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So in September, we’ll be able to start Jada’s drivers’ training. Since finding out I was going to be a father, I’ve been looking forward to this time. I knew we’d have a project vehicle, not something they could just jump in and go. A project saves money and more importantly, teaches the kid a thing or two about a thing or two. We just recently took a couple thousand mile road trip and what better thing to do sitting shotgun than look for that project? Here we go again. Rust belt POS or out west clean vehicle? Out west wins! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw he ad. I couldn’t believe it when it was still available. And Jada is on board! This was purchased by the seller and while driving it home, a hose blew and the engine overheated. They fixed it roadkill style, kept on trucking, only to blow and overheat two more times. Once home, they realized it had been packed full of bars leak and there it sat. Water froze and cracked the block and it’s for sale again. So, we’ve got a ‘99 GMC Suburban, out of Colorado again. Nearly a twin to Momma’s new ‘97 Chevy, but 1/2 ton/350 instead of 3/4 ton/454. Shipping is costing an additional $150 over our first bout, but it needs to be winched onto the hauler. So far, we’ll worth it.

Things you won't see everyday on a tractor. Casper is complete, once again. He even grew a tail? Probably has more wire on it than any 656 in the world, with maybe the exception of @Tractorhead's "Bavarian Wheel Horse". I think he's got some extra gadgets on his.

I found something you need for these situations invoking disturbing disruptions of Wheel Horse operations Jim! Just what you need when this happens! https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27400/100417/

I got enough snow to use my electric leaf blower without a battery in it!

We had about 2.5" of wet & heavy snow. 418-A handled it like a charm even at 1/2 throttle. First year with liquid filled ags on rear and V61 on front. Really liking both tire choices! And LED's shining bright!

Starting to taper off here now but saw the op for seat time and went for it. Id say about 4 inches so far. Had both the Deuce Bag and Denny going at it. Got the deuce set up for off road... skids set up about 1 1/2 and Denny set to scrape on the asphalt. Denny's got no chains but does surprising well for all turf shoes, and just weights. Should get some rubber chains for her. Had to run Denny into the shop twice tho... gear motor that runs the chute turner had issues and then noticed the voltmeter reading abit low. Back into the shop for some quick DMM checks and looks like a bad reg. Swapped her out with a spare....bingo voltmeter right back up.... took me longer to find the spare than swap it out... but then after putting her to bed noticed the voltmeter down again but back on the trickle. More investigation needed. Girls earned their keep tho.

That actually gave me an idea. This little Tecky is a single cylinder of course, but...........I have one of these, And I have one of these.... Now if I just had 2 of these..............I could have.......... 1 of theses.....

Flies ! Actually, that's not true. It doesn't even swish. It's part of how the limit switches work. The switch actuator is on a 1/16" cable. The cable is drawn tight, by a spring in the tail. The cable is drawn tight, by a spring in the tail. The cable moves about 2 1/2" as the snowblower goes up and down

I did, the predator was short term until I found a magnum 8 recoil for it. Also adding round fenders to it. Here’s a quick mock up picture. The trans tunnel will be cut on a slope to mimic a 1045.

Another RS member and I were recently discussing his wanting to do a old W-H roundhood steering wheel restoration. I shared with him the process I used, once I re-found the picts I took last year. Posting them here as well, with hope that they may help someone thinking about restoring their's too. First, a couple picts of what I started with here.

Very nice work Craig. When I first saw that wheel I thought to myself “That thing is shot” and you totally proved me wrong. Thank you for sharing this, I’m sure it will be helpful to many of us here!

I typically like to work with epoxy during them summer months, when it's hot outside. Helps to make the process proceed in a timely fashion, only needing about 45mins of drying time between each step of the process. Oncy the epoxy starts to set up you want to start removing any excess, and start shaping your repairs before they become rock hard. I like to do this with a variety of files and rasps I have on hand here. Just work each repaired area to a finished state as quickly as possible. Then let it dry for 24 hours. After the epoxy is good and solid you can now move onto your finish state with a medium 320 grit sandpaper. You'll want to sand the entire wheel at this point in preparation for the painting process which follows.

At this point, you can proceed to replacing the lost material. I chose to use PC-7, it's a two part epoxy I've had great results working with over the years. Start by thoroughly mixing two relatively equal parts of the material together. Doesn't have to be exact, just looking for a uniform grey color to the material before you apply. I like to start applying with a flat tip screwdriver to ensure the epoxy gets driven into some of them holes I drilled. Holes aren't deep, maybe just 1/8" deep. This is what is going to help ensure your repair is tied into the original remaining material left on your wheel. Don't get into too much of a hurry here, just work all of this repair process in small stages that you can easily control. Here you note that once I have the crack filled I am using just a water wetted finger to smooth out the epoxy as best I can while it's still easily workable, before it starts to set up. Dipping into the water frequently serves to keep the epoxy from adhering to you, and your smoothing process working nicely. Here you'll notice these repairs are starting to take shape. You may have to remix another small batch to add more material where ever necessary.

I then find some small wire to act as a support structure, and start working it into some of them holes.

Need a case of that for my wife… to give a can or two to me oh, I don’t know, hourly…? Save her a lot of words… Jim Update: Sadly appears it is no longer available…

Nice looking unit there, Kevin.Kids tend to be a mite rough on their first car (speaking from history here...) a solid body-on-frame is a good choice. As they say "Strap in, enjoy the ride!"... yes, you ARE getting old.... Bill

Oir new dog Dolly is settling in just fine, she has me well trained now so that even walks are less strenuous on her...

No flip flops in Illinois...those are for Kevin in Michigan. No socks in Illinois.

Looks like I will be getting the same amount of snow for the 1st time this season. I could be out there in shorts and a "T" shirt. If it was not going to get colder, I could probably let it melt where it is at. But I do want to use the 857.

After 28 years one of the big back tires developed a leak that stopped Rich from finishing the driveway today. Found two new ones at our local Tractor Supply store. Getting them mounted today at a local auto repair shop and will get them back on in time for the Friday/Saturday dump. 23x10.5-12NHS.

Ah,yes - kids. You spend their first 16 years protecting them from all harm, then at times, you want them off your policy and out of the house!!

Well, I suppose it could if you concentrated too much pressure sanding on them repaired areas. Part of my reasoning when I suggest you work that epoxy as much as possible to a finished state before it sets up completely. You're correct, that epoxy is going to dry much harder than that steering wheel's original material. Best to have it worked very near to it's final shape before that happens.

Before painting you'll want to re-clean the wheel with a good quality, automotive grade wax and grease remover before shooting with paint. Any old black will do, I just used the off the shelf black Napa has to offer here. Give that ample time to dry, say one week. Then follow up with a few coats of a quality gloss clear and you're good to go. I'm partial to the "Diamond Clear" that the Eastwood company offers, because it's easy to work with, is within reason, gas and oil resistant, and dries hard as a rock in it's finished state.

Now that gives me an idea for one of the five blowers that were send to me.

Yah and I don't like bacon or seat time either .... V61s on the front of deuce bag @Andy N. and I love them. The weight of the deuce keeps them planted. Weighted, double links and loaded turfs on the rear. She's an off road beast.

Plowing snow (slop) in my shorts today.

Gave the 417-8 a little exercise today for the first time this Winter. This tractor always impresses me. Do not even have to throttle up much, it just keeps pushing.

No thanks, my granddaughter's first trip to Disneyworld is and will always be my computer wall paper. I LIKE , I LOVE my granddaughter. Nuff said!

Just a few of my Nags

So, I've been asked how long this repair process took. I'd say that from start to finish, I put the better part of a whole working day, 8hrs working straight through, getting this thing into the nearly finished state of the epoxying process. Then, of course, allowing the adquate drying time for your painting process is up to you. Just work the process in small manageable steps, at what ever speed you feel comfortable with.

I had our ‘97 on the lift for a nut and bolt last night, after a few weeks of drive time after the suspension work. I am amazed at the chain and cable fluid’s spreading characteristics… and how the entire thing appears wet after who knows how many car washes already! I’ll be sure to keep feeding them both! You’ve surely made a believer of me! Keep on preachin’ brother!

