Leaderboard

I had these tucked away in my collection, they are artist concept drawings for advertising early 1960's Wheel Horse tractor models and attachments. I acquired these at auction many years ago and think maybe 5 or 6 were available, I was out bid on some and one was given away as a raffle prize at the Annual Wheel Horse Show. The artist was Edward Einar Johnson of Hartford, MI and are in their original folder with the wax paper cover. Now when taking a close look at the drawings you see a 1962 model 552 pulling a gang style mower but the SGM-603 which came out in mid-year of 1962 had out rigger type reel mowers attached mid frame. And the picture with the cultivator set came out at the end of the year in 1962 but is listed as the AC-673 and is being pulled by a 1962 Model 702. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

I should have done this a long time ago. Came across a nice lightly used two post lift. Had the help of a few buddies including Kyle and his dad to help wire it up today.

I have had this roller under the porch years rusting away. I bought it at Zagray show in Colchester Ct. I use this for mole tracks, so I don`t scalp the turf. I have tight turns on the property so I thought this will work. It is small enough for this. Maybe 24" at best, compared to a big 36" did not measure. So, I decided to fit it to the tractor, and it also can be used as a walk behind. Hope you enjoy the picks.

Brace your selves. This exhibit was by far one of my favorites. Fact I spent about 20min admiring this thing. No this is not just a pile of junk parked on the fence line. This is a full on Class A motor home built on a John Deere A chassis. All the amenities of home on this baby. A few pic's of the general outside features. @ebinmaine this is what you & BBT need for your adventures through Main. Note the patented water collection system. Just under the boars head you can see the central air conditioning. The honey wagon on the back is handy for brining along those few little extra things. It also includes a high end rest room. As for the kitchen, well this sign is here to let you know what the main staple in life should be. Always remember to keep fresh road kill in stock. The holding tank is easily emptied by simply pulling this lever. Note the small sign. I believe that it is the security system, it reminds passers by that this is some ones home. Custom interior includes cabinets, heating system, & lighting. The over head counsel in the drivers cabin has all the bells & whistles. Seriously!! No less than 5 different horns at your finger tips. Plus a wolf whistle and a pull string bell. A couple of signs to remind you just how good life is.

Sometimes things just fall into place.. I've joked around with the fella we all know as @wallfish a few times over the last 5 years that if he ever needed a new home and steward for this incredible piece of machinery... Well... We'd be happy to take it in. This is a screenshot of the P F Engineering website pic John submitted years ago. Back in late July, John and I along with Trina of course, started blabbing back n forth about the possibility of she n I becoming the VERY appreciative new owners of a 1986 ish 416-8 with a FEL and Backhoe. Mr Wallfish wanted the machine to go to a new home that would both USE it and be able to repair and maintain it. Well I think we all know the BBT Trina person would absolutely love to put this beast to great use. Here it is being delivered to our house. Covered up and peaking out. I changed the hydraulic filter and bled the system. I've ordered a new tank cap/fuel gauge. We'll remove the tank and clean it out. Today we changed the temporary fuel line and added a primer bulb. Also changed the spark plug. We moved it to the place it'll stay for a few weeks while the new pole barn is built. Can anyone identify the loader? John, we REALLY appreciate the opportunity to own this magnificent tractor. Thank you.

just a look at my herd of horses , various shots , a lot of paint was lubrication recovered , on my 3 12 ,s , started out chalky dull , neglected . oil rub downs , fed / recovered paint , all my experiments / suggestions are on these 3 . lots of hours , will be selling , 36x42 single stage snow blower , 36" R/D DECK , 42" dozer blade / frame , wheel wheel weights , other ods / ends . tractors are not for sale . pete

When we got there we unloaded by it and before tractors even hit the ground I had to study it. Bra on the wash line caught my eye! Yes Don one could have spent an hour studying it. Some more tractors. Lots of restos and originals. Seemed like alot of Fords, 8 & 9Ns Lots of IH Ms too Pics cannot do this display justice. These were all made by hand with old tools and appliances.

