Completed a series today! (Basically)

[J-Mech]

I actually never set out to have a complete series. And if you want to be really technical, I still haven't. But for my purpose, it is complete. My brother found a 782 behind the maintenance shed at his new job. (He us a worship pastor.) Long story short, maintenance guy saw him eyeing it and offered it to him. Said it was given to the church, but they really had no use for it. He had used it to tote lawn carts and such for a while, but got tired of it taking up room with in the building, so he parked it outside the prior fall. The guy offered it to my brother and he took it. I had done some work of my bro's van and motorcycle so he gave it to me for helping him out.

Anyway... I got it home today. Me and my buddy got it running if a few minutes. Charged the low battery, and flushed the water out of the fuel tank. Fired right up! It needs some attention. Mostly adjustments, and an oil change. Rear end actually looks like new oil, and smells like hy-tran. It has a KT Series II replacement engine. Hour meter shows 900 hours. Seems legit. Plan is to put a 50" deck on it and kill grass.

This is a late CCC built 782. I now have a 582, 682, 782 and a 982. Two are CCC, two are IH built. Maybe someday I can find two IH's to replace the two CCC tractors. Not sure if I want a 482. I had passed on one some time back, even though they were listed as GT's. So although I don't have a 1,2,3 or482... I'm going to say I have the 82 GT series completed.

Sorry for only 1 pic. Storm was coming, so we didn't have a lot of time.

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[J-Mech]

I just looked up the SN. Looks like it is a fairly early aluminum rear tractor. AL started at 719,000. Looks like this one was born in 1983.

[Redblower]

Looks nice Jonathan, looks like your mechanic has it under control...

[zippy1]

Good for you Jon.
I think my 782 was/is also an early CCC. Now you've got me thinking, and will have to check.
Did you get a deck with it? I know you said your plan was to put a 50" deck under it, just didn't know if it was with it or not.

[J-Mech]

Thanks Todd! It didn't come with any attachments. I'm going to use the 50" deck that I was using on the 1050.... that I got with the 1650 that I never have gotten around to fixing.

[IHCubCadet147]

Nice score!

[J-Mech]

Changed the oil in it today. It was over full. That's the part I'm not sure of. Was it over filled? Or is the fuel pump leaking? I'll know tomorrow I guess.

All in all, this thing looks kind of rough, but I think it's pretty solid. Not much play in the steering, no engine, rear end, or even hydraulic leaks. Runs smooth, but rich... I can fix that... and it's missing some bolts. Pretty minor stuff. I hope to get a deck on it in a day or two.

Thanks guys!

[J-Mech]

Well, I actually did it! I finished something! Ok... so you'll find out in a few that it isn't "done", but I spent the better part of the day working on the old girl, and I cut some grass with it! I think this tractor may indeed be one of my better acquisitions. The list of things I found wrong were pretty minor, but time consuming.

The hydro lever wouldn't go into full reverse, and was very stiff. Pulled the tunnel cover and blew all the crud off the swashplate and linkage. Then oiled the linkage. Works perfect now!

The front end steered completely to the left, but barely to the right. Pulled the drag link and readjusted it to center. Now it turns equal distance. While I was there, I checked the toe-in. It was spot on at around 1/4".

Next up was the engine plate. When I was changing the oil, I noticed that the engine plate only had 1 bolt holding it in!! How does that even happen?? So, we got it lined up, and all 6 bolts installed.

Then there was the missing Frankenstein bolts. Luckily, I have two bare frames laying in a pile with 3 Frankenstein bolts between them. Pulled them off and installed them. Why on earth would anyone remove those anyway?? On that same note it was also missing the cam stop for the deck height. I robbed the one from the 1050 because I only put it on that tractor when mowing with it. For garden tillage, which is was that tractor is set up for and I want to use it for solely, I don't use it on there anyway.

The throttle linkage for some unknown reason had the spring for the grille attached to it. Luckily, it was working against the governor spring. No idea in hell why anyone would attach it there. It was missing the grille and I guess that spring needed to be hooked somewhere. The tractor didn't idle well at all, and the throttle lever would only go up about 3/4 of the way then it hit the high idle stop. As a note here, the tractor has had the engine replaced with a KTII short block. My bet is that that is why the plate bolts were missing and the throttle all jacked up. No one knew how to set it up. I adjusted the carb, set the low idle. Moved the governor spring to the correct hole on the lever, then got out the photo tach and set the high idle. Dialed it in at around 3725 RPM and ran out of dash lever movement. Good enough!

While working on the carb, noticed that the PTO clutch brake was loose and you could spin the PTO. Adjusted it by sight. Might need to look at it again. Didn't have any feeler gauges handy, and when it is off, it has a slight ring to it like the rotor is still rubbing the clutch. Might not worry about it either, it will quiet down on it's own.