@Pullstart nice looking rig , recently went thru a similar car thing with my grandson , remember no one will look at or care / think about a car the way you do , especially today. the body condition of that is begging for a lubrication soak down , inside doors , tailgate , boxed frame areas , wheel well arches and fender trim , door entry lower trim , if you do nothing else , get a lift and aerosol set up and mineral oil spray that entire underside down . that will stop moisture , and feed the metal . I live in conn, virtually new cars are covered in rust .from road salt spray down . oil soak down stops that , only if you want to , pete

You mean there’s a “Dammit Eb” beer out there…?

Couple a calendar shots there Plunge! Blew out another voltage regulator on Denny so there goes my only spare 'till the jungle comes through. Good thing they are cheap. Pretty sure I'm overloading it with the chute electrics & wiper that @dclarke has on it plus the lightning I put on. 20 amp is what 520 charger system are what they rated at and betting I am over that even tho all led plus the idiot lights I have on. Gonna to replace the 30 amp fuse with a 20 and see if it blows and do an amp draw check & check the nine pin. Just have to watch what I have on at any given time I guess. I'll pretend I'm in that Apollo 13 movie and start shutting down non critical systems till I get the amp draw down.

Looking good, all I've been getting is ice. Maybe two inches tonight.

Hey all, I’m finally back. It’s been a long road the last few years but finally getting back into the Wheel Horse world with big thanks to my boys but mostly my youngest Alex. The other day while cruising Facebook market place I found a 604 that was completely disassembled. Some parts painted some not. The gentleman had owned it since day one. I scooped it up last night thinking my boys would like it as a project and their first round hood. My older son is at that age where he doesn’t want to hang out in the garage much anymore but my youngest jumped at the opportunity. He has almost completely put it back together in less than a day. I need to help him with the engine and find some front tires and a seat pan and he will Have a nice little tractor. I showed him this page and he’s been browsing the classifieds looking for his next project already!

Little bit 'Apples.... they both have ther pros and cons. The deuce does better in slush and tosses everthing much further and I don't even have the rubber paddles mod on. Single is best with any powder and will handle deep powder with the right ground speed. Like @Ed Kennell says a single works best you keep her loaded with the right speed. Deuce don't care what the speed is. Either one will squeal belts you go too fast. Light cleanup the single gets the nod. Only cons with the deuce is the weight and the extra stress they put on the tractor. Power to the deuce is critical and I wouldn't put one on anything less than a Onan or a Kohler sweet 16 single thumper. A single with a short chute works really good in the concrete slush but you will eventually rip the chute right off. They are just not build for it and the cable turn is a pain in the under shorts. Shorts are best left in the barn except for any powder where they excel. I used one for many years when I was too green enough to know better but got the job done. Never was a huge blade fan but rethinking it now. When I cleared last night it was still snowing abit and we got maybe another 3/4". Not enough to blow but a blade might have been nice for cleanup. @Achto we got enough parts to put another blade together I get that square hood C-145 hydro running decent? I have a blade for the atv but kinda a PIA and just not a . Thinkin a blade with a rubber or plastic scraper for delicate (expensive) aspalt?

@cafoose... thanks for that. I was thinking of taking ideas like what you mentioned, mixing to make things like this: Don

I pulled the trigger and become a support so i could post pictures the right way!

" I can't believe that some one painted this poor tractor green "

I actually prefer it to pack down and freeze The future plowing goes faster and fewer rocks pushed into the yard.

pay attention when in reverse!

You're likely only going to hear me say this just once, so play close attention ! LET IT SNOW.mp4

My process starts with a cleaning of the wheel, to the best of your ability, to remove as much of the dirt and nasty black surface oxidation that just never seems to stop coming off. Just keep going though, it will eventually stop. Once you're happy with that you can proceed to opening up any breaks in your wheels material. Cut off wheel on a Dremel tool is my go to method for this. Basically just relief cutting them major cracks at a 45° angle. Then, switching over to an small, maybe 1/8th inch drill bit to add some tooth in them cracks for your repair material to attach to.

“Sure Babe! I think I left my tools in the shop for that! I’ll be right back!” Dumdadumdumdum…wandering off for an hour or two.

yeah, I agree. And with a wrenching and racing pedigree, there’s not much less to be expected. You should see the kid on a go-kart track! It’s quite a good show her running them boys down!

Seems like you’d have found MORE time to be in the shop!

And then shortly after the donuts.....this happened....

A couple donuts the other day with my 3 year old son! He loved them.

I don't plow 2.5 inches of snow