Got to the point of being able to roll, steer, brake and clutch. Brake pedal angle seems off to me, but there is not an adjustment for this. I have another thread for that in the restoration forum. Also started prepping the back fender for paint. A few rust pitts to fill in. Since I wont be ready to paint the final round of tins anyways, tomorrow Im gonna focus on cleaning up my work shop. Its a real disaster right now, painting seems to have that effect.

Installed new drive belt and missing pulley and drove this unit for the first time!

@WHX?? and I took a little day trip to Calumetville WI to partake in the RS Vintage Steel show. This was a small show but they had a lot of exhibits as well as a lot of spectator traffic. Thought you guys would like a few pictures. My friend Willy with his Frick steam engine. Some nice old trucks. Working hit & miss model engines. This Farmall H was hand made by the owner. All castings were done in aluminum. Interesting use for a JD tractor. Found this GT 14 in disguise. Apparently the owner thought that it looked like a Haas tractor. I guess I can kind of see it. More pictures to come.

Hello everyone. I'm the proud owner of a (new to me) 1976 WH C-120. I bought it locally here in S.W. Pa. for $450. Gave the fellow (really good dude) that sold it to me an extra $50 to deliver it. He brought it late this afternoon and by the time I was done familiarizing myself with everything and then mowed with it, it was dusk. So, I will post some photos tomorrow. I bought it because it is a tank!. It's built to withstand a nuclear attack. I can't believe how heavy-duty this thing is. And that old Kohler just hums along, and I honestly don't think it had to work very hard at all. It has wheel weights and the cherry on top was the guy gave me two new rear turf tires, one mounted on a spare rim and one unmounted. The steering is tight and smooth, and the deck is quiet. It cuts beautifully. It has a couple dings here and there, but overall, it is in really nice cosmetic condition and mechanically, it seems to be in excellent condition. I asked the fellow why he was selling it and he said he was going to take it to his camp but decided to fix the one he has there. He had bought a Simplicity brand new about four years ago and the C-120 was mostly sitting. The guy had a handle bolted to the brake pedal because he has a prosthetic right leg, and it was easier for him to hand brake. Plus, his new machine has power steering, so it's just easier for him to operate overall. So, I bought it to use it because I think with regular maintenance, this old girl has a lot of life left in her. Plus, I'm tired of working on stuff that wasn't well made to begin with. Sorry so long-winded for my first post, but now you all can understand why I joined.

I've been talking about how much better an Allis-Chalmers / Simplicity grader blade works for heavy work. Well I got both here at the Tweety Bird Ranch and got them torn apart so I decided to weight the blades. The Std. 40" WH mid grader that attaches at the mid hitch has a blade that weighs 16.5 lbs by itself with out the mounting bracket and is rolled steel. The AC blade is 42" and is cast iron. It weighs in without the mounts at a whopping 48 lbs. 3 times that of a WH blade I have used both blades and the heavy blade doesn't bounce around like the WH blade. If you ever run across one and it's reasonably priced I suggest you buy it. Well worth it. Easily adapted to use on a Horse. Here is the mount with a fabricated adapter. The first blade I had I bolted this on but this time I had the pads welded to the mount and just bolted on adapter thingy's. Doesn't really hurt the value if an AC collector comes along and offers stupid money for it!

I purchased this N.O.S. 6 x 12 Carlise tire that is marked Wheel Horse not Carlise from a dealer in Pennsylvania years ago and never seen another one since. Would love to find another. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

That's not much different than the house around the corner from me!

Might be a couple of duplicates here... that's OK. Sure was a nice little show and well organized. I was very impressed. Nice little flea market and just a ton of big tractors We had no less than three folks come to our display and asked us if we were buying horses! This was only a day gig for us but Dan had a fine four on the trailer. Nice little parade they had and I got seat time on the diesel in It!

