C161

[mrc 809]

hi men, here is a few pics of my son-in-laws C161 i just fixed. i don't know how many of these cracked/ broken seat support areas i have fixed. certainly a weak link and a bad design of the late C series and 3,4 and 500 series. my hobart welder sure came in handy. thanks to my buddy phil for the pics. mike in mass.

[cschannuth 3,816]

 I’d love to see a picture of the entire tractor when it’s put back together. I still have my dad‘s 161 and it is my work horse. 

[Pollack Pete 2,273]

Nice repair job.Good idea to weld in the gussets.I usually only weld in flat stock on top.I'm sure the gussets make a stronger fix.Will remember that for next one I repair.

[cschannuth 3,816]

 That looks really great. I’m not a very good welder on the light stuff so I ended up bolting in some angle and it really beefed up my seat on my 161. 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2019 by cschannuth

[mrc 809]

cschannuth, your repair looks good. whatever it takes to save these great machines. i'm curious, did you put a blackhood on a regular 'C' series?  i thought the dashes on the blackhoods looked different.  i only have 1 blackhood. i like it! will try to get a pic when completed. mike in mass.

[Stike 204]

Nice fixes on both machines, I need to do the same thing on my c161 though by the look of those pics both of your horses are in better shape than mine.

[cschannuth 3,816]

2 hours ago, mrc said:

cschannuth, your repair looks good. whatever it takes to save these great machines. i'm curious, did you put a blackhood on a regular 'C' series?  i thought the dashes on the blackhoods looked different.  i only have 1 blackhood. i like it! will try to get a pic when completed. mike in mass.

 

 Mine is a 1978 model so it may have changed on later blackhoods. My dad bought this when it was one year old from our neighbor and it originally had the plastic seat pan which the neighbor had already broken so my dad installed a metal pan. 

[mrc 809]

hello cschannuth, what size angle did you use? 2x2x1/8"??? thanks mike in mass.

[WildmanC120 613]

On 9/26/2019 at 3:02 PM, mrc said:

cschannuth, your repair looks good. whatever it takes to save these great machines. i'm curious, did you put a blackhood on a regular 'C' series?  i thought the dashes on the blackhoods looked different.  i only have 1 blackhood. i like it! will try to get a pic when completed. mike in mass.

 

I can't tell but this is probably a twin Briggs.  The hood is fiberglass while the other real black good models are metal.

 

So essentially it's pretty much a c series with a black fiberglass good.  Transitional year. 

[peter lena 8,560]

that angle steel  redo , makes the most sense, pete

[cschannuth 3,816]

1 hour ago, mrc said:

hello cschannuth, what size angle did you use? 2x2x1/8"??? thanks mike in mass.

 

Yessir 

 

[ericj 1,578]

I was told by Ed Cole, the Toro rep, at the big show one year, that Wheel Horse was testing the new Kohler KT17 for durability and reliability testing and it failed, as John Deere found out, so for shits and giggles they threw the Briggs twin up and tested it. Well surprise surprise the Briggs passed. this caught wheel horse with not enough time for planning and caused wheel horse to  rush to get the motor on a tractor. I'm guessing the motor wouldn't fit in a 78 C series normal hood. They quickly designed the black hood, from fiberglass to fit the C series dash, thus the black hood was born. They used the C161 TWIN for 78 and 79 before the redesign in 1980 into the C1x5 series tractor.

 

 

 

 

eric j  

Edited October 2, 2019 by ericj

[cschannuth 3,816]

8 hours ago, ericj said:

I was told by Ed Cole, the Toro rep, at the big show one year, that Wheel Horse was testing the new Kohler KT17 for durability and reliability testing and it failed, as John Deere found out, so for shits and giggles they threw the Briggs tins up and tested it. Well surprise surprise the Briggs passed. this caught wheel horse with not enough time for planning and caused wheel horse to  rush to get the motor on a tractor. I'm guessing the motor wouldn't fit in a 78 C series normal hood. They quickly designed the black hood, from fiberglass to fit the C series dash, thus the black hood was born. They used the C161 TWIN for 78 and 79 before the redesign in 1980 into the C1x5 series tractor.

 

 

 

 

eric j  

 

 That is my understanding as well. That twin Briggs is still all original and runs like a top over 40 years later. 

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

    I am not sure, but the weak cantilever seat in combination with the thin tunnel  may have been the same one the 520 Toro/wheelhorse used later.  Anyway, the seat hardware from a 520 will fit on my c-141. i am pretty sure the rear frame tunnel is made of thinner steel on the 4 and 500 series.

  That design nearly dumped me off the 520 when i was mowing a side ditch in the area around a 4' deep catch basin. I am always on the look out for discarded bed frames as a source for angle iron. That stuff is wicked strong for its size and weight and has a very sharp bend radius. I am not the only one to discover this. Old crusty repair guys use college towns as a source for bed frames as the graduating students throw tons of beds away every spring.....

 

 So if you guys do any amount of mowing on side slopes, take the time to remove the seat pan and inspect the frame beneath.

Edited October 2, 2019 by ohiofarmer

[mrc 809]

cscannuth, here are a few pics of the tractor all back together. also included are a couple pics of the zach kerber solid motor mounts installed. regards mike in mass.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,017]

mrc - Is your tractor a 1978 or 1979 model? Have been watching for the locations of the tractor ID plates these two years.

 

Garry

[mrc 809]

garry, the tractor is now back at my son-in-laws house which is 45 minutes from me.

          i do not know the year exactly.

          how do i tell what year?

          regards   mike in mass.

         

 

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,017]

The model number on the ID plate will start with 81 or 91 for 1978 and 1979. These are usually printed with the remainder stamped into the plate. Serial number will follow on the top line.

The bottom line will have a 4-digit Julian build date.

 

Many 1978 models have the ID plate facing the opposite direction down beside the steering fan gear on the front of the left side hoodstand.

Trying to determine when the ID plate location changed.

 

Garry