Leaderboard

Options were pool time or wake up the tractors. Win! “Cheeeeese! All done.”

In our bed, dark and sleeping. Middle of the night, fire alarm goes off. Not a chirp, full on alarm. I never felt the knob, I never covered my face or took a deep breath. Momma’s awake now, because I flipped our light on as I ran out the door. Jada comes flying downstairs, one cat at the door, no smoke, no fire, full on alarm. I’m blowing on it like the kid’s extra crispy bacon is done and it won’t stop. Mrs. P tosses me a shirt, I whack the thing a few times and it’s off. 2013 date code, I know they are rated for 10 years but time to replace ‘em all. Moral of the story, I did not think, just acted. I could have killed myself long before rescuing my family. Rylee upstairs never heard a thing, Jil downstairs heard something, but thought it might be a wake up alarm for the kids, one cat came strolling down 5 minutes later. I’d have had a 50% survival rate in the house. I know that fire drills are better done with a planned practice, but that doesn’t mean instinct won’t kick in. Be safe out there, and here’s a reminder to check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms too!

Once or twice every day or two our dog gets up a short streak of ambition and gets to tearing around the backyard at a high rate of speed. During one of these occurrences yesterday all of our chickens got curious at the same time to see what the kerfuffle was all about. I thought the picture was rather amusing so I'd share it with you folks..... Chickens, as spectators.

Great picture !! Just needs a few Fog Horn Leg Horn comments.

Hello to all. New to the Wheel Horse world and very happy to have found this group. I have been restoring (13) vintage Honda motorcycles for 15 years and needed something much simpler to work on (I am 67 years old) In addition, my grand kids have been helping out, mostly polishing parts and handing me tools. They could not enjoy the end result once the motorcycle was standing tall and looking good. Yesterday I acquired a nice little 400 Suburban which needs some attention and a thorough cleaning. This is a project they are excited to undertake and they will be able to operate and ride the end result. My specialty has always been carburation and electronics so I'm guessing this may be somewhat simpler on the vintage Wheel Horse tractors. With that said, I have enough experience to know we don't always know what we think we know. I'm aware of the sometimes daunting task in acquiring parts et al for vintage machines. It is my sincere hope you fine folks may offer suggestions and contacts to help this new guy along. Thanks to all of you in advance. Looking forward to this new adventure in the vintage Wheel Horse world. Rob in Michigan

I remember fire drills at the hospital. Everybody had a certain job . Nurses were "SUPPOSED TO" close all patient rooms. We had this fake fire thingy. A wooden stand cut out to look like a fire with red blinking lights. The deal was, security would call us that they were having a drill on a certain floor as we needed to man the fire panel. On night we had this drill and security sets out the fake fire in the hall and we wait for someone to pull the alarm. This nurse who thought she was Pamela Andersen strolls by looks at the fire thingy and keeps on walking. Me and the security guys look at each other and it's like WT............! They got a failing mark and a good butt chewing. We did have a real fire in out Co-Gen plant though. 6 454 Chevy marine engines running on natural gas. One gas line broke off a carburetor and away she went. Nothing like the smell of burn't fiberglass! The Fire Dept almost Hit a live 480Volt panel with their main line. Good thing the electrician hit the Co-Gen main off inside the main electrical room and I got the gas main off! Funny home fire alarm story. I'm 6'1" but my mother and sister were short. I had moved away and my mom bought this fancy fire alarm system. This one when it goes off it yells FIRE!!! EXIT THE HOUSE IMMEDIATELY!!!! It went off on night for no reason and they couldn't turn it off. It was installed so high they couldn't get to it even with one of those 2 step stools. So they started throwing things at it. Shoes, books you name it. My mother ended up throwing a cast iron frying pan at it to knock it down!

From restored to original and every thing in between I like all Suburban's. Here is a picture of my 400.

Rehabbed 2 Delco gennys and tested them on the test stand. Need a new pulley. Think I got one stashed somewhere.

I picked this 520H up at a decent price because it had the vac-bagger on it BUT the deck mounting brackets pulled out of the deck & the PO had a ratchet strap going over the hood & hooked on each side of the deck to mow.I've been looking for a deck & can't find one so I decided to plate it.It ended up not being too bad of a job.

Some folks think outside the box. ...Others think outside of thier minds!

I shouldn't be, but I am still often surprised by how situations are seen so differently by different people. In some cases, these entirely different perspectives yield breathtakingly creative and admirable responses ("Why did that apple just fall from the tree?" "Does the Sun really revolve around the Earth?"). And then there are the "Aren't kerosene and gasoline pretty much the same? So why won't it work in my lawn mower?" situations. Sigh.

Rob 'Burbs are a favorite model here and lots of pros here on them. I gave that one above to Kev and regret as it was my first 'Burb until I see the smile on my girl's face. Clearly she enjoys and runs it much more than I did. BTW we do like our here!

His first major award with it!

E-xit D-rills I-n T-he H-ome And pick a safe place to meet up so you can account for everyone, preferably not near the road because fire apparatus and emergency personnel may be arriving. Be safe!

