I think I have my inventory for Winter Projects covered.

Downeaster

Downeaster

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Two Simplicity tractors, a 14hp gear drive and a 17hp hydro.

Two mowers, a 5' sickle and a midmount.

3 snow blowers, one tractor mounted, one walk behind, one corded POS that's basically an electric broom.

One old-enough-to-be-real Troybilt tiller.

One Honda-powered pressure washer.

About two feet of factory manuals for the Simplicity stuff.

Two boxes of spare parts and some other assorted - but related - junk.

250 mile round trip, $100 worth of gas (DAMN that F250 is thirsty!) and one day shot in the ass.

The plan is to get the hydro tractor running and mount the sicklebar on it. The whole plan was something to mow ditches with. I'll also keep the Troybilt. Everything else will get flipped or given to family.
 
Correction #1 after some preliminary research:

BOTH are 16 horse Briggs. The 7116 Hydro is probably a 1981 model, and the 3416 was only built in 1973 and 1974. Push comes to shove I'll swap engines as I'd much prefer the hydro transmission. Downside to that is the 3416 has a motor/generator start where the 7116 has an automotive-style starter. Then again Mo-Gen starters have worked on Farmall Cubs since forever.

Also didn't know, Simplicity was an Allis-Chalmers offshoot, similar to Cub Cadet being an IH product.

Looking forward to tearing into these projects. I think the first step will be to check that all the stuff with engines start and run. I know the 7116 won't as the carb is in a box and much/most of the ignition appears to be missing.
 
Downeaster said:
Correction #1 after some preliminary research:

BOTH are 16 horse Briggs. The 7116 Hydro is probably a 1981 model, and the 3416 was only built in 1973 and 1974. Push comes to shove I'll swap engines as I'd much prefer the hydro transmission. Downside to that is the 3416 has a motor/generator start where the 7116 has an automotive-style starter. Then again Mo-Gen starters have worked on Farmall Cubs since forever.

Also didn't know, Simplicity was an Allis-Chalmers offshoot, similar to Cub Cadet being an IH product.

Looking forward to tearing into these projects. I think the first step will be to check that all the stuff with engines start and run. I know the 7116 won't as the carb is in a box and much/most of the ignition appears to be missing.
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I like your scheme... I did something similar with a lot of four complete and incomplete Bolens tractors with Kohler KT17 and M20 engines. Fun and games!
 
On the weekend I was showing my wife my progress on the Titan. She commented that it looked like I’d be finished soon and would have nothing to do for the winter. She then said - “you should buy another one”. Surprised me but I didn’t want to disappoint her so I’m going to look at another bike on Friday. 👍. Best to do what you’re told.
 
Well, things are going along swimmingly.

Snowblower starts and runs without issue. Just threw in a little gas and bumped the impeller to loosen it up. That's on CList.

Honda on the pressure washer started second pull and runs fine. Guy said he though the pump was trashed so I'll likely just pull the engine to have it around.

Rototiller is indeed a genuine Troy Bilt. 1968 Horse. The carb mounting flange got broke, most likely during loading, transport or unloading. Chineseum replacement on order. Governor linkage is bent/missing so I'll have to do some fiddling there, but otherwise it appears to be a solid machine. I'll be keeping that.

The 3416S tractor starts, runs and drives. Carb needs a little love, think the float is sticking. The "S" stands for shuttle shift and I actually kind of like it. 4 speed transmission and a lever on the side for Rev/Neutral/Fwd. Pick a gear, move the lever and off you go. The Fwd section appears to have a range of speeds as well. Haven't futzed with that yet. Drove it up to the garage, tomorrow's project is to power wash it, change the engine and transmission oil and grease it. Also need to check the charging system.

One of them, or possibly both, has a transmission filter so that'll get changed too.

The 7116 is more of a project. Needs tires, carb (I have 1 plus 2 more for parts) wiring cleaned up, front rim beads straightened. They're bearing type 8 inch rims vs. the usual 6 inch bushing type. Replacing them would be expensive if they're even out there.

All-in-all, I'm pleased with what I got for what I paid. Not a smoking deal by any stretch, but a fair price.
 
Downeaster said:
Well, things are going along swimmingly.

Snowblower starts and runs without issue. Just threw in a little gas and bumped the impeller to loosen it up. That's on CList.

Honda on the pressure washer started second pull and runs fine. Guy said he though the pump was trashed so I'll likely just pull the engine to have it around.

Rototiller is indeed a genuine Troy Bilt. 1968 Horse. The carb mounting flange got broke, most likely during loading, transport or unloading. Chineseum replacement on order. Governor linkage is bent/missing so I'll have to do some fiddling there, but otherwise it appears to be a solid machine. I'll be keeping that.

The 3416S tractor starts, runs and drives. Carb needs a little love, think the float is sticking. The "S" stands for shuttle shift and I actually kind of like it. 4 speed transmission and a lever on the side for Rev/Neutral/Fwd. Pick a gear, move the lever and off you go. The Fwd section appears to have a range of speeds as well. Haven't futzed with that yet. Drove it up to the garage, tomorrow's project is to power wash it, change the engine and transmission oil and grease it. Also need to check the charging system.

One of them, or possibly both, has a transmission filter so that'll get changed too.

The 7116 is more of a project. Needs tires, carb (I have 1 plus 2 more for parts) wiring cleaned up, front rim beads straightened. They're bearing type 8 inch rims vs. the usual 6 inch bushing type. Replacing them would be expensive if they're even out there.

All-in-all, I'm pleased with what I got for what I paid. Not a smoking deal by any stretch, but a fair price.
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About 10 years ago, my wife came home from a walk with her friend and told me they wanted to get rid of their riding lawnmower. She told me she thought maybe I would want it because I was using a push mower. I asked her what color it was and she said green and yellow. I went over to their house and found a John Deere 316. Ended up buying it but have never used it to cut grass. I like the look of it and my grandson liked riding on it with me around the yard.
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I love old Simplicitys and AC tractors! I have three 707/717 Broadmoors. One is just a parts doner, one has the hi/lo planetary on the driven pulley, and one is pretty decent shape for a 60 year old tractor, other than the engine having seized a few years ago. I'll eventually get around to restoring one of them for show and mow. We have a Simplicity dealer nearby that has one fairly well restored in their showroom, Jack's Small Engines.
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Downeaster said:
Oooooh, ooh, that smell! Can't ya smell that smell?

Odeur de' Chine rubber. FedUPS dropped off a pair of new tires for the 7116.

View attachment 377182

Might be getting the cart ahead of the horse as I don't know if the engine runs yet, but I figured I'd deal with the hammered front wheels while I'm waiting for carb stuff.
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Have a feeling they won't look like that when your done!
 
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Got the sickle bar mounted to the 3416S. Amazingly, all the bits and bobs were present, only thing I had to do was replace the belt as the old one was stretched (or just wrong...) but by some miracle I had one in my stash that fit.

Mows good, I'll freshen up the knives here and there and maybe snug up the break-back a tad but that's it.

IMO this rig is worth what I paid for the whole trailer load, the rest is gravy.

I did start working on the Troy-Bilt tiller and came to the conclusion that whoever tried to re-power it didn't know what they were doing. No way the throttle and governor linkage are going to work. I'll start from scratch with a new Predator engine, just waiting on the cookie jar to refill a bit.
 
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