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My neighbor bought Jays (Roadapples) tractor from his estate. I’m sure he’d be happy to know it’s making its new owner happy! Rest in peace Jay, you’re still making people smile!

@c-series don posted this picture on another thread. I felt it needed it's own thread so more members could see it. Thanks to Don and his neighbor Andy (who owns the tractor) for allowing me to share this picture.

Some sure signs of spring this morning. The daffys are blooming. The plum, pear, and apple trees are budding. The plums are starting to open and this has me worried as some 28F temps are in the forecast next week. The neighbor lad has been prepping the ground for planting the sweet corn. This will all be under plastic. Wait for his zero turn radius.

I installed a second water heater as a tempering tank to preheat the cold incoming water in the winter - we had a walk-in tub installed in 2016 - uses 90 gallons of water. My 40 gallon worked OK in the summer to keep up, not so in the other months. So, I get all the piping done, except for cutting into the existing 1" iron gas pipe to add a Tee to feed the gas to the new heater. I feel your pain on the lack of sharpness there. I inquired if they used the now covered up pipe threading machine. Depends - what do you need?? I need 2 sections of pipe, x inches long and a tee exactly centered +/- 18" at x inches from the left end. Assembled length must also be x +/- 1/8". They told me they could NOT do ANY of that, but Fred could. OK, let me talk to Fred.... sorry, he works now at another HD store, 12 miles north. I did not want to cut into the existing pipe, just replace it... So I call Fred - he is a retired Master Plumber.. I go see Fred at the other store, he pegs it on the first shot.... He walks up to the register with me, tells them NOT to charge me for the cutting and threading, just the pipes & fittings. Fred's a keeper in my book... the other clowns can stock shelves...

Put a new hitch reciever on the C-81 today, then put on a set of wheel weights I picked up last summer. Put the grader blade on & touched up the driveway, knocked down the "turn around berm". It was too nice out to stop so I decided to rake the front yard too. Put her in the shop so she could spend some time with her big sister when I was done.

Good evening everyone . Saturday I joined the wheelhorse family . Brought my new tractor home and got it running . Still needs some parts to make it run right but it’s a start . The tractor has no model number or information on it other than the Kohler k321AS engine . It has a hydrostatic transmission . I was hoping you guys could help me identify the model.

Actually it doesn't do anything. It just sits there waiting for someone to push it and wonder why the engine shut off.

I keep returning the black paint because it's too light!

Well, oddly enough I can add a really good (really!!) experience with the Depot one....and like you guys, a visit to these stores can be quite frustrating at times. I have an all electric home - live rural and have never ran gas down my road - so my 30+ yr old 27" built-in oven gave up on the broiler working. Quickly found it was the circuit board, found a place online that 'guaranteed' to repair it - $150 (new oven was running upwards of 2K) sent it off and 5 days later got it back, installed ..... promptly threw a code! After 2 days of no contact/comment/suggestion.etc from that mistake, I went back to looking at new one. None of the big boxes carried them in house, you have to let them order or do it yourself, which I chose to do. Settled on a GE from Home Depot at $1600 delivered to my home at no charge! Placed the order and was given a delivery date in 5 days. Next day receive email saying was on the way, next day get one giving more info, this went on til day prior and am told to expect delivery between 2&5PM the next day. Day starts off saying there was 12 stops til mine, round noon get one saying was 4 stops til mine.... bout 5pm get a call from driver confirming address, 15 min later theyre here and quickly put it where I needed it. Next day get email wanting to know was the delivery done properly and was the item OK, etc. What this is leading up to is the fact that I was really (really!) surprised at the way that purchase was handled ... in this day and age you just really dont see a lot of that anymore. My son and I installed it and its broiling again.... yay!!

Very common. Here's a pic of mine with the metal...

The C145 is a great tractor, you should be able to enjoy it for years. My C145 lives it's life with the snow blade on the front

I know it’s Monday but I did take these yesterday! Going to change the oil seal in the rear axle on my C-121 so I figured a quick photo shoot was in order. I’ll take some more pictures when I get into that.

