Restored Garden Tractor Is A Classic
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“I found a rare 1925 RJ-25 Pond tractor that looked like it’d been sitting outside for around 40 years and decided that I could restore it, using my machining equipment to make parts if needed,” says Eston Hoffman. “I’d worked on other Pond and Wheel Horse tractors before, so this was just another challenge.”
Hoffman says, “The original frame, pulleys, and wheel parts were in very rough shape, but the hood and engine had been stored inside and were in decent condition. I was really pleased with that because the hood and engine are extremely rare, and only a few exist anywhere. The 70-year-old RJ-25 is the rarest Pond/Wheel Horse tractor known.”
Hoffman has collected and worked on Pond/Wheel Horse garden tractors and other models for over 25 years. Always buying, restoring, and selling, he owns about 40 of them now. He’s done museum-quality restorations, going through each tractor to make sure it’s nut, bolt, part, and factory correct. He finishes others with original paint and patina.
Hoffman says his RJ-25 tractor was likely built by Harold and his son Cecil Pond in their two-car garage, probably in 1954. The Ponds had been building walk-behind garden tractors when Cecil extended the frame of that design, added wheels to the front, and built a riding model. They called the tractor the Ride Away RJ-25, which referenced the 2.5-hp. Briggs and Stratton engine that powered it. The business initially operated under the moniker Pond Tractor Company and later changed its name to Wheel Horse. Equipment was built in South Bend, Ind.
Hoffman’s tractor has a simple channel frame and a smoothly molded hand-built hood. Cecil Pond built the hoods out of cardboard and covered them with plaster of Paris and then fiberglass. Hoffman says about 100 hoods were made that way until production shifted to steel for more efficient manufacturing.
On Hoffman’s tractor, the steering shaft extends through the top rear of the hood. It has a cast aluminum steering wheel. A throttle cable and lever are attached to the hood beneath the shaft. A 1-in. dia. hole in the rear of the hood allows the operator to reach in and push the ground against the spark plug to turn the engine off.
While restoring his tractor, Hoffman carefully matched the original design and components down to the valve stems. The engine is mounted on a metal platform just in front of the driver’s seat. Hoffman says driving wasn’t very comfortable, especially as the engine heated up in warm air conditions.
He disassembled, cleaned, and re-assembled the variable belt drive system. A lever on the left side moves the drive belt onto different pulleys to change ground speeds. He located early two-part front wheel rims and Goodyear tires used only on models built for 1955. His tractor also uses the early cable mechanism for steering the front wheels. The larger rear tires on his tractor have the BFG Silvertown checkmark design that only a small number of production tractors had.
Hoffman says his Pond restoration took about 6 mos., and the tractor is probably one of only 10 in the country today. The company’s RJ-25 production build was followed by the RJ-35, which signified a 3.5-hp. engine. Other models had Clinton or Kohler engines. The company made several attachments for the tractors, which were popular for gardening and small vegetable farms. Wheel Horse continued to expand its product line with more powerful and sophisticated lawn tractors until the company was acquired by American Motors (AMC) in 1974. The brand was eventually sold to Toro, which discontinued the name in 2007.
Hoffman’s RJ-25 attracts a lot of attention at shows he attends every summer, the largest of which is the annual Wheel Horse gathering in Gettysburg, Penn.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eston Hoffman, P.O. Box 14, Berrysburg, Penn. 17005 (Facebook: Eston’s Hobbies and Restorations).
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Restored Garden Tractor Is A Classic TRACTORS Antiques “I found a rare 1925 RJ-25 Pond tractor that looked like it’d been sitting outside for around 40 years and decided that I could restore it using my machining equipment to make parts if needed ” says Eston Hoffman “I’d worked on other Pond and Wheel Horse tractors before so this was just another challenge ” Hoffman says “The original frame pulleys and wheel parts were in very rough shape but the hood and engine had been stored inside and were in decent condition I was really pleased with that because the hood and engine are extremely rare and only a few exist anywhere The 70-year-old RJ-25 is the rarest Pond/Wheel Horse tractor known ” Hoffman has collected and worked on Pond/Wheel Horse garden tractors and other models for over 25 years Always buying restoring and selling he owns about 40 of them now He’s done museum-quality restorations going through each tractor to make sure it’s nut bolt part and factory correct He finishes others with original paint and patina Hoffman says his RJ-25 tractor was likely built by Harold and his son Cecil Pond in their two-car garage probably in 1954 The Ponds had been building walk-behind garden tractors when Cecil extended the frame of that design added wheels to the front and built a riding model They called the tractor the Ride Away RJ-25 which referenced the 2 5-hp Briggs and Stratton engine that powered it The business initially operated under the moniker Pond Tractor Company and later changed its name to Wheel Horse Equipment was built in South Bend Ind Hoffman’s tractor has a simple channel frame and a smoothly molded hand-built hood Cecil Pond built the hoods out of cardboard and covered them with plaster of Paris and then fiberglass Hoffman says about 100 hoods were made that way until production shifted to steel for more efficient manufacturing On Hoffman’s tractor the steering shaft extends through the top rear of the hood It has a cast aluminum steering wheel A throttle cable and lever are attached to the hood beneath the shaft A 1-in dia hole in the rear of the hood allows the operator to reach in and push the ground against the spark plug to turn the engine off While restoring his tractor Hoffman carefully matched the original design and components down to the valve stems The engine is mounted on a metal platform just in front of the driver’s seat Hoffman says driving wasn’t very comfortable especially as the engine heated up in warm air conditions He disassembled cleaned and re-assembled the variable belt drive system A lever on the left side moves the drive belt onto different pulleys to change ground speeds He located early two-part front wheel rims and Goodyear tires used only on models built for 1955 His tractor also uses the early cable mechanism for steering the front wheels The larger rear tires on his tractor have the BFG Silvertown checkmark design that only a small number of production tractors had Hoffman says his Pond restoration took about 6 mos and the tractor is probably one of only 10 in the country today The company’s RJ-25 production build was followed by the RJ-35 which signified a 3 5-hp engine Other models had Clinton or Kohler engines The company made several attachments for the tractors which were popular for gardening and small vegetable farms Wheel Horse continued to expand its product line with more powerful and sophisticated lawn tractors until the company was acquired by American Motors AMC in 1974 The brand was eventually sold to Toro which discontinued the name in 2007 Hoffman’s RJ-25 attracts a lot of attention at shows he attends every summer the largest of which is the annual Wheel Horse gathering in Gettysburg Penn Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Eston Hoffman P O Box 14 Berrysburg Penn 17005 Facebook: Eston’s Hobbies and Restorations
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