who likes lawn tractors

[Princess Valiant]

i spent a few hours this morning cleaning up the rani mower ......its a year old and the deck was pretty green underneath so i removed the deck and scrub brushed it all clean.

and the hood had scratches on it from when someone set a dusty box of christmas lights on it during the winter :banghead:....so i used perfect-it 3 and buffed out the hood and then waxed it with carnuba wax .......now the hood reflects like a mirror rayer: (see the sun behind the clouds in it )

i love the clean cast aluminum look of a newer Briggs and Straton.

now i need to reset the seat adjustment and get back on the turf.

who else loves lawn tractors ?....i dont mean those who simply use one to cut grass but those who love the sweet sound and every last aspect of them

 

[RustyRatRod]

Dang rani. Come do mine. LOL I got one I bought in 07 and it don't look that good.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

I have the matching Kubota tractor to this one and I love it.

 

[1968dartman]

when are you putting a rally dash and 4 speed in it?

 

[pacuda59]

I always thought if I get a few acres I'd buy an old Gravely and refurbish it.

 

[ocdart]

when are you putting a rally dash and 4 speed in it?

Nah, needs a Pistol Grip and Go Wing first.

 

[hemi71x]

I'm gonna restore this one. lol

 

[67cudafb]

I would love to have that Kubota. Have a Toro Wheelhorse with a 48" deck. Bought it in 97 and it has held up well as if there is something to hit or run over my wife will find it. I spet most of yesterday working on it Plug,air filter and starter relay and new blades. Hope it holds up through the summer and will tear it down and clean it up and put new tires on it.

 

[abodyjoe]

i used to be a fanatic about keeping mine spotless. finally said screw it and just keep it mechanically sound. runs great the green has faded some and the yellow deck is scratched and stained but that really doesn't matter to me as long as it gets the job done well which it does.. it is a great machine though. 20 horse kawi motor, power steering, 54" cut does everything i need ti to....




here is a picture when it was new in 2006..

 

[74DartSwinger360]

Love my our Dixie Chopper with 60" Deck
Just got done putting a new carb and 3 blades on it as well as all the rubber lines and fuel pump too
Cant beat the sound of them either like music to the ears
Fast as heck too can mow 2 acres in like 40 mins no matter how tall the grass is

 

[Princess Valiant]

i have this one that is going to be a project someday lol....

i plan to paint it up like a mopar ....probably HEMI orange ......this one is a 93/4 model and served its purpose very well but no one took care of the cosmetics before i came along and the deck has a bad bearing ......the red one replaced this one but i dont agree with it being kicked to the curb like this when it runs great so i am planning to get this into shop someday real soon and make it outshine the new ones

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

i have this one that is going to be a project someday lol....

i plan to paint it up like a mopar ....probably HEMI ornage ......this one is a 93/4 model and served its purpose very well but no one took care of the cosmetics before i came along and the deck has a bad bearing ......the red one replaced this one but i dont agree with it being kicked to the curb like this when it runs great so i am planning to get this into shop real someday soon and make it outshine the new ones

What brand is that one? I may have a set (2) new bearing housings with bearings for it that I would sell cheap.

 

[Princess Valiant]

What brand is that one? I may have a set (2) new bearing housings with bearings for it that I would sell cheap.

Sears Craftsman

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

I would love to have that Kubota. Have a Toro Wheelhorse with a 48" deck. Bought it in 97 and it has held up well as if there is something to hit or run over my wife will find it. I spet most of yesterday working on it Plug,air filter and starter relay and new blades. Hope it holds up through the summer and will tear it down and clean it up and put new tires on it.

I got it in 2003 and added the front end loader in 2006. I used to have an 8N that would quit after 1 hour (+/- 3 minutes) of brush hogging and was horrible to start in the winter. Never could fix that 8N and a guy from northern Arizona that restores them bought it along with a trailer load of others in the area.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

Sears Craftsman

They fit Sears Craftsman but you would have to see if they are the same style as yours.

 

[Princess Valiant]

I have the matching Kubota tractor to this one and I love it.

i have heard nothing but good things about Kubota .....a few of my neighbors have those and they say at first they were skeptical bcoz its a japanese company but after looking into it ....parts are readily avalable and i hear kubotas are priced very well considering what it is. and i have heard that they are really relaiable with very few if any problems at all.

i still have one neigbor who still resists non-american and runs an early 50s Harvester cub LOL

 

[Princess Valiant]

i think the key to a sweet lawn tractor is a twin cylinder ....a neighbor of mine has a smaller single piston and the sound is not very good and it dont have a lot of power.

the silver one has a twin cylinder and has such a sweet hum ......and when the blades are on ...that thing used to sound soooo smooth when it was in its younger days.

even the new red one dont have the sweet hum that the silver one has ...not sure why.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

i have heard nothing but good things about Kubota .....a few of my neighbors have those and they say at first they were skeptical bcoz its a japanese company but after looking into it ....parts are readily avalable and i hear kubotas are priced very well considering what it is. and i have heard that they are really relaiable with very few if any problems at all.

i still have one neigbor who still resists non-american and runs an early 50s Harvester cub LOL

My Kubota was $7000 less new than the same size John Deere and about $3000 less that the New Holland who was formerly Ford until Fiat bought them out in 1990.

