Murraymountain's Deal Flipping Thread PT2

Where we left off... (2019/2020 Season)

Okay, so I think we left off talking about the Poulan. So we've been down in FL for the past week and will be back in two weeks to hopefully pick up the Poulan. BUT, my brother managed to get it going on the original carb. It now already runs drives and mows (if it had blades on it). Still a bunch to do, but once we get it up here I think we can have it done and ready to go in two to three weeks.




The Husqvarna is FINISHED. Had to get an older seat at the junkyard and it still wasn't a very good match. Honestly a terrible match. It's uncomfortable, it doesn't look great, it didn't even fit. But I made it work. It had come off the backing so I cleaned it off and put some liquid nail on there, but it didn't do right in the cool weather, so that came out terrible too. The top came out alright, but the bottom isn't even connected.






Anyway, it's done and ready to go.




So the Poulan is still in Tampa. BUT, the L110 has arrived at our garage in NC!





The deck is TERRIBLE. One thing I've come to realize is that every time we get a JD, the worst spindle ever record is shattered. I can't even begin to explain my confusion on how the spindles have become this bad. Anyway, literally EVERYTHING has to be replaced on the deck besides the brackets and maybe the shell. I mean everything is shot.





If I can get a perfect deck for $150, I'm just gonna scrap this one.

I've got a whole bunch of parts from the other 2 we restored and the L100 parts. So it's not too bad. Of course, we have to follow tradition and restore it. So eventually here I'm gonna break it down to frame. Trans needs a fluid change, motor needs a tune up and maybe a starter rebuild. Frame is just gonna need some TLC and a set of pulleys. Body needs repainted and some trim pieces (have those). Needs a seat (have that). Needs a hood. Needs front wheel bushing and maybe steering spindles and it needs rear tires. So yeah. LOTS of work and money needed for this boi. Hopefully the teardown will start in a week or two.

Whew, that looks like a lot of work! With the Deere I wonder if maybe you would be better off buying a parts machine and making one from the 2. Looking at the fender pan on it I think a polish would do it just fine except on the rust. A random orbit polisher can be had for $75 from hazard fright or 130 from porter cable. It sounds like a lot but 3 cans of paint for each tractor at 15 a tractor and 5 tractors worth of repainted would cover it. Patch the rust spots first and then buff and it will be a bit easier on the wallet. That and the finish will be a bit shinier) Also with the front end, have you considered switching them out for bearings? They are about the same price if you buy them online last I checked. (Likely 2x at the jd dealer cause it’s green lol). Anywho, can’t wait to see them necromanced!

Yeah I would've bought a parts tractor, but my L111's body (you can find that on page 10 of the 2020 season) was rusted through, so I bought a parts L100 for it. Plus I have a bunch of parts from the L111 and L120. So I'm stocked on L series JD parts.

I'm most likely gonna just repaint the entire body. I need to order another six pack of JD green paint from HD. I mainly repaint the whole tractor because the paint is never an exact match. I usually just take a grinder with a sanding wheel, sand the rust and flaking paint off, prime it, and then apply 2-3 coats of paint. I've done it once before, and so has my brother. I really hope I don't get any more L series JD's this year because tradition means another restoration.

Yeah I thought about bearings, but I have a bunch of junk wheels and tires. I'm pretty sure I can find a set of good bushings. Matter of fact, the wheels on the front of the Mountain Murray are from the scrap wheel pile. Just threw some tubes in 'em and they were good to go. If the bearings are cheap enough, I might get some in like a 10 pack or something, but right now the plan is to pop some good ones in.

I have an LA125 john deere its a peice of junk

Murraymountain wrote:

Yeah I would've bought a parts tractor, but my L111's body (you can find that on page 10 of the 2020 season) was rusted through, so I bought a parts L100 for it. Plus I have a bunch of parts from the L111 and L120. So I'm stocked on L series JD parts.

I'm most likely gonna just repaint the entire body. I need to order another six pack of JD green paint from HD. I mainly repaint the whole tractor because the paint is never an exact match. I usually just take a grinder with a sanding wheel, sand the rust and flaking paint off, prime it, and then apply 2-3 coats of paint. I've done it once before, and so has my brother. I really hope I don't get any more L series JD's this year because tradition means another restoration.  

Yeah I thought about bearings, but I have a bunch of junk wheels and tires. I'm pretty sure I can find a set of good bushings. Matter of fact, the wheels on the front of the Mountain Murray are from the scrap wheel pile. Just threw some tubes in 'em and they were good to go. If the bearings are cheap enough, I might get some in like a 10 pack or something, but right now the plan is to pop some good ones in.

