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Been looking for one for a long time. Thought about making one but wanted something with a bit of “soul” in it already. Came across this one needing only minor work such as replacing some of the missing compartments and locks. From the details on it seems to be from the mid 1800s. Plan is to fill it with the proper tools and leave it for Grandchildren to appreciate how craftsmen had pride in their tools and the way they kept them.

Well I guess this is the beginning of an addiction without end Having only owned 1 Wheel Horse tractor these last 26 years and coming here and lusting after the vast array of various models throughout this fine site it is was only natural for me to expand my horizons 😃 A very good & long time friend of mine in P.A. knew of my NEED and brought me down this intact and virtually undesterbed 854. Save for a paint touch up here and there it's interestingly original and solid as a rock! What a great candidate to bring back to life😃 I initially was just going to start disassembly without attempting to see if she will start after many years of hibernation but my curiosity has got the best of me (whose doesn't?) and I have to see if she in fact will do so. I will no doubt be asking questions of you 854 specialist here from time to time so bear with me as I learn about this fantastic little big machine. Dave

A little more dressed up

@lynnmor used to use those in the COLISEUM when I Chariot raced , just before the lions were released , the good old days , pete

In 20 years I've had 14 horses and currently have 5. In that same time frame I currently have 19 tractors of all brands and have sold 30. I have a list that I keep so that someday when I'm old I can look back and see how many have come and gone over the years and what they were.

Sounds more like it Mike...here anyway! This list goes up to 40 some tractors with parts machines. NLO = No Longer Own & they are not numbered.

I would say at least 75 in the last twenty years! And ones from every generation of four wheel tractors!

Excellent potential there! A couple of items before you try to start it. You may wish to remove the engine shroud to see if the mouse set up residence inside too. Judging by the debris in the sediment bowl, your fuel system most likely need a thorough cleaning first. 854 has a 2-piece gas tank and the gasket becomes a problem over time and will leak. Verify that it is not seized and that it has clean oil. You might consider bypassing the entire fuel system if you want to see if it will run FOR JUST A FEW SECONDS remove the air cleaner and with the choke and throttle wide open, give a short blast of carb cleaner (some use starting fluid - not the best choice), partially close the choke and try to start it. @ebinmaine started a thread a while ago about a check list of what to do with a new to you horse to get it going - all good advise in it. IF you do plan on putting gas in it, do it outside - too many chances of fuel leaks.... Bill

Truly original, looks like it even came with the factory mouse nest.

16 Horse's have come into my possession. The only one that has left was a vertical shaft Toro/ lawn tractor. My niece was interested in it so I asked, "How much money do you have on you?" She reached in her pocket & pulled out $2. "Sold"

I bought my 211-5 new in 1989 from Hindles Power Equipment in MA (still in business), with a bagger for $2,100. It has been a beast of a mower. I have done very little to it besides the basics. 33 years! I have a 312-8, 314-8 and C121 as well. But if you want just a basic but rugged mower, and are only ever going to use it for mowing, it’s hard to beat the value of a 200 series tractor.

isn't this like your prospective wife asking you how many girlfriends you've had I cannot tell a lie, but I can try to avoid the question. In - A few, In actually running -Zero Now running 4 OK to you guys I'll fess up, 12WH and 6 other Brands Out- None, but a couple of Other Brands are up for sale

Many (in my standards) have come, not many have left. I’m hovering around 30 here at the moment, only 4 that I can think of have ever left either whole or as rollers.

You should add a set of these:

11 in - only 6 still here. Had to make room for this new girl...

As others have said, the 500 Special is just one of many models made to use up parts. But a cool one. I was given these two a few years ago. The one in the background is a 657 and the close one is a 500 Special. Neither tractor was runable and many would have just scrapped them. I would say that about 95% of the parts on the 657 and 500 Special are identical. Keep in mind that they had a couple of runs of the 500's and there were some differences. I ended up making one good tractor out of the two of them and here's how it turned out. Certainly not 'factory' pure but I never worry about that.