Cleaned the points and put a charger on the '73 Auto12 that I got in a package deal last year. Pulled it into the shop and put some fresh Rotella in it and gave it a once-over. Don't know yet what I'll do with it but the price was right. Strong k301, hydro strong and clean, 10 pinion LS with 1 1/8 axles but no center lift on this frame. Wiring has been replaced but with nylon terminals, no heat shrink anywhere. Cheap clamps and just ugly fuel lines so lots of potential but I'll have to think about how I'll end up putting this one to work...

Gentlemen, I just changed the muffler on my ‘69 Charger 12. There are quite a few Gravely 18543 aftermarket mufflers out there so I decided to purchase 2; 1 from Amazon for $45 and 1 from NAPA (7-03679) for $72. Both are made in Taiwan and while the Amazon muffler actually felt a tad heavier to me, its welded construction was poorer so I decided to use the NAPA muffler. To complete the installation, I needed a 1.25” x 4” black pipe nipple and a 5/16” x 1-1/4” exhaust clamp (NAPA 733-5323). In conclusion, it seems to me the sound out of the Gravely style muffler is noticeably quieter than the classic pepper pot. Worth the $80 to me! Link to my YouTube video:

Yep, a 5 HP 20 wheel drive tractor that weighs 8000 pounds.

I just went to my Lowes. Plenty of gas ranges and water heaters on the floor. lots of gas shut offs and flex lines too. 1/4" pipe is pretty hard to come by and I don't think my store ever really had much. We have an industrial plumbing supplier in town and they never carried a lot of it either because it really isn't used that often. I stopped by the paint dept. and the girl behind the counter looked like she had seen a ghost. I asked her if she was ok and she said she was ok but a little frazzled after waiting on some guy with red suspenders!

The Blue Box of Wonder has done stupid stuff for years. And they exaggerate like there is no tomorrow. They gave you a load of BS. I have seen empty shelves in my store and they say they aren't going to carry it anymore. 6 months later the stuff is back in another isle. They just hired a new district manager and he/ she wanted it moved. They all do it. Dumber than a box of rocks. My wife works in a thrift store. They just hired a new area manager who worked for Macy's. She wants the thrift store to look like a Macy's. My wife comes home with these unbelievable stories of what she wants done. I told her to call me when she's there and I'll come down and straighten the whole ball of wax out!

I carefully de-taped the tires. These will now sit by the window for a few days before pulling the tube valve stem back in and re-inflating. The white residue on the tires is adhesive from the tape. I will clean that off after tires are inflated.

Yes try and find that tag then we can get you manuals if you need them. Metal pan is the way to go unless your a purist and nothing wrong with that either My '82 is a go to mower.

Great look'n C Series right there above. Thanx for posting. This 'C' I got several years ago to mow my Daughters Property. Here's a Pic I snapped after some new Rubber

A large change in the offset of a wheel will change the loading on the flange and bearings of the hub. In extremes cases, it can cause a hub/bearing failure. Cornering loads are generally higher on front wheels than rear wheels. When we moved to Mo., we rented a U Haul van to move some things that we didn't want the movers to mess with. We were westbound on I 70. There was a service road running parallel to the freeway, maybe 15 to 20 feet above it. I noticed an oncoming car on that road with a shower of sparks coming from where the right front wheel used to be. "That's odd", I thought. The next thought was "where did the wheel go?" A about then, I saw the wheel land on the shoulder ahead of me. Bounced way up in the air, and landed in the left lane just behind me. In the side mirror, I saw it take another bounce way in the air and come down in the median. That one was a little close for comfort.

You have an early 80’s C-145 automatic. Here it is new!

@Pullstart My neighbor has seen me for years doing different tasks with different tractors (all Wheel Horse of course) and knows about my infatuation with them. Last summer he told me that he was ready to purchase one, so he found a pretty nice 312-A with a deck, bagger and a snowplow. We live on a dirt road and soon he was asking me about a grader blade. Next thing I know he’s driving to Virginia to pick one up. I think it was a 14 hour round trip! I’m honestly not sure how he found out about Roadapples backhoe tractor, probably here. I told him about Red Square early on in his quest for a tractor. Then he tells me he’s buying one with a backhoe and I’m thinking “Crap I don’t even have one of those!” Sure enough, a few days later he shows up with Jays tractor! He definitely has the bug now and I am definitely a bad influence on him! I must say that it is nice to have someone across the road from me who is interested in these tractors. Like most of us here I love talking Wheel Horses!

