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Today’s letter is “P” planning and patience yielded perfection Planet Jr walk-behind garden tractor Company founder S.L. Allen had a variety of interests including astronomy, winter sports and agriculture. As a young man he worked on a farm owned by his father and developed many labor-saving devices to reduce the drudgery of seeding and weeding. In 1868, after winning his first two patents for the No. 1 and No. 2 Planet Jr. seed drills, Allen launched his own company, S.L. Allen & Co., Philadelphia. The Planet Jr. line got its name from Allen’s interest in astronomy. Allen was a prolific inventor and good businessman being awarded more than 300 patents. Within 13 years his Planet Jr. became a leader in human powered farm and garden implements here and abroad. The Planet Jr. line was displayed at the Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 and the 1889 International Exposition in Paris. Their target market was the “one-horse farmer,” at that time the U.S. had between 6 and 7 million farms and 40% of the total U.S. population lived on farms. Also in 1889, Allen won a patent for the Flexible Flyer sled. Motivated by a life-long passion for winter sports and the desire to avoid seasonal factory layoffs, Allen expanded his product line. The rights to manufacture this sled have changed hands a few times since then but you can still buy a Flexible Flyer today! Although S.L. Allen & Co. started in the wheel hoe business (human-powered and horse drawn wheeled weeding and seeding equipment) and the Planet Jr. walk behind garden tractor, first introduced in 1930, was a natural extension. It featured a small gasoline engine, two large spiked steel wheels placed so the tractor could straddle a row of plants and a detachable toolbar for cultivating tools. Planet Jr. wasn’t the only walk-behind cultivating tractor, but it became the most popular along the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes area, where small family farms and large vegetable farms were abundant. Successive models of the Planet Jr. tractor added a wide variety of implements including fertilizer hoppers and seeders to their liner. My father used a Planet Jr. walk-behind tractor like the one pictured below until 1957, I was too young to operate it because of its size but remember it well.

Can't say "No" if your not given the opportunity. What happens when you say I'm not going to buy any more tractors??? For some odd reason things still keep showing up at your door. Today I found this little gem in my yard when I got home from work. Even though it has a Techy, it's still pretty cool looking. NOW, what the heck am I going to do with it???

That was also used for PTO driven grass/leaf vacuums. The inside pulley on the PTO runs the mower deck and the outside runs the vacuum. There’s an additional set of pulleys that would mount to the tractor inside the rear wheel. The additional holes in the footrest are for the belt guard.

Is there a pulling class for a skinny mower with a comfortable seat?

That is cool!!!

@cleat The correct colors are 1971 Lincoln-Mercury Pewter Metallic Enamel for the 1982,83 models and 1982 Lincoln Light Pewter Enamel for the 1984 model. I thought about using the metallic paint but I wanted to keep it correct for the year and the way it was when I actually drove it off and the dealer showroom floor in 1984 ! I ordered my paint through a body shop. Also, you probably know this but that tractor should have 8” front wheels on it not 6” as pictured. As you can probably tell, I like my restorations to look the way the tractor left the factory or better! Once at the Big Show Cecil Pond himself was looking at the C-121 that I restored he said to me “You know it didn’t look this good when it left the factory don’t you!” After that I was smiling for days!

We got our bike trailer put together for hauling in gear when we camp at a remote site. Canoe carrier base. Vehicle cargo basket. Home shop modified bike trailer tongue setup. All held together with 5/16" U-bolts. And amongst other things Trina's been working on moving the small wood shed from above the side deck to below it.

It is a pretty nice looking survivor, will most likely get it running "even though Techy's are my nemesis" and pass it on to someone who will give it some love.

My 50 year old B-80 Wheel Horse and 36 inch mower is still doing a pretty good job on my front lawn! A really nice day to mow!

Picked up a C-85 yesterday and noticed it has what looks like a factory cutout in the floorboard. I’ve never seen it before. Anyone know if it’s factory and what it’s for?

I was dodging the Apple Blossom Festival Riff-Raff!

Steady rain this AM, but a warm 55F. The 200+ Kids had their doughnuts and were ready to catch fish at 8AM.

Early tillers used a drive belt that went through there. Surprised to see the cutout on a C-85 which is 1980 and newer.

ABSOLUTELY AGREED

And you're staying right there...

I'll always have an appreciation for the older tube frame Ariens like that. The first machine of any kind I drove solo was a 60s vintage with a tiller steer. If I recall correctly.. I was the ripe old age of 6.

Loaded up the 1277 to fab up compressor and tank mounts.

Relax yo-self into that ridiculously big comfy seat and...... mow stuff.

My C-145 has the same cut out in the running board. I also have a guard for it. The fade line shows where the guard was mounted at one time.

This was on Thursday, never had any luck at estate auctions but I did this time. Grille is out for battery access.

Setup a wheeline today at the other plot.

Not for the tiller or the rear blower. The blower instructions move the footrest out to a 2nd set of holes.

The new knob came in, here is a pic.

I hear your Volvo dealer stocks rear view mirrors just for you. for some reason they crack when you back your car up!

Lucky that part of his face was covered.

Had to bring 654 to perform mowing duty at my parents house. They have 2 acres to mow. Dad has an old Craftsman that he insists on using to mow. He has a Troy Bilt GTX20 that also has a mower deck. He hit something with Craftsman so it's shaking when blades engage. Electric pto on Troy Bilt won't turn on.

Did a little cleaning to a Kohler M12 that I removed from a 312...I think it was a little overdue... This will be a replacement engine in @RandyLittrell C120 he sold me that has a tecky!

Common issue. Get under the tractor and shim the lower steering rod like this: For the up/down of the steering column, (1) open the hood (2) loosen the 3/4" ID collar on the column and (3) move it up to be tight against the dash housing. Put some grease in there too.

Have you picked it yet Are you at least on the way Dont let some other clown beat you to it now that we know where it is

So I did some research on Partstree looking at multiple Wheel Horse spec Kohler engines of each size and come up with these crankshaft part numbers K341 crankshaft 45 142 21-s k321 crankshaft 45 142 21-s k301 crankshaft 47 142 16-s k241 crankshaft 47 142 02-s So this indicates the k341 and k321 use the same crank. The K301 having a different part number isn’t fully conclusive that it’s actually a different crank. My inquisitive mind wants to find a picture of a K301 crank. The k241 was the most expensive @ $1076.

Your colour looks awesome. I will go to NAPA (the only paint supplier in town) and see if they can mix me up some 1982 Lincoln Light Pewter Enamel.

Thank You Very Much for the PDF File, Greatly Appreciated. "Book 'em DanO"

Kohler K301, K321, & K341 all share the same crank with a stroke of 3.250" A K321 block can be bored to 3.75" to make it a 16HP. Many pullers use the 14hp block to build a 16hp engine. The 14hp block is preferred because the crank shaft is centered with the bore. The crank of a K341 16hp block is offset slightly from the center of the bore. Dynamic or static balancing the crank to the piston & rod can be accomplished by drilling holes in the counter weights, or welding existing holes shut.

Vernon Perry and I had a great time yesterday at the Tri-State Engine Club Spring Swap Meet held in Portland , Indiana! I got to see a lot of Wheel Horse buddies from Indians, Arkansas, Ohio , etc. I did not sell much but the weather was great! Always a good time visiting with old friends many of who indicated they would be attending the Big Wheel Horse Collectors Club Show in Pennsylvania in June!

So I been noticing this year that my problem with damage from chipmunks , rabbits and groundhogs seems to be nonexistent. I discovered why. I have as new residents two families of foxes. There are a total of 10. One has two bigger pups and the other one four little ones. They seem to all get along and their dens are next to each other. It’s been great watching them all play around the lawn on the back of property and nursing the little ones on the lawn. I was worried about a fawn that was born a few days ago but they hangout close with no issues so far. I wonder if our pleasure in watching them is not going to turn into a nightmare of some kind. They see us and don’t seem to bothered. As a matter of fact while I mow the lawn the pups just sit there and watch me.

I have no idea why I didn't think to look up the actual engine manual.... This has honestly had me stumped for a few days. Hindsight is 20/20

@Pullstart You are a god amongst men. Thank you so much! That's exactly what I needed. I've got piss poor memory and could not remember half the orientation of the hardware. I should've been more clear in my original post. Sorry about that guys. I was basically referring to the the accessories related to the outside of the engine behind the front face. Towed this bad boy home with my Delica last weekend and got too excited to tear into it. Thanks again everyone!

Yes. I've used them on more than one machine without issues. The manual PTO bearing sleeve works well with them. You just cut the key to the length needed for only the pulley but use the entire length of adapter. The 5.25 hydro pulley with 1.0 bore is one of the most difficult parts to source.

Checked on Colleen. She’s still stuck. The picture of hooking the batteries up, you can see a danged old mouse popping out to see what I’m doing in his house!

I'll race ya. Rear engine rider racing.

Here is a cool video of them specially towards the end with most of them running around. Wife took video so excuse the shaking and her choice words about her condition. IMG_1410.mov

Huh. Some tillers had various routings.. maybe?

@daveoman1966 are you suggesting , grease and shims ? just horsing around . thats like ground zero for me . love to IMPROVE ON INTENDED , FUNCTION . good basic call , pete

If I could find a pulley from a Briggs from a GT1800 that would be great I think. So far I have not found one. No big rush so I will keep my eyes open. I am still accumulating parts for this project. I still need an upper steering shaft, plastic tube for the same shaft, and a set of 8" front wheels. The hood on mine is sketchy as well. Ideally I would come across a basket case tractor to harvest parts from.

have restored end up being my favorites so I can't bring myself to sell them: I can relate to that . Always hard to let go of some after putting so much labor into to them. Enjoy the ride.

How to make a nice truck look better? Hitch it to a Wheel Horse on a trailer!