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Goldpan Site
Wheel Horse Tractors and Garden Equipment
Wheel Horse tractors and garden equipment is the subject of this web page, the below linked Wheel Horse discussion forum, and below related web links here and on the Goldpan Site links page.
The star of this wheel horse page is a 1962 Wheel Horse model 502 with attachments. To a wheel horse restoration purist, It remains under restoration, but it is 100% in working condition. It has been extensively used since returned to working condition about 1993 and has acquired more character in the form of marks, bumps and bruises since returned to work. For the purist, the restoration cannot be successful as the 1962 wheel horse tractor and 1960 wheel horse wt-30 tiller were modified and improved. For a user, it works great!
Some of the attachments include a wheel horse wt-30 tiller (made for pre - 1962 wheel horse mid-mount engine design), dozer blade, disk (now gone), plows (restored after about 45 hours of freeing the coulter and depth adjustment, fabricating parts, removing rust and painting), mower deck (restoration in progress - parts missing for the clutch - other problems due to ag tires that replaced the lawn tires), and trailer.
I have room for owners to send photos (email attachments or snail mail) of their tractors and equipment.
Below you will find a link to the Wheel Horse Tractor and Equipment forum by Ken Hilliard. The wheel horse forum also has links to other wheel horse forums and sites. On the wheel horse forum, you can post questions or provide answers and even find an answer to your question among the stored posts. Read the forum introductory message for other wheel horse forums and links.
On the Goldpan Site web links page you will find more links to Wheel Horse Tractor Sites, links to other garden tractor and garden equipment sites, and also links to sites for antique gas, diesel, and steam power and equipment. Also, gold prospecting sites, but I know that none of you look for gold. On your dozer blade, you only look for how much 'dirt' to remove prior to repainting.
Wheel Horse Decals for your restoration projects provided by Mayhew's Reproductions. Remains as the best authorized wheel horse decal source for reproductions.
Jeff Kane's Wheel Horse Page. Wheel Horse pictures, history, and reference information for many models.
Barry's Tractors R Us. 1961 Wheel Horse model 551 and attachments. Also, actual engine audio files. And, he has a wheel horse 2 wheel walking tractor.
Yesterday's Tractors Magazine. Lots of garden tractor brands and photos, forums, and agricultural information.
Dale's Wheel Horse Stable. Dedicated Wheel Horse Web Page. Many wheel horse pictures and coverage of the annual shows from the second through the 5th. You can see lots of models and read comments, suggestion, and answers to Wheel Horse questions at this link.
Erick Lock's Horses Stable - many pictures of oldies. However, he is missing as of May and October of 2001. Formerly at http://community.webtv.net/wheelhorse/HORSESSTABLE/. Per our emails, his web page won't be back ( 6-03) but I see his posts to the wheel horse forums frequently.
Wheel Horse Barn. The Diesel site is a dedicated Wheel Horse page with forums, classifieds, photos and more.
Tracy Myer's Antique Tractor Site.Wheel Horse page with photos and information about models 753 (1963), 653 (1963), and 1614 (1979). Missing 11-03.
Lawn and Garden Tractor Page. Jacques Lacasse Web Site with information about Wheel Horse Tractors and many other brands. Jacques site provides forums, photos and much more information about all brands.
Antique Rototiller by Lawnboy - nearly 50 years old:
Can you recognize this tiller? Lawnboy Master Gardener (26k).
The model was part of a garden equipment line made by Lawnboy during the 50's. The line also included mowers and two wheen garden tractors. The machine shown is the result of two machines that when combined resulted in one operating machine with spare parts. One of the machines had been modified to eliminate a structural weakness on the right side tiller mount; that part was used in the combined machine. There was also a structural weakness on the left side tiller mount at the case that covers the chain drive; the combined machine has this problem mostly covered.
Unlike most front tine tillers without driven rear wheels, you don't have to hold back on the handles when using this machine. You have to keep it moving or it will bury itself. The tines wear such that the edges are razor sharp and it will bury itself if you stop moving forward. It does great work for an established garden area whether for spring rototilling or summer cultivating.
I have the serial numbers and know that both machines were made in the 50's. Lawnboy even made two wheel garden tractors. But the lawnboy garden equipment company ceased after the 50's when purchased by Wheel Horse. Wheel Horse sold the lawnboy lines for a few years after purchasing the company. Wheel Horse even purchased the line of Reo lawn equipment and I still wish I had that Reo slant one cylinder gas engine that I disassembled about 40 years ago. Toro purchased Wheel Horse and thanks to Toro for providing manuals for this Lawnboy tiller and a lot of other Lawnboy machines from the same era which I have never seen.
On the Goldpan Site links page you will find sites for many other brands of two wheel garden tractors and attachments.
The difference between a riding lawnmower and a garden tractor is? Use the Goldpan Site links page to find the small tractor FAQ for information about garden tractors and the answer to this question.
