Ebay/Craigslist I may have found a deal

[BustedKnuckles]

Ok boys and girls, I'm headed out in the morning to see an older Troy-Bilt Horse tiller that a guy only wants $70 for. Supposedly it belonged to his dad, and after his passing he went over to the house and got it. He says it was stored under a deck and even comes with "some little plow" that was under there with it.

I'm hoping I'll hit a home run and even if I have to part it out, I don't think I can go wrong. I'll post an update tomorrow.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Can't wait to see it! :thumbsup:

 

[metz12]

Ok boys and girls, I'm headed out in the morning to see an older Troy-Bilt Horse tiller that a guy only wants $70 for. Supposedly it belonged to his dad, and after his passing he went over to the house and got it. He says it was stored under a deck and even comes with "some little plow" that was under there with it.

I'm hoping I'll hit a home run and even if I have to part it out, I don't think I can go wrong. I'll post an update tomorrow.

Hoping to see it! and I just liked your facebook page!

 

[BustedKnuckles]

Hoping to see it! and I just liked your facebook page!

Awesome! We're headed out the door now to see tiller and I'll have a update later today. I have a line on an Ariens RT5020 too so we'll see how that goes.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Awesome! We're headed out the door now to see tiller and I'll have a update later today. I have a line on an Ariens RT5020 too so we'll see how that goes.

Good luck! :smile:

 

[BustedKnuckles]

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

I bought it! Here's a couple of photos and I didn't bother haggling with the guy since it seems to be complete and solid. The serial number is 224986 and I'm guessing it's a '76 model from what I found online.

I've already ordered a carb kit, axle seals, tine seals and an air filter for a whole $33 including shipping on fleabay. What I've found so far:

1. The oil is reasonably clean and from what I can see down the dipstick hole looks clean as a pin.
2. All moving assemblies move; nothing is seized.
3. Tires (tubed) are holding air.
4. As expected, no spark. Both valves move freely and the engine has compression.

I'm pumped! We're planning a larger garden next year and this will be just the ticket. Oh, I have a nice Craftsman front tine tiller if anyone is interested. :biggrin:

The Ariens tiller was a bust. The guy sent me a photo of an RT5020 SIMILAR to his but when I got there I found a tiller that was missing parts. I passed.

If any of you Troy-Bilt Horse aficionados have any advice on tine seal replacement, I'm all ears. Any and all advice will be appreciated since this is my first Horse and likely to not be my last.

 

[metz12]

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

I bought it! Here's a couple of photos and I didn't bother haggling with the guy since it seems to be complete and solid. The serial number is 224986 and I'm guessing it's a '76 model from what I found online.

I've already ordered a carb kit, axle seals, tine seals and an air filter for a whole $33 including shipping on fleabay. What I've found so far:

1. The oil is reasonably clean and from what I can see down the dipstick hole looks clean as a pin.
2. All moving assemblies move; nothing is seized.
3. Tires (tubed) are holding air.
4. As expected, no spark. Both valves move freely and the engine has compression.

I'm pumped! We're planning a larger garden next year and this will be just the ticket. Oh, I have a nice Craftsman front tine tiller if anyone is interested. :biggrin:

The Ariens tiller was a bust. The guy sent me a photo of an RT5020 SIMILAR to his but when I got there I found a tiller that was missing parts. I passed.

If any of you Troy-Bilt Horse aficionados have any advice on tine seal replacement, I'm all ears. Any and all advice will be appreciated since this is my first Horse and likely to not be my last.

Thats awesome! it looks in pretty sweet shape. only surface rust. Are you just going to keep it or resell it?

 

[BustedKnuckles]

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

Thats awesome! it looks in pretty sweet shape. only surface rust. Are you just going to keep it or resell it?

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.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

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 build 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.

When you say "old 2 wheel walk behind tractors" do you mean something like this--but a lot older? They are pretty neat! :thumbsup:

 

[BustedKnuckles]

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

When you say "old 2 wheel walk behind tractors" do you mean something like this--but a lot older? They are pretty neat! :thumbsup:
View attachment 10293 View attachment 10294

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.