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So it has been a very long time since I did a restore. Last was the 416-8 and the C195 several years back. Anyhow I picked up a 417A at the big show from a member here. Chris got it dialed in and running great at the big show (thanks again Chris). Come to find out Kenb also picked up one locally last and he wants to refurbish his as well. So on the 4th we stripped the sheet metal on both machines and dropped them to my sand blaster. Then we pressure washed the machines. Got them back, primed the metal and will bodywork it some and then shoot them.

Well since the Wheel Horse Collectors Club Show will have the RJ-58 as the featured tractor next year I figured it's time to get started on restoring my RJ-58. Now a little history on this RJ-58, it was purchased from my local Wheel Horse dealer after a long hard battle from the dealer constantly telling me about this old all original RJ-58 he has but would never say whether or not he would really sell it to me. I'm not sure where this RJ-58 originally came from because my local dealer started selling Wheel Horses in 1961 but I do have a1961 model 701 he did sell. I do know that in Virginia on the western part of the state there was a couple of Wheel Horse dealers that may have sold this RJ-58 and my dealer took it in on trade. Try taking an old garden tractor in for a trade in at a box store today! I was told that the RJ-58 had a Clinton engine and a few extra attachments and was dismayed after finding out the Clinton was not original to the RJ-58 but it was a factory replacement and ran great. All the parts on the engine are correct including the Snacke recoil. As for the attachments it came with the factory early style rear 20 lbs wheel weights, part of a front mounted reel mower (it's missing the mounting bracket) and a what I believe to be a N.O.S. CBR-32 cutter bar. There is no paint loss anywhere on the cutter bar or pulleys. It does have a lot of shelf wear and it was greased at one time. The RJ-58 was taken apart to get restored over 15 years ago and well some parts did get sand blasted then primer put on then lost in the mini barn. I did get lucky and find many N.O.S. steering parts that I forgot were in the mini barn but that took several hours with a metal detector to locate! I scratch head for some to remember what happed to the tires? How can I have lost 4 tires in my back yard and I could not remember whether they were BF Goodrich or Goodyear brand tires. Some how the tires got used on another Wheel Horse in my yard and I gotta' look for them. The side plate Unidrive was rebuilt by me and left on the work bench, I just hope that no small nuts or bolts fell down the shifter hole in the past decade. After finding parts for the RJ-58 the parts were placed on the bed of my trailer to inventory them and see what might still be missing. The frame for the RJ-58 is stuck between tractors in the garage and will take at least 3 hours of labor to get it out. Now this RJ-58 was built in 1958 with the serial number in the18,000 range and did come with the factory tool box/fender option. It is interesting to note that a good majority or the RJ-58 used the Kohler K-91 engine but take a hard look at the factory manual for the RJ-58 and you will see the drawings of the RJ-58 seem to show the outline of a Clinton engine and not a Kohler. More later. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

my great grandfather purchased all of these wheel horse things back in the late 69, and early 70’s Back in 2011. My family had an auction in North Carolina and had to sell my grandfathers wheel horse GT-14 tractors (2) and a tiller and two mower decks. Anyway, it made me sick and fast forward to now, I found out who bought them through auction papers and contacted the man and he sold them BUT! he is going to talk to the man who he sold them to and hopefully he still has them it would make my entire year being able to get the two tractors back, plus the tiller Here is some photos of the tractors from the auction. You can see the tiller in the back the utility wagon was also in the auction but was bought by my neighbor and long story short now my friend owns it, and I’m trying to get it back as well fingers crossed that the man who the guy sold it to still has them

When was the last time y'all saw a N.O.S. round hood? Wild Bill in Richmond VA

Yeah good to have Kenb back. I decided to shoot the inside surfaces today and did the bodywork on the outside. Also primed outsides for the last time. Tomorrow I plan on a final wet sanding and ready to paint.

Let me know when it is done. Do you deliver?

Some of the results are astonishing. Water transfer printing: Wikipedia. The water transfer printing process is extensively used to decorate items that range from entire all-terrain vehicles and car dashboards, to small items like bike helmets or other automotive trim. Films can be applied to all types of substrates including plastic, fiberglass, wood, ceramics, and metal. For the most part, if the item can be dipped in water and can be painted using traditional techniques then the hydrographic printing process can be used.

