1968 Wheel Horse '500' Special - a good buy?

[davem1111 2,030]

Just noticed a 1968 Wheel Horse '500' Special for sale on Craigslist near me, listed 4 days ago.  Looks original, decent condition, deck and front snowplow blade. Asking price is $300.  Sounds like a good deal to me.  I don't think I'm interested in buying and restoring one of these but would hate to see it slip away if someone wants it badly...   Thoughts?

[ebinmaine 67,348]

Can't speak for the condition of the tractor or deck without seeing it or hearing it run or whatever. I can tell you that the snow plow and frame if it is a Wheel Horse piece, is worth about half of that 300 all by itself.

[davem1111 2,030]

[davem1111 2,030]

10 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Can't speak for the condition of the tractor or deck without seeing it or hearing it run or whatever. I can tell you that the snow plow and frame if it is a Wheel Horse piece, is worth about half of that 300 all by itself.

 

Kinda what I was thinking.  If I am certain I can at least get my money back out of this plus a bit to cover travel and hauling, I may try to pick it up.

[ebinmaine 67,348]

Judging by those pictures it appears to be in very good condition but I can't tell if it's ever been repainted or if it's original. That does appear to be a wheel horse deck and a wheel horse plow.

 

I'm not at all familiar with the market in your area of course but out here that's worth at least twice the $300. 

[davem1111 2,030]

1 minute ago, ebinmaine said:

Judging by those pictures it appears to be in very good condition but I can't tell if it's ever been repainted or if it's original. That does appear to be a wheel horse deck and a wheel horse plow.

 

I'm not at all familiar with the market in your area of course but out here that's worth at least twice the $300. 

 

Emailed seller to see if still available. 

[davem1111 2,030]

This looks like a bit of history.  I wonder how many they made?

 

[ebinmaine 67,348]

7 minutes ago, davem1111 said:

This looks like a bit of history

It is. 

 

Others may be able to state the production volume.  

[davem1111 2,030]

 

 

[davem1111 2,030]

So far I'm noticing that the muffler and seat are not original.  Those might matter to a "purist" restorer. 

[ebinmaine 67,348]

30 minutes ago, davem1111 said:

So far I'm noticing that the muffler and seat are not original.  Those might matter to a "purist" restorer. 

Agreed but I don't think it's a deal breaker.

 

I don't know if the seats or mufflers were specific to that particular model and it's collectible status or if they were the same parts used on other horses of similar vintage.

 

[Snoopy11 5,714]

2 hours ago, davem1111 said:

If I am certain I can at least get my money back out of this plus a bit to cover travel and hauling, I may try to pick it up

 

2 hours ago, davem1111 said:

Asking price is $300.  Sounds like a good deal to me.

I'll put it this way... if Indy was closer to me... I would have that Wheel Horse (IF it is still available).

 

I saw that machine a couple of days ago when I was looking on CL.

 

Funny thing is... I just made 300 cash selling a craftsman machine that I flipped.

 

I'll fix your hood for free if you deliver it to me @davem1111

 

 

Don

[davem1111 2,030]

1 minute ago, Snoopy11 said:

 

I'll put it this way... if Indy was closer to me... I would have that Wheel Horse (IF it is still available).

 

I saw that machine a couple of days ago when I was looking on CL.

 

Funny thing is... I just made 300 cash selling a craftsman machine that I flipped.

 

I'll fix your hood for free if you deliver it to me @davem1111

 

 

Don

 

Do you mean, "in addition to paying the $300 sale price" ?  

 

If you are really interested in this tractor, maybe we should discuss... it's on the south side of Indy, so only about an hour from me. Maybe only about an hour and a half from you.  

 

That said, the ad doesn't have a phone number.  I emailed the seller, no response yet. However, Google search for the address shows that they were having a garage sale this past weekend, so there's a chance they sold it during that and haven't taken down the CL ad yet. We shall see. 

 

I already got clearance from the tower (i.e. wife's permission) to pick this up as a resale project, or maybe even a keeper if I get rid of something else    ATM, not sure which I would do if it's still available....

 

[wh500special 2,163]

It looks to be in really nice shape for a 54 year old machine.  The seat and rear tires are upgrades.  The engine is probably a replacement since the battery indicates it's an electric start instead of the original rope start model.  All of these are substantial improvements over the original format.

 

The 500 Specials aren't rare, but are nice.

 

No idea what it's worth, but at $300 it's well less than $1/lb.  You clearly have interest in it and want it, so go get it!

 

Steve

Edited May 16, 2022 by wh500special

[Snoopy11 5,714]

1 minute ago, davem1111 said:

Do you mean, "in addition to paying the $300 sale price" ?

Yah man... absolutely.

 

Me getting clearance to go up to Indy for anything but a doctors appointment is... WELL... it is like giving a phylum-porifera an enema...

 

We'll see what happens, and what you end up wanting to do with this machine. Who knows... you might get attached to it, and want to keep it...

 

Don

[D_Mac 8,593]

Check the tag to make sure it is a true 500 Special. You will discover that the 500 Special was put together with a lot of spare parts. Some have different grills, different decals, different seats, all from the factory. It was a low end tractor. Tecumseh powered, some were rumored to have Kohler engine swaps from dealers. Information varies on these. That being said it is a Wheel Horse of Course. I did one up last year, put a lot into it to get it running and driving again. Came out nice, but far from being all original. Sold it with the deck not the plow. 4 brand new tires, new head gasket, ignition coil, rebuilt carb and a lot of elbow grease. Recouped all my money and then some on it. The tag should say 1-3631 thats a 500 Special. Its a one year model. They didnt come with electric start, should have a pull start Tecumseh engine. 6hp. Could be just a 500 Special hood on another tractor or just a set of decals.

Edited May 16, 2022 by D_Mac

[Lee1977 6,655]

I would like to have it but a 1200 mile trip would cost more then the tractor. Don't think that will work.

[Racinbob 11,047]

As others have said, the 500 Special is just one of many models made to use up parts. But a cool one. I was given these two a few years ago.

 

 

The one in the background is a 657 and the close one is a 500 Special. Neither tractor was runable and many would have just scrapped them. I would say that about 95% of the parts on the 657 and 500 Special are identical. Keep in mind that they had a couple of runs of the 500's and there were some differences. I ended up making one good tractor out of the two of them and here's how it turned out. 

 

 

Certainly not 'factory' pure but I never worry about that. 

[davem1111 2,030]

 

"Sorry, it is no longer available."

 

Bummer.  

[Snoopy11 5,714]

4 hours ago, davem1111 said:

Sorry, it is no longer available