While doing my usual pa-rousing of Craigslist on a lazy Saturday afternoon at work, I stumbled across a freshly listed 682 with a 54" IH Blade, 44" Deck, and extra set of tires filled with liquid and nice chains for $600 about an hour away. The tractor was listed as "moving, need gone asap. No reasonable offer refused". Not to waste any time, I texted the guy and after he sent me a few pics I asked for, I offered him $400. He said $450, and with that, right after work, we were on our way.
Got up there about an hour later and took a closer look. Here's what I found.
The good:
IH Built before MTD buyout
Runs smooth, no smoke or odd noises
Repainted by the PO
Panels (except hood) are in great shape under the paint, no dents, etc
Spring assist
The bad:
The PO brush painted it (looks fine from about 8ft or so but up close...ugh)
Fuel pump went bad so rather than replace with proper replacement, guy put on some weird setup (see pics)
Runs smooth, no smoke or odd noises - with choke most of the way out
Missing hydro set-speed control on dash (no biggie)
While it runs smooth, I believe it to be a Series I :-/
Missing left hand side (from drivers seat) engine shroud
So, after giving it a thorough looking over and taking it for a ride, I confronted the guy about it, and what I saw as negatives. I told him in the shape it's in (odd fuel pump, brush painted, etc) I would be a buyer at $350. He said he'd be happy to take it.
Got it home last night, pulled it off the truck and took it for a spin; instantly I knew this was a keeper for me, it was one of my top 3 machines to have. I have already ordered a replacement fuel pump, carb rebuild kit, and picked up some carb cleaner, fuel line, Hy-Tran, and filter. This coming weekend I'm going to pull the carb, rebuild it, change tranny fluid and filter, engine oil, and give a good looking over. I've already posted in the Wanted Section for a used Shroud so hopefully I find one sooner rather than later.
One question, though: should I be worried about this Series I engine? Like I said, it doesn't smoke and runs and sounds smooth as silk but I hear a lot of horror stories about them blowing up. I don't plan on using it on hills as I have a flat yard, so my gut tells me with regular maintenance I'll be ok, but what do you guys think?
Anyway, on to the pics!!
