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My boots are on and my crayons are sharp! I’m ready to roll! 5AM tomorrow is wheels up for me.

Big Show A magazine cover caught my eye a few years ago, it was the January 2006 edition of Farm Collector magazine and the cover was featuring the WHCC Big Show. To avoid the prospect of having a copyright infringement I will just reprint the beginning of the article and give you a link to the Farm Collector internet site with the complete article. If you don’t already subscribe to Farm Collector you now know what to ask for at Christmas or your birthday. Just as domestication of the four-legged horse revolutionized the development of ancient civilizations, Cecil and Elmer Pond’s Wheel Horse tractors revolutionized how post-World War II America cared for its suburban lawns and gardens. From a small, neighborhood garage in South Bend, Ind., the father-and-son team developed an accessible, innovative, purpose-built, four-wheel tractor that really stood out, and whose descendants are still produced today. This horse of a different color not only spurred generations of garden tractor designers of virtually all makes, but also captured the fancy of a group of loyalists who now meet once a year in Pennsylvania to celebrate the little red horses. Members of the Wheel Horse Collectors Club (WHCC) met at the South Mountain Fairgrounds west of Arendtsville, Pa., in June for their seventh annual all-Wheel Horse show. “It was our largest turnout ever,” says founding president Don Kane. “We started with about 40 tractors in 1999 and had about 500 in attendance this year.” The club boasts more than 500 members from the United States, Canada and Great Britain, and the two-day show attracts hundreds of spectators and soon-to-be Wheel Horse enthusiasts. Here are some of the photos from the article and a link to the entire article. https://www.farmcollector.com/company-history/horse-of-a-different-color/

Loading up now but it's a slower process with the heat taking these breaks.

Back in 1993, the movie "Gettysburg" was filmed in Gettysburg for many of the scenes. I was party to the filming as my travels took me to and through Gettysburg during that time, and as long as you were not in the scene, you could stop and watch the filming. I also had a friend and a cousin who were both in the movie. My friend was a talk show host in Baltimore on WCBM radio. His name was Les Kinsolving. He portrayed Confederate General William Barksdale. My wife's cousin was a local Civil War reenactor, who's group had been hired to do security at Gettysburg College, in costume, during the filming of the scene where Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain was viewing the battle from the steeple at the college. The "extra" who was to be just standing with the Colonel in the steeple, did not show up, so the director, seeing my cousin standing outside the church, grabbed him and said "son, how would you like to be in the movies?" The rest is as they say "history" (literally and figuratively). So, now to get back on the track, I'm only bringing 3 of my tractors, a 10 x 15 canopy, a large cooler, a couple of chairs, a box of brake linings, and my grandson. Easy to load. And not to forget, Mrs. M's cookie bars.

Looks like a well done homemade version.

Same here! See ya Thursday!!

The c165 is running great after the valve job yesterday. Mason is using it to mow the lawn and it’s doing a great job. See you guys at the show.

Ready to go...

I cannot hold a candle to Kevin’s system, but I’m nearly done loading up. Plan is to be on the road at 6:30 to permit an afternoon soaking up the Gettysburg War Museum. I recently read the book “The Killer Angels” by Michael Shara. It is a deep study of the senior officers from both armies who played major roles in the battle and has prompted me to put learning more higher on my “to do” list.

And a potato chip factory is off rt 11! I been there! Good chips!!! It's located at: 11 Edwards Wy, Mt Jackson, VA 22842

Getting everything ready then we will be loading up on the trailer tomorrow morning, headed to the show

Safe travels to all and have fun at the show. Hope to see you next year.

Bringing an OhioSteel Fabricators. dump trailer to the show that will be for sale. These trailers were sold by Wheel Horse dealers as an allied supplier item. Cart and tires in useable shape $125. at the show!

Because of what ? Ok it may be suspiciant Everything seems to be straped down well. ( maybe so far) ..... @Pullstart you mentioned you got your Boots on right? The more important question to me will be - are you shure, you didn’t drive in Flipflops? 😎😂 take Care Bro @all Have a save trip to the Show 👍

I'm sure you all have been at the edge of your seats waiting for my loaded trailer pic! Here she is! Randy's trailer and 1045 running shot gun with a 551 and a couple of garden scratchers.

OK, everyone, thanks for the feedback! I've rebuilt a couple of auto engines, but transmissions full of spinny gear thingys give me pause...but with your comments and encouragement, it looks doable, and a trip to Biglersville appears to be in the offing. It does look like a straight-up transaxle swap is the way to go. If nothing comes of that, daveoman1966, I'll be in touch to see what we might be able to work out. I'll be cleaning off my workbench today to get started, and when I have results worth reporting, I'll post them here. At least, with the current heat wave this week, the grass won't be growing too much! Again, many thanks to the Red Square community!

Figured there would be food involved!

I'm not convinced that the charging system on our Wheel Horses is compatible with a Lithium battery. I've seen several warnings like this on the internet: Using a normal battery charger designed for Lead Acid on a lithium battery may result in damage or even destruction of the battery. This is because lithium batteries require specifically designed charging profiles tailored to their chemistry.

Today's kitchen has countertops made of sawdust with plenty of places for water to leak down thru the cabinets. We can't have that old one piece of cast iron because there would be no reason to swap out the entire kitchen every few years and get the latest style.

Just a suggestion - a 2hr drive to Biglerville PA this Thurs - Sat might score you a set of cases or a whole transmission. If your willing to make that drive, you may wish to ask about parts here. Also placing a want add in our classifieds might score you what you need a well. https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/classifieds/wanted/

This is kinda like shopping on Amazon. You don’t even need to leave your house

Up in the corner under the red box

If @Pullstart didn't get pulled over with that overloaded Colorado, he never will!

Blower housing and static guard painted semi-gloss black. Not the best pictures, I will get better ones when the paint dries more. +

Those trailers with the flip up ramp really kill your fuel economy. Note that SpaceX uses things like that to slow down their rocket boosters coming back from space! If the tailgate comes off easily, leave it behind? And... To me, this SCREAMS “Back to the Future"

Keep her tween the white lines Cowboy.

I texted that picture you sent me to @rj35hunter Kev...He wanted to know what kind of contraption you was hauling on. I told him he had to see it in wonderment to believe... Now Clay will be losing sleep and looking out more for the other guy like the rest of us...

Did you clean and fumigate the boots?

Adjusted belt spacing last night, the manual shows 1/16"-1/32", there's not nearly enough adjustment to have it that close up front but further back on the belt guide I got it in tolerance. Pretty much means the belt is 2 hair widths off the guide. It's working much better now, hoping as the belt breaks in it will improve more. As for the guide hanging off the fender in the rear, I didn't touch it but I think I will so see if it makes any difference though it seems it is there more to keep the belt on the pulley. Here's a picture up front: The belt cover does include a guide which sits above the belt, here's a picture of that: Thanks for the advice on that, seems like I am in decent shape on the belt side of things. Dave

Yep, what Mike said. The motion control lever is between your legs, other wise it’s the same as a C-160 Auto

Yep, Sealed bearings. Lift off the rubber seal, clean and regrease and shim tight per Petes post. I have them in use for years with no problems. Do not put grease in the hub zerk. BTW, You need 4 bearings to do one tractor.

I bet you have a short frame plow, looks very close to the front wheels. I also don’t see the angling lever. How far are you from Biglersville Pa? The biggest Wheel Horse extravaganza is happening this Thursday/Friday/Saturday. Every known attachment you could ever want will be there!

Amazon.com: XiKe 10 Pcs Flanged Ball Bearings ID 3/4" x OD 1-3/8", Applicable Lawn Mower, Wheelbarrows, Carts & Hand Trucks Wheel, Replacement 532009040, AM118315, AM127304, 10513, 251210 Etc. : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Issue was solved after a new coil was installed.can jump the tractor.went to local dealer and had the battery checked and it failed under load.put a new one in and started right up. I have a voltmeter but have very little knowledge of how to use it. The battery was replaced after only 2 years and 6 months.previous battery lasted over 4+years . I think the starter hard cranking I think did the battery in.

The easiest repair is coming to the show and picking up a complete trans axle. You will find a complete unit is more common than the case. The hydro pump and motor are held on by 4 or 5 bolts with a single gasket. The only thing you will find in the case is the differential assembly with the axles. I think 1 of the differential bolts broke and jammed in the case.

Chipping away.....Pulled the lift arm from the E-tank and managed to clean it up and get the rubber grip off without any drama. Its actually in pretty good shape and could probably be put back on once I get that far. The most important part was that I managed to get the rest of that big spring out of the arm. It broke into a few pieces, but it all came out without too much trouble. I just used the back end of a long 3/8" extension and drove it out. The first half Aaaaaand the other half I put a few more pieces back into the tank for a 2nd soak. Mainly the slot hitch, as the mounting pin is completely frozen in place. I really think I'm going to have to cut it off and weld on a new tube. The other ugly item was the tool box. It still had a decent amount of rust built up due to the orientation I had soaked it last time. I flipped it and turned it 90 degrees, so hopefully it will take care of the rest. If not, I'll take it over to the blasting cabinet to clean it up. I also tossed the steering wheel in. Its actually in pretty good shape. I should have taken some pics. There are a few minor cracks in the rubber grip, but its all there and relatively straight. My plan is to fill the cracks with PC-7 and smooth it all out. I'm kind of looking forward to that as I've seen some of the work others have done on here and I'm curious if I can get similar results. Other baby steps. I grabbed the transmission side plate I drilled a hole in and patched that up. I don't think anyone will notice once it has a little primer and paint The offending hole Little shot with the MIG Little shot again from the other side And a little gentle touch up with a flap wheel. I also touched up the inside using a small detail burr on the die grinder, but I guess I forgot to snap a pic The other thing I did was poked around with the rusted out shower head muffler that was on Wally. The front face is completely rotted out, but the back cone is solid, but it is also firmly rusted to the steel pipe it was screwed on to. So, I very gently peeled back the steel of the front piece back to the crimp point, and worked my was around the face of the muffler. Eventually, one of the pieces I was pulling cracked the crimp joint and I managed to pull the whole face off without any cutting and without damaging the back cone. I then dropped the back cone and pipe into the E-tank to try and get as much rust off of it as possible before I make any attempts at unscrewing the rear cone. I'm going to be taking my time that, as I REALLY don't want to damage the threaded cone. Here is the cone and pipe before I dropped it in the tank I think thats it for now. I'm very much looking forward to the big show this week.....be ready, its going to be HOT! I have deals in place for a set of front wheels/tires, and a set of rear AGs. I'll also have my eyes peeled for a decent seat. Speaking of which, has anyone purchased one of the steel tractor seats from Amazon? They look to be almost an exact match to the original RJs, but I was curious if anyone has had their hands on one to compare? Just thinking of that as a possible backup plan. Thanks for listening to me ramble.

You got Trina's 8 HP in there?? I don't wanna deal with the wrath of the BBT!!!

One of these days I'm going to rig up EFI on one of these things, just because.

High humidity is the key factor. It’s one reason early airplane pilots avoided clouds when using carburetor engines. The other reason was that some clouds have aluminum linings (joke).

Not at all unusual. Gasoline vaporizing in the venturi as air is sucked through makes it cold, and if the ambient air is humid, moisture will condense on the cold surfaces. I've seen frost on carbs if the weather is cold enough, and a carb can actually freeze up and cause the engine to quit running. Also can happen at altitude, and a lot of piston engine aircraft have carb heaters.

I still can't believe that you don't get pulled over with that thing once you get into PA.

Tires will last a lot longer if you are flying! Have a safe trip, look forward to seeing you again.

@rj35hunter I built it in 2019, and it’s never let me down! Makes the truck ride real nice too!

I think I see your next project, or maybe Kevin's. He's wanted a C160 for a long time.

Mike and I were typing at the same time.

Thank you. We'll see what shakes out.

I haven't had any trouble with the Tractor Supply belts,. Have drive belt on a 312-8, 520-H and a couple mule drive belts. They are building a new Tractor Supply three miles down the road from my house. I'll go down and restock my parts draw when they open.

For anyone using Interstate 81 keep in mind that it runs parallel to US 11. If there is an accident or other problems on I-81 you can exit to the nearest town and drive US 11 for a few minutes and then return to I-81. Many of the small communities along US 11 have lots of charming old homes and tree lined roads too.

Hot and cold temperature are tough on batteries. With our Texas summers I'm very very happy if I get 2 years out of a LG battery, 18 months seems more like it. yes I use battery tenders on my equipment. They also have engineering the life of them down pat. My car and truck batteries last 2-3 months less that the (prorated) guarantee. That gets you taking it back for a $1.25 refund and you buy the same brand since your already in the store. Recently I picked up a Lithium battery for my jet ski with a 4 year guarantee vs 12 months for a lead acid battery. Cost was about 180% of a lead acid. Then I read the battery manual and saw the 140F warnings. The battery sits directly next to the engine case in a tight compartment, partly under the gas tank. Its a pain to get to to change, so that was part of the attraction. But thinking about that hot lithium battery sitting under the gas tank, between my legs just didn't seem like a great idea! While the battery was listed as a direct replacement for my jet ski, I returned it and thought I'd wait a while and returned it. I'm on the fence considering one for a tractor soon, since their more in the open.

NO ... over our red bodies! You don't need anything off the jungle to fix that every thing you need is right here. Parts, manual, expertise, coaching...every thing. You should have a Sundstrand 90-1136 & heck you was any closer I got three of them for a song & a beer. Donor cases or a complete unit should be available to the north as Dan said. I don't think I would waste the effort on welding. Post an ad in wanted never know.