[Ford-ferguson] Diamonds in the rough? 202

[Mike Sloane]

Hal wrote:
> 1300 feet is quite a bit of ditching to do.  I suppose that after fixing the 
> backhoe and then doing the digging, you would get your money and parts cost 
> back.   Maybe not your labor but you would have the ditch done.
It's more like 1700 feet, but the job is cleaning out sediment, fallen 
trees, and weeds, not digging. The ditch/brook runs through wetlands, so 
I would have to wait for a long dry spell before I dare go in there.
> 
> Does make me wonder though that the engine turned over so easily - about 
> like there is no pistons in it.  Especially after setting for 
> soo.........oooo long.  That part does not make sense at all.  I would pull 
> a plug and then turn the engine and see if any air comes out.
I was thinking about taking a spare battery and an oil can up there and 
doing a quick compression test.

>  Were you able 
> to pull it thru all 4 pistons?
I didn't get that far - the mosquitoes were out in force - the bucket 
was full of water, and I suspect breeding mosquitoes by the thousand. 
But the fact that it was holding water means that the bottom isn't 
ripped out of it. :-)
> 
> Sometimes stolen property is parked in the woods but since she is selling 
> it, I doubt that.  Did her husband or person that had it die or something 
> like that?  Especially odd with no oil on the dipstick.
I wrote that in error; there is old black oil, right to the fill mark, 
but no water. The property was a farm, but after the old man died, the 
widow and kids turned the front part along the road into a golf driving 
range and let the rest go fallow. I suspect that the backhoe was used to 
set the poles that hold up the nets and lighting for the driving range, 
and when that was done, they just parked the tractor. there are a bunch 
of implements in the same field as the backhoe, but I didn't even look 
at them - the yellow jackets had made homes in all the machinery.
> 
> The whole deal depends on what these Case's are worth when running.  Maybe 
> $2,000 or so.  Whatever it is, gives a guy a good idea of where he is 
> heading if he buys it.  How about for junk parts value?   What year mfg. is 
> it?
My friend is buying the Case - he is just looking for a working machine, 
or at least one that can be made to work with little effort. Around 
here, it is pretty hard to find a working backhoe/loader tractor for 
less than about $4000.
> 
> 
> Another project.  Do you need it?  I have more than I know what to do 
> including a neighbors MGB in the shop.
No, I don't need another project, but a backhoe/loader is a handy thing 
to have around...

Mike
> 
> Hal
>