Here’s a ten pack for $17- don’t know how long they would last but probably longer than bushings will. https://www.amazon.com/XiKe-Flanged-Bearings-Applicable-Wheelbarrows/dp/B01MF5A4GF/ref=sr_1_9?crid=YRUOZWTY2GD4&dchild=1&keywords=3%2F4+x+1+3%2F8+flanged+bearing&qid=1613920521&sprefix=3%2F4+x+1+3%2F8+%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-9

Thanks! I'll look into those!

I run those in Red and Kal.  I was able to successfully blow a set of those in '19 Haspin.  LOL

Okay, so we picked up FOUR new rigs! The Toro, and both Craftsmans have 20 horse Briggs Intek singles. The Troy has an 18.5 Horse Briggs single AVS. All have 42" Decks. The Toro and Troy have FNRs with pedals of course, the LT2000 has a 6 speed MST, and the other Craftsman has a hydro. That one has a blown motor. All the others have compression. Both Craftsmans roll in gear. The Toro's deck is seized, the Troys deck has fallen off, and the blown Craftsman's body is beat to heck. Anyway, we're gonna probably try to get the L110 and Husqvarna done before we start these bois.









The L110 restoration has started...



I changed the fluid in the trans already, so the trans is done. It needed it BADLY. Frame is now ready for paint prep. Everything that had to come off is off.


This is the pile of good parts, some still need to be paint prepped, but the majority is just waiting to be put back on.



The motor is pretty much done. I'll know once it's on the tractor. I put a spark plug and air filter in it but other than that it didn't even need anything else. So I'm considering it ready to be put on the tractor.





The Husqvarna got an oppy swap. The 16 horse oppy runs like a champ! It also got rewired. Way better than before. The seat safety and reverse safety doesn't work but other than that everything works. We gotta rebuild the steering, revamp the deck, and tune up the oppy and it's ready to go for sale!

Man, you’ve been working hard! I think you can get more for that LT2000 if you wax it and repaint the deck shell, but that’s just my 2c.

I might be able to get more for the LT2000 if I push it. $400 is reasonable but I'd be happy if I got $350 as a bottom dollar. The LT2000 and the Troy Bilt are mine, the other two are my brother's. I think all of the decks are probably gonna get a quick coat of paint. Like just the $1 paint from walmart with no prep work. The Craftsmans and MTDs never get the real deal when it comes to paintwork, LOL.

SO, my brother put the belts on the Toro, put some gas in it, and hooked up the jumpers and it runs and drives! He filled up the tires, had to drop a steering spindle to rebuild it because it was rusted stuck, changed the carburetor, changed the oil, and changed the battery. That's where he is now. Runs LIKE A TOP. He bent a tie rod trying to fix the steering, so he has to get a new one now. Still needs to get one of the spindles unstuck and oil the deck, change the belts and blades, paint the hood, and now do full tune up because he's having an issue where all the gas is leaking into the combustion chamber and then into the crankcase. After all that's fixed, I think it's ready to go on the market.





The Troy Bilt also runs! All I had to do was throw a battery in it, change the fuel shut off because it broke when I drained the gas, put fresh gas in, and just let the motor clear up and now it runs AND drives great! I filled up the tires, and dropped the deck (I have to give MTD credit here, I absolutely LOVE the way they designed the quick release deck. I can have it off in 120 SECONDS). Sadly the 18.5 of course has a slight knock. Not enough for me to worry about. There's a few dents in the hood for me to massage out, the muffler has fallen off, the belts need changed just for the heck of it, it needs headlights and a lens, a tune up of course, the seat safety needs repaired, the deck drive pulley has been absolutely flattened, the brakes need reconnected, and the parking brake is stuck on it. The deck needs blades (obviously), and the mount welded back on. Might need to have the height adjusted too. So, a little more than I'd like to do but I was expecting about this amount. Hopefully we can have these done within 2 weeks.

Okay, some stuff has been done to the Troy Bilt. I tightened the seat down, fixed the parking brake the best I could, pressure washed it, got most of the dents out, dropped the engine pulley, pulled the blades, aligned the front wheels, put tire sealant in the already water filled rear tires, put new headlights in, and did a tune up on the motor. Just got a new top belt and am about to order a bottom drive and deck drive belt.

Tomorrow I get to finish taking the dents out, pull both belts, weld the deck back together, screw around with the electrics, try to get the brakes connected back up, try to find a engine pulley in the stash, and then screw with the muffler to see if by chance I can get it to come back to life. Then I'll just be waiting on parts to finish it. I gotta tell ya, she's a tough one to wrench on... Just constantly fighting back.

