Repair, Restore, or part out?

[dfbroxy]

So...I just got this mower yesterday for $400 cash. It has 1500hrs and looks a little rough. All parts are there except seat, ROPS, origional air cleaner, and deck covers. Owner stated was running when parked 1 year ago for broken belts. I checked and all belts are toast. Good deal, bad deal, what do you guys think...??? FIY I am a self educated mower mechanic. I am also retired veteran and other jobs-fully retired now and age 55 in good health. I love working on mowers as one of my hobbys. So Im leaning towards the repair or totally restore side. I need some kind of guess as to how much it would cost total. I know hard to know without taking it apart to see what parts has to be purchased. One more thing, I checked battery and it is dead, dead, dead.
Anyways, thats where I am now and I think I will use this forum an a sorta work journal for the project. Feel free to follow along with the posts and add your expertise and thoughts too. Haha my wife said I should start a gofundme page instead.