Hobby Horse

When I was a kid, in the early to mid 60's, my father sold Wheel Horse garden tractors out of our garage as a sideline. They were one of the first garden tractors on the market and he sold them by the truckload.
A few year ago, I got the idea of maybe restoring one of these old tractors to it's former glory, in memory of my father.
As it turned out, a neighbor just happened to have one that he had stored in a leaky shed for the last 20 years.
I had a junk Harley Davidson Sprint he wanted, so we made the trade for his 654.
I thought I would share the before and after pictures of that and another tractor I restored.

1964 Wheel Horse 654:

Before:





http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss233/tj4428/260630-R1-16-
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I had to do a complete rebuild on the motor and the transmission on this one, but now it runs good as new.

After:










1965 Wheel Horse 875:











I had to rebuild the motor on this one. Spent a lot of time (and money) on ebay tracking down original parts.

After:













This is me and my working tractor:



Thanks for taking the time to view, what was for me, a labor of love to my father.

Tom

Wow Tom, nice work! Dang....

Is the seat on the 875 stock now? I know the before seat had to be aftermarket.

Ironman said:

Wow Tom, nice work! Dang....

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Ditto. Great looking working area as well.

Big Dog said:

Is the seat on the 875 stock now? I know the before seat had to be aftermarket.

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The seat is the stock original design. I literally spent months trying to locate one in good condition. They have a metal frame that would rust out.
Funny thing; after all the time I spent looking for one, a friend of mine pulls in the driveway with a tractor he wants to part out. It had a near perfect seat on it.
Goes to show, if you sit in one place long enough, everything you need in life will come to you. I'm not sure if they were referring to tractor seats, though.

Good pics Tom!!