Ian

A cool find Chris, sometimes it's nice to have a break from "The Red" and do something different..

As some of you will know Nigel bought a Wheel Horse GT-14 the other week, quite why he is not sure, I just think Nigel wanted to copy me
 
A few photo's from Nigel's first drive..
 

 

 
 
A good place to park
 

 
 
Nigel insisted that I had a drive to see what I thought, and of course Nigel blamed me for the "cough cough splutter" as the engine started to run badly and then cut out
Lot's of swearing followed by a carb clean out, a coil and fuel pump swap and eventually fitting a one way valve to the fuel line to help the pump prime (the replacement fuel pump is a bit lazy too) and the GT was back into life..
 
Oh, Nigel did make a new exhaust for the GT, but as the only way to fit it was to drop the front axle off we shall gloss over it
 
So... What do you do if you have two running and driving GT's???   You go for a drive of course
 
 

As some of you will know Nigel bought a Wheel Horse GT-14 the other week, quite why he is not sure, I just think Nigel wanted to copy me
 
A few photo's from Nigel's first drive..
 

 

 
 
A good place to park
 

 
 
Nigel insisted that I had a drive to see what I thought, and of course Nigel blamed me for the "cough cough splutter" as the engine started to run badly and then cut out
Lot's of swearing followed by a carb clean out, a coil and fuel pump swap and eventually fitting a one way valve to the fuel line to help the pump prime (the replacement fuel pump is a bit lazy too) and the GT was back into life..
 
Oh, Nigel did make a new exhaust for the GT, but as the only way to fit it was to drop the front axle off we shall gloss over it
 
So... What do you do if you have two running and driving GT's???   You go for a drive of course
 
 

Rear wheel weights are something I've been wanting for some time. Now and then various ideas have crossed my mind, but I've never got around to actually doing anything.
  Art, (Old Tankman), put up a post on some he'd made. That was the kick I needed. The other day I acquired a pair of rear discs/drums off a Land Rover Freelander, out off the scrap bin at my local Land Rover specialists.    
 
  The disc fits nicely into the outer edge of the Wheel Horse rear wheel.
 
  Today, while visiting a local engineering workshop, I left with two of these pulleys.
 

 
  The pulleys also fit nicely into the inside of the wheels. 
  If you look closely, you will see two small holes in the drum. There's actually four and they are pilot holes for bolt holes to fasten disc/drum to pulley. You can see the four corresponding punch marks in the pulley. They are now drilled and ready for bolting together.
  Next I drilled four more holes in the pulleys for studs to bolt the finished weights to the wheels. These were spot drilled using a spare wheel as a jig. They were then drilled for tapping out 10mm. Here I hit a problem. I've a fair collection of taps, UNC, BSF, UNF, Metric and BSP. Believe it or not, NO 10mm taps to be found.  
  

Looks like I need to book a trip to Kent very soon & maybe catch a bit of sight seeing at the same time .
quick favour chaps , had a little thought , instead of sticking the decals on is it possible to stick the decals to a piece of magnetic paper ,so that I can just flip them on and off , if that makes sense .
amazing job chaps, you should be very proud of yourselves , top draw .

I would of used baby oil , it stops chafing 😄 I do love the patina on that tractor,  

Going for the oiled up look I see Chris . Does Pam agree
 
Looks good

Got my working wheelhorse out today, first job was to fit the refurbished rear wheels, change the standard seat for a heavier one and fit the wheel weights.
taken off.
two standand wheels 52lbs.
standard seat.............11lbs.
fitted on.
two narrow wheels 48lbs.
seat........................37lbs.
two rear weights.....100lbs.
so total extra is 122lbs, I'm pleased with that and should help with traction 

This wasn't a planned thing, but as we had 5 Wheel Horses in our workshop we thought it would be nice to see them all lined up
 

 

 

 

I went up to a friends place on Saturday not 20 miles from here to collect a set of rear wheel weights and while i was there i saw the little tractor they came off.
It was hiding in a dark container looking all forlorn to be losing part of its rearend so a deal was struck and it was loaded in my van.
Its in good condition and will enjoy its new home with the Horses.
Heres a few photos for you to look at and i need a new coil if anyone has one.

A friends Mom flipped his Work Horse on it's side 10 years ago.
Horse went to the dealer, repaired and a new 48" SD deck. Parked in his barn after repairs. Never used again.
Cleaning out his barn I offered, "I'll haul the tractor away 'No Charge."  Leon Redbone agreed.
 
After cleanup, a bit of paint,  added the Dial-A-Height, machine is excellent.
Didn't care for all gray, belt guards are now Rustoeum Regal Red. Coarse skateboard grip tape on the foot rests, new seat.
 
 

 

Thanks Iain, it was painted with enamel.
 
 
Neil's RJ is so close to being done I can almost taste the first test drive
 
A few detail jobs, the points cover was missing a gasket so I had to make one...
 

 
 
The exhaust was missing a clamp and little doo dat that clamps between the exhaust and frame... Sorted
 

 
 
The foot pegs didn't have the optional? foot rest thingys (I don't even know if RJ's could be ordered with them?) so Nigel put some rubber shrink wrap stuff over the pegs to give a bit of grip and stop the paint wearing away.
 

 
 
Sorry Neil, a change of plan for the wheels... We thought gold would look much better and Nigel had all these cans of wheel paint kicking around you see..........
 

 
 
Only kidding
 

 
 
A second coat is needed at this point.. As is first coating the other side
 

 
 
Wheels second coated and bolted back on...... I can't help but grin every time I look at the RJ
 

 

 

Thanks Iain, it was painted with enamel.
 
