Why do you collect these tractors?

[stevasaurus 22,764]

well, some of you have heard my story...so I'll make it short....my dad had a lawn bussiness in the 70's & 80's. I think he had the bug back then because he bought 4 wheelhorse tractors plus all the attachments. When he got to old to do that anymore, they went into the back of the shed. I was around for the bussiness and would help when he needed. When he passed away, it fell upon me to clean out the shed. The shed was full to the front because he saved everything. Took me 2 years to go through it once. In the shed was a 1964 Ford custom, which I have spent the last 2 years restoring...I learned to drive stick on this car when I was 15...my grandfather brought it new. It is done restoring now and runs great...next the tractors. Started working on them this last fall...had no clue, and no manuals...just knew I wanted to get them running. Bell turned me on to this site and I now have the bug I just retired this weekend and am looking forward to some nice weather this spring to get started. I would like to go to the show in June and meet the people that makes this such a great forum. One thing you don't know....I was reading the freebee thread today...and I have to tell you that my mom, with both hips replaced, comes out to the shed and sits and watches me work on the tractors ...talk about quality time...she's a sweetheart and last week she told me..."Steve...those tractors are yours." I don't think I have to rush to get them out of there and the time I spend getting them running is priceless. Mom, applepie and thanks

[boovuc 1,090]

I guess I can tell mine now. When I was growing up near a community park in central PA, I watched a friend of my father's mow that whole 8 acre park with an old Wheel Horse. (No idea what it was but the deck wasn't much wider than 36 inches). Dad always said he was waiting for his friend's tractor to blow because he needed a bigger tractor to keep up with the park property plus his own. It never blew! It never quit. My dad's friend did though. He passed away and his son still has the tractor. That said, I knew I wanted a Wheel Horse and I finally got my hands on one as I traded a 1975 Harley Sportster straight up on my C-175 with weights, chains, plow and mower deck. This was in 1994.

Readers digest version is I still have the tractor and the guy I traded even up on the Harley dumped the AMF piece of crap in less than a year. I didn't consider myself a "collector" until I just got the c121. I have a big garage! We'll see how my new-older tractor restore goes. And when I mean "restore", I mean to bring it up from "scrap" looking to "not afraid to let people see it" looking!

Great stories everyone. This is really a great site!

[fordsonmajortom 1]

It all started about two and a half years ago,i was doing some work on this small farm and noticed this forlorn uncared for little rusty red tractor sitting in an open sided barn. I thought i could get it running and my granddaughter could drive it when she gets older. I offered him

[Don1977 604]

I was still in High School 1960 or there about. I was working a few days in the summer for an older cousin that ran a used car lot cleaning up cars and mowing the car lot. He had an old Wheel Horse I don't remember the model. It had a Kohler engine and gear drive spindles. It was the first time I enjoyed mowing, I knew I would have to have one.

I built a new house on a 1 1/2 acre lot in 1974 it took me a couple of years to finish the yard. I tried mowing with my dads old Snapper and that just didn't get it. The next spring I bought a C-120 Wheel Horse with a 48" mower base. I didn't even go look at anything else.

[Hodge71 664]

