Well, here's an update on my progress..
1. Pulled the fuel tank (just because it was in the way of a number of things I needed access to)
2. Got the plugs loose (was worried about that with all the rust around the threads) They don't look to bad with no signs of burnt, etc...)
3. Was working on addressing the wiring issue with the regulator when I unwrapped some electrical tape around a cut wire.... rotten. Bare wire all the way into the harness wrap. It seems that the coating on the wiring is so old that it's just falling off the wires. So it looks like I've hit a road-block until I get a wiring harness. I've seen some on ebay, but my question is, is there just one wiring harness or several? And if several, how do I determine which is listed on ebay for which application?
4. Is there a way I can check the voltage regulator with a meter to find out if it's good or not without having power hooked up to the system?
5. The Generator/Starter looks pretty rough, is there a way to jump directly from a battery to see if it spins or not? Should I just ground the Neg to the frame and clamp the Positive on the stud at the back?
6. I think I'm going to change the oil before I even attempt to start it. I checked the oil level and that oil is as Black as this dude's hair----->
There's no sense to pumping that old oil into the system when it's plain as day.....nasty stuff.
7. Pulled the mower deck off last night. No big issues with getting it unbolted but it does have some major issues with it....like it needs a complete rebuild from the ground up!! It's got major sidewall issues ( like swiss cheese!) and several mounting areas are just about ready to fall off the top of it. Both the leading edge (sidewalls) and the trailing edge need to be completely replaced with new metal, all the way to the top basically, it's so ate up. If this deck had 2 wheels in the back, they're missing now (brackets and all). The blades turn extremely hard, had to use my foot to push down on them to get them to turn, so I'm figuring all the shafts will need to be rebuilt also with new bearings, etc... By the way, I believe it's a IH 3160 mower deck. It's as wide as the tractor is and had 3 blades and a front center roller wheel. I don't recall seeing a ID tag on the deck anywhere but it's so nasty is might be under about 2 inches of a mixture of rust, grass clippings, dirt, and who knows what else.
I'm going back out to remove several access panels and inspect the rest of the tractor for any other damage. Here's a photo of the wiring issue I found, let me know what you think and if there's multi-harnesses that I need to purchase.
Thanks,