Before...



After...



I never showed a pic of the Husqvarna's new engine. Still needs steering system rebuilt and the deck reconfigured.




The L110 hasn't been touched yet. I'm gonna go at it hard and strong on the L110 tomorrow once I finish up the Troy and Craftsman. Gotta get to grindin'.


The LT2000 is the cream of the crop. I put some get-me-by fuel lines on it and it runs. Dropped the deck and turns out that it's only gonna need cleaning, painting, a blade sharpening, belt, and getting the engagement unstuck. I call that a win! The tractor is in dire need of a tune up. So it's gonna get the full treatment there (carb, plug, air, oil and fuel filter, fuel lines, oil change, fuel shut-off, OHV gasket.) I had to oil up the deck engagement cable, cleaned the headlights, put Fix-a-Flat in the tires, adjusted the brakes, tightened the throttle cable, oiled the steering, and put a key in it. Now it just needs a front wheel, grease, and a serious wash. Pair that with the finished deck, and I've got $400 at least!




Oh boy do I have a busy day tomorrow.

So, not too much has been done to the L110. I sanded everything down. Just needs to be cleaned so that I can lay the primer:





The LT2000 is done! It had one tight spindle that I took apart and oiled. I did everything that I said I was gonna do to the deck except change the belt. It really wasn't bad. There is a little cancer on the deck. Not gonna make it more than 5 years at best. I did the full tune up minus the oil filter. Also threw a new-to-me front wheel on it and greased everything up. Then went and mowed for an hour.





Did pretty well. I'm gonna start it at $425 at the end of the month.


Troy Bilt is also done. I finished the body work, changed the front belt, put a headlight lens on it, hooked up and adjusted the brakes, put a new engine pulley on it, changed the fuel shut-off, and bypassed the deck safety, then did some off-roading. I drove through a trail I haven't shown on the forum yet...  It did much better than I expected!





So the tractor has been finished for about a week now. I thought the deck would be a relatively easy job. Just had to match the angles of the bracket so that it still mounts correctly, right? HAHA, WRONG.



I screwed myself up and tried to repair all the cancer. That's definitely where I went wrong. The more I cut, the more I found. I don't know what I was thinking. I think I've taken care of about half of the rust. There's still holes and even some getting close to the spindle mounts. Whatever. I'm gonna give it no more than 5 years too. The motor has a little knock too so I'm gonna give that 5 as well. Who knows, maybe it'll last longer, maybe not. But anyway:






Then I went and mowed for an hour. Did fine as well. I'm gonna start it at $425 too.




The YS4500 is now being revamped. The blown up 20 Horse is stripped down. The block is still good!





Anyway, I forgot to get pictures, but my brother bought a 15-20 HP Kawasaki V-twin for it. He rebuilt the carb, threw it on the YS, and went and did some mowing. Needs to be painted, needs a tune up and the muffler put on, but other than that the motor is good to go! The tractor needs some body work, one flat tire fixed, some deck work, and it should be ready to go up for sale!

So, the Square body Craftsman has awoken from it's slumber. We took it out to a commercial piece of property that hadn't been mowed in like 7 months because it was the only thing that works good enough to mow but still needs blades. Did great until my brother shut it off. It wasn't happy after that.




The LT2000, Troy Bilt, and Husqvarna are all sold. Ended up with $400 for the LT2000, $375 for the Troy Bilt, and $800 for Husqvarna. I still need to go over to the lady's house and adjust the Troy's clutch. The Husqvarna had to have the deck brakes and belt reimagined too.







The YS4500 is almost done. Needs the gas tank repaired. He did a bunch of body work and deck work and a tune up. Almost ready to go for sell. That thing always needed a V-twin. It's a beast.


The Toro's parts are all in, my brother just needs time to put them on and do the rest of the work.

The 2 JD's are all that's still for sale. I still haven't touched the L110.

Okay. The Wizard has come out of hibernation. I finally got a chance to use the plow! We had to put some weight on it but it did a great job even on a hard packed gravel parking lot. We dug about 6 inches. Had to make about 7 or 8 passes. Beforehand I made a few trips to a pile of gravel to fix the entrance to the lot.





Burned up the drive belt by the end of the day. Put a new used one on a few days later. Also bought back that 46 inch deck I bought for it last year. Now that I have the welder and can afford the project, the Wizard has a deck now! I still have to pick up the lower deck belt, but I hope to be mowing with it by tomorrow.





Also picked up the Poulan and a John Deere LX176. We going to be picking up another one too for $150 since this one don't have a deck. We also got the Murray delivered.



