My 312-8 and the work I've done...so far.

[manahale 43]

Big shout out to Tony Toro Jr. for inviting me into the Wheel Horse world.  He sold me a 1989 312-8 with a 37" deck and the bagger system. I don't have the time right now to go as deeply into it as I'd like. But, it has been an amazing learning experience and has provided the opportunity to have a wrench in my hands once more. First thing I did was install a new solenoid as it was not working when I got it.  Installed the new one while it was on the trailer and then realized I had never driven a tractor nor did I really know how to back it off the trailer. Trial by fire. I'm still alive and no broken limbs, so all is good. I've used it mostly to cut the lawn (37" deck) and haul firewood closer to the house. Removed the mower deck while moving the wood and noticed some rust and a hole in the front. So, I decided to take it all apart, cut out the hole and weld a piece of 1/8" steel in place. I took the whole thing down to bare metal, used Rust Restore and black Farm Equipment gloss black on the inside and IH Red on the outside which I applied with a brush. I also used Blaster Surface Shield on the inside of the deck. Supposed to protect it for 2 years, so we'll see.  Sanded and touched up the edges of the fenders, under the seat, the floorboards, etc. with the Red. Added skateboard sticky stuff to the floorboards. New drive and mower deck belts. New brake shoe installed. Replaced the headlights with LEDs. Everything is greased and it runs like a charm. Here are some pics.

[rjg854 11,356]

Nice job on that tractor 💪 

[wallfish 16,994]

Glad you joined the community of WH.

That's an all around good size garden tractor for what you're doing. It's just as much fun working on them as it is using them IMO.

[Achto 27,557]

Very nice work!!! 

[clueless 2,976]

Nice work, that area on the front of the deck where the cradle bolts to the deck it notorious for cracking. Once it starts to crack it will eventually create that area you did a nice job repairing. Once it gets to the point yours was in you may, if not already check the rest of the cradle mount bolt hole areas for small hair line cracks especially the one on the back behind the one you patched. 

[manahale 43]

 notorious for cracking 

Someone else in the Forum mentioned the crack to me, which I had not noticed at the time. So once it was all down to bare metal I did a closer inspection and found no evidence of cracking at any of the mounting points.