Finally had a chance to make some progress on this unit. I started by removing the trac vac. I was kind of surprised to find I only needed to remove 3 bolts and it was completely off.
Then I decided to install my xtreme receiver hitch. I had this on my 1641 prior to mounting the cat 0. I had cut the bottom of the back plate off for the hitch and kept it "just in case". Im glad I did because its now on the 1864. I had also mounted some handy tie down loops to it for when I go mow my other lawns.
I also noticed the deck hanger on the left side was missing the pin and had fallen out, allowing the left side of the deck to sit considerably lower than the right. A mew pin was all that needed. Still need to patch up the deck, get a pto belt, and maybe find some new gauge wheels. Also need to see why the choke cable is seized up. Didn't get a lot done today but I was just happy to make some progress