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minnesota outdoors north

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
i am sure you guys have seen this...
http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/for/4857597921.html so i call him up and say i am interested in looking at your 1920's gravelys... can i come tomorrow, sure he says, your the first caller...i said how did you determain a price...he said you have to start somewhere... you come and look a them and make me an offer, i said alright... i then ask btw how did you come up with the year on these units....i was cleaning out a back yard because the house was being repossessed and a 70 year old man from next door came out and said are you the scrapper??? yes i am and i will be taking these gravelys to the junk yard...the 70 year old man says....i have never seen any tractors like that before and then the scrapper says well then if you are 70 and have not seen them before they have to be from the 1920's or 30's:sidelaugh... that's how it was told to me....so it was a easy drive for me compared to Michigan...i get to the Sparta junkyard and there they sit...looks like the 812 has been out most of it's life but still looks ok and all complete for the most part...has deck and rear hitch and that's a plus...then look at the 430 and it looks like a better candidate for a restore...oil ok, seems to have good compression...i mention to him both units are pretty much for parts only and he knew that...you said to make you an offer so i will make you one but i want this to be fair for the both of us... my offer is 50.00 on the 812 and 100.00 on the 430, so 150.00 plus the deck...he looks at me and says, that will be fine as i got them for free....he then opens up the back of a semi trailer and it is filled with stuff... he says do you want some playboy magazines from the 70's and 80's, i have about 60 of them and i need to get rid of this stuff...10.00 takes them all...i grabbed them and tossed them in the truck......we then winched the units on and away back home i went...enjoy the pics...not sure how old yet but i will get the serial numbers tomorrow...at least i got 2 good engines out of it...
 

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Good deal, Gary. And nice save!
 
Awesome Gary I bet you can make them runners again :thThumbsU You done real good. Maybe too good even :fing32:
 
Man o man Gary. You are in the full throes of a major GAS attack! Nicely done.:fing32:

And a fun story to boot.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
thanks steven, when I got them loaded his friend says he would have let them go for 100.00 for everything...I like getting good deals but I do not like lowballing people too much...one scrapper wants a ton for them and the next wants .16 a pound
 
Gary, if we had one, I would nominate you for the GAS of the Year award! I'm starting to have a hard time keeping up with all the tractors you have brought home. But that's good!

Nice saves from the real scrapper! You may be surprised and wind up with two more runners. Good fun reading too!

Oh, and don't lose the 430's tool tray sitting on the 812's hood. A lot of them have disappeared over time.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
that is just what I thought also but I always ask if you have anything old or unusual that you might want to sell...I always end up with something unique like my unrestored 1972 ridge runner trail boss vintage sled...it always wins 1st or runner at the vintage sled meets...I can put in a pic you like but this is more for the sled forum...btw I have to head out to lk. Waconia for the worlds largest annual sled meet...it is nice only to be 10 miles from that...my sled will not compete this year due to a broken hydro line I have not fixed yet....yes I love antiques...
 
Hey Gary it's your thread. I wouldn't mind seeing your sled if you post a picture. Just sayin'.
 
Gary, no one is going to throw out your photographs. We don't work that way here.

You know, you could always make a post here in this thread with your sleds and if you'd like, I could make a copy of it as a thread in the Snowmobile Forum so you'd get all of that exposure too. It'd be an interesting thread if you're game.
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
ok here is my 1971 ridge runner trail boss...found it stored in a barn up in northern mn. all complete and all original...no restore at all...about 85 hours on it...I bought in 1983 and have all the manuals and sales receipts...the cost was 7400.00 in 1971 paidby the original owner...
they only made these about a 1 1/2 years...it was used by DNR and nsp (northern states power co.) to check high wires in the winter time...this machine can travel on sand, mud. snow, bogs in the winter time...it's top speed with the gears I have in it now is about 18 mph. but the torque and power is unbelievable. it has a 440 jlo engine. it does come
with a winch and blade but that was not ordered at the time of purchase..i have had it on 1/2" of ice and not fallen through due to it's large footprint and weight distribution but I do not recommend this to anyone...I did near the shore... enjoy the pics...also have the model "D" nearby as you can see...my garage is packed and no room to move anything...will get better pics when I get more space and move it around.
 

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