Leaderboard

My grandpa gave me his 1975 C-160. i cleaned it up and did a bunch of maintenance on it and put it to work. Its in great shape and runs awesome pics here - https://imgur.com/a/hsszO6V

Saw this for Sale on Marketplace, Kilgore, Tx $1800 I found one thing that said it was made for the Export Market. United Steel Fabricators Power Mite Tractor made in Wooster, Ohio, 1966. 10 hp Briggs and Stratton is running. New ignition magneto, 3 forward speeds and one reverse. New battery, fresh coat of paint on seat. Clutch works in an open case. I have documentation from the designer’s grandson (9 pages). It’s a collector’s item project.

I've operated equipment for 70 years that had none of the government mandated safety equipment. I also don't have any kids around to get hurt with my tractors I learned back in the 40's to keep my fingers out of equipment when it's running and still have all ten of them. Most of the safety required by our government was brought about by larger manufactures to put small manufactures out of business. The small guy can't afford to get the testing required for the little sticker on the equipment so he can sell it. I bolted these together one summer in 1961 before the owner had to quit building them.

I don't own a completely stock Wheel Horse all mine have a few modifications. My 1989 520-H has heims joint tie rods going to the back side of the triangle plate. Ball bearing on the upper steering support. The steering wheel is bolted on and raised 2 1/2". The belt guard is cut off and the angle bracket behind is removed. It also has real 1/4"heims joints on the hydro control rod. All mine WH have the frame braced at the transmission mount.

I agree - like replacing the water filled 4 speed in my 854 when I got it with an 8 speed from a low hour C81... All good, unless you paint it green & yellow....

@Lane Ranger Happy Birthday to the only guy I know who brings a napping cot to the shows with him!

1989 520-H

Check the valve adjustment (as a big block the M10 valves are adjustable)

Happy Happy Lane! Not a bad idea for us old farts... How about bringing lounge chairs to a show! Can't have @Shynon or Rodney in a camp chair can we?

Assembled an Attach-a-matic to the bracket I made last week and mounted them on the 854. I added flanges to the rearward side members to fit over the still-attached mid-hitch--that way I got to use two bolts on each side. Didn’t quite get the hole for the front hood base screw lined up so that’ll have to be remedied. Once done, I’ll make up a new, much longer, thumbscrew. Bar in place to take measurements for the next step--a hanger for front weights.

The reduction steering can, with some effort and tweaks, go into pretty much any 300, 400, 500. It expects a swept front axle (with its 1” spindles), with its slightly different geometry. One noticeable effect is that the steering column is more vertical. Another is that it gets crowded at the base of the hood stand!

Some nice pictures on here guy's of your 500 Series. I know you old timers like me have seen my pictures on here for years, but some of our newer members don't always get to see them wearing their original paint on the tractor and implements. If you could add the year of the tractor as well it may help someone doing a restoration when it comes to decals etc.First three pics are a 1993 tractor. The blower is original paint as is the Kwik- Way loader and 42'' RD deck. The rest of the pics are a 1991 with same blower and cab. Thanks

I'll take BOTH of those. A Super C would be cool. And.... I LOVE working on Wheelhorses. I know I know. I'm a bit twisted. 🤪

I should have a t-shirt with that printed on it... ...as a warning label!

Same here Don! When I finally restore my 701, it will be "close", but still not original. Mine wouldn't either, but my rear cylinder airflow has no restrictions.

I've had a couple 520-H and one 520-8 that was a very rough (even for the south) parts machine. None had reduction steering but all had the swept axle. I had to cannibalize one 520-H to have a good tractor, as one had a bad hydro and the other a blown engine. I used the best of both to make the one I still use today. It works like a dog, and never complains. The only thing I don't like is the high mounted DCL, but I plan to change it. Meet Pinkie:

1988 520H

Check the connection right at the ammeter itself. That connection has caused countless Horses not to start. It's right next to the regulator connector and you may have bumped it.

I understand completely what you’re saying. I am lucky to have several wheel horses from both grandpas. And this one my dad and I restored this winter both of my grandfathers owned this tractor and one point

That would be an awesome rig anyway you came to have it. But being your grandpa’s is really special and takes it to another level. Glad for both of you. “she’s a beaut Clark!”