Well here goes my chapter, mine also includes my Dad . He got our 1973 12 HP AUTOMATIC used in 1974 from our local dealer at that time; Hazle Penn Oil and Brake in Hazleton PA. It was used at our local race track in St. Johns PA, Evergreen Raceway, where it pulled wrecked cars and push started others. I was only 3 at the time and dont remember much but judging from the pictures, I smiled an awful lot when Ii was sitting on his lap on that thing. Whether it was was tilling their substantial garden in the spring or mowing and aereating their 1.25 acres in the summer and fall or plowing snow in the winter(he had a Wheel horse 42"snowblower for 1 year but after to many heavy snowfalls he traded the single stage sno chucker for a 48" dozer blade) , I loved it all. He got the Wheel Horse Lawn Vaccuum Attachment in 1976 or 77 according to him and left the Wheel Horse lawn sweeper in the back of the garage to collect dust. Eventually I got old enuff (about 7 or 8, God I miss the 70s) to do the yard chores myself and i took over the reins of the horse. I had a younger brother who really want into it as much as me so I was more than happy to run it constsantly. My Dad taught me at a young age, probably when I started taking over the mowing etc. the importance of checking the oil and tranny oil before starting the tractor every time how to check and clean the airfilter and precleaner. He taught me how to change all the implements and make it ready for every season. As my brother and I grew we opened our own little lawncare business with that tractor and made ourselves quite a customer base. We cut all summer and plowed all winter and loved every minute of it. I eventually moved out and got married bought 3 acres about 5 miles from my Mom and Dad, my brother who still lived at home took over the mowing duties. I bought a 1950 Ford 8N i used to clear my lot with and once Built my house and needed a loader, I went and bought a brand spanking new John Deere 4120 in 2002 with a loader 72 inch deck, and 4 wheel drive. It was nothing but trouble from day 1. It spent the first 3 weeks in the dealer garage waiting for a new front driveshaft cause it was bad from the factory.Had numerous electrical/hyrdraulic issues for its entire life until it caught fire when I was moving an oak tree I had cut down and burned to the ground in my yard. I eventually found out it was nothing but an overpriced YANMAR in green and yellow plastic covers Shoulda never got rid of that 8n . At that point my brother had gotten married and picked up a 1984 C-195 to mow his yard with and I got bitten again. I figured that if that '73 is still running stong and my Dad still uses it every week, Horses were good enuff for me.I kept looking for what seems like forever for a '73- 12,14 or 16 auto but I eventually settled for the 1995 416 HYDRO I have now. My ultimate goal is to buy 1 of the entire C-series autos from 1973. I just love those center motion controls . My 3 year old son Jeb Loves Wheel Horses as much as me, and points them out whenever he sees one. I now am making the same memories with my son that my Dad did with me. I can only hope he takes the reins of his own horse in time.

[zieg72 209]

My first Wheel Horse.... My first home was an acre, bought a brand new 12/36 Dynamark which did just fine, move to Texas to a little .6 acre spot and the I opted for a shift on the go MTD with a 12.5 and a 42" deck, again an ok tractor until I moved back to Indiana to 1.5 acres of thick plush lawn which the MTD just about gave up. I borrowed my brothers JD 318 and fell in love with a real tractor. He was always good at researching stuff so I gave him the task of finding me the best bang for the buck. He steered me to the Wheel Horse line. Off to the county fair I went.... I couldn't afford the 520 series back in 96 so I opted for the 269H with the recycler deck. I was and still am pleased with it however the baffles came out of the deck after the 2nd cut. Fast forward to fall of 2007 and the discovery of Craigslist. I discovered a 432 hour 1992 520H with a 60" deck for sale at what I thought a misprint in the price. I struck a deal knowing it was a little out of my comfort level and it did have some things that needed attention before it was ready to go. Then I found this GREAT forum of which I have met several of you. Never considered myself a collector but my signature says what I currently have in WH. My main goal is to get both of my 520's reliable enough to be able to sell the 269H.

[dr74go 1]

Well, I am not yet a collector, but I have the itch. I only have one Wheel Horse, and plan to use it regularly. I just thought this would be a good place to post my story. First of all, I grew up with Cub Cadets. Good mowers / tractors, and much more common around here.

The first Wheel Horse I remember is a project that my dad had over 25 years ago. I think is was one of the "nut roaster" styles. He was thinking of making it a puller, but that project was put on the back burner. The next ones I remember were at the Old Threshers Reunion in Denton, NC. The next belongs to a neighbor, it is a 60's or 70's that she was still mowing grass with a few years ago. I think she still has it. I love the way the older ones look, and would love to have one or more. There were a couple of older ones on CL Raleigh, for $150. They look like the "nut roaster" style, but I don't know for sure. Both are incomplete, but I would still like to have them. They are unusual here in NC. I love the unusual.

I inherited the collector / pack rat gene from both parents. I currently have an old mini bike, 1980 Jeep CJ-5 with Chevy drivetrain, two mowers, and a 1948 Airstream Liner that needs to be restored. My mother has two rooms over filled with things. She has collected Gnomes, Beanie Babies, old toys, and other old things and knick knacks that she likes. My father has 4 tractors, FEL w/ backhoe, small bulldozer, 3 road tractors, 7 campers, and around 8 lawn mowers / tractors. And no, he is not a farmer. At least I got it honest. Most things he and I get are for a purpose, are unusual, were priced right, or were something we wanted.

Just thought I would add my story.

D.L.

[420lse 18]

Happy New Year

My story goes like this: I bought my house almoet 16 years ago. We closed on the house and started moving in. I opened the garage and lo and behold there sat a 606 with a newer 8hp Tecumseh transplant, a homemade plow, and chains. One day, after years of service I broke the stearing wheel and started looking for a replacment. This lead me to e-bay and the world of Wheel Horse Tractors. I have since removed the engine and sold the 606 and have moved on to other WH addictions. Who would have known that a broken steering wheel would have brought me here.

I had to get off the tractor,and pull a pin to change the angle of the blade.

Had a lot of fun on that 606

Wife, dog, and leaf cart.

I know no belt guard.

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. What's your story?

Moe in CT

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Good story Moe... I merged yours into an older thread so some of the newer members can read up on this topic from the past, and the old timers don't have to type out their whole stories again! :thumbs:

[rickv1957 72]

Okay, you guys wanted to hear a story, so here it is!! Back in the middle sixties when I was a kid we used to play on a frozen pond in the winter and my neighbor bought a new Wheel Horse tractor, don't remember the size, I just remember it was a Wheel Horse, and all winter long we would tie our sleds to the Wheel Horse tractor and he would pull us around on the pond. Then in 1982, my wife and I rented a house with a large yard, so I needed a rider and found a Wheel Horse B 100, couldn't help but restore it, I was so proud of it, until my wife ran it through the fence (Hey! It was a hydo and I wanted a stick!). After that I sold it to my father-in-law (who had wanted it every since he had restored it), with a few scratches, so I bought another one, don't remember the model now, (which my wife did not run through the fence, because it was a stick), in the meantime I got aquanted with my local Wheel Horse dealer and before I knew it, we became friends, and I purchase every one of his trade-in models, so he could sell new. I repainted, rebuilt, whatever it took, to use and sell. 1986 we then purchased 4 acres and I built my un-attached garage, the Wheel Horse hobby continued as I got up to 26 tractors, people would really look as they drove by while my family and friends were hanging out. In 1987, we built our home and we used four to mow (one for me, one for my wife w/cart hauling my youngest daughter, one for my son and one for my oldest daughter, who hated mowing). Throughout the 1990s the hobby continued and I acquired close to 30 tractors at one time and had them outside as I was cleaning the garage, and an individual stopped to see if any was for sell and thought I was a dealer. Since then my oldest daughter, (who hated to mow got married and asked for a tractor for Christmas), I restored a 1968 Raider 12, which they still use, (my son-in-law raced his friend's 16 Hp. John Deere and waxed him), in the early 2000s the hobby still continued as I fixed up the used ones and kept the new ones that I purchased for myself, (in the meantime my friend the dealer lost track of how many I had purchased, but we always thought it was around 500), in 2003 we moved to our retirement home in Lake of the Ozarks, MO, I purchased a NOS 314-8 from my dealer friend, (shortly before he passed), and you know the rest of the story, as that is part of my present collection that continues to grow.

[rickv1957 72]

My wife typed the above post,Rick

[rocking 416 1]

I learned to drive on a rider been collecting them ever since

[rmaynard 15,514]

Since my collection is one single B-100, the story is pretty short. In 1993, I was driving my wife around to yard sales when we came upon a sale that included a tractor. Turned out to be a 1977 B-100 Wheel Horse with a mower deck, 42" snow plow and a dump cart. The owner let me drive it and I decided then and there that I had never been on any rider that felt as solid and strong as this.

I asked my father-in-law to come along later that day and take a look at it. When he saw that it was a Wheel Horse, he said "I don't even have to look at it, buy it. You won't regret it". He said "that tractor will be around long after I'm dead and gone". Later that month he died. Sixteen years later, the old B-100 is still going strong, and I expect that one of my three grandsons will still be riding it long after I'm dead and gone.

There has never been a day when I am on that tractor that I don't hear my father-in-law saying "you won't regret it".

I don't. Thanks Jerry!

Bob

[VinsRJ 721]

I wish my story was as interesting as the ones before me, but its not. I have no Wheel Horse memories or..... even of tractors in general. It started about 3 years ago after attending a local tractor show. At the time I was looking to get out of the car restoration hobby. I had completed a number of full body off restos over the last 15 years and the hobby in its self was starting to wain on me. To be quite honest I had no interest in tractors the day I went to the show but when a completely mint Panzer purred by my brother and I, I knew I had to have one...... From there I started looking into vintage GT tractors in general, not set on a particular make or model but how they visually struck me. I first bought my 1963 Panzer T707ES, the Dodge rear was what sold me on that unit. Next was the RJ.... my 58 came first and then my 35. IMO the 35 is the best looking tractor of all time.... perfect lines, the right color combo and historically meaningful. Will I aquire another brand or WH? Maybe, maybe not.... I'll see how it goes.

