RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

i like old stuff, really doesn't matter what it is.
when i needed a new garden tractor/lawn mower i just couldn't bring myself to buy a new poorly built big box store tractor.

my father in law really wanted me to take his restored 1948 farmall cub:


but as cool as they are they weigh 2000lbs and would destroy my soft lawn, not too mention i would have to rent and truck and trailer and go to virginia to get it.

i've been watching craigslist since we moved back in december, knowing that i needed something to mow 3 acres. i went back and forth between old allis chalmers, case/ingersoll, cub cadet and wheel horse.

i decided on a 1984 wheel horse 416-8, 400 series, 16hp v-twin, 8 speed.

anyone else like old iron? whatcha got?

this is what a 40 year old kid looks like with a new toy:

Nice tractor but why didn't you go Green (I'm from a Deere family with the exception of the S250 Bobcat)? I would have went with a JD 318 (gas) or JD 332 (diesel). They were the last of really solid built lawn and garden tractors from the 80's-early 90's. Anyways have fun with your new toy.

BITD my buddies dad had a Wheel Horse. IIRC it was was a 5hp model. That thing was a wheely machine. Put it in third and sidestep the clutch and you could ride a wheely for 20-30 feet.

I love old tractors, especially ones that have been well maintained/restored. I grew up on a 100 acre ranch and we had some vintage iron back then. Funny thing, one of the tractors we had we paid $1700 for, 20 years later we sold it for $1700, here it is 25 years after that, and that same tractor is still in the $1700 to $2000 range. Ford 8N, decent, lightweight tractor for light duty work, such as mowing fields or pulling small trailers. Ask it to do any real work and it was a gutless pig, that is when we pulled out the Case 400 with the 5' tall duals, now THAT sombich was a workhorse!

Dirtdiver wrote:Nice tractor but why didn't you go Green (I'm from a Deere family with the exception of the S250 Bobcat)? I would have went with a JD 318 (gas) or JD 332 (diesel). They were the last of really solid built lawn and garden tractors from the 80's-early 90's. Anyways have fun with your new toy.

my step grandad owns a deere dealership, but i couldn't find any 300 series that was worth it and the 100 series are garbage.
new 300 series are like 4k.

i did look at a case 210, case 226 and a case 446. too hard to find parts.
95% of wheel horse parts are still available new.

justinspeed79 wrote:BITD my buddies dad had a Wheel Horse. IIRC it was was a 5hp model. That thing was a wheely machine. Put it in third and sidestep the clutch and you could ride a wheely for 20-30 feet.

oh yeah, this one will do that to. 16hp really gets it going.
it's also got a creeper gear that's so slow but watch out because nothing will stop it.

Cool, I love looking at old tractors, but I know nothing about them! I have a few diecast vintage tractor toys if that counts!

Back some odd years ago (maybe 10) I bought and restored a John Deere 111 for my father to use instead of a push mower but he ended up not liking how a riding mower cut the grass. So it was used instead to pull a cart around. He used the heck out of it and it never gave him an ounce of trouble. It was even stored outside for around 5 or so years.

So when are you going to port and polish the head, bolt on the blower and headers, add nitrous, . . .

Or you could enter it in "Lawn Tractor Demo Derby". I heard that it was somewhat popular in the Midwest.

decided on a 1984 wheel horse 416-8, 400 series, 16hp v-twin, 8 speed.... my mom has a wheel horse snowmobile.
love old tractors..John Deere 420 High Crop

next time i'm in vermont i'll have to get some pics of my step grand dads tractor collection.
he's got 2 warehouses full of old JD's, farmalls and auto car tractor trucks (all restored). it's kind of overwhelming to walk through it.

really like alot of tractors (rokon trailbreakers are 2x2 tractors) for the past few years i always get tractor calenders . classic tractors are always cool but something about steel tire tractors that i just love.. just seems like a great idea. owning alot of machines one of the big pains is always putting air in tires ,fixing flats and changing worn out or rotted tires.

Halgar wrote:So when are you going to port and polish the head, bolt on the blower and headers, add nitrous, . . .

For the longest time I was looking for a Kohler v-twin to put in it and even bought a few parts but never went through with it.

those oldies are great lowgear. all they need are some huge leather belts attached to some old fashioned saw mill.
the local ag shows always have a few of these hanging around and one is always hooked up to a mill with a leather belt.

this new to me wheelhorse has a briggs v twin, most had onan's or kholer's. it's strong for a 30 year old engine.