" Does she have a sister"??? Dang...that's nice. Great find indeed.

 

" Does she have a sister"???

Love that quote!

 

Put a magnet on the tank to find what it is made of. Nice find.

 

Great find, congrats.

If it has a metal tank, it is steel.

Shortly after that tractor was built, they changed to a plastic tank. They can be had on Ebay from time to time.

Sheldon

 

I guess its a nice find depending on how much you "found" it for ya know. lol.

 

I probably overpaid $250.00

 

wow that looks like a very nice machine for the price. good find.

 

Replace the gas tank. Holes in a tank are never a good thing.

 

Acetone / Lacquer Thinner will cut that mung in the gas-tank.

Buy it by the gallon at Lowe's or Home Desperate.


But agree with Richard -tx about finding a better tank.

 

And if you just need a small bit and are about broke look what I found at D.G. yesterday for $1

 

In my experience, Lacquer Thinner will cut that varnish very well. You'll probably have to run through several cycles depending upon how much build up there is in the tank. Acetone will not cut it.

All that said, I'm with Richard --- buy a new tank.

 

I tried MEK it was in it for the trip home from Morgantown,wv to Georgia it did thin it somewhat but there remains big chunks of stuff that I can even get to come out of the gas cap hole.

 

Maybe the OP meant the cap has small holes in it? Seems I have seen those years back. But if it was the tank itself, what would have caused that after being used just four times?

 

No there are small holes around the top part of the tank, none in the bottom?

 

That is quite a find, congrats!! That's a hard circumstance to come by. Looking forward to following along.

 

Paid $250 for my 87 12G with blade and 40 inch deck. Felt I did really good.

I think thats an awesome price since yours looks in better shape! Congrats on the buy and find !

 

Paid $250 for my 87 12G with blade and 40 inch deck. Felt I did really good.

View attachment 2292353
I think thats an awesome price since yours looks in better shape! Congrats on the buy and find !

Steve, that was an awesome price, because a blade in that condition is worth $250.

Sheldon

 

I disconnected the fuel line and added some oil to the top of the cylinder head and let it soak, I then added some gas to the top of the engine and it started right up! The fuel line is clear but don't know if the carb is screwed because of the old gas.

 

Mowed for about 10 minutes with the new old gravely, Everything seems to be in working order, I really like the peddle control, almost hydrostatic like. It is so nice I'm reluctant to use it:tango_face_crying:

 

OMG Is that it? You must have washed and waxed it didnt you? It looks as good as new.
I know NOTHING about Gravely riders and about all I knew about the walk behind ones is how to use them because thats how we made our money as youngsters but I never had to work on them or fix them because they always belonged to the people I was mowing/working for but I know when something looks very nice tho. And that one does.
Great find, ( so to speak LOL!)
That things a beauty!

 

Congratulations!! That is a remarkable find. It looks brand new. Do you intend to run it or show it? Given its time capsule status, you may want to think twice about using it.

 

I'd use it if it was needed. I mean why drag it around when it can be used by him and his kids and who knows who else. That thing prolly has 25 yrs. left in it.

 

There are polarity tables of solvent strength which will help if you have a buddy in a lab. Properties of Organic Solvents
This may help clean the tank. Anyway, Wow, what a time-capsule machine!

 

I read two times on the new that a guy took some nails ( didnt say what kind, prolly small) and put some in his Gravely tank and shook it for several minutes a few times and it looked shiney as can be when he was done.

 

Vinegar is great at cutting crud as well. I saw a boiler mechanic unstick a huge Bell & Gosset circulating pump with it. I have soaked cheesed-up radiator's in it overnight and in the morning the copper shined like a new penny with no lime deposits or whatever it is in there. But its an acid mild but good.

 

The thing about such a purchase that I find exciting is that, no matter how young Modeladay is, that machine could easily be the last mower he has to purchase. Yes, he will have maintenance and may even have to replace the engine at some point, but it could, even should, be going 50 years from now.

Nice!

 

Very true. I purchased my 16G new in 1996. It is still going strong and will no doubt last the rest of my life. I actually said to my wife the day we bought it, "I know its expensive, but it will be the only tractor we will ever need to buy". She laughed then, she believes now.

