bmuone 15 #1 Posted May 28, 2010 Well patience finally paid off. I bought a 211-4 off of craigslist yesterday. The model number is complete, except for the LAST number. The very number that tells me what year it is. I know that were made in 1987, 88, and 89. I have been researching and I can find no difference in the three years. So I guess I can call it what ever year I want to. Grading on the old school system I give mine a C or C+. And believe me, I should know about those grades. When I got it home my 10 month old grandson started calling it the Baby tractor. (Next to my other WH 417A I guess it is a baby.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmuone 15 #2 Posted May 28, 2010 Sorry fellers about those large pictures. I read Jasons instuctions and thought I had it right but they still came out too large. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C-Series14 15 #3 Posted May 29, 2010 They are fine, you just need to put each pic on a seperate line I think...They are all side by side. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rickv1957 72 #4 Posted May 29, 2010 Looks like a pretty clean little tractor!,Rick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmuone 15 #5 Posted May 29, 2010 Tks,,,,I bought it just to make a rider for that little feller, his sister and two cousins as they grow up. I have taken the deck off and am trying to get the motor off. I removed the center bolt but the pto clutch is froze on. I put some penetrating oil on the shaft so maybe it will loosen up. Plans are to take it apart and repaint. It was only about 40 miles from my house and I paid $50. Ya'll have a good and safe Memorial Day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
engine2quarters 0 #6 Posted June 1, 2010 If you think that the engine is original, the engine numbers could be decoded to find its manufacturing date. My 211-5 doesn't have the hood vents, it's 1984. My 210-5 does have the vents, but I haven't checked for it's birth date yet. Your engine looks similiar to mine, but could have been used for years in the WH production mine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,160 #7 Posted June 1, 2010 Looks like an 87 to me (short hood, smaller tires). Might be an 88. Doubt it's an 89. The first two digits of the Briggs engine's CODE number will betray the tear of the engine. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmuone 15 #8 Posted June 1, 2010 Tk U Steve.....I did not know that about the first two numbers in the Code. That settles it..it is a 87. I got the deck off and the PTO finally broke loose from the shaft. Engine is off. I noticed a small rip in one of the bolt holes. Wish there was someone around here that needed a 36" deck. I am gonna keep this horse as a rider. Tks again man. Dayton Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Bullington 5 #9 Posted June 2, 2010 nice find....I just got a 211-3 ,,,, i see there is several differences ,,,what style transmission is in yours,,,,I dont see a clutch or shifter?? the seat pan is different and the hood is not the same.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmuone 15 #10 Posted June 2, 2010 Michael mine has the peerless trans. model 900-028. (which does not mean a thing to me). The shifter is on the column and is very rusty. The indicator has R 1 2 3 4. The clutch and brake are on the right side. One petal. My plan is to strip it down, clean it up and repaint. Good project to last me a while. You got quite an impressive lineup there yourself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,160 #11 Posted June 2, 2010 Your 211-3 is the early version of the 200 series. It is essentially the same thing as the vertical shaft B series and is often referred to in dealer literature as the "B-chassis". The newer tractor this initial thread was discussing is the later version of the 200 series. Called the "L chassis". It was vastly updated over the previous B-chassis tractors. The B's and earlier 200's were a little beefier than the newer ones. But the newer version is significantly more manueverable and user friendly. Implements and parts do not interchange directly between the two generations. The B-chassis was essentially (well, sort of) carried over in 1988 to the 250 series (252, 257) which had hydro transaxles and Kawasaki engines. The European 220 series is pretty much an amalgam of the B-chassis and the 250 series. The B-chassis 200's were available up until 1986. 1987 was - I think - the first year for the newer version with the aero headlamps and revised design. I do recall seeing a new style (L-chassis) 211-3 on ebay about 6 months ago which I didn't realize existed. It might have been a 1986 year model and I assumed it would be kind of rare...but not particularly desirable. All of these vertical shaft tractors have very little following in the collector world. I like them a lot and have a bunch of them since that's what dad bought new back in 1987. Toro kept them alive into the early 1990's and updated them periodically with revised decals, bigger mufflers, and different engines. Eventually they went the way of the Dodo when Toro rolled out the "XL" series of lawn tractor. Toro retained the styling from the newer 200 series on the 240-series which made a debut in/around 1990 as the 244 and 246 models both manual and hydro. The 240 disappeared when the 260 replaced it. So, in a nutshell the vertical tractor line started in 1968 (Joel?) with the V7 and V8 tractors. The vertical lawn ranger was added in 1969. Soon after, the V's were rechristened as the CG's. In/around 1973 the no-name 8hp, 4speed came around which was morphed into the A-series in 1974. In 77/78 the A-series became rear engine riders and the previous A-series was renamed as the B-series (B-81, B-111). When everything went to the black hoods, the B's contined with revised styling. The 200-series made their appearance with the rest of the "Hundred" series in 1985. Rear engine riders became the 100-series. All my dates are approximate since I am way too lazy to look any of this up. Hopefully somebody will get some use from the info. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmuone 15 #12 Posted June 2, 2010 Thank you Steve for sharing your knowledge of these tractors. It is interesting and I do not know of any place to get the info you have taken the time to type up except here on Redsquare. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Bullington 5 #13 Posted June 2, 2010 Wow thanks for all that information!.....I really like these little tractors...as you said they is not much of a following which is great for the ones of us who do like them, we can get them at a great price :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,160 #14 Posted June 3, 2010 No problem. I forgot to mention the YT-12A. It was basically a hybrid of the early 200-series (B-chassis) tractor and 250 series with a tecumseh engine. It was a one-model year machine (perhaps 1986) and I don't run across many. Again, it suffers the same fate as the rest of the vert line: not much desirability. If you like your shaft sticking out the bottom, Wheel Horse offered a lot of choices. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
