Restored 147 - thinking about selling

greener14519 · #1 01-10-2016, 04:14 AM

Hi all. It's been forever since I posted to the forum. A few years back I restored a nice 147 with a 38" deck and electric deck lift. Even have the original hub caps. I mowed a couple acres with it for a couple of summers in New York. Well, two years ago my wife and I moved to Houston and we live in a condo so I put the machine in my storage unit. It doesn't look like I'll be buying property any time soon and it seems a shame to just let it sit. But, I have no idea what it's worth either. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I've included a pre-restore photo to show wheel covers. Obviously, the tires are not original.
Thanks!
Joe

greener14519 · #2 01-10-2016, 04:15 AM

For some reason I can only post one pic at a time.

greener14519 · #3 01-10-2016, 04:17 AM

Here's a pic of the deck.

greener14519 · #4 01-10-2016, 04:20 AM

Here is how it looked before I started. I guess I should have said that this thing is mechanically perfect. You can see that I never got the decals for it and I did add LED lighting.

Yosemite Sam · #5 01-10-2016, 12:34 PM

Well finally, someone who is upfront and honest about their intentions, as opposed to a bunch of cloak and dagger BS posts before we find out that they think their "ultra rare" broken down POS, cobbled together 1XX tractor is worth $5000.00

I believe that Cub Cadets are a little hard to find in Texas making it a little more valuable there, it's also possible that Cub Cadet enthusiasts in Texas may be a little rare too, which may make selling it a little more difficult.

You do have a very nice looking 147 there although I may be a little biased because I think 147's are cool as "heck" (although not my favorite Cub to use).

You however, haven't told us what mechanical work was done to your 147, and I personally don't believe a Cub Cadet has been "restored" unless the engine was completely rebuilt among other things (restored to me, means showroom condition and nothing less).

I also don't know that the hub caps that you have are original to your 147 (I may be wrong). If they are nice and were cleaned up well, they could be worth GOOD money on ebay (maybe $250.00).

I'm guessing the value of the tractor and mower deck to be about $500.00 you may be able to hold out for As much as $750.00 but will probably have to wait awhile for the right buyer to come along.

If the tractor isn't really eating anything, and you don't need the money, I would clean the tractor and mower deck well, drain and clean the fuel system, remove the battery and let it set. It will be worth more and be easier to sell in 20 years.

greener14519 · #6 01-10-2016, 01:30 PM

Thank you Mr. Sam. I really appreciate the feedback. You make a very good point about the restoration. I may be using the wrong word when I say "restore". As you can see from the last picture, the machine wasn't in bad shape. It just suffered from a bit of surface rust. I stripped it down, sandblasted it and painted it.
As for the engine, it runs like a top. I have rebuilt dozens, if not hundreds of engines, but never touched this one other than to degrease it and paint it. I don't know how many hours are on this machine but based on the minimal wear, I suspect not many. If the engine burns any oil, it's not enough to measure between oil changes. It fires and runs with lots of torque and no troubles whatsoever. I've seen several posts from folks who mentioned that after a rebuild, their Kohler engine developed a knock. There's no way I would open this engine up until it demonstrated a problem. If it leaks oil, it's only enough to moisten the the oil pan lip.
I got this machine for little more than a song. The club that owned it was pouring hydraulic fluid in it as fast as it would pour out. I discovered that the rag joint had come apart and had ripped open a small slice in the hydro filter. A new rag joint, a filter and some Cub oil and this thing rips! So that's why I decided to "restore" it. At that time, I also had a new RZT 50 for mowing so this was just for fun. It turned out to be so much fun that I started mowing with the 147 instead of the RZT. And it came in extra handy when the newer Cub blew a hydro unit.
As for the hubcaps, I'm pretty certain they came on this machine from new. But they are fairly pitted up and would require a new layer of chrome to be perfect. They can clean up enough to look great at 20 feet.
I really appreciate the price suggestions. That's really what I'm looking for. I've kept my eyes on the local craigslist ads. There are very few of these older Cubs here in Houston. I found a couple at lawnmower shops along the highways and they typically want an absolute fortune for units that are nowhere near this condition. I'm talking $1500 and up.
Thanks again for your feedback. If anyone has suggestions on how to attain the highest selling price for this machine I would appreciate them. Otherwise I will take Sam's advice and keep it in storage. It's not costing me a thing to hold onto it.