I put another carb on it, threw some blades on it and it runs cuts and mows! Runs like crap, but it's a start! Still needs a whole bunch of crap but it's time to get this thing going.





The new JD... Has a set of V-treads on it. Not sure if those are gonna stay with it or not. All my brother did was clean the carb and it runs and drives fine!



Haven't touched the Murray yet. I'm gonna document it's whole revival.



Yes I bought the Troy Bilt back. It started throwing the deck belt on the lady and being stupid so I bought it back. Just needs some tuning and it goes back on the market. I mowed with it for like 4 hours today. It got worked hard today. A few complaints from the trans but it'll be fine. The grass got out of control lately with the funeral, so it kinda got abused today. Shouldn't be too hard to get it back on the market.





The John Deere L120 and L111 are both gone. $900 for the L111 and $1200 for L120. Nothing has happened to the L110 except that I bought a new used set of rear wheels for $20. Plenty of tread and they both hold air! I feel pretty good about that deal.

The Wizard is Mowing! Trying to pick up a few little things for it and I'm gonna call it done.





The Poulan has had some body work done and I tried save the tires but that seems to be a fail. Still needs:

-Cooling fan
-Carburetor
-One rear wheel
-Tune up
-Seat
-Brakes
-Misc bolts



I finally started on the Murray. Had to change the starter, coil, and clean the carb. Now it runs drives and mows! Gonna do the body work and all that good stuff today.

Going to a tailgate with that poulan? Lol. Wizard is looking good.

So as I said when we picked up the LX176, we we're going to be picking up another one for parts. Well we did for $150:






It's pretty rusty, but other than that it's in VERY good shape. So now the other one has kind of become parts. I have a feeling my brother is gonna swap bodies. This one is already almost ready for sale. He just gave it a once over, cleaned it all up, tuned it up, and a few other miscellaneous parts, and this thing is ready for sale... It even has a flawless hood aside from the fact that the mounts are broken.

The other LX176, I don't know what will happen to it. It has V-tread tires and BOTH tractor's engines and trannies run like butter. The parts LX has an oil leak and no deck or hood and I'm not sure if it'll get the rusty body or not. But either way, one of these is going for sale this week and we'll figure out what to do with the other one after that.


The Wizard is officially in commission. We've been using the plow quite often. Got to mow a few acres with it too. It did great with all of it! Only thing is that the deck belt slips a little bit, so if I mow in 6th gear it doesn't make a full cut. So I have to cut in 5th gear. But it's not enough for me to worry about anytime soon so I'm calling this one ready to go for the year!




The Murray has had a lot done. Coil, carb cleaned, starter, intense pressure wash, wheel bearings, tune up, body damage repaired, floor mats put on, belts, deck cleaned and blades sharpened, brakes adjusted, broken dash mounts fixed, loose/missing bolts tightened, and electrical connections cleaned.




It just needs a dipstick seal and a deck idler pulley and it's ready to go for sale. As you can see, there will be one problem that goes with it. It has a cigarette addiction. Rings/bore is worn out so it constantly smokes. It's a widebody and I already have about $175 in it, so it's really not worth anymore of my time and money. Especially a new motor. So the new owner will just have to deal with the low RPMs and smoke.


Anything I said about the Troy-Bilt is null and void. The deck is rotting FAST. So I bought a new deck belt for it today as it broke the old one and I'm gonna throw that on it and sell it as is ASAP. I have no clue how long that deck or trans or motor is gonna last. It's too much of a gamble for me to guarantee anyone anything on this one. There is one bent blade but other than that it runs and cuts fantastic... but it has cancer.




The oppy swapped Husky just got $300 dumped into it so that the steering is PERFECT. Literally every steering component is brand spanking new except for the steering wheel, rod, and front axle. Even the nuts and washers are new. But the toe out continues to exist. That can only mean one thing... The STUPID amount of toe out is factory or the part numbers are slightly off. I don't know and I don't care since my brother is doing the work and he's selling it. But it still shouldn't have this much from factory. Anyway, he also reworked all the deck mounts and engagements and bought new blades for it. Got brand new trim pieces, straightened up the hood, etc. It's having cooling issues currently, among a few other things, but it's coming along. Should be for sale within a few weeks.






The L110 has probably had the most done this past month out of all the tractors. Got everything washed down real good, got the frame, dash, muffler guard, and the battery tray painted. Also got the body primed and painted:






Spent about 3 days putting it all together. Had one heck of a time figuring out the configuration for the parking brake. Finally got that done. Took my time putting this one back together. I don't remember if I mentioned this but I am not selling this one. It was my grandpas tractor. Lots of memories around this tractor. If it wasn't for this tractor, I never even would have owned a riding mower of any sort. Anyway, I think this thing is coming together real well! Just needs a battery and I'm currently sorting out the front wheel situation. Those should be ready within a week. Once I get those two things crossed off the list, it's time for a first drive!




