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Lets see some pictures with air under the tires!!! Pullin' wheelies, mishaps, even pictures of 'em jacked up for maintenance. I know that @WHX24 & @pullstart have some good wheelie pic's.

@Achto built a huge favorite of mine. Since your asking what would be my ultimate Catallic of a WH be, I would add an Eaton 1100 Transmission and gear reduction steering. I also though about building an identical frame out of 2" square tubing. That would allow a loader subframe with a quick attach to be a minimal addition.

This is tough—so many cool customs on this site: I’m gonna give another shout out to my buddy @Achto for Radpferd. You think it looks good in the pictures, wait till you see it, hear it, and especially drive it—IN PERSON! Well done Dan! Kevin has done a lot of cool custom work but I have to give him props for Frank: I mean...a big wheel hydro round hood...nuff said! My buddy @19richie66 has done some cool stuff for sure and has several neat ones in progress, however can I say that Skittles is an awesome concept: Eaton 1100, custom wheels, custom hood latching/hinge mechanism, custom dash and controls, and much, much more! I also feel like @Shynon knocked it our of the park with his 1054 monster plow mule he built last year. He took an already capable machine and made it even better with a more powerful engine, heavier diff, etc. He will have to list the details if he cares to. Furrow plowing aside, if I was to build an ultimate all around—mowing, blowing, blading, scraping, tilling, kick butt machine, I would love to get my hands on a 520HC someday (solid mechanically but rough cosmetically) and swap the sheetmetal with and square hood long frame tin work. I understand that would be a lot easier said than done, however I have the afformentioned “maestro of metal work” only about 15 miles from my house 😉. It would be kinda like an LS drivetrain with custom frame and a vintage muscle car body on top😎😎😎 Dan talking diesel power made me think of another one that has floated in the back of my brain for awhile as an awesome plow machine: a D250 with Cat O hitch, full hydraulics, but upgraded with either a Perkins or Kubota 4 cylinder diesel! Definitely not the “sexiest” looking tractor but something tells me that would make short work of the JD 430’s at big plow days😂 Keep the ideas comin’ boys, this is a fun thread

First off, this is an awesome site with tons of information so thanks to the mods and those that contribute. I am new to the Horse Nation so I will probably be reading until my eyes bleed now that I have found this place. I just purchased a 1975 C-160 Auto that is a roller (no motor but otherwise complete) and cant wait to be able to fire that jewel up. My FIL finally got me into these tractors since he has 4 himself with the work horse being a C-141 that he uses more than any of the others. Thanks in advance for the patience and knowledge to all the enthusiasts here to share.

I love this thread too! I love my C-85, so what could be done to improve it? 1) A locking rear end 2) Front hubs with tapered roller bearings, like many have upgraded to. 3) I'm a big Black Hood fan, but a cast iron grill like some of the old GTs would be nice too! I really like my little 8hp tractor, the little tractor that can! I couldn't be much happier with it! C-85

I think if I could build anything I wanted it would the same as skittles but the diesel engine/Eaton hydro or an 8speed conversion. I built my favorite already. Just need to finish it. The “2054” for my wife will be another favorite completed when I get it going. 1054 on a GT14 frame, Eaton 1100 hydro and 20 hp magnum twin.

@oliver2-44 & @tom2p thank you both for the complement on Radpferd. He was a concept in my head for about 2yrs, I'm very honored to see it considered as a choice on this post. With Radpferd I accomplished a look that I was going for and also ended up with a very capable worker. One other plus to diesel power - I logged 22hrs on the clock last year and only used 2.5 gallons of fuel. One of my next dreams involves a long frame, 8 speed, hydraulic lift, and most definitely no spark plugs.

I haven't built one, but I have modified a couple. C-120/180 I bought it new it's been rebuilt slowly over the years . Axle repair with new pin and additional support. Both tractors have had the frame brace.

Short frame square hood. Big block Kohler. Round fenders and lowered

Barney Fife, the 857 mock 1045. I might not be done, it would be cool to add a 10 horse Kohler still.

Screamin! Jimmy came from @12 hp Kohler Robbie at the 2018 Bog Show with an intake valve issue. We got that fixed up, made him wider in the front, added a second pedal, swapped out the hood and built a pretty nifty exhaust system.

Jane seems to be a little light in the front end. I have a solid piece of bar stock holding the drawbar hitch solid to the transmission And it seems like there’s enough rear weight and traction to hold the front end up for a while when tugging heavy stuff. We pulled our garage couch out to the road for a comfortable seating arrangement for our drive by tractor show a couple weeks ago.

Sharpening blades and greasing moving parts.

tractor pictured above (Achto's) is one of my all time favs and John Voss recently completed liquid cooled 3 cyl diesel (pic and link below) two examples of ultimate for me

Well finally got to have my grand baby Emma over. And so with that she was helping her grandpa tinker Saturday morning. This is her first ride on papa's newest wheelhorse! It warms my heart to see her smile!!

I was surfing the clist in surrounding areas as most of us are because we are bored. I looked over a certain tractor several times in the course of the last couple months because it was nothing specail to me. Finally i took a good look and saw this beauty mounted on the hood. I contacted @WHX24 and told him to see if he could buy this attachment off the tractor because he was so close.... of course you all know Jim 🙄 he was afraid of the corona or he had too many Coronas wasnt quite sure but it was after happy hour. So i called the guy up and he sold it to me off the tractor and mailed it to me. SO.......heres what you missed Jim A Blitz fogger The cap has Blitz fogger printed on it of you look closely. Got an original to go with my restored one now

I have one of my RJ’s up in the air today! Took the mower deck off and replacing Gear oil fluid in the transmission.

I like the diesels a lot. The one in post 6 is soooooo nice. But for me it would be to try and do the same as Skipper did to his 195. I mean it could use some paint but mechanically that is just sweet and big and tough.

If I could afford to build an ultimate wheel horse, I would start with a 1277. Then I would replace the 12 hp kohler with a later kohler v-twin, probably around 20 hp. Then I would add an ark FEL and find a way to adapt a side discharge 48" deck. I would convert it to hydraulic lift and make a custom cat-0 3 point for it. I would also add running boards off of a later model wheel horse. Wide rib tires up front, 25x12-12 ags in the back. Ultimate work tractor.

I kind of have built some of my ultimates... but the ones that bring the most smiles from my ladies are the best! Putt Putt 502, with 8 hp, 8 gears, ‘64 chassis and lately a 10” plow. Frank, Mrs. P’s “1073”

Some in process build pic's with tractors on my favorite/only build jack.

I like the final look of those fenders on that one

Start with a short-frame, square-hood tractor like my Commando 8 - modify frame (if needed) to fit a 16 hp Kohler K381 under the hood - add forward swept 520H axle w/ gear reduction steering - 8-speed rear end w/ posi - dual wheels on rear - fabricate battery mount under seat pan (make room for Kohler)

I wasn't sure if i should put this with the 520 tractor rebuild thread im going to start but i figured best to separate the engine form the tractor. So this engine comes off a 1993 520H. It has 473 hours on it. It had a little oil leak in a couple spots so i wanted to take it off the tractor to clean it up. I also had to replace the stator as well as the rest of the electrical components on it. So as i dug into it i said why not just give it a refresh/rebuild. So over the last week i have stripped the engine to the block and the crank. ( did not have much luck pulling the crank gear ) so because everything there looked fine i left the crank in. Cleaned everything up, honed the cylinder walls and ordered my new parts. Thanks to ebay and onanparts.com the rebuild parts should be here by the end of the week. Doing new rods, pistons with rings, cam shaft bearing, valve springs, and all electrical components. One thing that i did notice on my engine was inside of the block. There are a couple chips out of the block around the piston bore. It looks like crappy casting or when the slid the sleeve into the bore? Has anyone else ever seen that inside of their onans?

Lets have some fun eh? If you could build your ultimate Horse, what frame, engine, trans, hitch, lift, colors, etc.. would you use? what mods would you perform? Im still a bit green to the red (no pun intended ha!) but am noticing certain models catching my eye more than others. At this stage of the game, id build a long hood/long frame like my 1277 and keep the foot rests for sure, 520 gear reduction steering, stuff a 20hp Onan in it, stacked of course (love that big block Kohler but love the sound of those Onan twins more) 8 speed trans geared just slightly to run 8-9mph, tall, skinny tires up front, 8.5-12 ATVs out back all loaded, most likely an electric lift, Brinly hitch of course, 48" deck is enough. Maybe even a set of round rear fenders and traditional metal 'tractor' seat...... all in traditional red/almond wheels of course! Dont put it past me to get a wild hair and try this Excited to hear what you all come up with....or maybe already have!

Well this old girl jump in on my way home from work tonight not as nice as the first one has it’s been sitting for probably 10 years all original for the most part as far as I can see.

Buil a 21 feet long beam for client’s pool cabana. It’s going in in one piece 14 feet high. It only fits in shop diagonally.

