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Got the tombstone mounted today.

Once this is cleaned out.................... You can put this up out front!

Well, she's on the truck,fellas. I am pretty happy with the lens cover not having cracks. Also with the fact that this is the original paint and no one has come near it with a hardware store can of spray bomb paint.Its still on the truck, and the owner actually got it to start and it loaded itself with a carburetor that is not happy

I figured I should start a thread for my 520 so here goes. Earlier this year I happened to pick up a 520-8 that had seen better days but it was a model I always wanted so I made the 10 hour round trip to go and get it. It didn't run or even crank when I got it which turned out to be a bad 9 pin connector and some safety switches so with those temporarily jumped out and a fresh battery the onan came to life had a surge to it and needed choke to stay alive but judging by the color and smell of the fuel it had been many years since it ran. Fast forward to now and some updates in between on the "what have you done to your wheel horse" thread I've been slowly pulling it apart and gathering parts as needed. It has an electric lift that I'm changing back over to manual lift due to preference and the electric lift seems to hit the support of the hood stand. So today I finally got it down to just a frame and axles to start the process of deep cleaning it! Attached below is a picture of the day I brought it home and now.

Installed my new, correct reproduction shower head muffler on my 854......( boy do we need rain ! )

Oh yes, we're serious about ear pro in this family! Between the '92 Exmark 48" commercial walk-behind and the ported MS311 saw, it's essential PPE. Here's the 3-year old (almost 4) a couple years ago....he wore them pretty much the whole summer.

Haven't done it yet, but tonight I plan to add a pair of kids seats like below to the fenders on my D160 to hold my 2 and 3-year old. The 2-year old is a little scared of it when it's running, but when it's off neither one can stay off the thing. I have to set up an egg timer so they share with each other. They each probably have more time in the drivers seat than I do at this point!

Only been on here a couple weeks and it's been a very pleasant experience.

Visiting the 'Schwarzwald' or 'Black Forest' these couple of days. Beautiful weather so far, 27°C or 80°F with a nice breeze. Went out on the 'Titisee' or 'Lake Titi' for a boatride and after that visited (one of) the highest mountain(s) of the Black Forest which is the 'Feldberg' and is 1493m or about 4900ft high. Fun day!

Weren’t you only allowed to have one tractor a week ago?

I know that no great racer ever tells all his or her secrets, but what are some key details of turning a normal garden tractor into a puller? Power, the right gear selection, weight to keep the power to the ground, sounds simple. I have a buddy looking to get into pulling and I am offering him my C-165 black hood with a poor running Briggs blowing oil out the intake. So, his engine options are grand with a lot of space but he/we know very little about the entirety of the sport. Here’s what I learned so far:

We are working on an engine in a B-80 for one of my pulling tractors (behind me) and we got an awesome delivery from @Bill Winn! It was a hitch! Thanks bill! I’m think of sanding it and painting it to freshen up the look?? I don’t really know much about it and what attachments go to it if anybody knows, it would help lots!

They keep multiplying

Should the rubber washer be on the inside?

I spoke to the wife of the soldier today. He is currently stateside training, then will be home for a couple weeks next month, then on to Southern US, then deployed to Syria for a year. They have equipment and she’ll provide fuel, she just needs someone to run it. Sounds like a good motorcycle ride away and some mowing each week. And no hauling my equipment!

I always chuckle at the preception that BEVs are non polluting. Right now, the majority of them pull power from coal burners or natural gas burners. Are emissions per kWh higher or lower than an internal combustion engine? Not sure, but are probably lower. How about lifecycle cleanliness - battery and electronics production and disposal cleaner than disposal of a petroleum burner? Do we even know how to dispose of large numbers of lithium based batteries at the end of their life cycle? Like everything else, continued improvements won't come without some sort of cost. Just some idle thoughts from a retired engineer.

To me, the progress on electric motor design and efficiencies over the last ten years has been phenomenal and, as we can see in @wh500special's post, it starting to trickle down into more accessible tools and solutions. But the biggest hurdles still ahead are in the batteries (and the sourcing of rare earth metals used in them) and the controls to optimize motor performance and battery charging. Right now, this is heavily proprietary (though there is progress on the charger front, for sure). Some recent research on Tesla Models 3 and Y batteries suggests they are vehicle-usable for between three- and four-hundred thousand miles of driving before needing replacement. Nissan is piloting recycling vehicle batteries into home power storage units where the lower storage capacity-to-weight ratio isn't a showstopper. And recently announced research results by teams who have captured high concentrations of releasable hydrogen in a stable powder form might be a game changer for portable energy storage.

Hot wheels got new rear tires and wheels for a while. He runs good but has a choke cable issue that is needing attention and possibly some looking at the carb bowl mods needed. That bowl flapper gasket was talked about recently and bumps really make him flood out hard. We’re contemplating turning him into a dedicated plow tractor. But for now, at least the rear wheels match the fronts for Saturday’s parade!