Sheldon

 

I've said before in other threads that the 1979 model 8163-T I bought a couple of years ago will very likely be my last mower purchase, and I'm 53.

With some of the replacement engine threads I've seen on here lately, there are great options for folks to repower if needed (not that I'm looking to replace my Onan!).

 

I wouldnt be so rough on Fireant because Im sure he didnt mean to offend anyone.
My take is is that there are people like me who has and keeps very little private as this is a Tractor forum and I dont mine one bit about saying how much I paid for something concerning a GRAVELY as I think I said on my very first post that I paid $300 for mine. Im just the type that dont feel things like that are such a big heart felt deal as we are talking about a Tractor.
Then there are the type of people that are more private and secretive, just two diff types of people but I just wear my life on my shirt sleeve with stuff that isnt that important like the price of a tractor of all things.
I know the young man didnt mean to insult or offend anyone as he seems to be a great kid.
Just my two cents, thought I had to say something.
And if I offended anyone I guess thats just to bad. ( exept for moderators of course)

 

Fireant's post was directed at me. Hes has openly criticized me on other threads for talking about how much I paid for my tractor when I bought it new 22 years ago.

Sheldon

 

Congrats on a sweet buy.

 

Same here, may as well be brand new

 

I was happy to get at the price paid but I was also part of the people involved in the inheritance and others walk away with similar deals. We try to treat each other fairly and everyone was happy. Also keep in mind that I requested the item be sold to me years ago long before anyone else. As for using it? well i'm 65 years old with a small farm and it will come in handy. I do have a zero turn but it still gets long in the day cutting the 3 acres just around the house. with this machine the wife said from time to time she would help with the grass and with two of us at it it will go a lot faster. Beside if I don't use someone else in the near future will benefit from it and it might as well be me:- ) Selling will never be an option as it is a part of the family, my uncle's pride and joy. It's hard for me to believe the anyone would pay $6500 for a mower in 1990! Especially my uncle who was far from rich. I do know he told his wife he paid $1000.00 for it and she thought that was a stupid amount to pay for a mower! What is that in today's currency?

It must be and is a **** of a machine!

 

At the risk of irritating Fireant even more, I assure you that tractor was in the $6,000 range in 1990. In fact I have a copy of the 1989 dealer price list:

12G tractor only - $5,019.00
40" mower deck - $990.00

Any other accessories or attachments and you easily get to my original guess from memory of $6,500. Chains and a snow plow would have been another $550, and that nice basket was $47.

In 1996, I purchased this slightly fancier 16G with a hydraulic lift, the larger 50" deck, snow plow and a cart.

The next spring I purchased the bagger/vacuum system you see in the picture. The combined amount of the two purchases exceeded $10,000.

The picture above was taken just a few years ago, my tractor now has about 800 hours on the meter and still looks pretty new when all cleaned up. It has never been repainted, only a few minor things have been touched up.

Sheldon

 

Still a great tractor no matter how you got it. Most do not know or care what these old machines are capable of. They just see old equipment and want no part of it.

 

WOW! Heck of a "find".

 

Gerrard,

A few samples from the 1970 factory branch retail price list:

Custom Convertible w/swiftomatic 8 transmission - $565.80

Super Convertible w/swiftomatic 8 transmission - $687.00

Commercial 12 swiftomatic 8 - $901.00

30" rotary mower - $143.35

424 Riding Tractor 10hp - $1,130.00

432 Riding Tractor 14hp - $1,315.00

450 Riding Tractor 16hp - $1,753.00

50" mid mount mower deck - $265.05

And to compare, in 1969 my father bought a new car, a Checker Marathon station wagon, V8, PS, PB, auto transmission - sticker price $3,850, his delivered price $3,450

Two years later he bought a GRAVELY 812, not sure what he paid, but likely similar to the 450 listed above.

The year after I bought my tractor, I bought a nice new car, 1997 Crown Victoria with the high performance package - it was $23,500 on the road.

Yes, GRAVELY tractors have always been expensive - contrary to what some say, very often you do get exactly what you pay for.........

Sheldon