 

[Princess Valiant]

mower / tractor shopping sure is fun ....funner than buying a new car ....when me and my dad bought the red one last year we had to make a day of it and go to all the stores they sell lawn tractors and i got on each one to see how i fit. then over lunch we talked about each one and made a decision

we almost went with the john deere bcoz they made us a great deal on the actual show unit pictured ....but i swayed my dad to go Craftsman bcoz the seat adjuster was easier to use ***wink wink**** well....anyone who knows me should know that im way partial to sears. :laughing:

but what a fun day of tractor shopping and father/daughter bonding with my adoptive dad :headbang: ....plus nothing smells better than a new tractor

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

mower / tractor shopping sure is fun ....funner than buying a new car ....when me and my dad bought the red one last year we had to make a day of it and go to all the stores they sell lawn tractors and i got on each one to see how i fit. then over lunch we talked about each one and made a decision

we almost went with the john deere bcoz they made us a great deal on the actual show unit pictured ....but i swayed my dad to go Craftsman bcoz the seat adjuster was easier to use ***wink wink**** well....anyone who knows me should know that im way partial to sears. :laughing:

but what a fun day of tractor shopping and father/daughter bonding with my adoptive dad :headbang: ....plus nothing smells better than a new tractor

I like the smell of a fresh opened container coffee better.

Our lawn tractor is Craftsman but it is the wifes... She never uses it and I use the Kubota because I like the 60" cut in third gear but I have acres to mow.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

I restore them for people. Here is a Sears GT18 hydro getting done now.

I do a lot of John Deeres

 

[Princess Valiant]

I restore them for people. Here is a Sears GT18 hydro getting done now.

I do a lot of John Deeres

how did you find the replacement decals ...i cant find those for the 93/4 model and yours is wayyyy older than that

 

[Oldmanmopar]

The guy that letters our sprint car makes them for me. All you need is a picture next to a a ruler and he makes them. He makes every decal I need. When I start on a tractor I take it to him first. He takes the pics and then I strip the tractor. On some he finds the pics on google images

 

[67Dart273]

I restore them for people. Here is a Sears GT18 hydro getting done now.

I do a lot of John Deeres

I'm impressed. Don't know how you find the time

I'm afraid I've always been "low buck, utility."

Top is one I bought with a rod through the side. I'd previously bought a bunch of junk, with a near new 14.5hp so I put that engine in this chassis and sold it recently.

Second is the cold, wet, snowbound day I hauled the SS 16 home, cannot see the lower up front, which is why I bought it.

Third and fourth is the "ill fated" blower project. Had a spare 8? 10? hp and thought it might pull that blower. WRONG

Fifth is "The Fleet." Blower at left is a nearly worthless Craftsman 8hp, and I'll NEVER buy another. "Old grey" (ill fated blower) I don't use much and should get rid of it. Next is the yellow SS16, a blow'n thing if I ever saw. Last is the "too big Ariens" which I can no longer handle. I sold it for a fair price and bought the same (8 hp) but narrower and a little lighter Ariens --and that is all I'll ever buy, unless Ariens goes down the tubes. The Ariens I have now is the same "cut" and HP as that Craftsman POS and the Ariens runs circles around the Sears. The sears has a TINY discharge throat and plugs easy. Plus, the Ariens is obviously built much better and heavier, nice, big, tall tires. I run it "locked" with homemade chains. (Thrift store, where else, LOL?)

Last, we occasionally do have snow in this country. This was the year that damn near killed me. I had been taking Aleve, on top of my prescription arthritic meds. Felt OK the Fri. before Christmas, about 8:20 that night a little queesy, and about 1AM was pukin and faintin' in the bathroom. Spent hours passed out on the floor, finally regained my composure somewhere around 9AM and called the boys in the Big Red Truck. My gut was bleeding internally. The joke is they stuck a camera down my throat and it came out my a$$.

 

[cudavert]

Interesting! My 80+ year old neighbor lady used to drive around her yard in one just like this, but it wasn't a twin cylinder. I worked on it a little bit for her and made a custom aluminum gauge panel for it. Her original one got sun-baked and cracked up. She used to "drag" her yard to get rid of the weeds, I use a sprayer setup to eliminate my weeds.

I'd like to have an old tractor like this......even though I actually don't quite have enough of a use for one.