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Some might say hoarders... ya know... C-160's etc...

Previewed a local auction this morning. Must have been 75 or more Garden Tractors. Ever brand you can think of, some in good shape, some scrap material...only 2 Wheel Horses and one of those is the rusted out hulk of an electro trac that was left over from the fall auction and sat out all winter... Guess Wheel Horses are keepers...

Emerson Brantingham Agricultural Implements The J.H. Manny & Co. was founded in 1852 when mechanization of agriculture was in its infancy. One of the hardest tasks on the farm in those days was harvesting grain. John H. Manny grew up helping his father make farming less labor intensive and to that end he developed and improved mowing and harvesting equipment. Manny held 28 patents related to mowers and reapers. Manny, along with his father, had developed a horse-drawn reaper that greatly reduced the labor needed to harvest grain crops. it had many innovative features including a unique sickle and guard finger arrangement. They were direct competitors of the McCormic reaper and had established a good reputation for quality machines. McCormick entered field trials against the Manning Reaper and ultimately two trials in the courts. When the New York State Agricultural Society held its Annual Fair at Geneva, NY in 1852 Manny received first prize for his mower and second prize for his reaper. McCormick didn’t even place in either class. In another field trial the next year the Manny reaper wone, but he was beaten by McCormick’s reaper-mower combination. During 1854 the Manny machines again soundly defeated those of McCormick. In November of 1854, Cyrus McCormick filed a Complaint in the United States Circuit Court, charging an infringement by Manny of the 1845 and 1847 McCormick patents. When the suit finally came to trial, Manny’s defense attorneys included Edwin M. Stanton and Abraham Lincoln. (Stanton later became Lincoln’s Secretary of War.) They successfully defended Manny against McCormick’s allegations. In January of 1856 the Circuit Court ruled in favor of Manny. McCormick was not content to accept the ruling of the Circuit Court and filed an appeal with the United States Supreme Court. In May, 1858 they upheld the Circuit Court decision and dismissed McCormick’s claim. Of course, the irony is that McCormick would later acquire Osborne Machinery which he would then be forced to sell to Manny’s company, Emerson-Brantingham. Lincoln also represented Acme Hay Harvesting (TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 1/25/2024). From 1852-1970, Rockford, IL, was a major manufacturer of agricultural implements thanks to John H. Manny & Co. and its successors: Emerson, Talcott & Co., Emerson-Brantingham Company. By World War I, Emerson-Brantingham's 1,700-employee manufacturing hub with 24-building, 175-acre complex was regarded as the world's largest facility for manufacturing agricultural machinery. Manny held 28 patents related to mowers and reapers. Manny took on several partners, including Ralph Emerson, cousin to the famous poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. After Manny’s death, the company changed its name to Talcott, Emerson, and Company. Emerson was eager to expand the company and hired people with technical and financial skills. One of those individuals was Charles S. Brantingham, who brought a strong business approach to the Emerson Company and became a partner. He had a vision of a global business that would supply the world with agricultural equipment. Emerson-Brantingham began acquisition of other companies to expand their line and bring more manufacturing capacity in-house. The need for a quality steam engine to operate newly developed thrashing machines led to the purchase of Geiser Manufacturing. Also added to their ever-growing line were the Pontiac Buggey Company and the Newton Wagon Works. As gasoline engines gained popularity they bought the Rockford Gas Engine Company. Then their biggest acquisition came with the opportunity to acquire the Osborne Company portion of International Harvester when IH was forced to divest Osborne. They were now one of the biggest agricultural manufacturers on the planet. Changing times, reduction of demand for steam power and the advent of smaller tractors made their two biggest moneymakers, the Geiser Manufacturing Company, and Big Four Tractor Company unprofitable. Emerson-Brantingham struggled for nearly a decade due to the agricultural depression before its 1928 acquisition by J. I. Case Company which wanted the plant and facilities and the 28 patents Manny had been awarded. Case continued operations at the Rockford facility until 1970.

I checked and topped off the oil in the in floor lift, and set up some deco. It allowed me to clean up the surrounding area without tripping…

After I assume room temperature... hopefully in a few years.

Fellow enthusiasts, I acquired my 416-8 with under 1000-hours about three years ago. I have three low-hour 300-series machines and wanted one with an Onan twin engine. The 300's are in storage and will probably become inventory in the estate sale. The 416's hours did not concern me because the seller was the original 30-year owner. He said that he changed oil and filter three times per season which calculated to about every 10-hours. I wanted the machine as a tow tractor and a toy. After reading member's improvements, I decided to post mine. They may be of value or amusement. - Cut a piece of 1x wood to fit under the battery to reinforce the tray; - Replaced the factory tail light bulbs with LED strobes/flashers that are plug and play; The bulbs will either flash continuously or be in the normal "On" mode. - Strapped a small LED strobing flash light to the top of the hood; I want the strobe on when I am on the street. - Installed an Oregon in-line fuel shut-off in the line above the clutch The oil drain piping started leaking. It required loosening the engine mounting bolts to lift the engine less than an inch so that the elbow would clear for removal. I bought new 3/8-inch npt pipe nipples and elbow at a local home improvement store for under $10. I applied paste-type thread sealer and screwed the new nipple into the engine base and then the elbow and second nipple to complete the new drain pipe assembly. Months later and no leaks Next on my list: - Convert rear wheel to studs (Thanks to the many comments from other Forum members) - Install Kevlar drive belt Thanks to others for sharing their successes and lessons learned Richard, a retiree from the big green tractor company

You can pry it from my cold dead hands…

This is MUCH easier instead of pulling the splitter around by hand. My wife said the tractor is still so clean I must be driving it around without boots and just socks. Never thought of that...good idea...

Here is the latest for my tractor. Added a ball hitch/clevis hitch combo and I continue to put 1979 through its paces. Working well daily....as a Wheel Horse does....

That’s some heavy plywood!

I sent @JoeM a message and he responded with delightful news. With a little modification to an older style slot hitch, and a piece of cable and some clamps I found in the shop, I was able to hook a 10” plow to this Xi. The loader is all stripped off it for paint, so I figured it would appreciate some run time after being in the shop for 2 or 3 years! Honestly we bought this in August of 2020, I think it was last used in September or October of that year. It’s time. I guess I haven’t updated this thread much, I am now running 26x12-12 OTR rear tires on stock wheels. During test and tune, there were no wheel weights, but I’ve added some 60 lb. Craftsman weights to each side. The front tires are little ribs, from the discount shelf at TSC. They are fluid filled with bead sealant and no tubes. The Xi is about 1,000 lbs, so I think it’s heavy enough to do the job, considering Putt Putt can pull this plow with about 3/4 the weight and less than half the power.

That says a lot about our beloved 's. When is the estate sale?

I didn't like the way the exhaust was blowing into the inside of the hood. I didn't have good options on getting pipes so I decided to move the muffler to the outside of the hood like it is on my own Automatic. First picture is, before. The other pictures are, during and after.

We have all experienced the wear and tear of our seats -- the one approach that can have some success is to stop the tear or crack from getting worse as soon as its discovered -- i have used the black gorrilla tape with some success to not let a tear or crack continue to "grow" -- not perfect, but mostly effective - if left unattended it just quickly gets worse and worse

Hi Clayton, welcome along to Red Square. I know you are only 13, but do you have any other experience with engines and the like, bikes, go karts, models. If not it's a pretty big thing to learn on your own. Do you have someone helping you to wrench on this tractor? I learned a lot of my lessons fixing my grandpa's cars and vans from the age of five or six. I had hands small enough and sharper eyes to fix the stuff he couldn't. If you are doing this solo you will still be able to follow these guys instructions to get her going again. They helped me sort out a heap of scrap into a beautiful machine. Try to take pictures of the bits you need help with, a picture is worth a thousand words. It will also help if you are taking things apart when it comes to putting them back together. I take a photo with my phone at every step, as I remove things you can check you didn't lose something or fit something backwards. Also be real careful with the little bits you take off. Old yoghurt pots, jars or boxes are great to store things till it's time to put em back. And write labels on them so you won't forget what belongs where. I still do this and I've been taking things to bits nearly 60 years. Keep on asking questions, no one will get mad, just try to answer any questions back to help the guys find your problem. Enjoy the process, it might take a while to get her going but it's well worth it. Mick. England

MEEE ??!!?? Just because I have six now and I'm looking at another one??!??

This is what the oil pan looks like from below.

I modified mine like this. No welding needed.

Sounds great! There are plenty of mods to keep that rear cylinder cool. I would say with a P220, looking into them is a good idea before mowing season. Some folks put a vent in the belt guard. I cut mine out altogether. I also put a "peep hole" over the rear cylinder that let me ensure no grass clippings clogged the cooling fins. Probably a bit of overkill, but that is normal for me. Regardless, I'm glad it all worked out. You saved another Wheel Horse!

The bolt on the right side of the picture, that has the ground wire on it, goes through the frame and has a nut on it. There will be a pair of bolts going up through the frame into the block on the offset side.

Dr. Kamm was active in automotive aerodynamics back in the dark ages - the late 60's and early 70's. The little spoiler kick on the end of the Vega station wagon was credited to him.