Back when the Wheel Horse factory closed up in South Bend and moved to Minnesota the tractors that were in the Wheel Horse factory museum kind of disappeared. I have heard of some Wheel Horses showing up from time to time and my story is no different. There was a Wheel Horse jacket on ebay which was quite nice and good quality, and I made the purchase. Some communication between the seller and me went on and she told me that her dad had a job in Quality Control and that he worked in South Bend when the factory closed and then she told me about the tractor her dad took home from the museum when the doors closed. Yes, I started to pester her about the tractor. Well, she called one day and told me their family was going to make a road trip and passing close to Gettysburg during the time of the Annual Wheel Horse Show. So, arrangements were made and met the family at a hotel in Chambersburg, PA on Thursday night. And this was the only time I had ever left the show grounds during show. The Wheel Horse is a 1960 Suburban Model 400 but not concourse quality restored. You can note by the pictures many newer model parts were installed and the paint was questionable, but this Suburban was made to look nice for the museum for people to look and not for guys like me who will pick on every incorrect part installed. When this tractor gets restored, it will look like it did when it sat in the museum. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

The C-125 I use for mowing duties, as some will know, has a duff exhaust valve. Hopefully a replacement will arrive next week. Meanwhile the grass is still growing. So I thought I'd fit the mowing deck to the C-121 also known as The Black Horse. The deck fitted with no problem as it should. BUT! The front of the deck when down was way off the ground. WHY? Well, I've modified the Black Horse a tad for ploughing and it now sits an inch higher. So what to do? So I think I've come up with a solution. I'll deflate the tyres. Yes! I know. That won't work. In a box under one of the benches, are all the parts off a side discharge deck that had a well twisted shell. Must have been run over by something rather heavy. Beyond redemption. The bar on the front has a plate with a locating notch in it. So me thinks, if that plate was an inch longer?? So tomorrow a bit of surgery will take place. I'll take photo's if I remember. I promise.

Ill go through one of my boxs. But i have collected alot of photos of the Wheel Horse use at indy. Most of the pics ive got show the round hoods, such as 702 and 753's and a few others. Ill dig photos out in the next day or so and share.

And….DONE!!

Well, it's what we do after front end Friday.

Uploading awfully slow tonight see if I can get some more out later...

Here is “Last minute” a B-80 with a kohler CH-20 V-twin

I was asked about the SR-64 Speed Reduction kit by a member here and I knew they made 2 versions, the first was for the early 1960's models and the second was for the late 1960's models. Well, what could be the difference I mean it consisted of a big 7-inch transmission drive pulley, 2 idler pulleys and a bent belt guard ???? Now the early 1960's Wheel Horse models did not use the metal tang at the lower front of the belt guard used to slow the belt speed down to shift gears and from 1965 and later Wheel Horse models used a 2-inch metal tang on the lower part of the belt guard up at the output pulley of the engine to slow the belt down. The belt guard was made with 2 front mounting points, 1 for the Tecumseh and 1 for the Kohler engines. With the 7-inch drive pulley the tractor could move at a much slower rate that would be needed for snow blowing or using a tiller. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

I found some pictures of my 753 set up with the SGM-603. Note the swivel joints where the reel mowers connect to the arms and rear hitch. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

Jim keeps calling this a little show. Fact is this is the only show in Wisconsin that spans 2 counties. Our tractors were parked in Fond du lac county & I had to park my truck all the way over in Calumet county just past the steam exhibits. Yep, the county line runs right through the middle of the show grounds.

Put a new electric fuel pump on Skittles. Stock one had cracks at the inlet and was sucking air. Made a mount the replaces the stock pump. Starts now without hesitation.

