Ebay/Craigslist I may have found a deal

[lawn mower fanatic]

Re: I may have found a deal Troy-Bilt Horse I circa 1976?

Exactly. David Bradley, Simplicity, Bolens and who knows how many others made them. There's one for sale here locally with a cultivator attachment for $100. It has a non running Wisconsin engine and the tires are falling apart.

Are you thinking about buying that one or is it too much falling apart?

 

[BustedKnuckles]

Of course I'd like to have it but space is limited and with a deal like the one I just found, it just doesn't make sense right now.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Of course I'd like to have it but space is limited and with a deal like the one I just found, it just doesn't make sense right now.

That's true.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

More info:

It seems to be missing a lever on the carb linkage to kill the engine; if anyone has a photo of their's with complete linkage that would be awesome. Specifically the area where the coil wire attaches.

The hiller/furrower is missing the outer "wings" but I plan to make some since they appear to be simple bolt ons.

Thankfully, the gas tank only has very light scale so not much will be needed in that department. Overall, this thing is in pretty solid shape and I'm very pleased with the purchase. As soon as parts start arriving I'll probably begin with the engine and get it running before tackling anything else.

I found some links to a manual and parts online:


http://www.amigatec.net/files/transmission/TroyTillerTransmissionServiceManual.pdf

http://www.oxentenko.com/TroyBiltHorse/TroyBiltHorseParts.pdf


Stay tuned!

 

[HarryHarley]

Great find. Mine is the 6 HP/ Tecumseh engine. Looks like that's what you have too. For sure a keeper!!
I bought it new in 1979 for about $ 800 if I remember right. It is a fantastic tiller.
Replace the fuel line too. Use non-ethanol gas. And put in a fuel shut-off valve in the line. What I do on ALL my small engines is to shut off the valve and let the engine die out. I never have gummed up carbs as a result.
If you have all the parts it is simple to replace the seals. Shouldn't be a problem for a guy like you who flips machines. I just put on new tires after the orig just wouldn't hold air for more than a week. Well, after 30 years what can you expect - LOL. I made the mistake of trying to get away with that "Slime" stuff. NEVER again. When I took the tires off, the one with the slime in it was totally rusted. The other wasn't so bad. Took the time to clean up and repainted the rims inside and out. Oh, getting the rims off was a chore. They are held on with a tapper pin. Since it was never removed in 30 plus years I had to beat the crap out of the pins to get them out. Even the penetrating oil couldn't get in there. Once out I replaced with a stainless steel bolt and nut. See picture.
Here some other pictures that I hope will help you. Good luck.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

Great find. Mine is the 6 HP/ Tecumseh engine. Looks like that's what you have too. For sure a keeper!!
I bought it new in 1979 for about $ 800 if I remember right. It is a fantastic tiller.
Replace the fuel line too. Use non-ethanol gas. And put in a fuel shut-off valve in the line. What I do on ALL my small engines is to shut off the valve and let the engine die out. I never have gummed up carbs as a result.
If you have all the parts it is simple to replace the seals. Shouldn't be a problem for a guy like you who flips machines. I just put on new tires after the orig just wouldn't hold air for more than a week. Well, after 30 years what can you expect - LOL. I made the mistake of trying to get away with that "Slime" stuff. NEVER again. When I took the tires off, the one with the slime in it was totally rusted. The other wasn't so bad. Took the time to clean up and repainted the rims inside and out. Oh, getting the rims off was a chore. They are held on with a tapper pin. Since it was never removed in 30 plus years I had to beat the crap out of the pins to get them out. Even the penetrating oil couldn't get in there. Once out I replaced with a stainless steel bolt and nut. See picture.
Here some other pictures that I hope will help you. Good luck.

That's a clean machine! Thanks for posting the photos; mine is a bit different and can be choked with the throttle cable instead of the manual choke. I'll probably make my own kill setup rather than searching for whatever little lever may be missing.

I agree on the fuel shutoff valves and filters. Every machine I work on gets a shutoff valve for the simple fact that if a float fails, I won't have gas filling the floor of my garage or shed while we sleep. Ebay is a good place to buy them in bulk rather than onesey-twosey down at the parts store.

Excellent tip on the bolts for the wheels!

 

[BustedKnuckles]

I found an extra engine today! It was listed on craigslist back on November 8th and the guy still had it so it must have been meant to be. Supposedly it runs; the guy said the governor is broken but I haven't had my hands on it yet. It was in my hometown about 30 minutes away so I had my dad grab it for me.

I hope the piece of engine tin I need is good on it and will probably part out the rest on ebay. I don't know what condition the tank is in yet but if anyone needs a starter or other parts let me know.

 

[metz12]

Re: I may have found a deal Troy-Bilt Horse I circa 1976?

As of right now, it's a keeper. We're planning a larger garden next year and the little Craftsman just won't be able to handle it. I really wanted one of those old 2 wheel walk behind tractors with attachments but they seem to be hard to find and probably harder to find parts for. I'm a sucker for anything old and rusty that burns gas.

These old TBs are tough and come from an era when almost everything was built here in the US; something that has become very important to me these days.

As repairs progress I'll post photos; videos will follow as soon as the time comes for the first combustion event. I'm not real concerned about the appearance so any repairs made will be functional; I prefer patina.

Thats sweet. i am looking for an older mower too, it would be fun to work on and play around with. my uncle has a old one (not sure of the year or kind since the paint is all chipped nd you cant read the labels but it is pretty old since it has a pull start) with a hydraulic plow! i want the thing so bad but but he doesnt want to part it!!!

 

[HarryHarley]

Wow... another good find and electric start to boot. Man, you must be living right! Oh, that picture reminds me... I need to add an inline fuel filter to mine. Let us know when you got it running....

 

[BustedKnuckles]

Re: I may have found a deal Troy-Bilt Horse I circa 1976?

Thats sweet. i am looking for an older mower too, it would be fun to work on and play around with. my uncle has a old one (not sure of the year or kind since the paint is all chipped nd you cant read the labels but it is pretty old since it has a pull start) with a hydraulic plow! i want the thing so bad but but he doesnt want to part it!!!

...and let the snowball begin.

This is a great hobby that has a low entry cost, can make you money and provide equipment that can function around the house. I would recommend finding something that has a following so you'll have support finding parts and help if you get stuck on a repair. Oddball stuff is the coolest until you find out you have the only one and nobody else knows anything about them.