[gwgdog66 23]

In the early 80's. My Uncle and Grandpa had a lawn mower shop. We had an old Western Auto push mower, and it kicked my butt every week to mow the grass. I managed to trade up to a Lazy Boy big wheel, but the self propel always threw the belt so I wound up pushing it.

One day my uncle took in an old red Wheel Horse C-160 in trade for an AMF. That guy must be kicking his self in the buttocks right about now. He replaced the points, and told me to try it out. I got about half the yard mowed and figured out right quick "Hey this thing is making my life easy". He never sold it. I think my uncle and grandpa had a plan for me Later he talked me into buying it, for a good price, all summer free labor I think. The whole time my grandpa was snickering.

The old 1975 C-160 is a family heirloom now and still running as strong as ever. My little brother now has a few too (imagine that ) he wanted to buy a green and yeller one. :

[sawhorse 0]

My parents purchased a used 1973 Wheel Horse A-100 lawn mower in what

was probably 1984. The guy they bought it from referred to the mower as

his "puppy". We were teenagers at the time and didn't notice much so

our father demonstrated how durable this machine was. My dad was not

a fix-it type of guy. The fix-it jobs were for me and my brothers.

My dad really was a gas and go type of guy that wanted nothing to do with

something if it didn't work right away. The Wheel Horse always started

and ran but I had to jump start it since he didn't want to buy a new battery.

Invariably, my father would test the capabilities of this very capable tractor.

His favorite tactic was to fully engage the throttle and place the gear selector

in high. Upon releasing the clutch he would engage the deck in tall grass. The

machine often complied, laying waste to acres of pasture land as well as lawn.

Inevitably after such abuse the mower deck belt would be burnt up in clouds

of victorious smoke. This was the only problem we had with the machine and

it obviously wasn't any defect in workmanship. My brothers and I got tired

of changing the belts every time he mowed so the machine got parked in the

garage.

Shortly after the A-100 was parked, my father went out and bought a used

412-H. Now this was a potent machine as we used it to mow briar patches

et cetera. But something simple went wrong with the Kohler motor and my

parents wound up giving it away! (ouch!) My mom mows the lawn now. My

dad is not trusted to have the keys to the used sears lawn tractor they have

now.

My experiences with the wheel horses impressed me so much that I am now

an official wheel horse nut.

I am very happy with my 1989 310-8 that I picked up used a few years ago.

My 310 is used for gardening and snow plowing and light mowing on my couple

acres. My other WH is a B-115 1982 - another good runner.

[Duff 206]

Wow! I thought I'd posted on this thread back when it was first brought out, but now that I think back, I guess I thought I was still too new at the forum to have anything to contribute. I've since learned that time on the forum is of little consequence- it's all about liking and caring for these great tractors!

Anyway, I was raised with what I call mongrel tractors - Montgomery Ward and Sears as I recall. Seems like Dad was always having to fix something on them, and fancying myself some kind of mechanical prodigy (boy, was I wrong!) I just had to "try" to help him. I learned a lot.....about the frustration that comes from inferior qualtiy things mechanical. But at the time, it was all Dad could afford so we mucked along.

After retirement, Dad was able to afford his first "green tractor", a marked step up from the mongrels. By then I had become a little more proficient in fixing things so I took care of it for him. After he passed, I sort of inherited it to keep his property maintained so my Mom could continue to live there. With almost four acres of lawn, the little STX46 just wasn't cutting it (pun intended), so my brother and I convinced Mom to get us a GT235.

Shortly after the GT235 arrived, my best friend, also a green tractor owner whom I help in keeping his machine running and who knows I get a kick out of working on tractors, had a death in his family. His sister passed away prematurely leaving a large house in Connecticut. My friend went to CT to take stock of what was there and discovered a WH 312-8 in her basement that had been sitting since she and her husband had divorced some six years earlier. It was covered in dust and had a few things piled on it, but it had lived inside in a warm, dry environment. Tires were soft, battery was deader than a popcorn fart, and the fuel made varnish smell like perfume.....you get the picture. He offered it to me for free if I wanted to fool around with it for whatever purpose I might see fit. So a couple weeks later we made a foray to CT (sorry CT guys!) and brought it back to NH on my utility trailer. A good washing, fresh fuel and oil, new spark plug and battery, and it started within 10 seconds of cranking and ran like a swiss watch.