I have had this roller under the porch years rusting away. I bought it at Zagray show in Colchester Ct. I have tight turns on the property so I thought this will work. It is small enough for this. Maybe 24" at best, compared to a big 36" did not measure. So, I decided to fit it to the tractor, and it also can be used as a walk behind. Hope you enjoy the picks.

Eric, it is interesting to note that the 500 SPECAIL pictured has been at the Wheel Horse Show back in 2008 when the 500 SPECIAL was the featured tractor ......... we defiantly had fun that year doing things with that model. Also, on the other side of your post Classic Tractor Fever, I had met with the director of that show twice in Wilmington, DE at the Charcoal Pit restaurant on RT 202. I tried and tried to get them to come to the Annual Wheel Horse Show and film it for TV. But unfortunately, their target market at that time was all into selling to the larger tractors and not to the garden tractors so they were not interested. That was at least 15 years ago so maybe they have changed. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

Decided to get the 875 out of the back of the garage this morning. Checked the oil, got the grease gun out. Gave it a few shots of grease. Couple of squirts of WD40 here and there. Poured some fresh ethanol free, stabilized gas in it. It's ready for work. Keeping my eyes open for a set of chains for the back tires. I added the wheel weights this summer. I plowed with it last year with no weights and no chains and it handled the snow fine. I have a set of AG tires I could use but rather keep the turf tires on.

Caught @Pullstart on trail cam few minutes ago…

Gave the new lawn roller a little Greasy Pete action and tugged it around today. It does a number on those mole tunnels!

Haven’t had much horse time but this one needed fed! IMG_8774.MOV

Back in 2008 for some raffle prizes at the Annual Wheel Horse Show so I contacted the Indianapolis Speedway about photos of Wheel Horse tractors being used at the racetrack and was able to score a super nice set of photos that was given away at the show. Now keep in mind that I was not allowed the post these pictures online due to them being copy righted and being sold through the library at the speedway. Now I'm sure these might still be available if somebody wanted them. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

The next nightmare...

I wonder how many people driving down the highway and seeing this have run off the road bewildered by it?

liking the Blackhoods more everyday we have them

This is Snoot. Snooter for short. He sees his green friend.

Here’s a few pictures of a what was a once famous racetrack only 3 miles from my house. I remember going there as a child and seeing many famous drivers. Bridgehampton Raceway was in operation from the 50’s to the late 80’ s. From this rare high vantage point on Long Island the views over to Connecticut are unbelievable. Now it’s a golf course that only the ultra wealthy can afford. A friend of mine gave me the book on the history of the track and I was like holy crap there’s a Wheel Horse in the picture! That’s Richard Petty on the hood of that car. I remember Al Unser, Paul Newman, AJ Foyt and others racing there.

I have always enjoyed when John would drive this through the parade at the Annual Wheel Horse Show and really put on a show with the bucket and backhoe! And I think everyone else loved it too! Wild Bill in Richmond VA

Finally got the rock shaft and tiller mount installed. Should be able to test and adjust it all tomorrow

I will tell you the value of these pictures would be high, they are original, signed by the artist and 1 of a kind. I do not know if the concepts were actually used in any of Wheel Horses advertisements, if the original ads could be found would be neat. They could have been used for wall art at the factory in offices I am just not sure, but they were found in South Haven, MI not far from South Bend, IN. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

I have always wondered about the selling of the 500 SPECIAL and have heard the selling of these models only in a few states but mine came from Winston Salem, North Carolina ... a huge racing fan state. Wild Bill in Richmond VA

420-LSE seat suspension assembly.

Nice job Pullstart. I am sure it runs fine know.

Here’s the thread on that carb swap @Retired Wrencher.

K321... Looks like 821? Interesting note: Many K241 and Magnum 10 blocks have K301 cast into the block in the same place as posted in the pic. Supposedly Kohler cast too many K301 blocks so they machined some for use in 10hp engines. I've personally owned a Magnum 10 and a K241 with K301 embossed on them.

Looks great! Definitely a good candidate for side shot Saturday