“Ol’ Red” 1979 Wheel Horse C-81

Ah I see what you’re saying. I need to hold my phone sideways when taking video so the aspect ratio is right. Thanks for the pro tip.

no problem, were here to help each other.

@Crazy_Carl...  you got me thinking.  I think I will incorporate a bumper jack in Kal should a wheel or tire issue happen.  My in-laws have a lot of old cars in their field.  I bet I can grab one, clean it and create a mount for it on the back rack.  Got the Idea from a local Jeep group.  They all have them mounted on the rear.

Funny thing is I have a couple of those jacks laying around...would have been nice.  They are the kind that with the turn of a screw it lifts the scissor mechanism (scissor jack).  It would be very useful for when going on a romp alone.

Crazy_Carl wrote:

Funny thing is I have a couple of those jacks laying around...would have been nice.  They are the kind that with the turn of a screw it lifts the scissor mechanism (scissor jack).  It would be very useful for when going on a romp alone.

i hate thoes kind, my dads monteycarlo had one, half turn, TWIST, half turn Twist, it took so long and i always bloodied up my fingers from repetitively scraping off concrete.

I just read this hole thread and I love this build. I recently whatched redzz02's video from the ride at Tecumseh Trails and was admiring this build not knowing it was yours.

@mowerjunkie03 aren't you that guy with that familiar looking bumper?  

Actually thanks for the compliments.  I really appreciate it because I've poured countless hours of time and money into this build.  I didn't build it to win a contest.  I just wanted a rugged, well built and fully capable off road machine.  I hope you enjoyed my videos as much as my build thread.  Hopefully you've learned a thing or two reading through the thread and it inspires you to build a great machine.

Do you have a youtube channel?
And yes I have the Craftsman with the similar bumper

of course I do!  Crazy Carl's Channel

I just subscribed.

Hey I whatched a lot of your videos and really enjoyed them. I was also wondering where did you get those wheel spacers and do you think they would fit my Craftsman?

I don't remember the exact bolt pattern.  I think it's either 5 on 5 or 5 on 5.5.  Anyway there are tons of wheel spacers for sale on ebay.  Even thought the hole pattern is correct, there are a couple of fitment issues.  #1 the counterbore in the back side of the spacer had to be enlarged to fit on the wheel horse hub and the spacer had to be set up in a cnc mill since we couldn't figure out how to hold it in the lathe with the studs already pressed in.  I imagine that your craftsman hubs differ from the wheel horse hubs though.  #2 wheel spacers come with either 1/2 or M12 studs.  This means the holes in the wheel spacers are too huge for 7/16 lug bolts so I had to use hex bolts with a flat washer to hold the spacer onto the hub and my rim just fit onto the 1/2 wheel studs but the chrome lug nuts don't quite engage the rim like they are supposed too because they are too big but they work.  Also keep in mind my Wheel Horse has 1 1/8 diameter axles that are plenty strong enough for the wheels to be spaced out further.

Wow you had to go through a lot to use them! I see now why you fought them on the trail. On my Craftsman GT (Sasquatch) they bolted right up using the craftsman bolts. Same on the Murray GT. I was worried mine would not work with the Peerless 2300 hub but It did. Guess I was lucky. I did get longer bolts for the Murray so I could loctite nuts on the back side. Also the bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5 pattern on mine.

Okay thanks it sounds like they would fit pretty easily on mine but I don't know if my transaxle could take the leverage.

Okay I do have some available shop time soon, but I want to get my to-do list all in one spot.


Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-small wd40 can 
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-a cheap test light
-some kind of tire inflation means(either hand pump or 12v pump)

Things I need to fix before next ride:

-loose rear hubs on axle shafts
-loose electrical connections on ammeter
-clean out right front tire bead, a lot of mud got in there when I popped the bead
-motors idles and runs at full throttle great but engine dies when I quickly let off gas pedal and push in clutch, maybe I'm running a little rich

Mods I'm dreaming about:

-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-clutch spring needs improvement
-adjustable idler pulley like creepycrawler
-dual throttle

Sweet! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing some more work on Ol' Red. I'm interested to see what your trans-to frame bracing  and dual throttle control will entail.

Dual throttle I bet will go a long ways in the throttle down stall.

Cool looking forward to the updates

I'd like to see a dual throttle setup. I've always wanted an adjustable idle myself

I used to have a dual throttle on my Craftsman. I did away with it because the linkage kept binding. It was because I bypassed the governor on my oppy and the throttle hook up is not ideal. It comes in handy when you have to get off your tractor to get it unstuck though.

mowerjunkie03 wrote:

I used to have a dual throttle on my Craftsman. I did away with it because the linkage kept binding. It was because I bypassed the governor on my oppy and the throttle hook up is not ideal. It comes in handy when you have to get off your tractor to get it unstuck though.

That's the biggest reason why I want it and for warm up too.

A very small update here.  It's not on the list but I borrowed the pieces from my C-125 plow mount to mount the rear rack on Ol' Red.  Since I'd like to get the plow on the C-125 and the keep the rack on Ol' Red at the same time I made a couple of my own pieces that clamp the rear rack to the transaxle housing.

I scratched a few things off of the to-do list.

Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-small wd40 can 
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-a cheap test light
-foot operated tire pump

Things I need to fix before next ride:

-loose rear hubs on axle shafts
-loose electrical connections on ammeter
-clean out right front tire bead, a lot of mud got in there when I popped the bead
-motors idles and runs at full throttle great but engine dies when I quickly let off gas pedal and push in clutch, maybe I'm running a little rich

Mods I'm dreaming about:

-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-clutch spring needs improvement
-adjustable idler pulley like creepycrawler
-dual throttle

It was fun drilling and tapping the hubs.  The new setscrew engages the divot I drilled on the axle shafts nicely.





So then I started experimenting with adding an idler pulley.  I have one with a bad sounding bearing but it's a 4" one that's perfect for experimenting.  I spaced if off the frame with some nuts and it's in a hole used to mount the dash.  I moved the brake rod to the original spot.  The rod clears the pulley great, but the pulley sticks out too far from the frame for the floorboard to go on all the way. The key thing now is that the clutch isn't at the very end of its travel anymore and if I work on the clutch spring hopefully this will solve the slipping issue.


It's a little late for a test drive but I'd like to find out soon how this affects clutch function.

I think that set screw will help a lot. Liking what you got going on with Ol' Red!

Looking good man, I think youll like the extra idler

looking good!!!

Well I fired up the Kohler today to test out the clutch.  I heard a funny noise coming from the starter gear so that's another thing on the to-do list.  

Anyway the clutch experiment was a great success.  Function was great and there is still room for the tensioner to travel more once I improve the spring situation to pull the belt tighter.  Two big issues I need to sort out now is to find a 4" flat idler with a nice wide flange so the belt doesn't come off and I could put on a simple keeper.  Plus at the end of the day this all needs to fit under that factory belt guard and the floorboard needs to go back where it is supposed to go.  

Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-a cheap test light
-foot operated tire pump

Things I need to fix before next ride:

-funny noise coming from starter when it disengages (clean and inspect)
-clean out right front tire bead, a lot of mud got in there when I popped the bead
-motors idles and runs at full throttle great but engine dies when I quickly let off gas pedal and push in clutch, maybe I'm running a little rich

Mods I'm dreaming about:

-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-clutch spring needs improvement
-adjustable idler pulley like creepycrawler
-dual throttle