 
Neil's RJ is so close to being done I can almost taste the first test drive
 
A few detail jobs, the points cover was missing a gasket so I had to make one...
 

 
 
The exhaust was missing a clamp and little doo dat that clamps between the exhaust and frame... Sorted
 

 
 
The foot pegs didn't have the optional? foot rest thingys (I don't even know if RJ's could be ordered with them?) so Nigel put some rubber shrink wrap stuff over the pegs to give a bit of grip and stop the paint wearing away.
 

 
 
Sorry Neil, a change of plan for the wheels... We thought gold would look much better and Nigel had all these cans of wheel paint kicking around you see..........
 

 
 
Only kidding
 

 
 
A second coat is needed at this point.. As is first coating the other side
 

 
 
Wheels second coated and bolted back on...... I can't help but grin every time I look at the RJ
 

 

 

Thanks Iain, it was painted with enamel.
 
 
Neil's RJ is so close to being done I can almost taste the first test drive
 
A few detail jobs, the points cover was missing a gasket so I had to make one...
 

 
 
The exhaust was missing a clamp and little doo dat that clamps between the exhaust and frame... Sorted
 

 
 
The foot pegs didn't have the optional? foot rest thingys (I don't even know if RJ's could be ordered with them?) so Nigel put some rubber shrink wrap stuff over the pegs to give a bit of grip and stop the paint wearing away.
 

 
 
Sorry Neil, a change of plan for the wheels... We thought gold would look much better and Nigel had all these cans of wheel paint kicking around you see..........
 

 
 
Only kidding
 

 
 
A second coat is needed at this point.. As is first coating the other side
 

 
 
Wheels second coated and bolted back on...... I can't help but grin every time I look at the RJ
 

 

 

Very nice
 

Thanks Iain, it was painted with enamel.
 
 
Neil's RJ is so close to being done I can almost taste the first test drive
 
A few detail jobs, the points cover was missing a gasket so I had to make one...
 

 
 
The exhaust was missing a clamp and little doo dat that clamps between the exhaust and frame... Sorted
 

 
 
The foot pegs didn't have the optional? foot rest thingys (I don't even know if RJ's could be ordered with them?) so Nigel put some rubber shrink wrap stuff over the pegs to give a bit of grip and stop the paint wearing away.
 

 
 
Sorry Neil, a change of plan for the wheels... We thought gold would look much better and Nigel had all these cans of wheel paint kicking around you see..........
 

 
 
Only kidding
 

 
 
A second coat is needed at this point.. As is first coating the other side
 

 
 
Wheels second coated and bolted back on...... I can't help but grin every time I look at the RJ
 

 

 

Some of the guys here have been talking about jigsaw puzzles they and or there wives have been putting together so I though I would show you guys some pictures of my wife's currant project.   
 
 

Not quite a ride on , but I have put this in the ride on section as there isn't really a relevant section for signs.
I was having a few signs made up recently for the house and was so impressed this young guys work that I wondered if he would make me a few Wheelhorse logo signs , I picked them up yesterday and was delighted at how they came out . One of them has been polished to a mirror finish & the other has been brushed steel affect . They were made out of 4 mm stainless steel to are very strong and naturally will not rust . I am that impressed with them I am going to make one of them a clock and am also having others made up into clocks .
let me know what you chaps think.
Anyone that may be interested in a clock I will show you the finished product soon and if your interested you can let me know . As you can imagine , the steel is the thick grade quality and stainless isn't cheep so the clocks won't be a £10 cheapy . 
These particular signs are about 3 ft in length
 
 

 

Picked up another ride last year for Grandsons to "work" with.
 
 

My c195, love to run this thing. The 3 point is very handy!

Deciding not to alter things to much, I cut off the folded edge of the foot plate and that has give 3/8" to 1/2" of clearance for the tyre. Next, out with the jigsaw and I opened up the hole for the fuel tank filler cap .        
  Put everything back together and time for a photo shoot.
 

 

 
And a comparison photo.
 

 
   By 'eck!  Wasn't expecting that much difference. 3-1/4" difference.
 
  That throws up another problem. Getting enough ploughing depth. Maximum I will be able to get is just over 4" deep. Could be another addition to the Black Horse topic.
 
 
                                                                                                                                                 

Drew a blank on the weights. Guess they have all be snapped up by body builder types.
 
Got the wheels top coated today. Got told they looked like new. Then got asked when I was going to do the patio by her studio.
 

 
Got them fitted as well.
 

 
Spacers made and fitted to lift the fender by 7/8th".  This showed up three more things to modify.
 
(1) The hole for the filler cap needs to be opened up. You can't get hold of the cap now.
 

 
(2) The tyre fouls the back edge of the foot plate. Needs the edge trimmed and/or bent forward.
 
(3) Also the front bottom edge of the fender will need to be altered, to allow the foot plate back to be bent forward.
 

 
 

Got the tyres and tubes fitted today.
 
  Chunky!
 

Two coats of primer and one of grey top coat applied today.
 

 
  If I've time in the morning, I'll take the tyre and tubes to be fitted. Then they'll be masked up and give a couple of top coats of silver.

Bit more done now. Wheels all cleaned up over the last couple of days. Had to do it the hard way, as damp air and the need for a bigger compressor, didn't allow the use of the blast cabinet. Electric drill and rotary wire brushes.
 
Not a bad job if I do say mesel'.
 

 
  The valve holes had to be opened out to allow for the tube valve.  The centres were then  treated to some filler, (NOT the cement, Chris), either side of the bands to do away with any sharp edges. Smoothed off then taped.
 

 
I was going to prime them, but rain stopped play.