To me the real reason you need lights on a machine is if you are going anywhere near or on the streets in front or around your house. Everyone is moving really fast and talking on their phones and you need the help you can get! In addition, when plowing I ALLWAYS add a magnetic yellow circling light to the hood of the tractor (added cigarette lighter outlets to all my tractors. Just saying still alive!!!!

Congrats on that. And it is obvious you have the desire and skills to build a cool custom. In addition to old WH junke, I find a lot of use for old bed frames and scrapped weight training machines.

Your call, but with that many hours and no attachments I would likely pass on that in NC where are not anywhere as available as they are in your area. I think you can do a lot better than that if you're patient...

That's all I ever do. Buy as less parts as possible and try to get as many original parts on there as possible. Use the scrap pile! Here's one from a while back

Landed a pretty good deal on some Ag tires and rims for my B80 Im semi-restoring. Got the set for $100 rims and tires. tires look to have never seen use. Sure beats about around 100 each for new tires only. now I gotta find some fronts.

I was engine shopping on Honda's website today and found these new electric power units (battery/controller/motor). So far these are only in the 2.4-HP class, but I'd bet we see bigger ones soon. I would think one in the 5-hp range would be a perfect swap into a smaller Wheel Horse like a shortframe/suburban. Honda GXE2.0 Even this one would work well as a drive motor for the transmission on a C-series if you also added electric power to the attachments separately. I think this is brilliant packaging that will permit easy swapping and seamless integration into legacy equipment. They do also offer a divorced battery/motor version. I didn't do the math on runtime/chargetime/etc. But would bet that runtime would approximate whatever a normal tank of gas would provide on an engine this size. This is quite exciting! Steve

How warm does the 8 speed need to be for this test? LOL! Just bustin on ya Kevin

You can always use soapy water to spot leaks!

I have no idea what I’m gunna do with this.. It does have cool stickers, lights and a good seat. I’ve never seen a Wheelhorse seat that wasn’t cracked. Until today. 🤔 That pulley looks kinda big. side by side

Rylee gave her parade machine a bath in the sun today. Hot Wheels looks good!

I’m pretty much locked down. Will get in trouble if any more stuff shows up!

Have you ever cut a miter on saw but needed to go back several times to take basically 1/64s out to adjust and compensate for an out of square condition? Or because your saw is not precise? Or simply because piece is still slightly too long?If so you understand how time consuming and frustrating that experience can be. Back in my journeyman days I used to watch carpenters form a line to the saw for that purpose. A sad sight . I simply carried a block plane in my apron and made all the adjustments right there next to where molding went in a fraction of the time with greater accuracy. Now, if one ads a “ shooting board “ to the plane , we now have an extraordinarily efficient and precise tool to do those tasks and much more. Essentially the shooting board is about the equivalent of a Guillotine but much more versatile and adaptable to different situations . Although there were great commercially made units in the hand tool hey days most of the times it is just a simple homemade unit adapted to a particular plane one may have. There are numerous ingenious ideas for them. However in theory it is a simple board with a stop and an area for plane to slide on its side .It’s main function is to provide an easy accurate way to take precise controlled cuts on the end grain of a piece of wood. It will provide a perfectly squared or mitered end perfectly square on its thickness. It should hold the work securily and provide ways for the precision needed to be executed and maintained through out its use. It’s usefulness however does not stop with just that and it is unlimited. One soon finds that it is an indispensable addition to the bench. They are always made from whatever leftover materials one has. Mine is heavy and stable allowing also my body to lean against it while in use needing no other way to hold it on bench besides the stop underneath it . There are planes specialized for this but one can use any plane available. The ideal criteria for it is preferably a hefty jack with its sides square to the bottom. If it is a low angle one even better but not necessary. I use two of them constantly. A small one dedicated to a block plane and a large more sophisticated one for much larger work. They can be made from any leftover material and are easy to make. Mine are a combination of many different ideas and adaptations of my own to it. Small shooting board for block plane Miter adapter Full size ramped shooting board with some of its attachments. Ramp provides better work holding ability, but more importantly allows entire width of blade to be used rather than just one small area. Plane rides on slick hard wearing Corian surface. Unit is heavy. Fence or stop is sacrificial and adjusts by tapping it right to blade edge to support cut exit. Squaring a board ending stainless wear strip prevents plane from planing actual side of shooting board by riding against end of planes mouth. Blade will not touch board edge. As plane rides forward ramp exposes all width of blade to board being trimmed Sacrificial miter attachment. Paper thin end grain shavings Attachment handle to use plane on its side. This plane weights a bit over 7 Lbs and has a 3” wide iron and sides are perfectly square to bottom. Being used to plane a small 1/2” thick piece.

How did you letter the hood? That looks amazing.

I know I’ll have to do some tweaking with belt guides but because the brake is incorporated with the clutch; full pressure on the clutch will stop the trans by applying the brake. it’s not a racer. There’s no shifting on the run unless your quick. Lol @wallfish I copied the belt setup that’s on my 64 Massey Ferguson Executive 8. It clutches with a backside idler and the brake is separate on my year. It works fine. Also a clutch setup I want so bad to test it’ll out but I’ve got no where to sit. 😂 The link belt is temporary. I use it to find the final belt that’s going to work. They are fairly durable if installed properly. We’ve go one on a hvac kicker unit with a 5hp electric motor. It’s been running with a link belt for 4 yrs now 24/7. 🤔 I should prolly check that unit tmw.🫢 I understand everyone has a different build. I guess I’m trying to make building a cool Wheelhorse out of stuff that would otherwise get scrapped, cheap and easy.

Better photo time

I don't think you're going to find a complete "how to do everything". Even this build won't explain everything. Custom stuff like this is basically build as you go and use what works, scrap what doesn't. Make it yours, make it unique! Some stuff might not "look right" afterwards so change it. I've scrapped plenty of builds and ideas because they just didn't come out right. What's the point if it' ends up you're not happy with it? Just do something you're proud of. All of the steering components need to be tight. especially so at the tie rods. Some Toe In will tighten up some of the "twitchy" ness in the steering Adding some Caster will help if the wheels start to shopping cart at higher speeds Is that adjustable belt temporary? Or can it hold up to the forces involved? I've only seen those used for small electric motor applications. Using a clutch idler on the inside of the belt loop allows for more belt slack to let it slip around the driven pulley for clutching. RJ58s used the idler on the outside of the loop so it can work but it's probably more difficult to dial it in to get it to work right.

Flipped front axle. The plates bolted to the frame hold the front axle from moving so it didn’t lift a rear tire cornering. im going to cut out the 3/4” bar so the battery will fit in here. jackshaft and clutching links. The backside idlers are from mower decks. The pivot shaft is the old brake pivot shaft welded onto a deck tensioner arm bent to fit. I left that deck idler on. Lol This is in the clutched/ brake locked position. This is brake off clutch engaged. the fixed idler keeps constant tension on the belt. Also a deck idler pulley. I used the pto plate as a brake pivot. I need to drill a hole in it for the stock return spring to tension the belts. The clutch/ brake linkage will all be hind the tin. I also realized there’s 2 diff ent style cast pedals.

Thank you Dan for parting with your tiller. I had a great time meeting you and learning more about this Wheel Horse phenomenon. Bill

I Re-used old n broken bench seat and made a tale gate out of it.

Here's mine, fresh out of the e-tank today. Below the pic is the thread that @Pullstart posted not long ago. I'd bet you would love seeing that in action. Safe and inexpensive. The reverse of anode and cathode serves to do plating on stuff also. Great science projects!

The reason I went to the bridge rectifier and buck converter was so that I can use 12V or 5V LEDs (2 buck converters running at the two voltages, all located in the same power box) with digital controllers. The 12VAC coming off the magneto is between 10V and 24V and would not work with the controllers. I did take the grounding advice and ran a 12AWG ground line directly from the battery that I use for all the LEDs. Because of the low current draw of the LEDs, I used 16AWG nickel/Teflon wire that I have left over from some high temp projects I did twenty years ago. It all works like a charm and I now have lots of power for expansion.

And here he was thinking one tractor a week!

I have a bit to do with it. All I know right now it runs, moves and shifts. Trans fluid is a little milky so I understand that will be an issue but if I can get what I need done before winter I can work on that later.

Personally, I hate when when people drill holes through the sheet metal & bolt lights to the sides of the hood, to ME it ruins the lines of the tractor & just looks plain "ol ugly. If you can't find a factory headlight bucket & lens I would do this... Make a small metal plate to fit in the hood opening & mount 2 of these to it. They are super bright, they put the light pattern where you want it, & doesn't spoil the looks of the tractor. ( also keeps wires further away from the muffler )

So it basically has a new motor on it and has less hours than shown.

They used to make coal fired foot warmers for buggies. I had a chance to buy one but didn’t. I wasn’t expecting to own an air-cooled car or a buggy. It was a pretty cool piece though!

You may have to add a belt pinching clip on the clutch pulley to stop the belt so you can shift without grinding gears.

I used 3/4”x5/8” brass bearings in the clutch pivot. I have a bunch of 1” sq stock 1/8” wall I got for free. The bearings press in tight. I then used the 5/8” parking brake/brake pivot shaft as my pivot shaft for the clutch. I cut down a deck idler arm and welded it to the shaft after getting things aligned and belt tension/release figured out. then I cut the parking brake notches off and cut the ends off to use as bell crank arms. the brake shaft. everything needed to make a clutch pivot minus the deck arm

Thats a fact. Ironically Ive found entire tractors for not much more then a new set of tires alone, with the tires I want. If I had more space, id buy a few.

So up early to finish what I started yesterday. Finished painting the wheel weights on my 875. They are Craftsman weights 55 lbs each. Better then no weights.