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Got a 953 and 414-8 from Big Red Fred the other day. Got a great deal on both of them. Both run great and I am very pleased with them. Got the 414 for my grandpa and the 953 was just to good of a deal to pass up, so now I got another tractor in my collection

Saw this on a FB page and instantly thought of @19richie66.. He had to be involved in this somehow.. lol

Fix it with Flex seal,

HA- Thanks you all for the good laughs this morning while sitting in the dungeon (office) at work with my coffee. It about shot out of my nose on a couple of these comments. In my girlfriends (might as well be wife) defense, after 8 years shes well aware of my 'addictions' and pretty much supports (or is it 'tolerates') them, usually with an eye roll. Between Coleman lanterns, home brewing, and buying a house (a long term flip/escape from the rat race on weekends) I truly owe her a ton of credit. Pretty sure she knows where this latest addiction could go.... For the first 40 years of my life, it was hotrods and Harleys, period. I own a hotrod/classic car shop now, and although (for the most part) its not a drag going to work every day, it pretty much ruined the only hobby I had. Enter camping, more hunting, fishing, collecting lanterns, guns, brewing beer, and now with a new property with an acre to clean up, plant a garden, a food plot for deer, and play on, it's Wheel Horse time! PS- yes thats a real, numbers matching 70 Buick GSX under the plastic. Customer is having it hopped up a bit, yet retain the original parts and appearance.

God help you if you are worried about the wife with just 2 horses. What are you going to do when it is the 4th horse.?? Hint...the 2nd horse is for dedication...so you don't have to change implements in the middle of a storm. The 3rd horse is just in case one desires to take a break. The 4th...well, now you are just collecting.

I finally had enough chances to mess around with the 603 to get almost finished. I still need to reinstall the knurled nuts on the hood, but otherwise it’s pretty much finished. I cleaned the entire tractor, sanded all tins with 800 and 1000 grit paper, followed by a generous application of linseed oil. I did make one mistake - I liked the hood and just meant to leave it overnight, but it was almost another 12 hours before I got back home from work. When I returned anywhere it was too heavy had gotten quite sticky - took a lot of work to get rid of that sticky residue. Moral - dry it down before you leave it for the night. All the red paint you see is what she left the factory with! I then removed the wheels and painted the rims with Rustoleum almond, followed by painting the tires with Miller’s tire paint. Looks great I think. I want to put rubber caps on the front hubs, but am not sure if I want red or black. I can’t wait to get it out in the sunlight and see it after this polar freeze passes!

Tall grass? No problem. Thick grass? No problem. Wet grass? No problem. Small trees? Brush cutting? Bricks, cement, steel blocks 17 inches thick..... No problem.

One thing that I have learned over time "Never turn your hobby into a job". I like cars and had a hand full of them, I enjoyed fixing them up. Got a job in a body shop & soon had no interest in working on my cars. I like wrenching on and riding bikes, usually put about 8k to10k miles on mine every year. Took a job as a Harley mechanic, between wrenching on and test riding other peoples bikes I soon lost interest in mine. Now I work on generators, get to play with engines up to 65L and hardly ever think about them after work.

Back about 30 years ago my father was visiting his brother. Noticed he had 2 snowblowers. Only one person ever ran one at a time. My father says why do you have 2?? My uncle Ron says If it's important enough to have one, it's probably important enough to have 2. There's good logic ....

Hello there! I am the wife of a wheelhorse lover! He had one as a kid and after his Dad past away his desire for that childhood memory was fueled with racing fuel...🤣 He isn’t good with computer and such so I got to looking and found him one! I’ve never heard of or even seen one other than the pictures and videos of him riding his and back then video quality wasn’t the best.. When we brought the first one home he was like a child in a candy store where all the candy was free! 🤪 Then he got our little girl on it! She laughed and smiled.. I smiled I saw these little tractors as cute... ya ya! I am a girl what do you expect. Where I was going was the addition.. It’s up for debate at times who has the bigger addiction... lol. We both go back and forth with the ( this is the last one... line ). The heard is growing the bank account is getting smaller! Not sure who isn’t listening to the other! So it’s written off as bonding time and a history lesson all in one! We’ve never actually ever vacationed outside of our neck of the woods until three years ago when we start going to the big show! Plus like @ebinmaine has stated.. there is a lot of Implements! That’s just my two cents!!! Include her and she might catch the bug and then the competition at your house can begin!! Happy Horse Hunting!!!

Some how missed this thread early Dells but that tractor looks great! I had taken Tom's advice on the linseed thing more than once and it does look nice but one thing I have found is it does attractor, pun intended, dust. It does protect the metal tho. This 'Burb was done like that. I'd say at least once a year rjg. @Shynonwill chime in. Matter of fact fellas this girl is in the shop right now trying to get the Clinton to run even half @ssed......and a refresh on the patina. OK I know how out you guys are hard on yer pics ... Pullstart told me to to tell you Dells stuff it ...not tryin to steal your thread.. as @JCM said it's all good!

New display shelf for the living room.

Well, if the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy!

Looks like a perfectly good boat, just needs a little lumber.

No replacement for displacement, unless you use boost! Woo hoo! Binford man, Binford. Har Har Har.

Only one machine ? No hesitate on collecting. Honey, what do you think is better, waste the Money in a Bar, or have a Men‘s Toy and invest the Money ( because the Value stay‘s) oh huh, i have found something... whoww look 😂 it works on my Side.. 👍😂

A previous employee would talk about his drink of choice (not that I recall what his favorite was... probably the one in his hand) and he told me “one’s too many and eighteen’s never enough.” He said it often enough I began to believe that’s how he drinks. It goes with Wheel Horses too @Greentored. And don’t you forget it!

I found this forum after picking up my first red, a nice 520H, needing helpful info on it. A simple lawnmower and utility tractor in one for a place I just bought. Next thing I know it’s in pieces nearly to the frame and received a pretty nice restoration with some light custom work. Through all this I ran across a lot of photos of some really super horses on here. I have an addictive personality and plenty of hobbies, and one tractor is enough. Then a 654 popped up locally at a pretty good price. I’m off to pick it up by the weekend, and blame it all on this great forum and the great people who helped me along on the 520. If you see the boss (and we all know who the boss is, right?) don’t mention this. Gonna have to hide it and break her in easy. Do I get to be one of them round hood club folks now?

Hi Guys Sorry for not getting back with after restoration pics, I know that I enjoy pics of all other tractors. So here is 3 pics of winter storage. I hope to get some more out to you this coming spring. BTW, on warm winter days I go around my 2 storage barns and take turns starting and running all my tractors, so as to keep them from long storage engine problems, along with fuel stabilizers.

If you don't mind, thought I'd put a few memories up here. This is Winter Harbor, also, part of the harbor is a ritzy subdivision called Grindstone. Someone from there had this 3 masted schooner. The 2nd picture is Mr. Dixon's yacht...of Dixon pencils. Check out the life boats. 3rd picture is of the harbor and a few lobster boats. Speaking of Lobster, this is what a Lobster Festival looks like. My wife and friend Tony in the picture. More fish with my 60' Chevy in the background. Scenery shots...Arcadia National Park. This is the stove/ water heater/ heat for our apartment. I just had to add this picture. You can see the stringer had to be tied up in the tree to be able to hold them up. After the Navy, some of us got together for some Channel Cat fishing on Kentucky's Reel Foot Lake. Now, that was a fish fry!!

Now ain't that like XLT.... lookin at the beach ball instead of the bikini!

Or hot rods... Or Harleys... Or muscle cars... Or big tractors... Don't worry we'll help you out in divorce court ... we'll come buy your tractors.......... heard tell dem lawyers can be pricey..... who knows might get lucky and the judge is a collector!

I'm fairly sure at least one of us tried to warn you. Maybe it was even me? I don't know. So here's the thing. A hair covered horse is a herd animal. They really like to be around other horses. Now to be honest, I don't think any of us has actually figured out why ... BUT for some reason paint covered horses also turn out to be a herd animal. 3 years ago or whatever I had one. We now have 4 that run and drive and 4 that are in project stage. It's okay if you just accept this addiction and move forward with it. We will be here to egg you on... (That should say support you)... Good luck. Have fun. Keep asking questions. Share lots of pictures.