Ever watch those things? Customer states: I did my own brakes… Customer states: I hear a grinding noise… Today’s “Customer States” for Pullstart Stables Auto Shop Bonanza? 2010 Honda Oddesey, 3.5L V6, 134,300 miles. Check engine light on. Shop next to their work says misfire in #2. “We get these all the time. You need new heads, the valve seats are coming loose.” It came here for a second opinion. I was skeptical that it needed any head work done. I pulled the intake, injectors, cleaned ‘em, put it back together, changed out $18 a piece spark plugs and there’s your head job. One of the plugs had a broken ceramic and a couple others were just due for a replacin’ I feel good about charging them $400 for a good Ole fashioned tune up and they don’t have to finance a repair bill!

Looks like rest in „Big“ ...😄 No he's not lazy.. The swelling on his white paw is going down after he kicked a wasp last night. At first we thought he hurt his paw after a big jump, but then we see that there was a big wasp nest under the cherry tree. A cortisone shot helps him reduce the swelling a little faster. The doc told us to reduce his activity and we ask how to do that with this „hyperactive“ dog- teeny. but today he enjoys his rest and likes it.

I'm painting a room in the house, and about 2:30 yesterday afternoon, I turn around, and see this in my side yard.

Great to see @Ken B back! The WH Addiction is strong

Nice to see you got your backup mower Terrance...... opps.... in the line up. Sorry Sylvie the missus's rolling pin says she needs a easy on easy off mower. She ain't getting any lighter ya see so the flying freakin A gotta stay home.

Starting to get ready. Did some grooming tonight.

When I met my future wife in 1975, her Dad ran a one man licensed Repair shop out of the 2 car garage at his house. He worked for many years prior for a couple of GM dealerships, specializing i front end work and alignments. When he went on his own, he told my wife's mother "OK, I can either get rich quick, but we may have to move, or I can make an honest living...." A man of scrupples and good honesty, he chose the later. Never regretted it, neither did we....

I am starting this thread now... but things will get more interesting in Fall when I decide what kind of modifications are in order... I picked this 416-8 up from @davem1111 today... this was one of the 200$ tractors that he picked up a couple of months ago. Can't express how grateful I am to Dave. Thus far... I got the engine running which included cleaning out the flywheel which had an ENORMOUS amount of ground up leaves in it. I changed the oil, corrected wiring issues. Now, I have a running engine. I have to pop and drain the transmission fluid, among many other tasks coming up in the next couple of months. I will say, without actually doing anything to the transmission, I can tell it is very smooth and goes in each gear nicely. The shifter boot materials are toast... so I'll need to buy things like that later on. Painting will also be in order at some point. The hood is going to need some repair... nothing that I haven't faced in the past... I haven't decided which seat I am going to use... as I have 2. Hopefully those in the green don't argue too much with the horses... (the zero turn is hiding in the corner from the Horses)... I might very well either switch the wheels that are on the 800 special with the ones on the 416-8... or I may just end up buying AG tires for the 416-8 in the Fall... This one is going to be pretty sweet, Ladies and Gentlemen. Don

Husband changed out the new carb for an original today the new one worked great but then it didn’t lol…. He didn’t want trouble with it at Wisconsin so fixed that and was doing a little touch up on the trail behind seat. Wants to have it sandblasted sometime down the road!

I had this 5/8" bar stock so measured it off and got to forming the highly coveted "U" for the HL-5 Lights. I had these headlights mounted on the hood but never cared for the vibration and eventual cracking of the sheet metal. A tweak here and there decide my height and drill, tap a plate, tap the rod ends

If he has the Ritch on his back, he may be one with a color defect. Leo is a six month old purebred Rhodesian Ritchback. This breed was originally bred in Africa to hunt lions and guard settlements. They are great family dogs but very demanding when it comes to training. You need a very consistent hand. The white pawn and white breast are usually undesirable in this breed, but we especially fall in love with him while he has the white pawn and white breast. He was the first of 7 siblings who decided to come with us. That means we didn't choose him, he's chooses us. a few more pictures? ok.. he is a good Buddy and Pet. Sometimes he is lemme say a little extreme Powerful or better to say „hyperactive“ and it seems he don‘t know the word „filigran movement“. He love large walks and agility training the whole day, but we must stop him to take care on his hips while he‘s growing and he’s still too young for so much Powersports. Otherwise later hip troubles can occur. he has an extremely friendly nature but he is also very clumsy Lot‘s of training with him let him go in the right direction, but actually he is a teeny and he forgot things he allready learned within seconds.

Jeffrey Jefferson

The orange wire should go from the points to the (-) coil terminal and the condenser should also go to the coil (-). The body of the condenser needs to be grounded. You need battery power to the coil (+) terminal.

Got some more goodies today in the mail.

Cris Hill ...I forget his handle here... has got a couple all done up in hydro.

I'd like to see how they get it on the water surface to begin with. And I bet it's expensive...

Yeah, I'm gonna mistake mine for @buckrancherBrian's stainless ride! He'll never notice

Agreed!! See ya next weekend at Zagrays

Nice work Steve. It pays to have the right tools.

I have had them before and really love this model. I was cursing it around under the lights at the big show.

It’s been at least 5 years for me since I’ve done any kind of refurbishment or restoration. I don’t know what’s rustier, me or my 417! It’s gonna be fun.

Now you have got my attention, never even imagined such an effect. I'll have to make a mental note of this, hopefully that will not be the case! Lol

It's a better feeling to sleep with a clear conscience IMO! Some would rather sleep with a few dishonest dollars instead. There are much better rewards in life than money

Now I am curious but not too intrigued. This bracket is based off the factory HL-5 Headlight Kit, here is this part fully fabricated, including the 5/16" threaded holes as well as, mounting holes..

Thanks for all the help and knowledge you guys have gave me on wheel horse tractors and restoring them. I suspect in around a week it will be put together and running. When it is I’ll post a few photos of it.

I think we would need to see the 'big picture' to give a proper answer, and really, it's a question for a structural engineer and not someone with 'internet credentials' I will say that those cross beams may be serving to tie the two opposite walls together. Imagine a full load of snow on that roof, you can see how it would want to push the opposite walls apart.

Received a side case and axle from daveoman1966 (haven't figured out how to link a user yet) Inching closer to a c-160 resto...

Looks like it has possibilities. Most of the damage to the hood looks like folding around the headlight openings. Straighten those kinks out, and you should be real close to done.

You could always weld a small crossbar between the uprights(if it would clear the hood) to alleviate the vibrations if they were a problem.

Don't know which one you have - they are wired differently

@Tractorhead What kind of dog is that? We're fostering a dog that looks a lot like that (except she's black) -- same long body and huge paws, stretches out forever just like yours is doing in the photo, also very active. Do you have any more photos?

https://www.immersedfx.com/hydrographics-pricing.html

Nope. Some with 1" like a 314 or a B80 and some with 1 1/8 axles like the 400 series or that C120 No, The rectifier is only for the charging circuit and it should run with or without a regulator/rectifier

My C165 has had a helicoil in the sparkplug for twenty-five years years and it's still going strong.

The girls each have one to restore and I picked up another last year. I’m hoping for a load of round hoods only, including the RJ-35, a 401 Suburban, and “Frank” my wife’s “1073”! I gotta make sure I have room to bring home the yellow machine or @roadapples might disown me as a friend!

With @stevebo's collection around as an influence I can see why.

Thinkin' I may need a back up mower in case the Swisher decides to go down.

Finally got most of my horse fixing done on my tractors so now I can focus on my friends C-160. Got the original wheel back on, axle fixed & aligned. The bearing had failed & chewed up the old axle which wallowed out the hub a little. I had to pean the back of the hub back into shape for the new bearing hence the chipped paint, but will touch it up later. (should have done it before painting it, ).Lol Tins are ready to go back on after I go through the fuel system.

Apparently they have a good business model… according to my customer. I’m just glad they didn’t have the money to pay premium fees and I have the conscience to help ‘em out!

The recent high winds blew a couple dead trees over into the farmers field. I usually don't cut firewood in the summer, but I cleaned them up so he could finish planting.

@ebinmaine, how much time do you spend on You Tube? Seems like you come up with some good ones and lord only knows that most videos on you Tube are a waste of time. Water "shooting six feet in the air" tells me he had 3 PSI on the air that was in the tire. I don't like putting fluid in a tubeless tire but to each their own.

Lets see...clean front gutter..check Install 2 PTZ security cams ..check Last bit of fill on pool, replace pump, add snazzy fountain aerator, and do a vacuum of the pool bottom with the new pump...ohhh yeah!