Does this 22 sickle bar mower appear to be complete?

[Inspectorjoe]

This 22 sickle bar mower is up for auction next week. The preview day is the day before the auction, so all I have are these two photos from the auction site.

I've never seen one in person, so I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Aside from the missing PTO pulley, does it appear to be complete? I've been comparing it to the fantastic photos on the TM Tractors site, and I don't see anything missing.

I believe it was mounted on a '53. If it fit's a '53, would it also fit a '47 with a manual lift?

[tmays]

Missing the stay rod and can’t tell if there’s any type of grass board attached. Gonna say there’s not. Torque tube hangers are modified, not a real deal breaker unless originality is important.

[Eugene]

PTO pulley missing. Expensive to purchase separately.

[radioguy41]

Like Eugene said, those pulleys fetch a good buck by themselves. See if the Cub is also being auctioned and if it is look and see if the pulley is still on it. If it's there tell the auctioneer it belongs to the sickle bar and needs to be removed and added to the bar. I've made such requests in the past and only been refused once (the item did not sell without the missing part so the seller lost out) so worth a try.

[tst]

along with the pulley the hold up rod is missing, it has also been modified heavily where it mounts in the front, yes it would fit a 47 but no fun to operate with a manual lift

[Inspectorjoe]

Missing the stay rod and can’t tell if there’s any type of grass board attached. Gonna say there’s not. Torque tube hangers are modified, not a real deal breaker unless originality is important.

Originality is important. I have no need for it, but thought I might put it on my very early '47 if I take it to a show. I think I'll pass on it, unless it goes for peanuts. The online auction opened a week ago, and so far there is only one bid - it's at a dollar. The auction closes Wednesday.

[Inspectorjoe]

Like Eugene said, those pulleys fetch a good buck by themselves. See if the Cub is also being auctioned and if it is look and see if the pulley is still on it. If it's there tell the auctioneer it belongs to the sickle bar and needs to be removed and added to the bar. I've made such requests in the past and only been refused once (the item did not sell without the missing part so the seller lost out) so worth a try.

A '53 Cub is there, and it does have the pulley on it. It's an online auction that's been running a week now, with 19 bids on the tractor, so they couldn't take it off now.

[Inspectorjoe]

Thank you to those who replied. I'll be able to see it in-person Wednesday at the preview. The preview is 3-5 pm and the auction closes an hour later. I've never seen an online auction where the preview period is directly before the closing but it is what it is.

[radioguy41]

Like Eugene said, those pulleys fetch a good buck by themselves. See if the Cub is also being auctioned and if it is look and see if the pulley is still on it. If it's there tell the auctioneer it belongs to the sickle bar and needs to be removed and added to the bar. I've made such requests in the past and only been refused once (the item did not sell without the missing part so the seller lost out) so worth a try.

A '53 Cub is there, and it does have the pulley on it. It's an online auction that's been running a week now, with 19 bids on the tractor, so they couldn't take it off now.

Yeah, one of the many reasons I dislike online auctions. I want to be able to check out the hardware prior to auction to see if it's complete and also to hear a tractor run if possible. In the past two years I've been at three auctions where components that belonged together were separated and grouped in other lots. In each instance but one we were able to get the auctioneer to correct it. If you were there in person there is a chance you could negotiate for the pulley with whoever won the tractor but online, no chance.

[Jim Becker]

. . . In the past two years I've been at three auctions where components that belonged together were separated and grouped in other lots. . . .

I'm not sure I have ever been to an auction where that wasn't the case.

I was at one auction that had a partly disassembled long-stripe Cub. Pieces of that tractor were all over the yard, scattered among at least a half dozen other lots.

[radioguy41]

I wish potential sellers were more diligent in selecting an auctioneer that actually knows what he is selling. To select any old auctioneer that hasn't got a clue is costing the seller money and they don't even realize it. I attended an auction a couple of years ago that had advertised they had about 40 antique radios. When I arrived there were three other radio collectors there. Nobody else seemed interested in that table so we hung around,,,,,, for eight hours, while the auctioneer skirted all around the hall. Finally, after eight hours, he went to yet another table and we all four left. We told the people at the check out table why we were leaving and that they had just cost themselves money. I found out later from a glassware guy I know that the auctioneer went to that table last and literally couldn't give the radios away. The seller lost a fair amount of money because there were some nice radios that would have drawn some spirited bidding from the four of us. Most people think an auctioneer is an auctioneer is an auctioneer. Sadly, that's not true.

[Eugene]

. . . In the past two years I've been at three auctions where components that belonged together were separated and grouped in other lots. . . .

True. Since the local auction site is about 3 miles from the house, I preview the items the day before. If there are employees there, I will tell them that the part belongs with that item. Usually they will move the part to the correct item. Other times, no.

If there is something I'm interested in at the auction, I will stay for the item to sell early in the auction. If the item is going to sell late in the auction, it's not worth my time to attend.

[Inspectorjoe]

Yeah, one of the many reasons I dislike online auctions. I want to be able to check out the hardware prior to auction to see if it's complete and also to hear a tractor run if possible. In the past two years I've been at three auctions where components that belonged together were separated and grouped in other lots. In each instance but one we were able to get the auctioneer to correct it. If you were there in person there is a chance you could negotiate for the pulley with whoever won the tractor but online, no chance.

I see another type of issue coming up. A York rake is mounted to the Cub. The rake is advertised as having a 3 point hitch, but I've never seen anything like it. The main arms are connected to a cross member mounted to the final drive housings. The cross member is obviously an integral part of the rake mounting system, but it's painted red, the same as the tractor. Will it stay with the tractor, or go with the rake? And I didn't see the missing drawbar in any of the other lots.

I'll be asking a lot of questions at the preview Wednesday.

[radioguy41]

That heavyduty lift bar I suspect might belong with the York rake also, and there's another PTO pulley that got separated from whatever implement it was part of.

[Jim Becker]

That installation has homemade written all over it. The cross bar the rake is pulled by looks way too heavy for something designed and produced by a factory. There is no give built into the down pressure (like springs or float). That probably caused the lift rod to get bent, calling for the creation of the heavy duty one now on it.

The pulley belongs to a Cub-22 mower.