Just remember, it's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission Hook, line and sinker, we got another one folks

I was able to add a 100lbs to the hitch receiver on my c175. Used a 3/4 x 8 zinc bolt...any reason this is no bueno? Seems to have added just enough to keep me from slipping in most places while plowing.

Managed to pick up a 704 which is a rare opportunity in the UK. Stood for many years as you can see but has not been messed with and still has the K161 in place which turns over and has compression which I didn't expect. Work to do before I can attempt to get it running but looking forward to that. Tyres are shot, carb is crusty etc, etc but looking forward to working on it. It will be one of those leave alone or fully rebuild questions going forward but I like it as it is at the minute...

You got 2 nice tractors Robbie , glad BRF sold them to you.

But... What is its relative carbon footprint? Does it have the appropriate shoe guard installed on the back? If it has self-propelled capabilities is it “personal pace” equipped so I will be able to Mow at my pace... Will it run on 10% ethanol or do I need real gas? Jet fuel? Nitrous? Oh so many decisions for such a practical purchase...

Beautiful restoration Job on the 520. IMHO, if you're going to buy and restore, rather than park them in the backyard under a tree to rot, go for it! Personally, I prefer a rainbow of tractor colors; green and yellow, orange, red, which is what you'll see in my tractor shed. I enjoy how each machine is engineered differently. admittedly some better than others. Years ago I restored (I use that term loosely) a '57 Chevy to relive my youth, built a kit car plus owned many motorcycles (of which I enjoyed everyone of them), but I feel that my restored working garden tractors, unlike restored cars, actually serve a purpose. I guess in my old age, I've become a very practical kind of guy.

@Achto Dan you don't have a pile of friends bugging you to fix their own 65L generators on the weekends??

Same thing for me, except I didn't own the shop. Finally got out of the business 10 years ago today and still don't care much for working on cars.

There's absolutely no such thing as that so please keep asking To the best of my knowledge, lead additive is not necessary in any Wheelhorse engine but I would love to hear corrections if anybody knows different. There's been many discussions on oil types and brands. General consensus seems to be straight 30 WITH detergent per Kohler manual. Not sure about the brand. Others can help there.

I blew the left tire on my boat trailer while vacationing in Delaware last summer. The only correct size tire I could find was a High-Run mounted tire and wheel for $120 at TSC. I really wanted to use my galvanized wheel and not the new painted wheel. I got the manager to order a tire only for $59 total and free shipping to the store. It arrived in 2 days and a local tire shop mounted and balanced it for $10 total...no sales tax in Del. I was a happy crabber. The old tires had good tread, but were showing signs of sidewall cracking. After returning home, I went to my local TSC to buy the same tire for the right side of the trailer. They had the same High-Run tire, but the price was $89. I showed him my $59 receipt from the Delaware TSC, so he went on line and found the same tire at the $59+ 6% tax from another supplier. Got that tire in 2 days and had it mounted and balanced at a local Pa. tire dealer. Cost= $25 +6% sales tax. Just demonstrates the difference in material and service prices. Sometimes it pays to shop around and ask questions as you don't always "get what you pay for". I only have around 500 miles on the High-Runs, so I I can't evaluate the performance. And yes, unfortunately they were made in China, but they do run smooth and quiet with no bounce or sway and the load rating was slightly higher than the old Carlisles. Hopefully the new tariffs and trade deals will create more Made in the USA products.

WTG Robbie. Let Grandpa know.....I want a picture of him with his 414.

Sad, but true! I have a pair of Hi Runs on a trailer and haven't had a problem. The new Good Year Assurance top of the line tires on my truck were made in China. That just seems to be the way things have gone lately. Production has been shifting overseas, we need to pray that this trend turns around or our grandchildren won't have anyplace to get a job. I'm counting on them to continue funding my Social Security.

I got my wheels and hubs back from powder coating on Thursday, got my tires mounted, put it all back together, and took my first drive. I’ve got some tinkering to do, but this little 552 is a blast.

There's other reasons to have more Wheel Horses. You need back-up machines when one isn't running right or somethings broke. Have to keep the wife happy something may need fixing in the house and you can't get time to fix your WH. You still need to move that snow or mow the yard. May even need a back-up for the back-up just to be safe.

you mean this old thing?