Before this I had become a bit of a green tractor enthusiast, but as I began to work on my new red tractor I realized just how incredibly well built a machine it is. To list the positives here would be preaching to the choir, so I won't. Suffice it to say that the addiction began. I joined this forum then began adding to the collection. I've got a long, long way to go to catch up with a lot of folks here, but my three 312's in various stages of restoration and rebuilding are a source of great pride and relaxation, and the friendships I've made here are priceless. And I keep my eyes open all the time just in case something else comes along.

Happy New Year one and all!

Duff :thumbs:

[muka 9]

Hello everybody my story goes as follows.My dad in the late 70s brought home a rusted rotted wheelhorse suburban400 with no motor and a rotted hood and fuel tank.

He and his brother david put on a 3hp briggs engine on it and my dad used that machine for 15 years plowing and hauling everything. I got the machine about 8 years ago and its been down hill sense then now i have a rj58,400,704 and c series and tons of parts and manuals. I have got y 9 yearold in on it and its lots of fun for the both of us.

[bobert94 38]

In my senior year of high school i got a part time job working in a machine shop in Mishawaka,IN which is right next to South Bend. After a brief time it became known to me that we made parts for wheel horse. In the early 80's we moved to a new shop,apon arriving there we found a brand new wheel horse tractor [C145-8] to mow shops lawn. The addiction had begun. If i only knew then what i know now. we would send parts out in shipping tubs ,they would come back with bits and pieces of wheel horse tractors. Not knowing what they were for they usually ended up in the dumpster. at one time we accumulated a whole tub of steering wheels.after awhile these too became scrap.we made thousands of mower deck shafts, Trunnions for mower deck,pto clutches and mule drives to name a few. I personally spent hours on a turret lathe threading 101842's the adjustment rod for the mule drive.You know you made a lot of these when you still know the part # 20 years later.I bought my first wheel horse in 1990 A C165A. for 400.00 Repainted it new decals used it for 15 years sold it to a friend for 700.00 ,still going strong.Wish i could say the same for the many cars and trucks i've owned over the years :thumbs:

[tbbahner 27]

Back in the late '90's,I needed a rider to mow a large lot that I purchased, next to my mother's house, located in a small town about 30 mi. away. A guy I worked with said he wanted to sell his mower and, knowing nothing about riders went to look at it. It was a B60 with a 36" deck. I bought it for $250, it was in great shape. Man, I was in hog heaven not having to push mow that lot!

Then I started noticing the quality and simplicity of that old Wheel Horse. Everythings out in the open, easy to get to, easy to drop the deck, easy to maintain, and that little K161 sounded like and old Johnny Popper when idled down. I was just flat SOLD on how these things are built.

When the kids got into to high school and college, money became tight, and I had to get scale down from cars, '46 Ford coupe, '60 Caddie flat top,,,,,,,

Needing something to wrench on, I started looking for more garden tractors since they weren't the money pits cars seem to be. I've been doing Wheel Horse and small farm tractors ever since. I've settled in on Ferguson(before Massey) farm tractors as my other sickness.

I still have the old B60, have added a few to the stable, and sold a few along the way.

Its a very self rewarding hobby and I've met so many great people along the way. Haven't met a tractor guy yet I didn't like.

That's my storry and I'm sticking to it!.

Tom B

Rossville Ks.

[chazm 413]

Very good reading everybody

I'm fairly new to the WH world. I've had an Huskee for the last 9 years,which did fine for mowing grass, but something always seamed to be going on it, the last was the 10hp B&S

So last year about this time we move into our dream house & I needed a new mower, I wanted something with a bucket on it,but didn't find anything in my price range. Well the nosey neighbor across the street said that her computer guy had a tractor with a bucket for sale. since he was just down the road from me I went to look at it. So to my suprise there was a WH Raider 10 in cherry condition packed in is garage with mower deck ,snow blower , tines, Wheel weights & chains, but no bucket. <_<

He said it won't start and had one of the tire chains wedge in the snow blower auger. (don't ask , he's a computer guy and didn't know ether)

Well after some reserch I found this forum & realize that was the tractor for me.

After I got it home and some help from the guys here found it had the wrong ign. switch in it. I can't tell ya how impressed I am with it & wat she can do.

