case 446 opinion

i look at a lot of old tractors, well because i love them i guess, and a case 446 came up for sale in my area, from what i understand in the ad the engine needs replaced or rebuilt and it has a plow and deck, the owner states he got it in a trade and knows nothing about it, the price is right at $250, but not being able to run the engine and check the hydraulics has me spooked a little, i'm not interested in something i'll have to throw several hundred more dollars at to get going, so should i be worried about these things and pass, or should i just go for it and buy it if he still has it when i get payed next week, i'm not worried about the engine, i'm repowering my suburban ss16 with a newer engine and the case uses the same engine as the sears, just thought i'd get you guys thoughts before i made a decision

Those Case tractors are sweet. Maybe sweet talk him a little? Hydraulics arent too bad to fix if something is up. Just check to see if there is water in the lines, or for weird leaking areas, rust on the ram, etc.

You can get a 2nd opinion from this link about the Case 446. Some guys hang out at this link that are experts on the 446/448.
https://casecoltingersoll.com/forumdisplay.php/11-Case-Colt-Ingersoll-Tractors


I would see if he knows the prev owner to ask questions. Non-runner is kinda like buying a pig in a poke.

I bought a Case 448 for $100 that was non-running but I could see that it had lots of good parts if I could not make it go without throwing very much mola$'s into the machine. He indicated the carb was bad, and maybe ignition. He gave me a new coil. It had a really good belly deck and good tires on the tractor. I got lucky, all was good except the carb and battery.

The big wheel Case tractors are extremely stout tractors, and pretty versatile. The engine would be an Onan C Series I believe, but lots of them have been repowered with more modern V-twins. If you use the Onan out of your Sears just note that the crank output shaft is only about an 1 1/2" long on an engine for a Case tractor.

These tractors use "Hydriv" which is a hydraulic drive system that powers the two speed rear-end, so essentially the hydraulics do everything. If it's not running you won't be able to check the condition of the pump, TCV, cylinder, or drive motor. All of which can be quite costly to fix, being that the parts for them are only available through Case themselves.

That being said, the implements alone are probably worth the $250 if they are in good shape, so to me I think you would be safe buying it and if it doesn't work out, you could part it out and probably even make a profit. Then either keep the implements or sell them as well.

Maybe you could offer him $200 too, and if you go back to look at it, I would take a peek in the oil reservoir to see if it's full. If it has been kept topped up, everything might still be fine. But either way I don't think you'd be too bad, might have yourself a great working tractor in the end!

thanks for the input guys, i'll take a chance if it's still available when i get paid in a few days, i hope it is and everything is good on it, it would make a sweet all around work/play machine

You can find Service manuals for the Case and it's Onan engine at the link I posted and lots of info from old case geezers.

Those attachments you mentioned are also desirable items.

I installed a set of used 16 inch 8 ply LT 8 ply tires and chains on the rear of my 448 so as to pull a disc through stobs and soft ground. Them are stout little tractors when running correctly. If the engine is complete they also part out good expecially the carb's,

well unfortunately it was sold the day before i got the money, i had contacted the owner hoping i could talk him into holding it for a couple days but no luck, oh well i have enough on my plate to do right now without adding another project to my list, and once i get started on it the build off project will be taking most of my time anyway