I have bought, refurbished and resold a couple of tractors, several motorcycles and other odds and ends.

Lost my shirt on every one of them. WAY more cash invested than returned, to say nothing of my time. In most cases, I thoroughly enjoyed the process and wrote it off to "recreation".

I've always thought it'd be fun to have a small dozer. For the 2 people on the planet that aren't already aware of it, a dozer is a bigger money pit than a boat. Worse even than horses. We're talking nuclear money incinerator.

One of my semi-imaginary friends (actually met him in person once at a tractor show, talked on the phone several times) has an old John Deere 420C crawler/dozer he'll let me have VERY reasonably. Needs some transmission work, but runs and moves as is.

I've been working quite diligently at talking myself out of it (gotta drop the tracks, final drives and clutch packs to get at the tranny) and it's 350 miles away. I actually said I'd pass a couple of days ago, but he came back with a counter-offer that has me back on the hook. He's 84 and knows he'll never fix it, figures some money is better than none.

In a last ditch attempt to talk myself out of it, I ran it by SWMBO figuring she'd have a minor fit about it. Nope. Just "It's your money" as I can pay for it out of my side job cookie jar.

Damn. I'm seeing a road trip in my near future...

Good luck to you!

I'm not even going to try and point out any drawbacks to your plan. I think we've all been where you are spiritually.

My current project is a Jeep Wrangler that I keep telling myself I'd break even on if I sold it now.

Look at is a part project, party charity in unexpected areas helping out the ol' man and his heirs.

Looking forward to pics later this week.

There’s maybe only one thing in the world more fun for males than pushing stuff around with a dozer. Just sayin’

I don’t buy “projects” for the same reason I don’t buy sale barn cattle....because I know why I carry grown cows to the sale barn....

LOL. Enjoy playing with your new toy .


Several years ago Dad, my daughter and I went on a road trip to pick up a JD 420 that needed "some" work in Idaho. Dad was grinning the whole way back home just thinking of what he would do with it. I'm pretty sure that "some" ended up being a lot more than he anticipated. I think it was a year or so later he traded it for a tractor and/or some stationary engines and was happy to see it go. Regardless, working on old machinery in the summer and clocks in the winter is something that he enjoys. I think it helps keep him mentally and physically fit. As long as he's able to do it (safely), more power to him.


I've got my eye (and so does my daughter) on his JD BO - when I have the appropriate place for that, I'm pretty sure that will be coming home with me.

ANd here I was thinking about doing the same with vintage receivers.

It'll be more a hobby than a money recouper.

We had a 50’s or 60’s era forklift that was somehow acquired at work. It technically ran under its own power when we got it. We the. spent months calling folks out to repair one thing after another. We would replace one hose and the next one along the line would blow. Most of the repair calls cost probably half what we figured it might sell for. Then it blew one of the head studs off and erupted in a big smoke cloud. Turns out we were wrong. No one would even buy it! Ended up selling it for the scrap value.

What you have to ask yourself is this: do you actually want a tool you can use after some work, or not? You KNOW there is more that will break or go wrong in short order, even if you fix the obvious problems. If you don’t mind having it crap out every so often, fine. If you actually want to use the thing, how pissed are you going to be if it dies in the middle of some work and you have to rent something else to finish the job? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it will work some of the time, but if you really use this thing, it is going to keep breaking, and never when it is convenient.

Now, if you really do just want to flip it...you aren’t going to make any money and you know it. Admit that this is a hobby and that you are spending money to have fun. That should make it easier to figure out how much you are willing to spend on playing with it, and when you hit a point where a repair would cost too much and isn’t worth the fun anymore.

Of course, you know all of this already. I’m not telling you anything new. Still, sometimes it helps to hear someone else say it.

Sounds like tractors are like the feral old sports cars that have a way of following me home!

You are a wise man, sadlerbw. I just got off the phone with him and plan to head down Sunday morning and pick it up.

This is just for my own entertainment, I have no illusions about making money with it. If I can do a little cleaning up around here, leveling some rough spots in the pasture, cleaning up along a drainage ditch, grubbing out a couple of stumps, I'll be happy.

If it stays together, grandson has some projects for it as well. In fact, he'll probably wind up with it in the long term.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
ANd here I was thinking about doing the same with vintage receivers.

It'll be more a hobby than a money recouper.

Google Catalin table radio on ebay. That is where the $$$$ is....assuming you can find one cheap.

I run a dozer nearly every day. You will LOVE it.

I can empathize with you on this PHPaul. I bought a 2nd vehicle to drive back/forth to work & to save miles and wear & tear on my primary vehicle a few months ago.

I bought the vehicle for $2,000 and have since put at least $1,500 and between 80 and 120 hours of my time into it. Before I bought the vehicle I couldn't find one of similar condition to what I have now for less than $3,500.

I've since decided I'm tired of working on it and don't like driving it so I listed it on Craigslist for $4,000 thinking I would have someone try and talk me down to $3,500 (which I would take,) but I've not had 1 legitimate request from anyone in 2.5 weeks since listing it. As of now I'll keep driving it and try and list it on other places other than CL.

Best of luck to you. I've seen enough of my buddies do this that it has cured me of ever wanting to.
I watch them piddle with the project a couple times a year and see the space its taking up and the time. Its not for me I'm quite sure never will be. I really don't like those kind of hobby projects, got enough to do around the house.

You already know the answer, but like your wife said, "it's your money."
Helped my uncle rebuild a 350 crawler 20ish years ago. Replaced final drives and clutches and it ran like a champ. Pushed a couple of small 6-7'ponds out of the gumbo on his land. Lots of fun and built like a tank.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
...

If it stays together, grandson has some projects for it as well. In fact, he'll probably wind up with it in the long term .

HA. On day it will be delivered back to you with granddaughter-in-law riding shotgun.

Here you go.



But I guess it gets you away from SWMBO, so it's money well spent maybe...?

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Here you go.



But I guess it gets you away from SWMBO, so it's money well spent maybe...?

Yeah, that about sums it up. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a glutton for punishment.

Should run with a tuneup, trans needs work (probably a bearing) and left front idler wheel needs some attention, flopping around a bit. Hopefully bearing, maybe shaft. Have all the tin except one battery box cover. Serial number dates it as a 1957 model.

I wish I had one of those. No idea what I would do with it, but it looks like something I need.