Also started stripping the deck. I'd say I'm about 60 percent through. Then I have to sand it and pressure wash it before I can prime and paint it. A LOT of work left for the deck. I still have rust repair to do on it as well.

Paint looks pretty mint! Wish mine looked that good. Think you’d consider restoring the Wizard? It would look pretty good done up I think.

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

Paint looks pretty mint! Wish mine looked that good. Think you’d consider restoring the Yard Pro? It would look pretty good done up I think.

The Wizard? If that's what you're talking about, then yes for sure. I've tossed around the idea of restoring the Wizard for quite awhile. One day I might decide to go for it, but that will be a project that goes on for 2 or 3 years as I would want that thing PERFECT. I'm not gonna take it on anytime soon though because I can't afford it and I have enough projects already, but the main reason I won't take it on now is because I need a true workhorse like the Wizard for now. In it's current cosmetic condition, I am by no means worried about what happens to it, lol. Perfect for hard work.

Whoops. My brain died lol. Good call on waiting while you work it, I tried restoring mine while I was using it and it didn’t work out too well.

So the L110 got a brand new throttle handle as I remember the old being replaced with paper towels and tape years ago. I also got the deck sanded, welded, primed and painted...





Also finished "rebuilding" the front wheels. They've been repainted, have new bearings, new tires, new valve stems and caps. I repainted the rears also.




It's already been on it's first drive. I don't ever remember a time when this thing didn't run like a top. I wish the drive system was a bit quieter since it's all new parts, but I can't blame it being that it's a light duty tractor with 500+ hours on it.




The Snapper has had it's first drive as well. Tires are shot, but the motor runs like a top. I don't know what my brothers gonna do with it yet. The trans setup is giving him issues so if it's needing any sort of a rebuild back there we're probably just gonna strip it down as it has no deck or attachments.

The guy also gave us this push mower. I am not even going to touch it. He said it runs but the motor barely has compression and everything is extremely sagging/worn out and the front is rusted through. So I'm just gonna put it up on Marketplace for 20 bucks as is.



The Murray is done. I changed the dipstick seal and taped a bare wire. The deck kept falling down too so I fixed that. It still smokes but I ain't worried about that. Gonna start at $300.



The Husqvarna is done! Deck has been completely remounted. It's been tested, washed, waxed, and is for sale at $800.




The LX176 ended up getting the body welded sanded and painted. He replaced the dash and a few other odds and ends. Also rebuilt the deck. He's got a buyer picking it up for $750 today.

The LX176 is sold. The Husqvarna, Troy Bilt, and Murray are still here waiting on buyers. The YS is done too. For sale for $650. Poulan is also finished...




Got new used rear wheels, repainted them and plugged one. Sharpened some used blades and repainted the deck, painted the top of the hood, put new headlights in it, craps-mans cooling fan, tune up, put a deck shroud on it, screwed around with different carb setups, adjusted the steering wheel, adjusted the valves, rebuilt the brakes, adjusted the shifter, and did a few other misc things. It is about to go for sale at $375.

The Toro just needs the front tire back from getting a tube installed and finish the deck brakes and testing. Then it goes for sale.



My brother secured a deal on freaking John Deere 318! Has the whole book on how to assemble it and everything. Unfortunately it's missing the seat but that's no biggie. $450 for a running and driving unit with a solid deck... I call that a steal. It's taken apart quite a bit because the owner was going to change power steering pump but he never got around to it. So he's throwing in the brand new steering pump with it. My brother also bought a deck for the other LX from him. He also threw in a free John Deere LX255. That one's nothing more a parts tractor but free is free, so I'm not complaining. Supposed to be picking those rigs up on Monday.

The Snapper is in need of a deck, and a rear tire and a few other things, but the trans turned out to be fine. So my brother decided to put a deck on it and sell it.

Awesome! Those 318s are great, but just be advised that the power steering can drift a bit, or so I’ve been told.

Toro is for sale. $400 OBO.

Here is the new JD 318. My brother is going to repaint it. The 18 horse Onan needs points.



Snapper now has a 33inch deck off of an RER. He fabbed some mounts, sharpened the blades, and threw it on and now it cuts grass! Just needs choke cable, raise the front of the deck, a rear tire, and a light lens and it's ready to go. We will be selling it.