The Horse Corral!

[bjamison]

Josh - Looks like the tractor is getting the job done!

 

[jstertz]

Now that the Chief project is underway, we (Dad and I) are talking seriously about restoring the old Wheelhorse next year. It was our everyday work tractor from 1975 until 2000 and has seen limited duty since then. It deserves a complete overhaul! Hopefully, I can orchestrate that in 2014...

 

[jstertz]

Well, it's been about a year since my last post here! Time to resurrect this thread. We are just about to wrap up the Chief project and dad has the bug to restore his WH. This tractor has been in the family since 1975 and is a staple machine for our family. It was used for snow removal, cutting lawn, yard cleanup, and garden tillage. Over the years it proved to be a durable and reliable machine. It deserves a complete overhaul.

So, first up is to remove the sheet metal, patch in various holes drilled for lighting arrangements through the years, smooth out dents from 15 years of two boys running into stuff...

.

(can we use this emoticon after the AP story has come out? What a world we live in...)

Lots of stuff to come off yet but it's a start.

The hood had some aftermarket lights and brackets on it. Dad did a good job of filling in the holes and smoothing it with a skim coat of bondo.

On dads tractor, the seat was bolted directly to the pan unlike our cubs with the springs and the air space. You can see how it trapped the moisture and pitted the pan pretty heavily. A little more work will be needed to take care of business there..

 

[mhomrighausen]

Joshua S. I love those old Wheelhorse tractors. Great to see this little fella getting a complete makeover.

 

[mschutz]

Josh I too enjoy the old Wheel Horse tractors. Just sold the 87 310-8 I had for the summer. Needed room in the garage. Sad to see it go.

 

[jstertz]

Marlin and Melody-- thanks for the positive comments. It is hard to deny the effect that the Wheel Horse GT's had on the market place. They were tough, convenient, and solid machines built to take abuse and survive.

Melody--it's always hard to see "one of the stable mates" go for sure. What were some of the things that you liked about that 310?

 

[mschutz]

Joshua, I found it was easy to work on. I bought a mower for it but it could'nt handle thick grass. The 782D spoils me.

 

[jstertz]

The iron horse is nearly complete! We started him up today! Still needs a few carb adjustments, the lettering finished and he's ready to show and go!

It was a long process on this one because of scheduling conflicts but the end results are really worth it. As I've previously mentioned, this tractor has been in my family for 40 years in about two months. It is the machine that I grew up on. It is now in better condition than it was when new. It probably has nearly twice the power with the beefed up K301 vs the original 8hp motor.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Joshua, very nice!

It looks great I really like the tire choices.

 

[memorgan]

Lookin good Josh...Wheels are cool tractors...can"t wait to see it done....plow in the future for it????

 

[jstertz]

Thanks Kraig--those are the ever epic 23x8.50-12 Carlise TruPowers on the back with Firestone Tri ribs on the front!

Mick--you better believe it! We'll weight it down and install dads old Bolens 10" and work it. The K301 got a complete freshen up. If it runs as strong as it looks, it will be a sweet little plow machine. Dads Chief (149) is his primary worker and so this horse will get to lounge around the corral and barn most days. However, it wouldn't be fair to not use it for anything anymore. So, it will get some plowing duties to occasionally stretch its legs.

We are gonna host a plow day at my uncles farm in the end of September or early October. I'll start a thread in the plow day section. I'd love to have as many of you as can to come and help us turn his 12 or so acres of bean ground under! I'm hoping to have the Iron Horse ready for plowing there.

 

[jstertz]

We finally finished dads 875 Horse and this is the result!

It was fun to do another resto project with dad and this tractor has been in our family longer than I have been alive and so every scratch, ding, and dent brought up another reminiscent story!

 

[mgwin]

Joshua,

Nice tractor!!!
Sure would like to see more pics of it!

 

[mhomrighausen]

Joshua. S. Simply Beautiful!!!

 

[mhorozko]

I have Wheel Horse lawn Tractors also. The B80 (1974?) mows lawn here. The C101(1976?) mows lawn 60 miles away at my Daughters place. Both powered by cast iron Kohlers. These Wheel Horse are a good heavy machine, unlike anything today

 

[jstertz]

We’ve added a couple of them to our stable over the last four years. Here is one thatI bought for my youngest child.

It is a 1970 model GT-14. Hydrostatic drive with full hydraulics and Cat O 3 point. We recently repowered it with a Magnum 16 but I’m saving the original K321 for a rebuild when my little guy is in his teens.

He really likes this tractor and he is the second owner! It has a rear tiller, mower deck and a snowblower with it as well. These are stout capable machines for sure.

 

[digger]

You Pony guys need to post some pics of machines so we can put one for an avatar for the thread.

 

[dramsey]

I have Wheel Horse lawn Tractors also. The B80 (1974?) mows lawn here. The C101(1976?) mows lawn 60 miles away at my Daughters place. Both powered by cast iron Kohlers. These Wheel Horse are a good heavy machine, unlike anything todayView attachment 135514View attachment 135515

Nice. You may be right on the year for the B80, they were made 1974-1977 and can be determined by model number. The C101 however was built 1978-1979 which can also be determined by model number.
71-08K801= 1977 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 8-Speed
61-08K801= 1976 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 8-Speed
61-08K802= 1976 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 8-Speed
61-08K803= 1976 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 8-Speed
61-08K804= 1976 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 8-Speed
1-0141= 1975 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 4-Speed
1-0145= 1974 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 4-Speed
1-0140= 1974 B Series Garden Tractor B-80 4-Speed
81-10K801= 1978 C Series Garden Tractor C-101 8-Speed
91-10K801= 1979 C Series Garden Tractor C-101 8-Speed
91-10K802= 1979 C Series Garden Tractor C-101 8-Speed

 

[dramsey]

I inherited this guy. 1976 D-160, original Onan 16hp. I want to start the restoration on it but I use it a lot and love using it so I fail to find myself deciding to begin. I got with it a Snow thrower, Dozer blade, Tiller, Landscape rake, Deck, Rear Grader blade, Wagon and other things.

 

[jstertz]

Charlie—here is a couple of vintage pics of the tractor I grew up on and a couple after we restored it back in 2015...

Me and mom...Circa 1978

Me and Dad same year!

My brother with us in summer 1983

Same tractor as it looks now after it’s most recent resto. 1965 875 with a K301 repower from 1979!