So this summer I found a 753 project to restore & have been hooked

:WRS:

[KC9KAS 4,741]

I remember seeing old Wheel Horses at the old welding shop downtown. The 2 guys that owned the shop and treasures wouldn't part with them, but they didn't use or work on them either. I always thought they looked cool, and thought they would be fun to "play" with.

Well, fast forward some 40 years to 2008... my wife's nephew gave me a really nice 1975 B-80, and at that point, I was really bitten by the WH Bug! Now I have 4 WH tractors with several attachments, and picked up a Bolens that has real possibilities too!

[MikesRJ 552]

Mine goes something like this ...

I've been seeing Wheel Horse's all my life without so much as a second thought about them. Then, about three years ago, I had an engine cease on a 7 year old Craftsman (or is it Crapsman?) due to a (unknown to me) leaking crankshaft seal. This was a machine I thought I took pretty good care of, and never saw the leak until it was too late. This experience added volumes to the list of tractor related "Lessons Learned".

When I found out what it costs to have an engine replaced on a box-store cheapo tractor, I decided to do it myself. I acquired a new engine, greased, fixed, and adjusted everything on the thing, and in the process of doing the work were the beginnings of a love affair (read that "infection") with fixing "tractors".

A bunch of months later, now with the tractor "bug" firmly entrenched in me, I came across an old, dilapidated RJ-58 on my sister-in-laws horse ranch while visiting in TN. After talking to my sister-in-law about what she planned to do with it, and finding out it was headed for the dump soon, I decided to take it home and "fix it up".

As I proceeded to do the restore on the old critter, and learn more about the Wheel Horse company, history and products, the bug mutated into the venerable "Wheel Horse Virus". So much so, that the entire RJ restoration process became a mental exercise in that not only did I perform all the research and do almost all of the restoration work on the tractor myself, but I documented the entire process for future RJ restorers to use as a reference in their restoration works. (MikesRJ's RJ-58 Restoration)

Needless to say, a second Wheel Horse was rather quickly acquired (a 1973 10 HP/8 Speed) to replace the Crapsman, and the Crapsman was put up for sale. A few other happenstance meetings with other Wheel Horse folks produced a few more attachments for the 10-8, more than I ever dreamed of having for the Crapsman, and a future "refresh" is forthcoming on her. She'll remain my daily worker so long as I don't find another Wheel Horse "favorite", and so long as I can still climb into a seat.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people pass my house while I'm getting some seat time, then turn around just to come back and take a closer look at the "Horse". It's interesting to note just how many people have had a Wheel Horse in their past, and they kind of live vicariously through those that own one (or more) now. Makes you kind of proud to be one of those keeping the breed alive. If you take care of your "Horse's", they'll always take care of you. Wheel Horses are like an Ever-Ready battery; They just keep going, and going, ...

The rest, as they say, is history. I'll never own another Crapsman again, and it's very unlikely I'll ever own anything other than a Wheel Horse, unless it's for the sole purpose of collecting a hard-to-find, restore-able classic or antique.

[tophatbufflo 2]

In thelate 60's my parents had what we called the ouyside janitor job of taking care of our church. W mowed 5 acres minus the size of the building with a 30" rider-brand unknown- After a couple they bought a Comando 8 wiyh a 36"deck and us boys though we were in Heaven with the bigger Wheelhorse. A few years ago I bought a WH snowblower at a junkyard with the intention of finding a tractor to mount it on.A couple of year ago I bought a Raider 10 that wouldn't start to fix to use with the blower.-Low compression- Ex boss sold me a 14Auto I was going to put blower on then-found a WH blade at another junkyard. Was a hybrid blade ,someone took a front mount blade and welded a rear mount frame onto. So using one in my youth corrupted me. :thumbs:

[clintonnut 126]

It is a long string linked story but the short version is this.

My dad grew up in Maquoketa, IA (Hometown of Clinton Engines) and he used to have a go kart that was painted like a John Deere that had a Clinton on it.

I was starting to get into small engines around the age of 5 and my dad started to steer me towards Clinton. Thanks dad! $45. We bought that and it started to REALLY GROW. We now have about 60 engines.

At next years show I saw several Wheel-Horse RJs with Clintons being displayed (by I think the Rhoads family) A couple monthes later I saw a 401 for $130 in Lancaster Farming.

You can GUESS what happened from there!