If you look at the pictures I posted in post number three you’ll see the one with the vacuum set up has metal fenders from the factory. I remember hearing that they quickly realized that the plastic fenders were not a good idea. The good news is that switching to a metal fender pan is a simple bolt on job. Here’s my C-165 Auto.

Watch out for the exhaust..!!

i'm fortunate to have 2 "C" series Blackhood tractors of the 175 model with the seat pan fenders of plastic still in tact and in good condition - no cracks or damage - hope to keep them that way -- i just try to stay away from bushes and trees

Looks like a Turbo model to me!

Funny , the lady that helps me is always complaining about some goofy looking ole goat from up north.

I do not believe they came with fasteners - they had no way of knowing the width of your rims. The 854 has narrow rims - bolts about 5-1/2" long. The C series has wider rims - perhaps 8 ??? inches or so..... Reminds me of the old joke - Guy goes to the lumber Aisle looking for 2x4's. Clerk asks "How long do you need them??" He replies "I'm building a house, I'll need them for a long time......"

Yep, welcome - this has to be THE greatest forum!! These guys will bend over backwards to help.... really! I'll also agree to the hunting up a metal fender, that fiberglass is so brittle with age when you start using the tractor it'll prolly start coming apart. Hah, as it so happens, I've got a pretty decent glass fender leaning against the shop wall, but I'd be afraid to even pick it up, much less try and ship it y

Guess I should have mentioned that as well. Jeez I’m really slacking, I need to step up my game! 😂😂

Well, it is not pretty, but is very solid. First, I added a reinforcing piece of angle iron underneath the broken end of the transmission tunnel.Then I added additional angle iron supports that take all the weight and flex off the thin front section as there is plenty of support added to the rear to take the flex and metal fatigue from the front. You have to be careful that the threaded holes in the rear seat pan support remain squared up with the original seat pan configuration..Even though it might look like the rear area is welded to the front, it still comes apart to work on the transmission and rear axle ,if needed. I used a few vice grips and wood spacer blocks and nylon ratcheting webs to hold it together and spaced apart correctly as well as a framing square so the seat pan still fit the original configuration . The angle iron in the last picture are notched under the front stretcher for rock solid support I am a pretty good carpenter when it comes to welding, so quit laughing In case you are wondering about the engine tin, his tractor is a shaker plate that ripped up the tins as a result of the coil being attached to them. I booger welded some old curved metal underneath and patched the broken and missing metal from the front with JB weld. I found that it stays in place by placing a sandwich bag over it and you can tool it a bit by using the plastic as a buffer so the JB does not run or sag. Body filler and epoxy metal in one. I patched a seat support that the latest and greatest seat as on a 520 almost completely detached while I was close to a deep rocky hole in a side ditch, and that will get your attention. I was able to bolt a section of a circular saw blade to the transmission tunnel to get by. This repair is much superior to that .Seats on Wheel Horse all the way back to the Raider 10 with its tilting seat pan can be a disaster with a high backed replacement seat. i got dumped off backwards loading the tractor on a trailer ramp when the latch let loose . Fortunately, the tractor was sitting on the ramp to service the mower and the tractor was not in motion when I leaned back to dismount the tractor. My tailbone hurt so bad that i had no business trying to get in the truck to drive home.

Changed the muffler on my ‘69 Charger 12!

Another gt14 attempt...fine tuning the letter height to be just enough for fully white.(layers are so very thin ya need 3 or 4 layers, but don't want em to stick up too much!

Jim & I were on a road trip up to Green Bay once. On the way up we saw a truck with big off set rims sitting along side the road with a wheel missing. On the way home we saw different truck with big offsets sitting along side the road with a missing wheel. Heard of it happening to a few others with the big offsets. I notice the truck in this video had big offsets. Could be just me but, there seems to be a pattern here.

