958 Wheelhorse given to me.

[michiganmike 6]

Today was a wonderful day. I was given a 958 Wheelhorse Tractor by my wife's Cousin. The tractor was purchased new by her Grandfather and when I was helping her move to a smaller house, I saw the tractor in the shed and said 'I'VE GOTTA HAVE THAT !'. It's a 958, with a 46 inch deck, 54" Blade and a plow.

It looks like a runner, I'm draining the old gas , charged up the battery. then as I moved the shift lever into neutral.....crack.....the shift lever broke off , just where it goes into the tranny. it had been previously, poorly welded or maybe brazed, so I'm not even worrying about the engine running until I get the shift lever fixed.

(which is the #1 reason I joined REDSQUARE)

It had HUGE gear like wheel weights, each must have weighed 100 pounds.....I took them off to make it easier to move around, since I don't plan on pushing any snow in the near future.

I'm a newbie so I'll be surfing a bit to get more info on this new toy.

[jay in nc 210]

:text-welcomewave: what a cool tractor. love those repurposed gears as wheelweights. Jay

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,350]

I'm a newbie so I'll be surfing a bit to get more info on this new toy.

Well you came to the right place. What you have is a 953, not a 958. It was made in 1963. Those gear type wheelweights are awsome?

!

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

[michiganmike 6]

The tractor was purchased new by my wife's Uncle Richard, he worked for Kellogg's for 30 years as a Millwright.....now retired in Florida. The gear weights probably followed him home one day

I suspect he spent a lot of "company" time fabbing the weights......gravity was working with me when I removed them, BUT , I think it would take three men and a boy to reinstall them....Richard always bought the best when he could.....was this the top of the line that year, any one know?

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,350]

It was definitly the biggest Wheel Horse offered in 63. I quess that would make it the "Caddy" of Wheel Horse's at that time.

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

[1maidenfan 202]

NICE!

:WRS:

[bowtiebutler956 650]

:WRS: That's a very solid looking and it has some great history. I don't think you'll have to worry about traction with those wheel weights!

Matt :flags-texas:

[Kelly 1,029]

Glad to see another MI guy, I live just up the road in Olivet, I don't have any 953's but I bet I have a shifter that might work for you, I have a small tractor salvage yard mostly WH, send me a PM.

[markjs 2]

Some guys have all the luck huh? Great find Mike :woohoo:

[MarkPalmer 81]

Nice looking set there Michiganmike, and your newbie story is very similar to mine. Several years ago when I first saw my father in law's 867 I told my wife to make sure that he never brought it to the junk yard or gave it to the neighborhood bozo down the street who buys every old garden tractor in the neighborhood for pennies on the dollar just to run them in to the dirt and pile them up behind his his house. Your 958 looks like an excellent project to dig in to!

-Mark-

[neil 2,409]

welcome to REDSQUARE Mike from across the pond in UK

great looking 953 im sure that you will have that fixed up in no time , there are plenty of people on here to help & want to help

good luck with finding the parts to get her going again

Neil

[Wheel Crazy 23]

What a cool tractor!! Welcome to the site!! Good to see another Michigan member!! :text-welcomeconfetti:

[Dockfishin 51]

Another member from Battle Creek! nice! welcome to redsquare and I highly recommend you get with Kelly above for any parts you may need. He's very close and has a very large collection of parts, a lot of knowledge and easy to get along with! Love the repurposed wheel weights!

[Horse'n Around 22]

:party: Thats a cool Horse you got there and you got a truckload of goodies with it too! I cant even imagine trying to take off or put those wheel weights on by myself, sure as shootin one or both of them would end up fallin on my foot and Id be doing the pain dance for hours !!!!! Great score on your Horse, it looks like you've got yourself a nice one!

John

[AMC RULES 37,132]

Really nice 953, and attachments there Mike.

Looks like you started your addiction off on the right foot.

Glad to have you aboard here buddy.

:rs:

[Jake Kuhn 1,555]

:WRS: Man you really scored! I keep looking for a 953 or 1054 and never can find one Jake

[Lars 526]

Nice Find...

and welcome to RS..

[Wheel Horse Kid 105]

Welcome to RedSquare! Great find with that 953! Those sure are huge Wheel Weights!

[wheelhorse 1045 3]

welcome mike great find

[linen beige 14]

As already pointed out that is a 953. 9=9horsepower (actually 9.6), 5=4speed manual transmission, 3=1963. The mower deck is a 48 inch cut. model RM483. RM= rotary mower, 48=48 inch cut, 3=1963 production year. To answer your question about whether this one was top of the line for '63, more or less! This was the first year of production for this type of Wheel Horse and it was aimed at the commercial/large estate market. '64 saw a bump to 10 HP with the model 1054 and '65 saw some minor improvements in the 1054A. (there was another style Wheel Horse for '65 numbered 1055 so they used an "A" suffix on 1054 to denote the larger tractor for '65.)

Like a couple guys have already said, hook up with Kelly for any parts you might need. If he doesn't have it he can almost definitely get it for you and he will treat you right.

[c161rat 185]

Welcome to the greatest wealth of Wheel Horse Knowledge on the planet. I'm sure you will find out that I am not exaggerating one bit!!!!!!! These folks here are the best and friendliest group around!!!!!!

[speedyleedy 205]

Great looking horse you have there ! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Kelly 1,029]

As already pointed out that is a 953. 9=9horsepower (actually 9.6), 5=4speed manual transmission, 3=1963. The mower deck is a 48 inch cut. model RM483. RM= rotary mower, 48=48 inch cut, 3=1963 production year. To answer your question about whether this one was top of the line for '63, more or less! This was the first year of production for this type of Wheel Horse and it was aimed at the commercial/large estate market. '64 saw a bump to 10 HP with the model 1054 and '65 saw some minor improvements in the 1054A. (there was another style Wheel Horse for '65 numbered 1055 so they used an "A" suffix on 1054 to denote the larger tractor for '65.)

Like a couple guys have already said, hook up with Kelly for any parts you might need. If he doesn't have it he can almost definitely get it for you and he will treat you right.

Actually the 5 stands for electric start, not the trans, if it is a 0 it's a pull start, and yes I know the 701 and 702 are elect start there are allways exceptions to the rule when talking WH, in 65 with the introdution of the hydro the middle # became 7 to stand for hydro/auto and all hydros are elect start, then in 67 they introduced the 6 speed so the middle # is 6 standing for 6 speed and all 6 speed tractors are elect. start.

I don't want to tick anyone off over this but I want to make sure the info going out is correct.

[HorseWhisperer 243]

OMG,Wow is mostly all I can say!Mike,you have what my dreams are made of and welcome!Take care of my favorite fantasy!Btw I would love to purchase your wheel weights but I think the shipping costs would outweigh the weights!!!

[KC9KAS 4,741]

You got a good deal there!

Welcome to Red Square!

Back in the mid 70's I was in Battle Creek and toured the KELLOGG's Plant!

Our fire department has a 1968 AMERICAN fire engine that was made in Battle Creek.