There really aren't any tweaks to putting in a gear reduction system into anything else as long as you have the complete system, it was pretty much bolt and go. The most difficult aspect for my ride's gear reduction steering install was removing the original steering wheel. I just cut the steering shaft after asking nicely too many times. I figured that steel can be too demanding if it is a liquid. As far as the more vertical position of the steering wheel... I've never observed any difference between the two. Left is my 315-8 and right is my C165 with a complete 520H reduction set up. Anyways, if I had to choose, I'd go for the 520H with the reduction. I have both, and there are days I wish my straight axle 520 had that feature.

You’ll want to think about extending a solid brace off the frame to get that bearing closer to the pulley. Even a 1” shaft will have some deflection at 6” with 20+HP working on it via a pulley. And deflection will introduce vibration. And....bad.

I'm getting dizzy reading all of this.It may be time for a night cap even though it's still light out. I'm going to find you a C-195 where you are a fan of Kohlers and large diameter rear tires and get out in your property and start enjoying your land instead of working on WH's. Enjoy life, it's way to short. There, now I don't need that nightcap. Thanks for letting me vent . Get going on that F-250 Brother

Ah, yes - the almighty buck... Don and I come from similar Engineering backgrounds where the good intentions are scrutinized by the CBC (Corporate Bean Counters) where they do a "risk accessment" to determine if (and when) THEY decide to eliminate a milestone quality upgrade because THEY have decided that it meets the spec and good enough IS good enough without it. We would cite past final customer quality issues to justify said upgrade - we would be told to "Bookshelf" it for possible use later IF NEEDED. So. since it was already completely designed, I would omit the parts in question, but leave ALL the mounting holes and dowel holes in the main plate drawing.... Machine gets built shipped afar and folks there ask "What are all those extra holes for??" I tell them to wait a year and ask when a "kit" upgrade is sent for THEM to install - Dega Vu !!! Never did see one of the CBC ever do a halfway around the world visit to see how the "FIX" was going.... I so do not miss those games anymore..................

Trying something new today. I had to try the local chicken competition (the actual chicken market in town) and get some chicken chorizo. I stuffed it inside one of my chickens from butt to neck and rubbed it with another local market’s IPA Beer rub. I don’t even like IPA beer, but this rub is quite amazing. I made a little foil boat and stuck a stick of room temp butter down, more IPA rub, and two halved and cleaned out fresh jalapeños. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say most people at supper tonight won’t complain! We’re smoking at 180 for a couple hours, then 225 to finish at 165 meat temp.

I like to think that even the WH engineers would approve when the mods are very in keeping with the machine’s original intended purpose while adding usefulness and durability. That said, I deeply appreciate folks who maintain high degrees of originality in their tractors. They provide the benchmarks and preserve the history for the rest of us!

I over think pretty much everything so the short answer is yes. That said... This engine is BIG. It's several inches wider taller and longer than anything ever put in a Wheelhorse. It's HEAVY. This beast is full cast iron and steel except the cylinder heads and carburetor. If one were to install this engine with the pulley system in a lined up position the static weight center would be several inches on the OUTSIDE of the left hand frame rail. And I will be able to USE this machine. In the woods. Tilted. So it really needs to be balanced right. With the knowledge base i have that leaves me with two possibilities. Utilize some sort of right angle power transmission. Offset the engine 6 or 8 inches to the right and use pillow blocks and an idler shaft with two pulleys to realign the belt to the transmission.

Gage wheel bushings, if memory serves, part number 5306 - Used to replace them a lot unless the tire of the gage wheel was badly worn or shredded. 2 5306 bushings and 1 5188 wheel bolt each side. 5188's are still available out there, didn't check if bushings are.. That is assuming by gage wheels you mean the wheels on either side of the deck (as opposed to scalp rollers) They can be knocked out of the gage wheels with a drift punch once you get past the grease. Bear in mind the zerts on those wheels do not have check balls so the pressure that might get locked in by greasing does not cause wheels to drag or bind, so after greasing, it isn't uncommon for grease to spit back out the zert. (New OEM gage wheels, took exactly 33 pumps of grease from new before the first bit of grease started coming out the bushing)

The 2 stator wires from the engine are AC voltage. It makes no difference what terminal they are on as long as it's the 2 terminals for the AC input. They are next to each other. The third terminal by itself is battery voltage wire.

520-8 was a one year, 1990 model. No reduction steering that I know of.

I'm a little late to this post since I was out of town, but here are some first hand photos to bring it into perspective . . .

I still have a couple little adjustments to do to the neutral location and the choke cable. But otherwise she is pretty much done.

Thanks for your collective opinions. I noticed not one person said, "He's young give him another chance" That would be for the second time. But, trust me, he's gone.

Cancel Cable and Satellite

Good luck and a lot of fun on that 633 as I did with the 753 project

Well with summer coming to an end, I’ve really been putting more thought into tinkering with the 1975 C-160 I acquired probably a year or more ago. My shop is a little cluttered from past projects so I decided to tidy up a bit. Got started trying to straighten up and the Shop-Vac on/ off switch broke. Of course I HAD TO take it apart and mess with it. The switch itself seemed to toggle back and forth just fine between on and off. But, the green and red buttons on top that work that switch just wouldn’t cooperate. Then I thought “heck with it”. I did not want to order a switch and then the green and red buttons not cooperate with the new switch. I’m just gonna get a new shop vac. But, it has a perfectly good cord on it and my Skil Saw is needing a cord. I decided to put the Shop Vac cord on the Skil Saw. I knew I was getting into tricky stuff, trying to take a Skil Saw apart and wire in a new cord, but I got it done. When I got the handle apart I found a warning label which I would not heed anyways. I didn’t know I had to take the brushes out to change a cord !😆 IMG_3057.mov

had a hitch so shrunk it down for the b60.

Finally a fun new post for this thread! Scored a 200 model made in April 1951! It's the Christmas color scheme too so that's cool. I've been waiting for the right deal on a 200 and this one finally popped up at way under what I was wanting to pay. It was part of a cheap bundle of stuff someone was selling as a lot and obviously it all worked out me. Jack and I disassembled and cleaned it thoroughly. It had one of the old fuel caps that are dangerous as they have a vent hole on the side. So we borrowed a cap off the stove and it's working great. Looks good with it too! Jack is claiming this one as his since he thinks it's a "kid" size lantern. LOL! ....on to the pics! As we got her! Someone had this apart before and the frame and handle were sideways...we correct that later of course after our efforts Not sure if the pics show it well but did some research and the 200 models made in May of 1951 and earlier have brass founts. Kind of neat. Ready for deercamp!

I recently picked up a rougher horse from a friend and I found the trans to be pretty weak off the bat. I was told it was weak but I wasn’t expecting the absolute gutlessness that I was presented with. Foward is slow and revers is almost non existent. From what I can tell there’s a few ways to tell what part of the trans is the issue, I just don’t know exactly what to test and what the results of the tests may mean. How exactly do I test it? I know it has a big pump on top and the bottom half probably just consists of a standard wheel a matic but I can’t tell for sure given it’s condition. I’ve read they are labeled wheel o matic but are actually sundstrand units? Idk where to begin honestly

My experience was mostly in software, but the parallels with manufacturing are impressive. What? You want something NOT on the Minimum Viable Product spec? Customer demand? Regulatory requirement? Cost to build? Cost to maintain? Additional risk of failure added to the overall product? Potential savings? Reputational risk? Product liability risk? Additional cost for training and supporting customer questions? And on and on.... Still, when you enter one of these and come out winning it is really sweet!

Yeah the single stage work good for powder, heavy snow gets tricky. I’d like to try a 2 stage and see how that goes.

I’ve got a tall chute blower or plow to use with it for the winter. im thinking the c160 will get the blower and the c175 will get the plow, both have weights and chains. id like to find a 2 stage blower though

I have a Metals Supermarket store near me - they used to be about 2/3 the cost of same items delivered from McMaster-Carr, not anymore. As they grew and acquired some very expensive CNC punch machines and CNC Plasma Cutters, they are now on par. Only "bargains" to be found are in the 3 foot or less cut off rack. You buy all their product by the inch, not the pound......

tt

This is a business decision and should be based on facts, not feelings. He doesn't value your business and certainly has no friendship respect for you, or your wife, either. Tell your wife you don't owe him anything. Your relationship is based on business and he is no longer a good business decision or time investment. If he's banking on past success entitling him to poor service going forward he'll learn the hard way.

Depends on the tractor model. They attach differently. What model are we talking about @gwood

Stood around and shot the breeze all day about Wheelhorses.

I’ll grab some coffee, in case I need to stay up for the ending!