I joined the Gravely ranks last July with my purchase of two, non-running machines. A short time later, these two Gravelys were once again stroking! I have used the heck of these machines and other than experiencing some issues with the design/integrity of the mowing decks, I have been EXTREMELY pleased.
My wife is currently in Denver, CO and, in her absence, she granted me permission to get another project machine – isn’t she great! ANY Gravely is a rarity here and although I peruse Craigslist every day, there is not much to see – occasionally a machine will pop up but usually is accompanied by a ridiculous price. Crap, there is currently an old, rough looking L for sale for a modest price of $2,500…
Since I was a bachelor this weekend, I ventured to my brother’s home as we do not get to see much of one another. I was explaining the difficulty of finding any Gravelys and he automatically went to Facebook – it is time to interject that I am probably one of the 50 remaining Americans that do not have a Facebook account. He pulled up several Gravelys for sale – most of which I quickly dismissed since I prefer the older, Gravely powered units rather than the newer Kohler-powered units (I love the simplicity of the old models). However, there was one unit that grabbed my attention – it was listed as a 1954 model but I clearly saw from the one photograph that it was not… anyway, it was listed five weeks ago and certainly would have already been sold. I jotted down the number just in case and went back to my homestead later in the evening.
With some trepidation, I went ahead a called the number and left a message on the answering machine. The next afternoon, I received a call back and, YES, the machine was still available. I texted my wife to get permission and I drove the 107 miles to see this machine. Based on all of the great guidance I have received here on MyTractorForum, I quickly determined that this HAD to be a late 60’s or ealy 70’s model rather than a 1954 model – just as I suspected from the one small photograph in the ad. I shared and explained these attributes to the then owner (I certainly want to be honest!). I asked him to start it and I quickly placed it in high/low forward/reverse and said, YES, I want it. I paid his asking price with NO haggling as I saw this as a really good deal – all the original decals and locals were in place and everything appeared to be original EXCEPT for a brand NEW Pierce governor!!!
We loaded the machine, 30” mower deck, and sulky in my truck and I started the two-hour drive back home. Now, rather than claiming that I own a couple of old Gravelys, I can almost boastfully state that I own a FEW Gravelys! Granted, having three Gravelys in my possession is nothing compared to many of you folks here but it is a start!!! I looked up the serial number and confirmed the era in which it was manufactured - a 1973 C1 Super Convertible model. This brings up a question about this nomenclature… the serial number confirms it is a 1973 model and an aluminum tag on the axle housing bolt clearly states ‘model C1’ not ‘CI’ (I looked closely three times). Regardless, is this the intermediate speed model?
Based on my earlier experiences there are a couple of projects that I will tackle right off the bat: 1). sump and oil screen cleaning and 2). removal of fan housing to clean the back side of the cylinder cooling fins. Oddly, the hood's sheet metal has holes towards the front. Was this due to fumes from the battery? The battery theory does not make logical sense to me but I have no other idea what would cause holes to form in this area. Does anyone have a guess to what would cause this?
Here is my new machine!
My wife is currently in Denver, CO and, in her absence, she granted me permission to get another project machine – isn’t she great! ANY Gravely is a rarity here and although I peruse Craigslist every day, there is not much to see – occasionally a machine will pop up but usually is accompanied by a ridiculous price. Crap, there is currently an old, rough looking L for sale for a modest price of $2,500…
Since I was a bachelor this weekend, I ventured to my brother’s home as we do not get to see much of one another. I was explaining the difficulty of finding any Gravelys and he automatically went to Facebook – it is time to interject that I am probably one of the 50 remaining Americans that do not have a Facebook account. He pulled up several Gravelys for sale – most of which I quickly dismissed since I prefer the older, Gravely powered units rather than the newer Kohler-powered units (I love the simplicity of the old models). However, there was one unit that grabbed my attention – it was listed as a 1954 model but I clearly saw from the one photograph that it was not… anyway, it was listed five weeks ago and certainly would have already been sold. I jotted down the number just in case and went back to my homestead later in the evening.
With some trepidation, I went ahead a called the number and left a message on the answering machine. The next afternoon, I received a call back and, YES, the machine was still available. I texted my wife to get permission and I drove the 107 miles to see this machine. Based on all of the great guidance I have received here on MyTractorForum, I quickly determined that this HAD to be a late 60’s or ealy 70’s model rather than a 1954 model – just as I suspected from the one small photograph in the ad. I shared and explained these attributes to the then owner (I certainly want to be honest!). I asked him to start it and I quickly placed it in high/low forward/reverse and said, YES, I want it. I paid his asking price with NO haggling as I saw this as a really good deal – all the original decals and locals were in place and everything appeared to be original EXCEPT for a brand NEW Pierce governor!!!
We loaded the machine, 30” mower deck, and sulky in my truck and I started the two-hour drive back home. Now, rather than claiming that I own a couple of old Gravelys, I can almost boastfully state that I own a FEW Gravelys! Granted, having three Gravelys in my possession is nothing compared to many of you folks here but it is a start!!! I looked up the serial number and confirmed the era in which it was manufactured - a 1973 C1 Super Convertible model. This brings up a question about this nomenclature… the serial number confirms it is a 1973 model and an aluminum tag on the axle housing bolt clearly states ‘model C1’ not ‘CI’ (I looked closely three times). Regardless, is this the intermediate speed model?
Based on my earlier experiences there are a couple of projects that I will tackle right off the bat: 1). sump and oil screen cleaning and 2). removal of fan housing to clean the back side of the cylinder cooling fins. Oddly, the hood's sheet metal has holes towards the front. Was this due to fumes from the battery? The battery theory does not make logical sense to me but I have no other idea what would cause holes to form in this area. Does anyone have a guess to what would cause this?
Here is my new machine!