Help valuing a Case 224

Eubee said:

Hey all, I finally found a Case in my area and was wondering if y'all could help me convince myself to buy it. It is a 224 that appears to be in OK shape. It has the 14hp Kohler for an engine, though there is no air filter (!?!). I have not hear it run yet because nobody was there when I stopped to look at it. I am not sure if the blade and chains go with it, but they were behind the tractor and there was no price on them. The price on the tractor was $300. I have pictures of it, but will have to upload in the morning, as they require to be sized down. I'll update in the morning, but I am now headded to work.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Wait, now where was that?

does it have a mower deck? ... is it all beat up?

I'd say if it runs and doesn't have any major problems with it, $300 is a great deal ... just don't even try to start it without an air cleaner of some sort on it!

I picked up my 224 with a 44" deck, snowcaster and a set of NIB chains at an auction for $200 and from everything I've heard, I pretty much stole it ... I think I got really lucky because the only things people at this auction were paying real money for were newer tractors (and anything green and yellow :00000061 - if it was old, regardless of condition, they didn't seem to want to pay anything for it ... which turned out extraordinarily good for me

tell the guy that you need the blade and chains with it for $300 ... I'd even offer him $200 or $250 for it to see if he'll sell it for that ... if he's selling it for $300 he obviously doesn't place much value on it and he might even go for a lower price ... but even if he doesn't, $300 is still a great deal

someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but $300 might even be a good price if it needs some work ... I'm pretty sure you could part it out and still come out ahead by a good amount ... for instance, I'd be happy to buy the blade for good money (if I lived close enough to you to pick it up) ... there are only so many of these 224's left in the world, and those of us that have them and love them are always looking for spare parts for the rare breakdown that may happen ... but if it's in good shape and runs good you'd be doing yourself a major favor by keeping and using it instead of selling it or parting it out

if you can, put up a picture of this 224 - I'd like to see it whether you end up buying it or not

go to www.imageshack.us - you can upload the pictures for free there and it has options to automatically resize them in several different sizes for just this reason

Imageshack needs to be on the favorites list for anyone that ever needs to upload or host photos on the internet ... you can even create a free 'account' with your email address and then you will be able to log in and see every photo you upload there with all of the link information forever ... there's no limit to how many pictures you can put on there and there's no charge for any of it unless you want to donate (which is worth it for what he's providing)

it only takes a few seconds to upload them, and then it will give you a link directly to the hosted picture - then just copy/paste that into the 'insert image' button and you're set

Here are a couple pics. More to come.

More.

Last two.

This is a 1977 224. It is in need of a new seat , a proper battery and unfortunately, someone butchered the hood when they were too cheap to buy the OEM exhaust system and opted for the pepper-pot muffler currently on the tractor. Overall, the tractor looks to be in fair condition for its age and well worth the asking price for what's shown in the pics. If the blade and chains come with the deal, then so much the better. The chains have to worth $25.00 and the blade $100.00 at minimum.

However............ considering the "quality" of care and maintenance shown to this tractor, there will undoubtably be other issues that will need money thrown at. Worn steering parts are common as is worn linkage for the travel control. There are three things to consider here.

One: this tractor is 32 years old

Two: a new one costs about $5000.00 today

Three: you're only paying $300.00

That leaves you with a lot of room dollar-wise to do the repairs this tractor needs so that it performs almost as well as a new one.

Caseguytoo said:

This is a 1977 224. It is in need of a new seat , a proper battery and unfortunately, someone butchered the hood when they were too cheap to buy the OEM exhaust system and opted for the pepper-pot muffler currently on the tractor. Overall, the tractor looks to be in fair condition for its age and well worth the asking price for what's shown in the pics. If the blade and chains come with the deal, then so much the better. The chains have to worth $25.00 and the blade $100.00 at minimum.

However............ considering the "quality" of care and maintenance shown to this tractor, there will undoubtably be other issues that will need money thrown at. Worn steering parts are common as is worn linkage for the travel control. There are three things to consider here.

One: this tractor is 32 years old

Two: a new one costs about $5000.00 today

Three: you're only paying $300.00

That leaves you with a lot of room dollar-wise to do the repairs this tractor needs so that it performs almost as well as a new one.

Click to expand...

:ditto: :ditto: Ya, it is a little rough, and has been a a little butcherd over the years, but as was said, you cant go wrong for the price!! Worse case you can sell the parts for more then that!!

To me, general maintenence stuff (steering, battery, belts, etc.) can be understood to need attention. However, if the general maintenence items were neglected for a long time causing other problems, it is definately something to consider. My worst fear is the engine being scrap with not having that air filter. There is no telling how long it has been gone, unless the seller is one of those rare truth-tellers. I do have an 18HP horizontal shaft V-twin that I could swap in :fing32:, it is just that needing an engine is a big factor of price in my opinion.

You're correct that the engine is a big factor in determining value since a bad engine is about the only "problem" that can cost a lot of money to correct. As others have pointed out there is little risk in paying $300 because you can get that back by parting it out. If the engine were in good condition then the tractor with deck and blade would be worth a minimum of $600 so you'd be starting out with at least $300 to spend on fixing it.

I'm far more familiar with the Onans than the Kohlers but I believe the Kohler can be professionally rebuilt for somewhere around $500-600 and it would then be good for about 3000 hours of service so you can figure a total investment of perhaps $900 for a virtually new tractor--not a bad deal.

I would not recommend swapping the engine for a twin since the engine mounting is totally different and the clutch setup is different--it can be done with enough time and money but it would probably be cheaper to just rebuild the engine.

I agree if the engine doesn't smoke or knock its well worth the money, if it does you can buy it to part out or rebuild, the Kohler K is a good engine.

The rust on the hood is normal due to the paint being burned off which was also normal on these units.

CG2 is right about that exhaust - it should go, hoods can be bought cheaply on ebay or you can restore that one. I never have liked the Case/Ingersoll later model exhaust systems, they were far to complicated - over thought, and they burned the paint, don't be afraid to use your imagination.

Ok, nobody came out again, but I started it up anyways. She smokes a little, but not very much. At idle, I had to stare to see the faint blue tint. When you rev the throttle up and down it smokes a bit more, but I think it would just need a ring job. I want to track down the owner and talk to them tomorrow. I'll let y'all know what I find out.

Thanks for all the input. I would prefer it be a 400 or 600 series, but I have yet to find one (even on the internet) at this kind of price; so I am quite positive I am going to buy it. I do not intend to part it out; at worst I would sell it whole.

Guess that serves me right for procrastinating. I went there with cash in hand, not but 30 minutes ago, and the sign was gone. Someone came outside this time and told me they just sold it about 5 minutes prior to me showing up. Eh, by not buying this one, it allows me more cash for when I find a bigger one. Thanks for all the input.