PeacemakerJack 10,738 #1 Posted September 10, 2014 Hi guys, I new to the forum but not new to the beloved Wheel Horse. My dad purchased his first garden tractor in 1975, it was a then well used and abused 875. He rebuilt it in about 1978. Then in about 1983 he restored it. I grew up cutting grass, cultivating the garden, and plowing the garden on that machine. Thank God he never got rid of it! I got into GT's about five years ago and own a '71 GT-14 that I want to restore when I have the time. Anyway, I've finally convinced dad it is time to restore the ol' Iron Horse! So, I've come to you guys for the knowledge and resources that you possess to help us do the best job we can. If you can point me to the right spot on the forum, I'll start a resto thread that will include tons of vintage photos of this tractor in our family through the decades! Some are even copies of slides!!! I'm looking forward to seeing this family heirloom looking better than it ever has... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geno 1,929 #2 Posted September 10, 2014 (edited) Hello and Can't wait to see what you're up to! Here's the tractor section - http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/3-wheel-horse-tractors/ Edited September 10, 2014 by Geno Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,130 #3 Posted September 10, 2014 (edited) ...and here is the restoration forum. http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/45-restorations-modifications-customizations/ Edited September 10, 2014 by AMC RULES 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CasualObserver 3,408 #4 Posted September 10, 2014 Nice story and intro. I always love stories that involve multiple generations of Wheel Horse love in the family. Looking forward to watching your resto. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,178 #5 Posted September 10, 2014 and .....looking forward to seeing those old pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geno 1,929 #6 Posted September 10, 2014 ...and here is the restoration forum. http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/45-restorations-modifications-customizations/ Oops, thanks Craig. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #7 Posted September 10, 2014 Hey Guys, thanks for the warm welcome already! Back by my home computer for a few moments and so... This is a slide of my mom cutting the lawn with it in about 1978. Love that plaid mom! You gotta love slides (a quick observation will note that I accidently ran this one backwards on the convertor and so everything is a mirror image of what it should be!!!). It has the timed rear discharge deck and dad worked as a service technician for an IH farm implement dealer in those days and so it has a Farmall Cub muffler on it. Had a straight pipe when he first got it and I think he was starting to go deaf! :eusa-doh:More pics to follow.. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #8 Posted September 10, 2014 Dad used this thing to plow his garden for many years. Lots of stories to tell about that later. See if you guys can figure out what kinda plow he adapted from another GT manufacturer to work on the "Iron Horse"... It didn't have any adjustments which made it difficult to work in the ground like it should but he found a way! Circa 1976. Also try to figure out what he used as a wheel weight on the land side tire (Hint: it is a farm implement part...) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #9 Posted September 10, 2014 It was a little tractor but as you guys know, these things will do way more than their size indicates... That Sundstrand hydro (as I understand it) in the first ever true hydrostatic GT(by a few months anyway, just beating out the Cub and JD introductions) was an awesome combo and capable of so much more than they first thought... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,130 #10 Posted September 10, 2014 Awesome picts... please do keep 'em coming. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #11 Posted September 10, 2014 This is one of my first rides on the Iron Horse,summer of 1978. Needless to say, I would have many more hours of seat time on this tractor over the next 35 years! Now my boys get to drive, help restore, and hopefully show, the same tractor I grew up working on! Sorry for the quality of the pics but these are all copies of slides that my parents have and there are more where those came from but I have to run now! (Bonus points for anyone who correctly guesses the year make and model of the yellow truck behind us!!!) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,130 #12 Posted September 10, 2014 (edited) Humm...'68 International Scout 800. Edited September 10, 2014 by AMC RULES Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,318 #13 Posted September 10, 2014 Great story and great pics!! Mike........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #14 Posted September 11, 2014 Craig, You are so close! It was a 1966 IH Scout 800! I'm impressed, and only one quarter panel to go off of. That was great vehicle that dad shouldn't have ever sold. Oh well, at least he still has the Iron Horse! Fast forward to the summer of 2011, the Iron Horse had been sitting unused and not even run for about five years. I got it running again, brought it to my house for a couple of days and here my oldest son is driving it hauling weeds, just like I did with the same tractor when I was his age! He has grown enough now that his feet would comfortably reach the footrests today. He will be helping dad and I on the restoration and so will my second son! My dad had home made a spring tooth cultivator/digger back in the late 70's. I brought that along to rip up the garden. As you can see it did a great job!!! You can't imagine how it felt for me to "work" that old K301. It had been over a decade since I had even sat on it, let alone worked it. Boy, everything from the feel of the controls, to the sound of the engine, to the smell of the exhaust, it all brought back a flood of memories... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,178 #15 Posted September 11, 2014 Really enjoying the history on this one...and with Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dclarke 4,032 #16 Posted September 11, 2014 What a great story, I'll be following along on this one. Thanks for the pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry M-(Moderator) 2,175 #17 Posted September 13, 2014 Nice Story and pics about you 875 . If your ever interested, theres a small but fast growing Garden tractor show about 90 minutes from you ,early July, in portage, WS. I thinkYou and your tractor would fit right in ....(FYI) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,497 #18 Posted September 17, 2014 Jack, wellcome to red square. I enjoyed the history lesson. Glenn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CasualObserver 3,408 #19 Posted September 17, 2014 Dad used this thing to plow his garden for many years. Lots of stories to tell about that later. See if you guys can figure out what kinda plow he adapted from another GT manufacturer to work on the "Iron Horse"... It didn't have any adjustments which made it difficult to work in the ground like it should but he found a way! Circa 1976. Also try to figure out what he used as a wheel weight on the land side tire (Hint: it is a farm implement part...) I'm going to guess Bolens Ridemaster on the plow.... but I can't place the wheel weight part. I'm thinking some sort of press wheel or something? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #21 Posted September 20, 2014 Jason--You are spot on with the Bolens plow. It had been traded in at the dealership and they were going to junk it. SO dad took it and cut the frame off of it and modified it to fit his sleeve hitch. Unfortunately, it doesn't have any adjustment to it but he still managed to use it regularly for about 10 years! The weight was a flywheel off of an old IH baler if I remember the story correctly. I'll have to double check with dad when he gets back from his trip just to make sure. Terry M--Thanks for the heads up on the show, we will place it on our calendars. Hopefully the Iron Horse is completed by then! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amanda 81 #22 Posted September 23, 2014 Welcome to Redsquare Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #23 Posted November 1, 2018 I’m a hopelessly nostalgic dude and with @pullstart‘s recent family posts, it got me thinking about how much my family has changed since I joined the forum. So, I dug waaaaaaaayyyy back into the new members section and found my first post and the warm welcome that I have found to hold true all through the years since. Zach was just learning to walk when I joined and now he is in kindergarten! Time flys! I owned a bunch of Cubs and only one non running GT-14. Now we have a bunch of ‘s in the stable... So many of you you have been so helpful in so many different ways. I’ve purchased parts and tractors from you, you’ve helped arrange transportation for tractors that were just out of reach, you’ve supplied technical knowledge and graphics. However, I feel most thankful for the friendships formed through the years. This really is a great site because of the members that make it what it is and the moderators who keep it rolling. 4 years and counting... 2 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,889 #24 Posted November 1, 2018 On 9/10/2014 at 5:43 PM, PeacemakerJack said: Hey Guys, thanks for the warm welcome already! Back by my home computer for a few moments and so... This is a slide of my mom cutting the lawn with it in about 1978. Love that plaid mom! You gotta love slides (a quick observation will note that I accidently ran this one backwards on the convertor and so everything is a mirror image of what it should be!!!). It has the timed rear discharge deck and dad worked as a service technician for an IH farm implement dealer in those days and so it has a Farmall Cub muffler on it. Had a straight pipe when he first got it and I think he was starting to go deaf! :eusa-doh:More pics to follow.. Thanks for for bringing this back up, Josh! Looks like a perfect way to take family photos over the years! Just gotta get Mrs. Peacemaker on a ride! Looking at the photo of your mom, I was thinking “I wonder what engine was in that to have left side exhaust?”, then I read that it was scanned backwards. I feel so relieved of the mystery! 1 hour ago, PeacemakerJack said: I’m a hopelessly nostalgic dude and with @pullstart‘s recent family posts, it got me thinking about how much my family has changed since I joined the forum. So, I dug waaaaaaaayyyy back into the new members section and found my first post and the warm welcome that I have found to hold true all through the years since. Zach was just learning to walk when I joined and now he is in kindergarten! Time flys! I owned a bunch of Cubs and only one non running GT-14. Now we have a bunch of ‘s in the stable... So many of you you have been so helpful in so many different ways. I’ve purchased parts and tractors from you, you’ve helped arrange transportation for tractors that were just out of reach, you’ve supplied technical knowledge and graphics. However, I feel most thankful for the friendships formed through the years. This really is a great site because of the members that make it what it is and the moderators who keep it rolling. 4 years and counting... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeacemakerJack 10,738 #25 Posted November 1, 2018 4 hours ago, pullstart said: Thanks for for bringing this back up, Josh! Looks like a perfect way to take family photos over the years! Just gotta get Mrs. Peacemaker on a ride! Looking at the photo of your mom, I was thinking “I wonder what engine was in that to have left side exhaust?”, then I read that it was scanned backwards. I feel so relieved of the mystery! Yea, as a Wheel Horse guy, if you look at that reverse picture of mom it can do some weird things in your brain like the exhaust, left hand drive pulley and shield, right hand lift lever, etc. I’ll have to get a good picture of “Mrs. Peacemaker” on her 523D (Claudia is on it in the above shot) and post it. She loves cutting with it and using it throughout the summer. Doesn’t seem to be all that interested in blowing snow though—can’t understand why!!! 1 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