Our 15 birds…. One of ‘em takes off running, so the rest take off running after it. Whenever the lead bird stops, the rest practically pile into each other.

Wheel Horse makes it. Kohler shakes it. We've all read that before and understand how much some of these tractors vibrate. For that reason, and also because of our rough terrain here in the yard I switched over a few years ago to using Nyloc nuts on nearly every bolt we install on these tractors.

Trina and I spent some time working on the Military Tribute Tractor "Millie" this evening. I cleaned up the breather in 'n out. She painted it and also the front of the engine where the oil was dribbling and messed the paint all up. I took a bit of time to clean out / clean up the carburetor. Starting with a good hand wire brushing. Followed by a VERY careful touching on the 6" bench grinder with a gentle steel brush. Then lay a piece of new 320 grit paper on the flat of the workbench. Swipe swipe spin. Repeat repeat repeat etc. Nice clean straight gasket mount surface. Clean and wire brush the bowl. Wire brush the small parts the get reused. Here's a comparison for before and after. The main needle gets the same treatment with the 6" wire brush. I found it odd that the end hole isn't round... Here you can see where the main needle sticks up through into the carburetor bore. All polished and reassembled!

Fixed the broken zipper on my 20 year old Eureka tent. Called the company, explained the issue, they sent me several zipper sliders in the mail for free with excellent instructions. Bippity bip… Can’t say enough about their customer service… great company with excellent products and service.

That's what I call the south bound view of a north bound horse.........Haha.

OK! I get the message.

Nice job on the repair! Amazing (or frightening) how folks come up with a method to get things done. My first wheelhorse's PO sold it to me because it was hard to crank and left an uneven cut when mowing. He had replaced a deck guage wheel with a round block of wood that was more than an inch smaller than the other side. I didn't say a word... And the hard starting issue was because the positive post on the battery was covered in dark green corrosion. He replaced the starter but never cleaned the battery terminals. I guess some folls just should not attempt maintenance of any kind.

Rob! You’re right down the road from Steiner Tractor, huh? Congrats on the Suburban, they sure are fun! Here’s a picture of my 11 year old on hers last summer. It’s a great feeling when the kids are involved!

M16 is my favorite of Kohler line. Good luck.

I skip the "mild" abrasive part and go directly to aggressive drywall screws. The sharp edges and points work quicker to scrape that crap off and it doesn't really bother me one bit if it leaves a few little scrape marks inside of a gas tank. Very important, don't forget the hat when shaking!

The electric fuel pump I ordered for my C 195 showed up on Monday. Took a little time to get it mounted. I don't like the fittings I used on the pump. I'll clean that up later, it should work the way it is now. Also went through the carb. Had a slug of carbogies in it. Checking the engine mounting bolts, I discovered that 2 were missing and the other 2 were loose. Decided to replace all of the mounting bolts, as one of the loose bolts was worn from rattling around.

Countless great guitar players out there but very few that the instruments seem to be part of their bodies from the effortless, seamless playing, which creates a tone that can immediately unmistakably be identified as theirs only. Probably only a handful have ever existed that such can be said about. Stevie is definitely on that exclusive list. A joy to listen to and if one was lucky, a sight to see and and be hypnotized by. I was lucky to have had that privilege.

I haven’t made a whole lot of progress lately on my WH. Today I decided to get to the bottom of the parking brake light issue I had on my 414-8. It was constantly on even with the parking brake disengaged. Engagement of the parking brake did not change the status of the dash light. Upon testing the switch’s function by using a screw driver to push the switch lever the switch would actuate and the light would indicate parking brake “off”. The switch lever looked bent even while looking through the shifter dash. I removed the switch from the tractor and noticed the lever was indeed bent. With careful and an even steady force I bent the switch lever back and even biased it toward the parking brake lever slightly. Returning all to its assembled position after testing the switch’s “repair” the parking brake light indicates as it should now along with all the other dash lights. Then I cleaned the WH 414-8 and the JD LX176 off from their last mow with compressed air. Yesterday I acquired a blade, bracket, tire, chains, rear wheel weights, and a cab for the 414-8 from a fellow member. He is a wealth of knowledge and was beyond helpful in educating me on Wheel Horse. As a result of what he taught me I came to find my tractor was a 1989 not a 1988 as I once thought. Next I’ll be making a shopping list of WH parts to finish off the remaining issues with the 414-8. A slow WH day here.

Been awhile fellas, its been a crazy summer at work and play. Update: I ran the Top Tractor Challenge- it was insane! Some real gnarly obstacles this year. 12 competitors, 6 courses. I threw a belt on the first course and took a DNF. After course #2 the starter got packed with slop and it wouldnt fire for course 3, another DNF. I took that time to clean the starter and adjust the belt guide and both worked the rest of the day. Course 4 I completely missed an obstacle and got DQ'd. The last 3 courses the B-1 and I were dialed in and did very well, netting me an 8th overall, even with 3 incomplete scores! Aside from the initial belt issue and a muddy starter, the B-1 was flawless, and I wrung it out for all it had- certainly much harder than I ever do on trail cruises. Again, a testament to just how well these Horses were built! I cannot post videos or finishing placement until our host compiles them into one, but I can tell you a Wheel Horse won the competition, by a long shot! Yep, some frown on doing this to an original WH, but it is providing a ton of fun instead of sitting in a field rusting away......

Well I said I would finish it up and try it on today ..... well here it is. My Big Block, Short Frame, Tall Stack,, Custom Decals, Baby Moon, Mowing Machine. I kinda like how it turned out.

I usually see Dennis posting here often but haven’t lately. Has anyone seen him aroun these days? Wanted to tell him about another Struck dozer I’ve seen for sale.

Last week @Matt Lemanski posted about a C 195 that he had saved from the scrap man. It was a tractor he kind of fell into and couldn't pass up, and he was not sure what to do with it. Well, we exchanged some PM's and came up with a price that was agreeable to both of us. Last Saturday, I brought what appears to be an early production C 195 home. Here are some pictures:

No scruples over there! You guys are always on the wrong side of the road!

Last time I saw a line up of birds they were wearing bikinis.

I've forwarded your request to my Videography/photography Department. @Achto Dan ole boy ya done outdid yaself. Excellent stuff there. Kevin we're going to need some video of that.

And while I'm at 'novelty' songs on the Pie Annie:

Well yah that's what you said about the Allman Bros too! Well said tho Tuna and so true!! Saw well actually didn't see him but heard him once... French Quarter NOLA.. Was there going to Damage Control instructor training on the USN. Around '86 I think. Place was packed, no way one was getting in, and street was too & was just happy to able to hear it.

And these are the reasons why Trina and I DO NOT drive our tractors on or off a truck or trailer.

Chicken FOMO!

Ingenious (and hilarious)! Surely got OSHA's highest rating.

Nice fix! That is one I have never scene before. Strap A Matic!

He actually built another, much lighter machine. He weighed that cub, it tips the scales at 850 lbs empty. That could be a very bad day if it went over on him. Coming over backwards is actually the one concern most of us have, and personally is a major limiting factor as far as how brave I will be when it comes to hills. My front tires are loaded with 3 gallons each of RV antifreeze, front bumper is filled with concrete, and I can crawl about 35 degrees max. 'Bombing' a hill at speed is actually easier, but if a tire slips and grabs a root, or the front bounces up over a bump, gotta be real quick on the clutch to get it back down. Some of these guys are absolute animals, bombing 40+ degree hills in a wheelie, riding the clutch to keep em down. I find a way around those hills and they wait for me at the top haha.

This makes me think of a not so funny story. I took 12 tractors to our local Antique Show Days this past Saturday. The tractor "organizer" announced there would be a tractor parade at 1 PM. He asked if I wanted to run some tractors. So myself, a friend, my son, and grandson all drove a tractor in the parade. ( about 1 1/2 miles) This is the tractor my grandson drove. (not a Wheel Horse I know, but at least it's red) After the show I brought all the tractors home and parked them all in the garage. Sitting here Sunday morning, drinking my coffee, just kind-a looking over the tractors. The right front wheel on the Massey didn't look quite right. I investigated. 2 of the socket head cap screws were gone. 1 was almost out, the 4th was still tight. If this had fallen off on my grandson, he would have bawled right then and there, even though it wasn't his fault in any way. The bolts in the wheels now are 1/2" longer, with blue locktite, and nylok nuts on the back side of the hub. I have read that you have to constantly check the bolts and nuts holding on aluminum rims. I guess I forgot the word constantly. Disaster narrowly avoided.

Adventurous. My middle name. I have a brush wheel that's not too aggressive. And a very careful practiced way of handling things on that machine. I do still occasionally fling an item to "Cantfinditville".

Most of my tractors have been sitting or are tired when I get them. Early on in their resurrections I do a tank cleaning and then a new fuel line, fuel filter, tank shutoff and tank grommet. Since its a new to you horse, this may be a good place to start. Many on here like the clear blue tubing you can see the gas in. With the tank up high, under the seat a hand squeeze primer bulb or an electric fuel pump may be in order. i have a C81 with the tank under the seat, if i don't run it every 2-3 weeks, it needs a prime, then runs good.

Glad to see im not alone with this issue! Was pretty pissed when it started, as I'd finally gotten my deck to behave after 2 weeks of drama, but it was pretty gratifying to get it running again

Check the entire fuel lines from the screen in the tank to the carburetor. If there is any restriction or air leaks, the pump may not pull it.

Thought i'd just barge in here out of nowhere and say hi Been awhile folks, but I'm still kickin! Its been one crazy summer for sure, and due to the cost of materials, not much getting done at the ol A frame. Lawn duty 1277 continues to keep track of the grass, Hoss has been dragging things all over and playing a bit, and ol smoky the 701 is running great- a stiff fuel pump diaphragm was causing the dying and shes good to go now, at least til I have the time to do a nice restore. Had em all out last week and snapped a pic.

From your list, I would start with the machines you have doubles of. Then I suppose any tractor you don't want to put time and money in. There's a start.

Getting back to Country from Blues land... I really like this one: