My first wheel horse!

[Wheelhorse653 0]

Hey guys newbie here, just wanted to show you guys another tractor i rescued from the woods. Its my first wheel horse- a 1963 653 to be exact. This tractor is still equipped with its original 6hp tecumseh H60 engine, Sweet! I found this tractor at my neighbors house and, i got it just in time because he was bringing it to the scrap yard the next day!AH!! Anyways he said he parked it about 20 years ago when the deck rotted off, and its been sitting ever since. After draining the 2 gallons of water out of the transaxle, flushing it with diesel twice, and refilling with gear oil, the trans work pretty well, but it will need to be rebuilt. As for the engine it was seized pretty solid, but with about a 1/2 cup of marvel mystery oil in the cylinder, the engine was completely freed up in a month. But after fixing the stuck valve, cleaning the sludge out of the block by hand, sanding the points, and cleaning the carb of what looked to be like molassess, the engine runs pretty good, and the engine has lots off compression as well. I really love the mechanical fuel pump on the engine, it really shows how well built these american tractors were built. I don't have the engine mounted because i am rebuiding it this summer. Now i just have a couple questions on this. I was wondering, is the 653 a rare model? Is their an exact number built? Because i can't find any info on the 653 at all. Any info will be greatly appriciated! thanks for reading.

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[mavfreak 11]

:banghead:

[Roger from southern Iowa 1]

:banghead:

[TT-(Moderator) 1,145]

:banghead:

I was wondering, is the 653 a rare model? Is their an exact number built? Because i can't find any info on the 653 at all.

Production numbers weren't divulged to the general public, so it's hard to say how many were built.

They are definitely less abundant than the 753, but that's probably because the Kohler engine helped the 753 survive longer.

The 653 is basically identical to the 753, with the obvious exception of the engine. The 633 is also very similar, but lacks any electrics and it too is Kohler-powered.

What other information are you looking for?

[WH Raider10 17]

Hi and ,looks like a great tractor to restore. :banghead:

[btrrg1969 11]

:banghead:

[Wheelhorse653 0]

I was wondering, is the 653 a rare model? Is their an exact number built? Because i can't find any info on the 653 at all.

Production numbers weren't divulged to the general public, so it's hard to say how many were built.

They are definitely less abundant than the 753, but that's probably because the Kohler engine helped the 753 survive longer.

The 653 is basically identical to the 753, with the obvious exception of the engine. The 633 is also very similar, but lacks any electrics and it too is Kohler-powered.

What other information are you looking for?

Yeah thanks for the info, i have tried to find brochures, manuals, etc. but nothing turned up. But i have had good luck finding reproduction decals and such. Fortunatly the tractor is pretty solid, and needs very little body work. But i'm always on ebay searching for parts. I recently got lucky and bought a new engine shroud, backplate, starter cup, originaly from a '63 wheelhorse 653 that had a blown engine on ebay, as you can see the original shroud is pretty crispy and the whole bottom rotted off. But what really suprised me was how well the engine ran, i mean no knocks, no smoke, no nothing! All i did was a basic cleaning and tune up and i just bench tested the motor by filling the carb bowl and i ran like a champ. I don't know how well the mechanical fuel pump works because i never tried it, but im sure the diaphragm is bad.

And i guess the last question is, is this tractor worth anything? I never sell anything because money means nothing to me when it comes to this kind of stuff, but it is still kinda cool to know. Thanks for reading! -Brad

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[sscotsman 166]

Looks nice!

Is it just a trick of the lens, or did a previous owner modify the hood?

the front of the hood looks very angled..it should be (nearly) vertical.

maybe just a trick of a wide-angle lens?

Scot

[Wheelhorse653 0]

Looks nice!

Is it just a trick of the lens, or did a previous owner modify the hood?

Scot

Nope, the camera is just playing games with ya, the hood isn't that angled, but ya the tractor is completely stock. although it did have some weird headlights on the front that i know weren't factory so i took them off. You can see the holes in the hood where they were. No big deal, i will just patch them up when i restore the tractor. Thank for replying. -Brad

[smoreau 658]

:thumbs: looks good Brad, You will learn alot hanging out here at rs and if you can't find what your looking for, post it here and some one will help you out. most of the time it will be cheeper here then on ebay. Good luck with your restore and like always :ROTF:

[TT-(Moderator) 1,145]

i guess the last question is, is this tractor worth anything?

Technically it's worth the current scrap steel price multiplied by how much it weighs.

Realistically, it depends on who is selling and who is buying. Someone might only go $50 for it, while someone who is missing that particular model for a collection, or someone who wants it due to sentimental reasons (example: "my great-grandpappy had one and it was the first thing I ever drove") might shell out $300 or more.

Location and logistics also have a lot to do with value. (how easy is it for the buyer to get it)

[bitten 134]

Hello and :banghead:

[VinsRJ 723]

:banghead:

[corn53 4]

:banghead:

[Fiscalyear 0]

First

They (old iron) sound good when they first fire up after sitting so long. I bought a Troy Bilt Horse tiller with the 6 HP tech engine that had been sitting for about 8 years. Ran like terrible - put a new carb on it and now it runs like new. Reminds me of what you said your H60 is running.

Now for a question: Did I understand you to say something about a fuel pump? Do you mean an external pump to the carb? My HH60 has the fuel tank above the carb and is gravity fed. I had to replace the line from the tank to the carb (no pump).

Have fun. Eddie

[just me 0]

Yes there is a mechanical fuel pump

[Fiscalyear 0]

About my last post concerning a fuel pump.

WOW - wasn't thinking, my HH60 was on a tliller. Your H60 is in a tractor. Now I know why they may reqiure a fuel pump. Tank location. Am I right?

Live and learn. Eddie

[just me 0]

:thumbs: good job! You figured it out all on by yourself. I was just getting ready to type in what you just said :banghead:

[Arndts small engine repair 0]

Hi nice find !! :banghead:

[Wheelhorse653 0]

About my last post concerning a fuel pump.

WOW - wasn't thinking, my HH60 was on a tliller. Your H60 is in a tractor. Now I know why they may reqiure a fuel pump. Tank location. Am I right?

Live and learn. Eddie

Yeah if you look in the photo you can see the pump, its operated by a lobe on the cam shaft, just like a fuel pump on an old small block chevy or something. I know its pretty cool, i never knew tecumseh did stuff like that. Yeah i,ve been working on small engines for a while. I rebuilt my first engine with my fathers help when i was 14 years old, it was an old 3-1/2hp briggs. Now 19, i,ve learned a lot in just 5 years. Thank for replying! -Brad

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