The final IH made 982 was serial number 688712.

The final 782, and also final IH made Cub Cadet was serial number 694248. The CCC era began at serial number 700000 and up.

Minus the introduction of the al rear end.

Yeah that's no drama, I used the gentleman on Ebay to swap a set of mine on my 149 and the service was outstanding. Hopefully, that's all it is though, and not something else I couldn't see under all that spewing Hytran.

The hydro being so out of adjustment is annoying though.

That's a bare bones 982 looking at the pic. That will have the Maintenance Minder hour meter, but there is no way of telling how many times it was rolled around. 444 hours is only 20 hours of use a year, but I guess that's possible. It should also have the CI rear with aluminum axle tubes.

The rear cat 0 lift will cost another $400-$600 to add on and another $500-$700 for the rear PTO. Cat 0/2000 RPM implements are hard to find too.

There are several good Onan parts sources out there.
https://onanparts.com/
http://boomersonanparts.com/
Gary's Place in Hope MI

But hey, it's an IH built 982.:beerchug:

That is covered in the Service Manual and can easily be adjusted.

What if I wanted the split brake pedals too? (Why the heck would a garden tractor need dual brakes?)

They're for steering and traction control but I don't really use mine for that. They were optional on the IH built 982's but can be added also.

No I understand what they're technically for, I just can't fathom a situation a garden tractor would need brake steering for. I guess when you have the little one bottom plow on it, but other than that probably nothing else.

Yeah it's bare bones. I'm still gonna get it cause like you said, IH built CC and I'll after-market the 3-pt and PTO once I find an actual implement for it. Should only need the valves replaced and a new paint job. But that's the lie we all tell ourselves getting into a new project.

I guess the steering brakes would work good when pushing snow and you lose traction, I just got my super last year and always forget about that option when pushing snow. Maybe this winter I'll try to remember to check that out. ( last winter the brakes did nothing but kick it into neutral) I adjusted them this past fall, so maybe they'll work a little better this winter. :):):)

Not that anyone asked, but here's the pictures I took checking it out. Not too rough, really.