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I have been fiddling with mechanical things of all types since I was a kid but for some reason never played with a Case/ Ingersol (never even knew there was such a critter as an Ingersol tractor) My main focus has been Cub Cadets as I currently own a 125 and it's a been good machine. My trade for the last 30 years or so has been plumbing and this gets me into a lot of homes and exposed to a lot of "junk" but this is the first time I've ever had someone offer me a machine that (a) wasn't at the home I was working at (b) I didn't ask for and (c) I didn't even know existed!
I was doing some piping repairs for a contractor friend I work with and the house happened to be his next door neighbor's so when I finished I stopped by to let him know all was well. We were shooting the breeze for a bit and got to talking about his old Sears Suburban that was sitting out in his yard. He was telling me how great it had been, I told him I was familier with them and knew they were tough machines. So then he tells me he's working on a job doing some renovations and the homeowner had a tractor and attachments he wanted off his property and had offered it to him for free. He said he had no use for it because he had his Sears and that was good enough for his needs.
He knew I had my Cub but asked if I knew anyone who might be interested so I asked what make it was and what it had for attachments. He said he thought it was an Ingersol or something like that but wasn't sure and didn't know what all it had for attachments just that it did have some, and that the machine looked to be in great shape as it was stored inside. At this point I wasn't to interested but said I would like to take a look since I wasn't familier with the brand. We made arrangements to meet at the owner's home a week later and in the meantime I did a little research on Ingersol.
I was suprised to find out they were formerly Case tractors (I did have a bit of experience with them) and started to get a good deal more interested in what I might find. So the day finally came, I arrived at the owners house and my friend and the homeowner led me to the building where the tracter was stored, it was in a small garage under a pool house. When they opened the door there sat an Ingersol 3014 with mower deck and Hydra-Bagger, the hourmeter read 150 hours! Outside was a small cart (not Ingy but still nice) and a Snowcaster which according to the owner had never been used.
The owner told me the same thing my friend had- he just wanted it all out as he had a lawn service care for his place and had no use for it! At this point I didn't need to think about it and promptly agreed to take the lot. Now the one problem is the homeowner just had the whole place landscaped which effectively landlocked the tractor, he is very protective of his property and doesn't want it damaged with ruts etc. We worked out a game plan to get the machine out by way of putting down plywood where necessay and taking down a section of fence to get to the driveway (I pity the lawn service as they will be faced with this as well) so now all I had to do was get it running as there was no pushing or towing it out of the yard (about 75 yards all uphill).
The tractor had not been run in about 5 years so I figured I was in for a bit of a challange, I told the owner I'd return in a few days with my tools and pull it apart. I returned a few days later and pulled the carb and battery figuring one would surely need cleaning and the other a charge but more likely replacement. I got them home and put the battery on charge (it was shot) and pulled the carb apart to soak in the cleaner- I was amazed to find it was like new inside, not a trace of varnish so I just put it back together and set it aside for the return trip. I bought a new battery at Tractor Supply and after a few weeks, finally was able to return to the tractor. I brought along some gas as well as the battery and carb, reassembled everything, closed the choke set the throttle and turned the key. After about three tries it fired up like it had just run the day before!
So now I just have to wait for the ground to dry up or freeze over hard so I can drive it out and get it home, we've had an unusually wet and warm winter soeverything is just one step shy of mud. Since I know the machine runs well I'm O.K. with waiting, it's safe and sound and under cover and the homeowner is in no rush as he wants to protect his yard. I figure sometime this month we should get enough of a cold snap to harden things up and I can get my trailer ready in the meantime. Oh the owner did ask for two things in return, that I sign a release in case I get injured using the machine (I will explain this at a later date if the moderators think its O.K) and he asked me to see if I can fix his walk behind snowblower (a Sears he thinks) I guess it's the least I can do!
I plan on trying to get back to pick up the snow blower and cart in the next week or so and will get some pics for you all then. Sorry to be so long winded but I know when I have heard storys like this I always wanted all the details! So wish me luck getting it out of his yard, I'll keep you posted. :thumbup:
I was doing some piping repairs for a contractor friend I work with and the house happened to be his next door neighbor's so when I finished I stopped by to let him know all was well. We were shooting the breeze for a bit and got to talking about his old Sears Suburban that was sitting out in his yard. He was telling me how great it had been, I told him I was familier with them and knew they were tough machines. So then he tells me he's working on a job doing some renovations and the homeowner had a tractor and attachments he wanted off his property and had offered it to him for free. He said he had no use for it because he had his Sears and that was good enough for his needs.
He knew I had my Cub but asked if I knew anyone who might be interested so I asked what make it was and what it had for attachments. He said he thought it was an Ingersol or something like that but wasn't sure and didn't know what all it had for attachments just that it did have some, and that the machine looked to be in great shape as it was stored inside. At this point I wasn't to interested but said I would like to take a look since I wasn't familier with the brand. We made arrangements to meet at the owner's home a week later and in the meantime I did a little research on Ingersol.
I was suprised to find out they were formerly Case tractors (I did have a bit of experience with them) and started to get a good deal more interested in what I might find. So the day finally came, I arrived at the owners house and my friend and the homeowner led me to the building where the tracter was stored, it was in a small garage under a pool house. When they opened the door there sat an Ingersol 3014 with mower deck and Hydra-Bagger, the hourmeter read 150 hours! Outside was a small cart (not Ingy but still nice) and a Snowcaster which according to the owner had never been used.
The owner told me the same thing my friend had- he just wanted it all out as he had a lawn service care for his place and had no use for it! At this point I didn't need to think about it and promptly agreed to take the lot. Now the one problem is the homeowner just had the whole place landscaped which effectively landlocked the tractor, he is very protective of his property and doesn't want it damaged with ruts etc. We worked out a game plan to get the machine out by way of putting down plywood where necessay and taking down a section of fence to get to the driveway (I pity the lawn service as they will be faced with this as well) so now all I had to do was get it running as there was no pushing or towing it out of the yard (about 75 yards all uphill).
The tractor had not been run in about 5 years so I figured I was in for a bit of a challange, I told the owner I'd return in a few days with my tools and pull it apart. I returned a few days later and pulled the carb and battery figuring one would surely need cleaning and the other a charge but more likely replacement. I got them home and put the battery on charge (it was shot) and pulled the carb apart to soak in the cleaner- I was amazed to find it was like new inside, not a trace of varnish so I just put it back together and set it aside for the return trip. I bought a new battery at Tractor Supply and after a few weeks, finally was able to return to the tractor. I brought along some gas as well as the battery and carb, reassembled everything, closed the choke set the throttle and turned the key. After about three tries it fired up like it had just run the day before!
So now I just have to wait for the ground to dry up or freeze over hard so I can drive it out and get it home, we've had an unusually wet and warm winter soeverything is just one step shy of mud. Since I know the machine runs well I'm O.K. with waiting, it's safe and sound and under cover and the homeowner is in no rush as he wants to protect his yard. I figure sometime this month we should get enough of a cold snap to harden things up and I can get my trailer ready in the meantime. Oh the owner did ask for two things in return, that I sign a release in case I get injured using the machine (I will explain this at a later date if the moderators think its O.K) and he asked me to see if I can fix his walk behind snowblower (a Sears he thinks) I guess it's the least I can do!
I plan on trying to get back to pick up the snow blower and cart in the next week or so and will get some pics for you all then. Sorry to be so long winded but I know when I have heard storys like this I always wanted all the details! So wish me luck getting it out of his yard, I'll keep you posted. :thumbup:
