on the river today...what a nice day...and we caught some fish.

Can't remember how I came up with mine...... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just got home......yes it was a very small show with no vendor area, but it was cool to just hang with the crew and yak about whatever (and tractors). It sprinkled once or twice but not enough to wet anything much. Here's the crew: (Left to right) Russ, Karl, Craig, Jeff and me. I took these before Craig got there: Mike............

Got a few smiles letting the kids ride the RJ. Might generate a few new members.

Now the race is on and here comes Geno up the back stretch, AMC, goin' to the inside, rmaynard is holdin' back and' tryin' not to fall, squonk is out of the runnin', stevasurus is scratched for Sparky's sake, The race is on and Nylyon's in it, but wait, TT wins it all!! For now,