Ahhh Noooo it took me a short time to realize how good they were right out the factory... and mine has still got a fine running tecky... shhhh don't tell Sqounky... You obviously haven't caught my comments about Sylvia's fine looking B Hoods and a angle grinder have you! No more mentioning 502s @ri702bill... gets me off on a tangent...

Glad to hear you are on the mend, Any day that I wake up is a gift from God and I am thankful.

502?!? What who where when? I might as well keep the blade on ... calling for snow end of week. No offense Ed but you can stick yer daffies where the sun don't shine!

We got five foot drifts yet...

While there is a chance he knows what he is talking about, I think it’s unlikely that a floor employee in the plumbing department of a particular New England store really knows much more about Lowe’s corporate decisions than you or I do. Lowes has 300000 employees and the odds are long that this one is seriously clued in to corporate policy and legal strategy. Not impossible of course, so I may be eating crow if this comes to pass. I’d bet he’s conflating stories, repeating a rumor, or just making stuff up as he goes. If Lowes really wanted to play Pontius Pilate and wash their hands of all things that could get them in legal trouble they’d quit selling paint, solvents, chainsaws, and anything remotely related to electricity. Specious facts I’ll bet. Steve

Believe it or not, there is an "art " to make black paint. I had a customer (a Mennonite ) who ran a body shop. He would by a wrecked car (hit in the front) and another the same model (hit in the back) cut them in 2 (no @Pullstart ) and weld them back together. Paint em black and sell them to his community. He had a special formula he liked after going thru several different ones. For a gallon it called for about 100 grams of white mixer, a splash of yellow oxide, a few hundred grams of basecoat drier and the rest was black mixer. I have a funny story for any big show goers this year about the different shades of white paint that I don't dare put here but will tell in June if interested.

The great thing about Wheel Horse is that many parts interchange with little to no modifications. The pic below isn't mine, but it has an older C series fender, different from what is already shown in the thread. My blackhood will have the fender like the pic. Looks really nice to me!

Washed some of the field off of Putt Putt, and let a few others soak up some vitamin D for a bit while I pulled Norman out of storage.

A friend helped me fix up my wife's chicken run today. The last forty inches of wet heavy snow two weeks ago crushed it down and ripped open some of the fence. We were at least able too get it closed in enough too hopefully keep the predators out until we can do it right. Spring has not showed up in Peru Massachusetts yet.

Our Ace Hardware stores carry a good selection of black, galvanized, plastic, and brass pipe and hydraulic fittings.

If push comes to shove, just take a mini grinder and remove the broken parts o the fender and carve it into some kind of useable shape. I got two of those tractors and all the beat up parts went on one. The seat pan was so roached that all that remains is the square area in the center. It looks better that way than it would otherwise.that tractor was a c 141 and its brother was a c-145. the seller was done with tire kickers and we showed up to look at it pulling a trailer. He reduced his price to half his original ask of 400 for both.He lowered it on his own because i was the first guy who showed upwhen i said i would with cash in hand, so I did not argue with him. Two decks, one blade , and an extra set of Firestone ag tires mounted on rims. What a day! That was right in the midst of when people did not know how to manage their affairs during the pandemic, so deals like that are not gonna happen anymore. Also, I imagine that where you live, these machines were not sold at any hardware store who wanted to be a dealer. Ohio , Indiana, and PA and Michigan have lots of them left with realistic pricing

Hopefully I do not disrupt your post, but I have wondered this myself. As long as the regulator / rectifier has the correct AC & DC voltage rating and the correct amp rating, it really should not be a problem. If you know that ratings are with in spec, the manufacturer of the reg/rec should not matter. Other than maybe a mounting issue.

You got a good one. The reliability of a Kohler 14 horse power engine and the performance of an Eaton 1100 transmission. The fiberglass rear fender appears to be in great condition, too often they have been abused and broken. Enjoy the journey and let us know how you are doing. Any questions that come up, please feel free to ask.

XHT blades are the toughest I ever used and I bought the C-120 in 1977. I have used them for around five years. I take them off and use gater blades with the vacuum and it's still on.

Today I took the dash panel, throttle cable, belt, and the gas tank off of my 604.It is now just a rolling frame with an engine.