In the opinion of a motorcycle rider, I would rather meet a cab over on the road than a conventional cab. Wind from the cab over mainly pushes over the top of the truck and does not effect a rider on the other side of the road. Wind from a conventional cab pushes to the sides and gives a rider a strong blast of air as they meet.

So close! I am finding more concrete in this place than I’ve ever seen! I’m sure the trash service has been loving me lately too . That 1.5 yard dumpster hasn’t been this full, this often, in quite some time! It feels good to purge so much, but I’ve about worn the bristles off my broom…

We go on Saturdays so if anyone can make it stop by and say hello. We typically park down in the back near the pulling track bleachers http://www.zagrayfarmmuseum.org/resources/spring-show-flyer-2023.pdf

There are also a couple hardened washers on 300 series machines. No clue why.

I'd be willing to bet you $10 that one or more of the seals is leaking, and it only appears to be the gasket. But, replacing the gasket is easy. Removing the tines, and getting the case apart without breaking it can be the tough part.

And what about this cabover? I swear if I I ever hit one of those big lottery jackpots I’m going to get a cabover (maybe not a GMC?) and have it painted this color scheme so I can haul my horses to the Big Show!!

Thank you, Richard. Richard Wahlstrand U.S. Army, Vietnam Class of '72

My seat could use some gorilla tape.

@Retired Wrencher The seat on there is only temporary until I have the original seat repaired.

I do not know the answer but suspect it is a washer with specific dimensions other than the industry standard SAE and USS flat washers.

My picture is downside up lol. The fascia is a steel pressing so I've tried to make the model one look similar. It's mainly the instruments and lights that need turning. The ignition key and light switch will be a bit of a fabrication job. The kit has some water style decals for the speedo, volt meter and fuel gauge. But they are a bit unclear so I may tinker with having new ones made. Depends on the printer I guess. Community garden tomorrow so no opportunity to work on the Landy. Had to pop up there this evening as a tree was blown over into a neighbouring property. I'd been advocating to cut it down for a while but no one wanted to, despite it being dead. The wind made the decision for us lol.

like many members I find it interesting to see here on RdSq, or on FB, etc what model WH's are posted for sale... as well as where geographically? It is interesting to see what models are routinely available in supply, while others are rarely seen as available? Of course that leads to obvious wondering -- are there just very few of certain models that were manufactured -- and/or -- are certain models highly preferred and therefore "held" and simply owners keep in their herd or just to pass down through family -- or of course, is it combo of both factors? I've always hoped somewhere we could find the WH historical sales records of how many were manufactured of each model? When I look at the master list from WH and see certian models were made only one yr then its clear there was a limited distribution versus other models made for multiple yrs plus clearly WH created a significant supply. My first WH i bought new in 89 was 312-8 - which is a model seemingly always in significant re-sale supply -- I suppose WH felt they had great mid line product and made many 312s -- other models just seem very rare to find?

You could also try DB Electric. I have bought brush, bushing kits from them. If your starter has enough use that the brushes are worn out, I would suggest you check the front bushing for wear. They are prone to wear as they take all the side loading

If I haven’t before,

It’ a CNC mill. It’s my FIL’s and now that we can get to it, I’ll hopefully be pushing for it to be hauled out. It’s been over 8 years since it has turned the spindle.

CCW there is a seat on F/B in market place just like that for $50. Just saying if you would like to look at it. I think it is in Pa. It is also on C/list.

The BBT Lead Assembly Technician and Incharge Do-all Manager got QUITE a fair amount accomplished today. Here's proof. HER hands: I helped a wee bit when I got home from work. The PTO lever is back in, tightened up. The engine crankshaft was sanded. She straightened out the inner lever bracket some too. Complete PTO with sleeve and bell cleaned and installed. I even put a brake on the PTO. Figured it would be a decent idea because I don't know who'll be around while the Ole Man's mowing or whatever else... All sheet metal is back on. Can anybody tell me why there's a spring on the PTO connecting rod? Wheres it connected to? Here's a passel o' pics:

Me too. Love the upcycle office chair idea!

@squonk. Ya should take that as a right solid compliment. I've been called waaaaaaay worse.

I will keep a eye on this as I need to do my seat to.

Brass 1/8" thread 45deg street elbow. Metal fuel filter that came with the pump. 1/8 thread x 5/16 hose equivalent to a Napa 3046

Took rat rod on 1st big shake down ride around neighborhood. Made it back without any issues.

I contacted two companies that do all kinds of upholstery including motorcycle and snowmobile seats, they wouldn't tackle a molded high back tractor seat.

I'm in

It also doesn't help that most of the new cars & trucks are all painted white, black, or some shade of gray. Have we become so boring that we're afraid of stand out colors???

How about those old flat front trucks? That was like pushing 2 sheets of plywood down the road

We won’t hold that against you…