1977 C111 Special

[wheelhorsekid 141]

There is a restored Wh tractor for sale by me. The guy says it's a rare model "C111 Special" that was only made in 1977. Does anyone know anything about this? I don't know about this "rare" model and don't want to make an offer until I can learn a little about it.

Thanks for any help.

[Hodge71 664]

The C111 was made in 1979, It came with an 11 hp Breaks and Scrap 'em and an 8speed transaxle. Model number on the tractor was 91-11B801. Thye are right it was made for only 1 year but it was 79, not 77, and as far as "special", thats in the eye on the beholder, the tractor wasn't named a C-111 special. It sounds like hes trying to get a pumpkin for a pea by building it up into something its not. I'm a big fan of the Kohler powered horses, not so much of the B&S ones. They seem to have less resale value compared to the Kohlers, at least in my area.

Your mileage may vary....

[reecie 3]

Gotta luv dat "trying to get a pumpkin for a pea" line :)

[wheelhorsekid 141]

Ok now they say it's a 77' b1100 special. It's funny they don't know what they have, or they are tryin to get a pumkin for a pea lol. I'm out on this deal.

[Hodge71 664]

Sorry again, the only B series tractors for 77 were B-60, B-80,B -100, and the B-145 (which is electric)...Once again no such thing as a B-1100 special...somebodys fulla manure....These people are the ones that give anyone selling something a bad name. The thing that sucks is they will eventually find someone that knows less than them and will buy the "special" for a whole lot more than its worth.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,131]

Y'all might want to watch what you say.............

http://www.wheelhors...e-1100-special/

I'll bet this is THE tractor in question.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a little something I started typing up yesterday, but never got around to posting:

There was a C-111 (1979 model year) and an 1100 Special (1980 model year).

Aside from a few very minor things, they are essentially the same tractor.

The 1981 GT-2500 "Anniversary Special" and the 1982 SB-421 can also be grouped with those two models since they are all quite similar.

The "only made for one year" deal is correct for about every single Wheel Horse produced. Even when the product name of the newer tractors (B-80, C-120, 312-8, etc.) stayed the same from year to year, part of the model number was used to identify the year of the tractor. (resulting in a different model number for every year that product was produced) It wasn't until Toro got their fingers into the operation that the model number stayed the same, and the serial number was used to indicate the production year.

That's why you could even argue that (for example) a 1995 520-H was a one-year model if you really wanted to. (it was only built in 1995)

Back to the C-111 / 1100 Special question:

Are any of them "rare"? - nah. They were not intended to be low or special production units. More than anything, they were "dustpan" tractors, built specifically to use up any remaining inventory during the changeover to the third-generation C series and the WorkHorse line.

Were they big sellers? - Consumer demand directly influences the production of many things. If a lot of people wanted a C-111, a lot of them would have been built. The Kohler-powered tractors did cost more money, but undoubtedly had a better reputation. The Briggs & Stratton powered tractors did cost less, so more buyers may have chosen them just to save a few bucks.

The GT-2500 A.S. was a real let-down. Built to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Wheel Horse name, they were nothing more than a C-111 / 1100 Special with silver wheels and unique silver decals. No frills, plain red paint on "old-style" sheetmetal, and lighter duty drivetrain wasn't very special at all. But..... they also came with a 1 Troy ounce .999% pure silver bar when sold new, so I suppose that makes them worthy.

My opinion of this model is like inviting someone really important to your house for dinner and then serving leftovers from the week before.

If it helps you to come up with a number, there is a fully-functioning (but rough-around-the-edges) GT-2500 A.S. with nothing but a dozer blade near me. The seller has slowly come down from $600 to $200 and (to my knowledge) still has it.

Pristow's, a dealer in Johnstown, PA, has a really (REALLY) nice all-original C-111 with a practically-new 42" mower deck that has a $999 (or best offer) price tag.

With the way things are going with these tractors lately, I'd say you want to shoot for a price somewhere between those two numbers, but that would be dependent on what - if any - attachments or accessories are included.

[Hodge71 664]

Y'all might want to watch what you say.............

http://www.wheelhors...e-1100-special/

I'll bet this is THE tractor in question.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a little something I started typing up yesterday, but never got around to posting:

There was a C-111 (1979 model year) and an 1100 Special (1980 model year).

Aside from a few very minor things, they are essentially the same tractor.

The 1981 GT-2500 "Anniversary Special" and the 1982 SB-421 can also be grouped with those two models since they are all quite similar.

The "only made for one year" deal is correct for about every single Wheel Horse produced. Even when the product name of the newer tractors (B-80, C-120, 312-8, etc.) stayed the same from year to year, part of the model number was used to identify the year of the tractor. (resulting in a different model number for every year that product was produced) It wasn't until Toro got their fingers into the operation that the model number stayed the same, and the serial number was used to indicate the production year.

That's why you could even argue that (for example) a 1995 520-H was a one-year model if you really wanted to. (it was only built in 1995)

Back to the C-111 / 1100 Special question:

Are any of them "rare"? - nah. They were not intended to be low or special production units. More than anything, they were "dustpan" tractors, built specifically to use up any remaining inventory during the changeover to the third-generation C series and the WorkHorse line.

Were they big sellers? - Consumer demand directly influences the production of many things. If a lot of people wanted a C-111, a lot of them would have been built. The Kohler-powered tractors did cost more money, but undoubtedly had a better reputation. The Briggs & Stratton powered tractors did cost less, so more buyers may have chosen them just to save a few bucks.

The GT-2500 A.S. was a real let-down. Built to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Wheel Horse name, they were nothing more than a C-111 / 1100 Special with silver wheels and unique silver decals. No frills, plain red paint on "old-style" sheetmetal, and lighter duty drivetrain wasn't very special at all. But..... they also came with a 1 Troy ounce .999% pure silver bar when sold new, so I suppose that makes them worthy.

My opinion of this model is like inviting someone really important to your house for dinner and then serving leftovers from the week before.

If it helps you to come up with a number, there is a fully-functioning (but rough-around-the-edges) GT-2500 A.S. with nothing but a dozer blade near me. The seller has slowly come down from $600 to $200 and (to my knowledge) still has it.

Pristow's, a dealer in Johnstown, PA, has a really (REALLY) nice all-original C-111 with a practically-new 42" mower deck that has a $999 (or best offer) price tag.

With the way things are going with these tractors lately, I'd say you want to shoot for a price somewhere between those two numbers, but that would be dependent on what - if any - attachments or accessories are included.

Sorry Terry,

I never looked any farther than 1977/1979 on my Wheel Horse/Toro spreadsheet that has all models/years on it.... My bad Now that I have looked, they do have the 1100 special listed under 1980. You've probably forgotten more than I'll ever hope to know.... :bow-blue:

[wheelhorsekid 141]

I'm still working on this tractor. NOW it's a B111 model. I'm not sure he knows whay he has. Is this a REAL model???

[TT-(Moderator) 1,131]

Yep, a B-111 is real.

Feel free to look in the picture gallery, or you might even want to try a here on the forum or at :text-google:

[Rooster 191]

B111 Is very different from the others.

It is a Stamped pan Chassis with a vertical engine.

They have a peerless 600 transaxle, very light weight compared to a WH transaxle.

Much more of a Lawn Mower than a Garden Tractor!

If you are wanting a tractor to run attachments and work much, this is NOT the model for you!

[Will G 3]

I've got a 1979 C-111 with an 11hp Briggs and Stratton, its a model 91-11B801.