[Hydriv]

This one is located in Philadelphia.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/grd/2176523967.html

I've seen listings similar to this one in the past and have been surprised when no one seems to understand that they are staring a true bargain in the face. Now, I realize that this is not the sort of project that everyone would tackle as their first but at $1200.00...the value is absolutely there.

Most of the hard work has been done. So many of you want a loader tractor. Well here it is. Many of you have talked about having a diesel tractor.. Look no further. Others have desired power steering. That's here too.

It is highly unlikely that you could buy an untouched basic tractor, construct a loader for it, buy a diesel engine to repower it along with a power steering pump for $1200.00. And I bet you right now that if you pulled up in front of this guy's house with a trailer behind your vehicle and waved ten Benji's under his nose... you'd be rolling that unit on your trailer five minutes later.

 

[mjodrey]

That doesn't seem like too bad of a price to me,considering what has been done.



Maynard :canada:

 

[ArticIngerCase]

That IS a deal, for the right person. I know I had over $1300 in materials for my FEL alone, when I built it 7 years ago. If I were looking for another project, I'd jump on this.

Nice find Tom.

 

[cp7]

That sounds like a buy for what he says he has but he also said it "just needs to be put back together". Then he proceeds to say that the power steering needs some custom work, the loader is not attached to the tractor, and the diesel is just setting on the frame. That sure sounds like more than just putting it back together to me. It sounds to me like he had big ideas like allot of guys but does not have the ability to carry them out. Now someone needs to undo any jerry rigging and maybe start over.
In the one blurry little picture that you can cover with two fingers (CL pics drive me nuts) it looks like the loader is real chinsy. Look at the far side where the loader frame covers the chair it looks like it is just a pipe. At first I thought it was self leveling but then look at the near side with the hood behind it. ?
He did urge someone to look it over before buying and I would add closely. Don't get me wrong, in parts it might be worth the money but as a project I'm skeptical.

 

[Hydriv]

Skepticism is a very good thing to have. Especially when dealing with ANY used piece of equipment.

You just made my point, probably without realizing it. Many people will look at his ad and immediately dismiss this unit for all the reasons you gave.

Try doing what I did. Right click on the photo and send it to "My Pictures" in your computer. Then pull it up and blow it up.

Look at the quality of workmanship on the bucket. Look at the loader arm on this side. It appears to me that he did use pipe BUT... he used two pipes in a triangular form and that makes for a very strong loader arm.

Can Joe Average buy this and then bolt it all back together in half a day so he can use it? Hell no. This is a project. You build projects like this in raw form. Then you work out all the small bugs until you are happy with the result.

Then you tear the whole thing apart, do what's necessary to repaint all the parts and then put it back together. Look at the thread in the Workshop forum about the building of the Case T-444. There's no difference in the process, just the end product.

If you don't want to own a diesel powered Case FEL with power steering, then don't buy this package. But if you have ever had a dream that closely resembles this guys dream, then the value is absolutely there. And it's all the skeptics out there who will force this guy to sell for a low price because those guys either don't have the talent to finish it or they are not savvy enough to see the value staring them in the face or they have no desire to own a loader tractor.

No problem.

All of that just makes it so much better for people like Scott or Grummy to slide in their, steal it, finish it and then post the photos here that will make many of you envious.

 

[cp7]

I did that with the picture and I thought that bar was the brace. If it's not then it doesn't look like it has any bracing. Maybe that's part of what needs to be finished. The bucket does look good and almost looks like it is factory built and they just adapted it.
I think that he just tried to tackle to much at once and each individual project would have been easier and he might have been able to get them done. But trying to do it all at once kicked his butt.
Of the 400 (great) guys you've got here your only mentioning a couple of the most talented ones that might be able to finish this project. And granted we're going off of very little info and one crappy picture.
Don't get me wrong if it wasn't 1500 miles away I'd be going to look at it since loaders are one of my fetishes. :thumbsup:

 

[Hydriv]

There's no question in my mind that there is a deep pool of talent on this site. However, when posting replies, I have a tendency to just use the names that leap to mind. Grummy is someone that I've known for many years and Scott's project has had a lot of exposure. It is not my intent to disrespect any of the other talented individuals on this forum.

I agree that the photo is poor. I'm only reporting on what I believe my eyes are telling me. Perhaps I misunderstood the words in the listing but I got the impression that he had already built the loader and then decided to add the power steering and re-power it with a diesel. For sure, the package should be inspected but...let's not look a gift horse in the mouth either.

There is the value of the 400 tractor, the diesel engine, the loader, the new tires, the pump mount, the power steering pump and likely a few other items the Seller forgot to list.

I've seen FEL's all by themselves bring $1000.00 and up. Used diesels are not an inexpensive purchase. Power steering pumps often sell for $90.00 and up.

As I see it, this guy wants it all gone from his garage at this point. Whatever he has kicking around is going to get tossed into the deal and that's where someone can walk away with a big score. You have to look beyond this being an unfinished project and ask yourself how much it would cost you to get a similar project to where his is.