Never mind that @Tractorhead that’s just one of the plow dogs looking for something that Dan @Achto probably lost in the field😂 @wh500special i’ll Have to pm you about that. If I didn’t have to mortgage the ranch, I could be lured into that one I’m sure! I didnt want to mention my wife’s Dxi and derail the thread. With the exception of a Cat O hitch and rear PTO, I can’t think of anything they could’ve improved on with that machine. I’ll say it again, the xi series is one of the most underrated and unrecognized GT’s ever made. Now many of them are showing up on the used market for very inexpensive prices because people honestly don’t know what they have😉. Hopefully our community latches on to that and capitalizes on it. Everyone who has more than one horse should have one of these as a worker in their stable... just ask @shallowwatersailor One of our in house xi gurus!😉

Yup that right there..... round hood style fenders & tool box, square pan set, stirrup foot rests …. end result would be the ultimate plow rig. Wow I don't think I ever saw Skipper's 195... that is a beast I don't think you could slip a dollar bill between the tire & fender! I'm this pic Jack.... that tractor is one of the best plow rigs I ever used.... Betcha this young lady would agree....

Those tires have so much floatation that Kevin @pullstart would glide over top of the water and mud!!!😎

The Raider 12 became a Raider 16. Big Blocks Rule

Why the long face???

Not sure if you can tell by pictures. Long frame- Short frame The first long framed Wheel Horse models came out in 1966. Here is a list of short frame Wheel Horses. 1961 - 701 1962 - 502, 552, 702, Lawn Ranger 1963 - 603, 633, 653, 753, Lawn Ranger 1964 - 604, 654, 704, 754, 854, 1045, Lawn Ranger 1965 - 605, 655, 855, 875, 1075, 1055, Lawn Ranger 1966 - 606, 656, 856, 876, Lawn Ranger 1967 - 607, 657, 857, 867, Lawn Ranger 1968 - Commando 6, Commando 8, '500' SPECIAL, Lawn Ranger 1969 - WORKHORSE 700 Other tractors like the 1974 and 1975 model B-80 were considered a mid frame. Wild Bill in Richmond, Va

Prolly not funny at the time Sparky but is now My all time favorite.... watch real close @ 1:43

Here ya go. Pardon the shakiness, holding the phone and going 20+ down a trail is not easy. Nice wheelie at the end!

@pullstart Thanks, gotcha covered! Caught on security camera at the shop- yes I did do this on purpose and hoped it was caught, and it was Amazing how easily this thing comes up- not even any need to dump the clutch- just lean back and roll it out a little quicker than normal, gas on, and she will carry em out a good 10-15 feet.

I put bushings on the brake shaft on my GT-14 that I got from McMaster/Carr 1/2 x 5/8 x 1/16 flange bushings. Fit like a glove and took away all the sloppy shaft movement!

Legend has it that my 857 was equipped with a bug fogger. There are holes on the hood and an interesting hose on the exhaust pipe.

Tomorrow the plan is to have the car drive out of the shop. Have the front seat belts installed, driveshaft back in and the differential filled with oil. Since getting the car it has seemed to run rich. Like the float was high but the carb looked new. While under the car I decided to take a look at the electric fuel pump and was surprised at what I found. It's a 6 Volt pump designed to put out 5 to 8 psi. The problem is it's wired to 12 volts and I'm sure putting out enough pressure to override the needle and seat. Today a 12 volt Holley pump was installed putting out 2 to 4 psi. Pretty sure this will help with the rich problems. With the car out of the shop I will be able to prime and paint the fender. My wife is not a car person but I asked that she help me bleed the brakes. Now that she has spent some time in it she is getting excited about riding around in it. Things are looking up.

Okay then I’d like a three point hitch too!😂

Your no fun Don that's TOO simple!

I’m going to keep it simple, a 520-8 with electric lift.

Spec number for a K91 in a 400 would be 31388A

Joe Papke sells the remake rj and suburban belt guards. you can contact him at horsedr2004@yahoo.com He knows more about the early. Wheel Horses then almost anyone I know! Yes

Welcome to the fold!

If you are really insistent to part with that beautiful jewel Iwould start at $2,000.00. But just be advised some day you will look back and say I should have kept that tractor. And of course the price I quoted would the tractor and its implements. Lowering the price is easy, not so trying to go up. Good luck

I would basically create a 2077.☺

Don’t have any wheelie shots (including the one where a Lawn Ranger reared up on pavement and left me sitting on my butt while it wheelie’d away). But ya did say mishaps, so here are a couple taken years ago with a lousy camera, sorry for the hazy pics.

Spent 5hrs cleaning and repainting the yard gate. I should have taken a before photo'. It hadn't been done for 5yrs at least.

I’d tell her we’re sorry... but we aren’t!