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I bought a 312–8 a while back that came with no deck and a snowblower, for $250. It has almost 3000 hours on it. The guy I got it from got it from his father - but he never used it. It sat in his garage for 20 years. I pulled it into the garage tonight to tinker with it a bit. I drained the gas, which was disgusting. It smelled like pure lacquer. I cleaned the gas tank and dropped the carb bowl, which wasn’t actually that bad and cleaned it as well. I put fresh gas in it and a new battery. One crank of the key and it started right up. Couple minutes later I was driving it around my yard. I needed that win because I’ve had a couple of tough tractor issues lately! I’ll change the fuel line and add a filter and primer bulb as well as change the fluids. I have a 42” RD deck I picked up at the BS that will go on it. From there it’s going to my nephew who just bought a house on Cape Cod.

Had an appointment to be an exhibitionist for the dermatologist this afternoon. It was time for my yearly skin cancer screening. Got a clean bill of health. This is more of a reminder for others to go ahead and get preventative examinations scheduled and completed. Not all of these examinations are pleasant or comfortable, but getting them done provides a chance to catch something early, giving better chances for treatment and recovery.

Our beloved Yorkie, Kahlua, is no longer in pain. Affectionately called Flea Flea because I said she was no bigger than a flea when she came to live with us. At first we thought she was having a reaction to the rabies shot she had Friday so we took her back to the local vet. He gave her some medicine, but it didn't help at all. She was getting bad and I was up with her most of the night. Early this morning she could no longer stand and was clearly in pain. We took her to an emergency animal care hospital in Michigan City. They gave her some pain medicine and oxygen to calm her down then took x-rays. The doctor came in and showed them to us. She had a massive internal growth that was pressing her heart against her ribcage. Inoperable and we made the only decision we could. It's always hard to lose a pet and this little girl is no exception. Her and I had a special bond. Rest in Peace my precious little Flea Flea.

This one was a particularly dirty example and it cleaned up quite nicely. It's sat in lacquer thinner in the ultrasonic cleaner for 9 or 10 days. Soaking. Every day or two I would run the machine for a cycle or two morning and night or whatever. This afternoon I took it out and ran a can of brake clean all around it and through it and next to it and up down left right in out of it etc etc. That'll do.....

The older couple who lived across the street passed away about 18 months ago. The estate has finally gotten through probate and one of the sons is acting as exectuator. He has been in ant out of the house several times recently. During one of those visits, I asked about the Allis Chalmers garden tractor, offering to buy it if he had no other plans for it. While I was at our Missouri location over the weekend, another neighbor and my wife closed the deal. There was a yellow and white tractor parked in front of the tractor shed when I got home last night. It looks like the tractor is pretty original. On a quick inspection, the paint, engine, and tires all seem to be original. It has what looks like a home brew snow blade. It used to have a snow blower, but that seems to have disappeared. The muffler is a replacement and the seat looks to have been re upholstered - older decent job, as the PO used to do upholstery work. The last time I saw this tractor running was 4 or 5 years ago, when the PO used it to rescue his big box rider when it got stuck mowing too close to the lake. Between a doctor's appointment and rain today, I didn't have time to take pictures or do a detailed inspection. More info and pictures as I get them. Might be a few days, though. We've got a busy week wtih some guests coming to stay at the lake house, plans to attend our 50th high school reunion, and a railing to install on the new deck.

Hadnt gotten much Wheel Horse stuff done in last day or two but did have time to put new decal on the cart.

I've been slowly working on a '89 312-8 for a few years. Mostly busy work during the winter. I went with Rustoleum High Performance Enamel Aluminum (rattle can) on my wheels. Here's my progress so far, but haven't worked on it since March. I would recommend changing all the transmission seals (axles, brake and drive shaft) and shifter boot. You can get them from @wheelhorseman at https://wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/. I also painted the muffler with a hight temp silver and installed LED headlights and tail lights. The lights can be found on Amazon, https://a.co/d/9gg7Bsq https://a.co/d/dDMMBg7

Scraped out the underside of a 36" rotary deck and gave it an oil treatment and it's baking in the sun.

Weather was the best for the show. Nice temps and the humidity was quite comfortable. This was a 2 day show and these pics were taken this past Saturday. Only 1 WH tractor represented. One Hot Rod slipped through the gates . The Green Side x Side was a Kubota painted green to match the Green Mack Fleet. Enjoy the pictures.

Rear fender stripped of decals and sanded. This is a spare later model fender as the Work Horse fender had no access for the hydro cam adjustments and this one is in better shape. I will give it one more sanding before prime and paint. It just started to rain so I had to stop (I sand and paint outside to keep the shop clean as possible).

About the only nastier, foul smelling fluid is what comes out of the Unidrive sometimes...

Nice tractor and especially for that price. Paul for the win! LOL Man, that old gas is brutal and something not very fun to deal with. 1 drop and it seems to linger around forever

Looking at retirement next year my wife suggested getting a new pickup. She has been trying to get me to replace my old faithful for the last 5 years. I have looked at the new ones and I really liked some of them but just could not justify the cost for my needs. The clear coat was 3/4 gone and there were a couple quarter size rust spots starting to show so I knew it was time for a change. I delivered it to a body shop in March and have been watching the transformation all along and I like the workmanship. I went to see the progress today and found the paint had been completed. A few pictures of the progress.

Agree with Ed and Don. Sure sounds like the starter is turning but not meshing with the flywheel. It needs to be removed, cleaned, and lubed. Read this thread carefully on how to remove the oil fill pipe to access the two starter bolts and the rear starter support clip. Then how to remove the starter without allowing the end caps to fall off the main body. Oh, to the

I took a motorcycle ride the other day and briefly met up with @Bow_Extreme. After we parted ways I had to get a picture of that big fire ball in the sky.

@PWL216 Nice save. I think you have a tractor that will last as long it was in that garage and more.

My grandson said his car was making a weird noise. So I said "Hop in and let's take it for test drive" . Drove to auto parts on the test drive and bought some front brake pads. I did the first side to show him what to do and he did the other side. We inspected the rotors and they were flat and fine with no outer lip from being worn. His brakes don't pulse at all so pads only this time. "Thanks Pop, I can probably do this by myself the next time" he said Looks like a tool set is the gift for Christmas. He was never really interested in mechanical things but he's 18 now and driving, plus a few of his friends are into car stuff. I think the majority of us probably started out learning on cars / motorcycles.

I dragged this B12 home a few month's back and sold it to a local AC hoarder. Engine was tight and had a massive snowblade on it. Thing was heavy! Found out the tires were loaded and there were 2 100 lb wheel weights on the back that I sold to @Pullstart

Typically, wheel weights are mounted to the outside of the wheels. The typical wheel wheel weight does not have access for a valve stem, making the inside of the wheel the logical place for the valve stem. The cracks that you see in your tires are called ozone checking. These cracks develop in old tires due to exposure to the elements over time. Eventually, the tires will start leaking. Are they a problem? As long as the tires are holding air, they will be useable, since a Wheel Horse is a low speed, relatively low load application. Ozone checked tires on a car are a different story. They are much more likely to fail when used - especially at higher speeds where heat builds up in tires.

My front tires have valve stems either inside or out depending on the tractor. All of my Wheelhorse rear rims have them on the inside. My impression is that it's to protect the valve stem from the wheel weight or other things hitting it. Keep in mind the pressure on these is extremely low compared to what we're used to on other things. The fronts are probably 12 lb or so and the rears are likely around 8.

Thanks for the great pictures

I just changed the oil in my 857 . Probably the first time it was done. Didn't even smell like gear oil. Black gooey mess.

The highway is a very dangerous place on foot. Being at the scene of an incident demands a whole lot of common sense and the ability to make sure everyone stays safe. Most young cops don't have that level of common sense, heck some of them still get dropped off at work by their parents! That said I did used to get a lot of "Advice" from folk when on cordon duty at a scene and not all of it was as useful as some of that spoken about previously. One time I was closing a main road where a guy had been killed by a car, his body was still in the carriageway to allow forensic examination. He was way out of view of the cordon. A woman stopped to ask, no tell me, to let her through as she needed to get to her mother's house. I politely declined, explaining there had been a serious incident. She persisted saying she had to get through. I established her mum did not live within the cordon area and suggested she find an alternative route. She persisted again, saying she didn't know the area and simply had to drive down this stretch of road and that all I had to do was lift a little bit of tape for her. I declined again and advised her to leave. She was a persistent little bugger and again insisted there was no other way for her to go. I offered to radio my colleagues pull the body out of the road to allow her to pass, buy warned her not to drive through the blood if she possibly could so they could put it back where it came from before the coroner arrived. Totally missing the heavy sarcasm in my voice She thought that was a smashing idea and put her car in gear. I shouted at her that reverse was the only gear she needed and that if she didn't vamoos immediately I would engage in a different duty and arrest her for anything I could think of. She left rather sheepishly and never acted on her threat to have ne sacked for my lack of empathy for her plight.

Come on guys, these old air cooled flat heads have been around longer than I've been alive (1954) many still running with out a rebuild. Do you think the original owners or the second, third or fourth had charts, in depth studies and wed sites to find out the best oil to use? They just used what the owners manual said and changed it when they were supposed to. 20+ post in two days and we are still not sure what to use. I've been using Rotella 40w for at least 25+ years with no oil related problems, I live where the temp outside can be 90 to over 100 degrees when using my stuff. If it so cold out side the starter won't turn it over I don't need to be out there in the first place .

Jim, from these pictures, I suspect you just might favor those Chevy pickups?!

Very nifty! Does it keep the beverage cold/hot, charge the phone, and link to the “Tractor Play” software on the tractor to display the map of the lawn or garden for efficient mowing/plowing?

@stevasaurus my buddy! Your father’s 702 will be cherished for my lifetime! @953 nut sent me some @JPWH on a sticks… y’all get ready to see what Hank sees this weekend!

I have had this 2000 Silverado since October of 1999. I figure I can replace the engine, transmission, and rear end and a paint job for less than half the cost of a new one.

Label duly earned, for sure!

All I have to do is touch something with my shins and I'm bleeding. And because I take warfarin, the bleeding is very slow stopping. My mother always said, let it bleed, that will clean it out. Well maybe that is why I never get infections (knock on wood). Hope you're back on your feet soon.

Believe it or not, I saw these in packs of two in the Hillman bins at a Lowes in different sizes for about $2 each

Today it seems a man has been arrested for causing death by dangerous driving regarding this collision. Police are appealing for information about a Porsche car seen in the area of the crash. From that you can pretty much read that the porsche and bike were racing before the collision. It's hard to see another explanation as to why the bike rider had the tap open so wide. I will of course keep you up to date on any developments in the case. If the rider wasn't in the wrong I'll let you know, but I doubt it. We have a term over here "Born again bikers" guys who rode a 125cc bike in their teens, grew up and had a family away from bikes, and then bought a monster rocket bike in their 50s, thinking they could handle ridiculous power to weight ratios. It rarely ends well...

My ears are also saying the starter is turning but the bendix gear is not extending out to engage the flywheel. Starter motor servicing/lubrication needed.

Paul beat me to it.

2938T53

It’s one of the few complaints I have about my wheel horse tractors. Having the valve stem on the inside of the tire makes no sense to me. There’s something not right when you have to get on the ground to put air in a tire.

@Andy N. Hi Andy. Would you happen to have a link to where you bought that Rustoleum silver? I can’t seem to find it. Thank you.

The valve stems are on the inside.

It is well known that everything is bigger in Texas. Though not shown on this chart I would guess they are Texas Hummingbirds. @oliver2-44 has probably seen lots of them.

Getting ready for a car show for United Way where I DID WORK. It has been a while for me. Hoping to post my last peace of the puzzle soon. Take Care. Gary B.

Looking forward to pictures.

You MAY have better luck using NYLON bushings. I found some at NADA for the rock shaft on mine. 3/4" ID x 1/4 or 3/8. Had to gently tap them in place with a soft mallet.

Looks great!

Niiiiice

Another smaller diameter version!

Got some parts in today. I got 4 new tires two rear 23/10.5/12 ags and two front 16/6.5/8 turf tires. Got 2 adjustable tie rods. And a gas cap.

Its a runner now. I neglected to take photos while it was out. I just did a quick wiring job to get it running. And got stainless steel pipe for the exhaust. Before I even tried starting it I cleaned and set the points at .020 But it wasn't starting checked the spark and no spark. Ended up changing out the points with another used set that I had and that fixed it. Tried starting again and it pretty much started right up. I have a little bit of sputtering, I tried adjusting the carb a little bit and got it better but I haven't touched the carb other then taking the bowl off to make sure it wasn't all cruddy and then blasted it with some carb cleaner. So that will need some more work. I had the belt come off the idler pulley when driving it around took the belt guard off and got that back on but everything is so shot on this machine the idler is bad, there is no lining on the brake band. But the brake pulley is shot too it has a bad lip on the outside of the brake. And the steering is awful too. The good is the transmission goes in all the gears (hi and low) and it seems smooth enough. And the engine seems to be ok as well.