just bought a 312-8 & dont know much about them ,info required

[neil 2,409]

I have just bought a 312-8 and i dont know too much about this type of tractor , does anyone have any info on these & how good are these ,

I tend to go for the earlier wheelhorses but this one came up at a good price so i bought it , I havent seen it in the flesh yet but here are some pics of it.

[rexman72 210]

looks almost brand new to me

[neil 2,409]

from what the ad says it was repainted with new decals ,has no deck as it was rotted away

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,296]

I think they are a great all-around machine! With the Magnum motor you get electronic inginion so no points, coil or condensor to maintain. Any attachment made for the attach-a-matic system from 1973 till present will fit it. The large muffler gives the Magnum a nice low tone rumble that I like. The tranny is probably the 1" axle/4 pinion type but its a nice stout capable tranny that will perform flawlessly unless your entering it in a tractor pull type event.

I see a "mule drive" so did it come with a deck?

Mike..............

[neil 2,409]

Thanx for info Mike , it comes with the ag tires /Tyres & the grass tires also the mule drive with a front tow ball.

The deck has apparently rotted away but im sure i could get one of those from ebay or somewhere

I guess it would be a Euro tractor so built in belgium , I bought it for £250 .00 which would be about $180.00

The guy said he bought it a couple of years ago & just used it to tow his speed boat around his yard

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Mighty fine looking tractor there Neil - I can see the appeal. Nice score!

Andy

[neil 2,409]

what size are the front rims as they look to be a bit smaller than the c Series tractor rims

[neil 2,409]

Mighty fine looking tractor there Neil - I can see the appeal. Nice score!

Andy

Thanx Andy , I couldnt resist it when i saw it at the price , like i need another tractor LOL

shes gonna kill me for getting another tractor but like i said the price was too good to let go so i guess it will be worth a row with the Mrs

[meadowfield 2,570]

Neil,

it's 5 generations away from a raider 12 !...ish.

12 no name

C-120

C-121

C-125

312-8

but for the hood, dash and newer engine, the mechanics are very similar to what you are used to. I have 1/5 of a 312-8 here and it's bolted onto a commando 8 chassis - you can only tell by the 8 speed tranny.

Looks fantastic - I could quite go for a late black hood - but would hang in for a 520H !!!

mark

[Raider10 3]

:) Cool looking tractor you got there Neil. Nowt wrong with buying another one. Just aquired a little lawn ranger myself. We now have a grand total of 6.

Just cant help it!

[meadowfield 2,570]

Just aquired a little lawn ranger myself. We now have a grand total of 6.

Just cant help it!

get some pictures sent !!!!!! btw mine broke when I unloaded it off the trailer.... I 'll post about it :)

[WH Raider10 17]

Neil,

Great machine you bought there! Has enough power to use all implements and those Magnum's rund great. My main tractor is a 312-8.

The front tires should be 6" I think.

P-J

[farmer 1,075]

Neil, I've owned a 312-8 from new, (93) it's just clocked 1000 hrs and it's been faultless.

Someones done the work for you on that one, good price too !

btw.... I think your exchange rate is out a bit. :)

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 137]

That's a great price for that machine. It's one of my favorite workers that seems to start whenever I need it.

[meadowfield 2,570]

btw.... I think your exchange rate is out a bit.

I did think that... it's running around the 1.55 mark, so £250 is more like $380...

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,296]

what size are the front rims as they look to be a bit smaller than the c Series tractor rims

They are probably 6" rims. They were used on the 300 series so that the front tires would clear the 37" side discharge deck. They aren't nesassary if any other deck is used. The spindles will accept an 8" rim but are longer in height and the front of the tractor gets a bit of a lift unless you swap out the spindles with ones off a tractor originally equipt with 8" fronts.

Mike...........

[can whlvr 993]

nice buy,as stated nothing wrong with the maroon stripe tractors,ya the hood stant is a bit cheaper than a c from 1975,but they are a true wheel horse and will do about anything you give her to do,i have 4 c,s and 4 maroons and i will pick a maroon to do the job just as easy as a c series

[neil 2,409]

its funny how looks can deceive , I would swear that this tractor had been resprayed but the guy says it has been hand painted but to a good standrard.and also the lights do not work

I shall be picking it up on thursday, so will put more pics out then

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Obviously you'll see how good the paint job is when you meet it face to face but it is possible to get amazing results with hand painting.

Like good spraying there are techniques to both methods and you get good and poor examples of each. In the days of carriages they were hand painted, early automobiles also I believe. I've hand painted two military jeeps (both prize winners at shows) and yep, the C120 and now the D-200 are both hand painted.

Done well people just don't believe its a hand paint job.

Hope yours turns out to be as good as he says.

The lights not working is more than likely that the filaments in the sealed beam units have gone. I have two of the 200 series tractors with the same lights and those didn't work either. They are a curious lamp unit made by General Electric but manufacturer's spec is for 12 volt operation and they will give over a thousand hours service at 12 volts. At 14 volts the life expectancy drops dramatically (according to the manufacturer) to just a few hundred hours. Most auto bulbs are designed for 14 volts even though they are nominally rated as 12 volt bulbs.

As I don't do night time mowing the lamps rarely get used so it's not really an issue and I just replaced the sealed units. If I did do a lot of late mowing then I'd consider putting a couple of diodes in line with each lamp to drop the voltage by about 1.2 volts to extend the life. They wouldn't be quite as bright but they'd last considerably longer.

Andy

[bowtiebutler956 650]

That's a fine looking machine! Congratulations!

Matt :flags-texas:

[Raider10 3]

Heres a pic of my raider 10 which i brush painted. It is quite possible to brush paint to a very high standard with virtually no brush marks. Its just matter of having right technique and putting enough paint on and using a good quality brush. I have brush painted two Land rovers and a Range rover and most people cant tell any difference. Its usually crap on the brush or floating about in the air which makes it look rubbish But photos make it look even better still. Plus i can never be arsed to put another coat on. especially if the first one looks ok

. Ian

Edited April 2, 2012 by Raider10

[neil 2,409]

Wow that paintwork looks amazing Ian did you clear coat the paintwork after you painted it? as is seems to have a mirror finsh to it

[meadowfield 2,570]

it's just a very high gloss finish and lots of natural light !

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Ian, its good to know that I'm not the only brush painting fanatic about. Here's my C-120

I second what you've said + temperature is important as the paint needs time to flow and settle out before starting to harden.

Andy

[AMC RULES 37,125]

Are you guys thinning the paint to help it to flow out before it starts to settle and dry? :scratchead: