brand new raider. still in the box

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Well guys, he answered and posted my question and his answer at the bottom of the listing. The seller is a middle-man...and he said the guy didn't have a forklift, and it was too hard to move around in the crate so he put it together so he could roll it around. He also said a dealer told the guy that it was a 1968 by the model number. ??? I have the 1968 catalog, and there's no Raider 10 in there, just a Raider 9 and a Raider 12. I think that poor dealer may be a victim of CRS and I think the guy's just a fellow collector who bought this thing in the box, kept the box and doesn't want the tractor. I know I want one of those boxes.... hrrmmm... I hope he kept the box...

On a side note... thanks to you guys for not being as negative about this as the guys on MTF.... SOME of the folks over there are trying to pick this thing apart for every little flawed detail. It was in a box for crying out loud, not sealed in a time capsule! It's gonna show some age! :(

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Yes, I was over on MTF and those guys are crying "SCAM" without having any concrete evidence of a scam. Comparing the pictures of it assembled to the one of it in the box, there are several things that says it's the same one. Engine decals, front tire tread, etc.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,254]

I don't thnk it's a scam at all and I saw some of those comments as well. Here are my thoughts...

First our Wheel Horse tractors, as much as we love em, are not painted well. Wheel Horse never primed anything. It is highly doubtful that they built the tractors using prime steel, so there had to be a small level of oxidation prior to painting. Over 40 years of sitting in a box will allow that to rust from the inside out which is what we are seeing.

Second, the tires shouldn't get dry rotted since they were not exposed directly to moisture or uv rays. Keeping them dry and out of the sun will help protect them. But there could be some dry rot on the tires which we can't see in the pictures. Remember these tires never saw grass.

The thing has been sitting in a shipping box for 40 years. It's a shipping box never intended for long term storage, just for getting it from Indiana to, heck probably Connecticut and nothing more. Had the original owner stuffed the box with silica gel, shrink wrapped, and stored in a controlled environment it ould probably look perfect.

I do agree with one thing though, they should have left it in the box......

[Curmudgeon 28]

This is off topic for this thread, and almost every other here, but I keep seeing you guys refer to MTF. What the H*** is MTF??????

Now I can assign words to those letters, but, uh, I doubt they'll be right.

Dale

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Sorry, Dale. Here's a link to MTF.

MyTractorForum?

It's a forum for lawn and garden tractors, among other things.

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Sorry Dale... it's just one more place to B/S about stuff.... Join up... you'll recognize LOTS of names!!

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,254]

Dale, I'll bet you're sorry you asked now huh? :D

[Curmudgeon 28]

B) Me?

Sorry?

Once in a while.

Not this time, but thanks. I used to be a member there, but had a personality conflict with another member or two, and since I couldn't keep my mouth shut, I left before I really said something bad.

I'm pretty quiet, until ticked. Then, LOOK OUT! then gloves are off. So rather than turn into a jerk, I left, then found this forum through, uh, a friend, won't name names so as to protect the innocent bystandrers. Now you boys and girls have been warned!

Dale

[kpinnc 11,877]

I don't think it's a scam. The kind of corrosion, and the "blisters" on some of the surfaces just look to be normal for something stored in a cardboard box for a long time. I would say dry rot is also a completely normal thing for tires stored for so long in a box. Just like storing metal items under a tarp will draw moisture, so would keeping it in a cardboard box. The rust on the back of the tranny could also be from nothing more than that.

I won't be trying to get it mind you, but I would if I had the extra cash lying around. Of all the things I've seen for sale since I started collecting these, I would have to say this is the type of thing you only see once in a great while. You probably won't see it again.

The type of painting process WH used at the factory during the time this tractor was built was the predeccessor to powder coating used by so many manufactuers today. There was no type of "primer coat" used in the process. the paint was negatively charged, so it would adhere to the surface, and then baked on in an oven. Again, more info from "Straight from the horse's mouth".

My two cents, it's a great find. It is a very nice tractor, no matter what. If it is a scam, I'd be shocked...

Kevin

[perry 82]

I'm pretty quiet, until ticked. Then, LOOK OUT! then gloves are off. So rather than turn into a jerk, I left, then found this forum through, uh, a friend, won't name names so as to protect the innocent bystandrers. Now you boys and girls have been warned!

Dale

ya you gotta watch out for them northen michiganders, they are a different breed up there north of me .

naw im just kiddin . actually all the the A@#%! live in southern MI near me.