Can you recognize this 1962 Wheel Horse Tractor model 502? It is one of the later short frame designs, and one of the first front mount engine designs by Wheel Horse. Wheel Horse was eventually purchased by Toro and at Toro you can obtain manuals for your wheel horse tractors and equipment. Use the Toro site master parts viewer for model diagrams and part numbers.
The above photo was taken as the last of 10 yards of humus was moved onto the later to be hydro seeded front yard. Six more yards were added later before hydro seeding. The front and rear wheels were filled with water, and with an additional 75 lbs. of steel weight on the rear end I was able to easily distribute the humus and finish grade the yard. When manufactured, the wheels were weighted with a chemical (probably calcium chloride) that over the years severely corroded everything; the tires, tubes and rims were actually ruined on the front. If freezing is a problem in your area, then water creates other problems when used to weight the tires. For tilling, I added 25 lbs. steel weight to the front and 75 lbs. on the rear, and with the weighted tires was able to till without a problem, and could even keep the front down for steering when using or lifting the tiller. I don't know where other owners buy their ag tires but mine were about twice as expensive in 1991. However, the wall height on the rear ag tires was greater than the original lawn tires, and this reduced the space available for the mower between the rear and front tires.
The 1962 Wheel Horse model 502 tractor and its rear mounted, separately powered, wheel horse wt-30 tiller were used to break up previous lawn of clay, mixed hardpan and clay, down to the hardpan or sufficient depth for new lawn. After the junk was removed, the tractor and tiller were used for mixing the humus and remaining soil; this was after the dozer blade and trailer were used to distribute the humus from one big humus pile in the drive way left by two dump trucks for the first pile of 10+ cubic yards. I added racks to the trailer and could haul 1/3+ cubic yards a trip for relocating the humus to the distant areas. Then, the blade easily finished the job.
The tractor and tiller are shown in the background image on the main page. The wheel horse 502 tractor's original 5 1/2 horse Tecumseh was replaced by a 10 hp Tecumseh for which I had to fabricate an engine mount for the larger 10 hp Tecumseh block. The tillers's original 4 horse, cast-iron Kohler K-91 was replaced by a Kohler Command 5 1/2 hp engine (alloy block; more hp per weight; less total weight). A height adjustment was added to the tractor lift and a helper, lift spring attached to the tiller; I then could set the tiller at whatever depth I wanted.
I obtained manuals for the tractor, tiller, transmission, and other parts and attachments from the Wheel Horse location in South Bend, Indiana (apparently during or just before the Toro digest). They (South Bend) were still providing manuals from that location at the time. Now, for manuals, use the above link to Toro.
The original brand name was Ponds. There is a history of the company in the '95 Spring/Summer issue of Toro/ Horse Power Magazine (Toro has no copies available; see it anywhere, then buy it). There is a link on the Ken Hilliard Wheel Horse tractor and equipment forum for a book about wheel horse history. Look for the title "Straight from the horses mouth" by Michael Martino, Jr. Jeff Kane's site also has a history of wheel horse.
Photos of over 35 wheel horse tractor models. These photos are from web pages for which there are links on this site.
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Wheel Horse Tractors Photo Collection of more than 35 models. Click on the thumbnail to access collection. |
1962 Wheel Horse Tractor, model 502 - Working Pictures
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Restored to working condition 1962 Wheel Horse Garden Tractor model 502. Many repairs. Many improvements. Started about 1991. Working condition restoration done about 1994, and immediately used to restore front lawn of dallas grass, broken hardpan and clay. Killed dallas grass and removed broken hardpan and much clay. Then incorporated 16 cubic yards of humus and graded it prior to hydro seeding. Thereafter garden areas were created in the backyard areas. View the results of the 502 in operation around the garden areas. See the dozer in action and the modified Wheel Horse wt-30 tiller resting above its garden work area. More pictures later. Cosmetic restoration later. Click on thumbnail for more images. |
Other Wheel Horse Pictures
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Wheel Horse tractor model 551 and wheel horse wt-30 tiller. Note that this tiller is attached to a mid-mount engine design with a 3 forward speed transaxel. The tiller is attached with a ground speed reduction unit that reduces speeds by 1/2. Note that on this tractor model the lift lever can be set at whatever height you desire; this feature was not found on my 1962 wheel horse 502 tractor, and I had to add a height-a-matic component. Also shown are a Wheel Horse 1055 and an unknown tractor. In particular, note Jeff Kane's Senior shown here and refer to the wheel horse page for the link to his great site. |
Forum - Wheel Horse Garden Tractors and Equipment. Submit Questions and Exchange Information. Also, for example, post 'for sale', 'parts needed', and 'help' messages. There are no charges, costs or disclosure of any sort of confidential information. Read the introductory message for information and links to other forums and web sites.
Use the Wheel Horse Garden Tractor and Equipment Forum provided by Ken Hilliard and the Goldpan Site.
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