My New '75 Lo-Boy 185
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 6:29 am
Admittedly I was tough on my Craftsman DYT 4000 yard tractor, with a homemade winch driven cat 0 three point I used it to grade my yard, rip trenches and routinely skid 10-12' logs for firewood. Knowing it wouldn't last much longer if I kept it up I decided it was time to start looking for a REAL tractor. Something with a big enough frame to support a shop made loader yet small enough to work my sub-acre yard.
When I found this 185 for $1800 I had a feeling she was coming home with me. It didn't smoke, started quicker than my new truck, wasn't soaked with oil or hydro fluid plus it came with the creeper gearset, dual brakes, new clutch and of course the 3 point. After some mild negotiation I got it for just under $1500 w/ delivery.
The three days it took them to drop it off felt like an eternity, but it gave me plenty of time to dig up all the manuals and come up with a hit-list of stuff to do when it arrived. The truck wasn't even out of the driveway and I had already started washing her down for an initial inspection. The first thing I noticed was someone had installed the left side brake lobe backwards so the brake rod was pushing instead of pulling, I corrected that quickly and the brakes worked like a charm. The next day I did a complete mechanical check and adjusted everything I could per the service manual. I also changed all the fluids and prepped it for paint.
It's by no means going to be a full restoration, but I can't have it looking like a piece of junk either . As I like to tell people; the paint isn't to make it look good,it's to preserve it for another 40 years.
Next will be to fix the busted up nose clip, paint the white parts and install the new radiator cap, plug wires, distributor cap and tune-up kit when they arrive later this week.
When I found this 185 for $1800 I had a feeling she was coming home with me. It didn't smoke, started quicker than my new truck, wasn't soaked with oil or hydro fluid plus it came with the creeper gearset, dual brakes, new clutch and of course the 3 point. After some mild negotiation I got it for just under $1500 w/ delivery.
The three days it took them to drop it off felt like an eternity, but it gave me plenty of time to dig up all the manuals and come up with a hit-list of stuff to do when it arrived. The truck wasn't even out of the driveway and I had already started washing her down for an initial inspection. The first thing I noticed was someone had installed the left side brake lobe backwards so the brake rod was pushing instead of pulling, I corrected that quickly and the brakes worked like a charm. The next day I did a complete mechanical check and adjusted everything I could per the service manual. I also changed all the fluids and prepped it for paint.
It's by no means going to be a full restoration, but I can't have it looking like a piece of junk either . As I like to tell people; the paint isn't to make it look good,it's to preserve it for another 40 years.
Next will be to fix the busted up nose clip, paint the white parts and install the new radiator cap, plug wires, distributor cap and tune-up kit when they arrive later this week.