The story is much too long to post here.. but in very short: My grandfather had a 1968 WH Electro 12 since Lassie was a pup. I grew up running that, riding in his lap since before I could walk. But as time went by, when I was 6, my mother had brought home this 'toy train with 3 wheels broke off put together upside down'.. It was of course the pictured Empire steam engine, built by the Metal Ware Corporation. (Just looked twice and realised it was the near identical twin to the engine in the photo.. apparently I wasn't using it that day.) That old steamer and the Electro were my introductions to old iron. Eventually moved up to hit and miss engines when I was 9, with a little red Fairbanks Morse. That was my 'toy which could possibly maim you'. But this little Empire and it's various accessories were my toys..

did some rattle can painting after work today figured the rims may get scratched from wheel weights so i just painted them quick with spray can used rustoleum almond then i took trans off frame much lighter that way to move frame around i went and spray caned it also used rusoleum IH red implement paint the rest of tractor will be painted with a gun the last picture is the paint this will get got it from the auto paint suplier at work IH red just got the decal set in the mail for this tractor from terry the vinyl guy hope to have this all painted next monday according to the guy at work then i can start putting it back togetheralso have the 12 horse kouler sitting on bench bare block had it bored 20 over and the crank turned bought a master rebuild kit from I save tractors guess the engine be the last peice i put together hope to have this done by spring my wife asked me when i get this done if i was going to sell it !!!! wow i told her no way is this going to get sold maybe in my old old age i will give my tractors to my nephews i think they would enjoy them f

And here they are. A good little upgrade for the little buggah

Tell you what you did such a fine job on that 520 we'll let you have a dozen more!!

Nice job on the 520! And we all know how hard it is to have just one , in my heyday I had around 15 or 16 machines. Most ran, couple didn’t, a couple were strictly parts machines etc. Weened myself down to 4 or 5 Wheel Horses in stock now. But it’s so hard to not drag home every red machine I come across.

I have a Work Horse GT-1800 that I bought new in 1984. Some people knock the Briggs engine but I can tell you that mine has literally thousands of hours on it and it still runs fine. I’ve never done anything to it other than change the oil often. And yes 1 1/8” axels. This tractor is a Wheel Horse through and through. Here’s mine, I gave it a well deserved restoration two years ago.

I worked with a guy who had a boat trailer wheel that leaked thru the side wall. He had another wheel kicking around with a wheel barrow tire on it so he thru it on to move the boat around on his property. He forgot about it and one day he sold the boat. After about an hour had passed when the knew owner had left with the boat he, remembered the "not for highway use" tire on the trailer. "CRAP! "

Has never happened. On occasion I will get a call from our service group with some questions, some times this leads to going to a job site to assist. I enjoy going to job sites because it involves getting on a plane and an opportunity to check out a new area all expenses paid. Mean while usually banking some OT.

@Oldskool I wanted to correct my memory when talking about your stepfather. Suds was not his nickname...that belonged to another civilian employee named Sunderledge. I also managed to find a couple of pictures of the group that went out on John's boat for Cod fish. That is Butch Brisina in the red shirt. He and John became good friends back then.

Lovin' all these pics folks...

Well this perfectly describes how I rationalized everything to my wife over course of the last year of building up my herd....I mean perfectly. Glad to know I'm not alone

We had the square Lincoln Logs. They stayed in excellent shape and were added to every Christmas. Of course with Rin tin tin a popular show, we always built forts.. We finally got our first shared BB gun and terrorized the sparrow population. They just took off for the ends of the barn and exited out the shingle lath gaps. We actually hit quite a number on the wing.. Then there were the straw forts in the hay mow complete with corn cob fights. Then there was sweeping the barn when the fights got out of hand Now the kids need conflict resolution from a counselor. Maybe they just need dads with barns to sweep. We also built Tommy guns from table saw scraps from the lumber yard. Everyone wanted to be sgt Saunders from the TV show Combat. Later we were on the tractors plowing with mechanical setting plows. One foot covering the clutch and the other foot on the steering brake as you pulled the lever at the exact right time so the pawl caught and the plow rose out of the ground. Dad was one of the few who had a Diesel. I still remember that Waukeshaw making the muffler glow red plowing at night on the red clay wet spots.