Probably moved 40-50 on to new homes during the past 25 years. Now I only have three. All have Eaton 1100s with foot control. 520 , 417, and 312 Then there is the new Honda powered custom project.

Figured it was about time it earned its keep; definitely knew it was back there......

Probably the vehicle's saving grace is that it's long since paid off, and at 8+ years old has only 42K on the odometer. It only gets serviced at most twice a year, and the worst part of that is all the dealership calls for a month after wanting us to sell it back to them... I've never owned a vehicle that 8 years after buying it, we regularly get offered more than we paid for it new. Crazy times!

Two things I see in your picture: For a mower deck, the belt should be on the large step of the pulley, nearest to the engine. The bigger pulley will give you a higher blade speed, and take up some more belt, making it easier to tension. I tighten the belt until I can only squeeze the writhing an inch of each other halfway between the PTO pulley and muel drive. It looks like there is an extra twist in the belt between the lower side of the PTO pulley and the muel drive. Horsepower is not your issue, as I am running a 42" deck on my 14-8 without any problems. Good luck.

I don't know of any "belt on the deck" mowers that will fit under a short frame tractor. One thing to note is the difference between the mid hitch and mounting the front mule is different on a shortie and a long frame tractor. I also think say a 42"SD deck will interfere with the wheels when turning. The older gear drive decks give a great cut when the blades are in good condition. Finding a quiet one can be a challenge. I searched for years. I finally got a pretty quiet one but it still rattled until I put some brand new blades on it that I found here in the classifieds. Now I can hardly tell it's running! If you have to go with the gear drive deck and you are going to use it all the time, I suggest looking for some parts decks to stockpile parts. The gears and the jack shaft bearing and stantions are wear items. If you're going to work on one of these decks, get lots of rags This is how my lawn looks after a fresh GD cut.

My paternal grandfather did the same thing with his Road driven vehicles. Apparently from a very young age he had a penchant for buying vehicles, keeping them for a year or three and selling them, with very little net losses. He liked very much to have a different vehicle more often than most folks do. New or not didn't seem to matter. Brand didn't seem to matter. Type of vehicle didn't seem to matter. He kept a list for a bit and then his kids and grandkids adjusted it at one point not long after he passed. As near as we can figure he had about 65 to 70 years of driving time and right around that in the amount of vehicles as well.

I don’t know about that far back but this one has been in family for at least 150 years. It would have been made By the local blacksmith. It will reside permanently in this box.

For some reason I thought of this the other day. Not counting the ones still here, I figured since 2010 26 Wheel Horse have come and gone. I may have missed a couple.

A few that I have bought for parts were field stripped at the Big Show and the remains went to other Red Square members, do they even count since they were only mine for a few seconds and never did make it to my shop? ? ? What about the incomplete parts tractors that were strictly organ donors to give new life to projects? ? Kinda got to lump them in as Derelict Wheel Horses, best I can recall there have been seven or eight. There have been four that lived at my place and found new homes and at present there are six running operable tractors and two projects that in all likelihood will get done get done during my lifetime. I do have one long term project that I may never get around to but am not ready to give up So if my math is correct and the field-striped units count as an in and out and Organ Donors in and sort-of out 8 in 8 out Projects, those that went to new homes and those that are alive and well in my herd 13 in 4 out Totals 21 in 12 out I forgot about the one up in the hay mow that I probably won't get to either. Makes it 22 in and 12 out! Please don't tell my wife! She only thinks I have four or five.

Do yo have the rest of the seats ripped out so you can pick up a stray Wheel Horse.

And you ain't got room for one more little one?!? I have no idea ..... I have not enough fingers and toes to count that high.... All I know is alot more stayed than left.

Don't get too many guys from MT but welcome. Check the drive belt and there is an idler under there that wears out so check that. Check the linkage as well might be something as simple as an adjustment. These were considered to be a disposable mower when the 20 year age mark was reached. It will have either a Techy Peerless or Hydro-Gear transaxle depending on year. Some were a gear jammer as well. Parts can still be had thru Toro dealers or on line but betting they be quite proud of some parts. The good news is there were so many of these made and sold so parts tractors are a plenty. At least in this area. I have one that came with the Missus but has served us well since 2001 and still a daily mower. Here is everything I have on the mower. You'll find a good hydro repair manual in there. 492-3301 XL Wiring Demystification.pdf 492-4734 Toro XL-Series SM.pdf 492-4735 Hydro-Gear 310-0510 SM.pdf 5587c2de211d5_3323-534_2000_16-38XL__16-38XLe_IPL_Wiring.pdf Hydro-Gear 318-0510 IPL.pdf Tractor 2001 16-38XL Lawn tractor 71223 Recycler Details & Attachments.pdf

Should we add a Boats Owned List ?

Compare the above to the Stage 4 TIllotson that I built... you can tell a major difference... Don

They work well. I went with the 1 1/8" od adapter. I put some green sleeve locker Loctite on mine when I installed it. It's pretty much a permanent fixture now. Take a lot of heat to remove it.

Hesston Frontrunner 180. Articulated but not 4x4. Drives from the front axle, trailing rear. Very neat machine. Hated to let it go. When I got it. A lot of cobbled up repairs but was in pretty good shape.

Dan they sell a tapered shaft adapter on the bay. just an example. Joe

I know NOTHING!!! As a whole we have/had at least 15 complete tractors. Also had several parts rigs like chassis without engines or whatever. And enough parts individually to build a few more. Couple customs too. Right now... Trina's got 3. 856, 657, 867. I have 4 C160s. The Colossus project. Also... 2 417As as a project. Started messing with these machines just over 5 years ago... We've been stewards of at least 20.

Check the tag to make sure it is a true 500 Special. You will discover that the 500 Special was put together with a lot of spare parts. Some have different grills, different decals, different seats, all from the factory. It was a low end tractor. Tecumseh powered, some were rumored to have Kohler engine swaps from dealers. Information varies on these. That being said it is a Wheel Horse of Course. I did one up last year, put a lot into it to get it running and driving again. Came out nice, but far from being all original. Sold it with the deck not the plow. 4 brand new tires, new head gasket, ignition coil, rebuilt carb and a lot of elbow grease. Recouped all my money and then some on it. The tag should say 1-3631 thats a 500 Special. Its a one year model. They didnt come with electric start, should have a pull start Tecumseh engine. 6hp. Could be just a 500 Special hood on another tractor or just a set of decals.

This is Hotel Carolina they can checking but they can never leave. None in and out.

I have had 7. 1 moved on and 5 are complete and 1 in parts missing the transmission. My total goal is 9. One for each for Grandchild (8) and 1 for me.

Since 1993, at least 28 that I can remember. Still have 10. 8 running, 2 under construction.

There is a square hood roller without an engine not too far from me......

I bet your online now looking for some.....!!

Not to take away from your thread Cas, but to share. I have 2 of these, not sure of the age?? Would you clean these up?? I'm guessing they are from the 1950"s...not sure. My other one has the tray in it. Could we do some PM's??

It’s got that unmistakable ancient smell . One can smell it coming into shop even without opening it.

im doing a 856 right now. I choose not to paint them. I like them to tell a story. That being said I do make them my own. Thats the fun part of redoing one....making them your own. As long as its running and driving again...Mission Accomplished !!

I was going to cut them flush but now you gave me a idea😉

@ri702bill offers up some good advice especially on that fuel tank. We've never had one in our own stables. I've definitely heard plenty of stories about them. Here's a link to the thread that bill is talking about. There's a lot of information in there given by quite a few members. Take a few minutes and peruse that then decide where to start on your own tractor. Use the printable list if you like. I'll be looking forward to your progress on this one.

In 22 years….43 machines that I can list have called my place home (near as I can recollect, probably forgot about a few). Currently have 7 Wheel Horses here. This doesn’t include “other brands” that have spent some time here.

4 in 1 out.