Adjusted the hood hinges and fixed the hood prop lock. It was mangled. While I was at it, I went in and grabbed the grille for the 1050. I'd had a belt shred while mowing with it last year and totally wipe out the springs that held it on. Nothing left of one. The other I kept, but it was bent up bad. So, now I had two springs, and a grille I wasn't using. Figured the 782 would look a lot better complete, so I put it on.

Greased the tractor and oiled the linkages.

Checked the fuses. They both had 30A fuses in them. Oops. Too big. Threw a 20 in one and a 10 in the other because I couldn't remember off the top of my head which fuse was which, and what they were supposed to have. I think 15A is the correct answer. More on that later......

Wires dangling all over the place for the lights. One of the terminals on the one of the headlights was broke off where it is soldered on. None of the lights worked. Fixed the broken wires on the rear lights, and replaced one bulb. Now they both work. Soldered the terminal back to the one headlight and it worked. Other is burnt out. Have to get another one later. When I do, the wire clip that holds it in has been lost and someone put a wire on to hold it in. I might add, they actually did a pretty decent job making it too, as it pretty much looks like the spring does, lol. I give them an "A" for effort and ingenuity, lol.

Cleaned off the 50" deck that needs new blades. It's the one I got with the 1650 that I haven't got running yet. You might all remember me putting it on the 1050 earlier this year.

Took the cracked fuel tank cap off and put on a brand new one I bought for a JD317 that didn't work. Yeah.... I know. But it fits. It will do until I buy the correct cap.

Hooked up the clutch safety start switch that had been bypassed, and it worked! Fixed a wiring "issue" with the seat switch, and I will leave it at that.

Tapped the tunnel cover bolt holes to 1/4" because someone moved it forward and drilled new holes.... no idea why..... now it's mounted correctly again.

Oh, and my helper took the bracket off the right floor board. I honestly haven't ever seen one that I can recall. I *think* it is to hold a chute control rod for a snowblower. When I get a chance, I'm going to comb my CPE parts book and see what it was for.

OK!!! I think it's ready to kill some grass! Started it up, let it warm up and headed out.

I went 3' after kicking on the deck and it just died. Ok.......

PTO wouldn't click and the lights wouldn't come on. Electrical problem. Test light and a couple minutes later..... remember that 10A fuse I put in? Yeah.... that's too small. New 20A fuse and it was running again! Should have .......

I ran it low on gas and had to run to town for some more. Filled up the tank and made a phone call. Went to start it and it was flooded like you dumped gas straight into the carb. Someone had installed a fuel shut off valve on the top of the engine, and I wondered why. Guess it needs a needle valve and seat. Oh well, I have a pile of carb kits on the shelf. I will get one in it and replace that shut off valve with a fuel filter.

So.... it needs a light, a light wire clip and a carb kit. I noticed one of the hydro check valves just slightly weeping also before I put the tunnel cover back on. I'll not worry about it until it leaks worse, or I get a chance to send some off for exchange. It is also missing the tins that go around the muffler. I have several extra's but it's a lot of work to put them on and I wasn't in the mood. Plus, the ones I have likely need welded and repaired before installation anyway. Good job for this winter. Oh, it needs a new set too. Just like every single one of my tractors. At $100 a pop, I need to start replacing them!

IT RAN GREAT!! Mowed about 2 or 3 hours and then a storm came and I had to stop. Would have finished the yard otherwise. I am just ecstatic! I haven't had a dedicated grass killer tractor since I "retired" the 1811 from mowing. (It still runs BTW. In storage with the cab on it for blowing snow, and in bad need of some work. I "retired" it until I could rebuild it. It was my first really nice tractor and I don't want to run it into the ground.)

Here are some pics of the day. Not many.... but enough, lol.


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[Redblower]

Looks good Jon! the grill really help the aesthetics, sounds like a lot of uh, crazy engineering went on before you got it and you got it straightened out.

That bracket your senior mechanic removed looks just like the one used for my H42 blower, since mine is really a dedicated snow eater I leave it on all year, and actually made another shorter one for the other side, they are where the front of my cab pin on.

[J-Mech]

Get hanks Vic. I was pretty sure it was a bracket for a snow thrower. Good to know someone has seen one before!

[zippy1]

Darn it Jon, sounds like you and your young helper had a busy day.
Really enjoy reading your "little" stories...
Ain't that somethin', how a used tractor, just makes one scratch their head, and think, "now, what was the reason behind that?" Never fails...
Glad to see, you've got a dedicated "grass killer" machine. It sucks having to switch out attachments.
If you "need" more, load up the fuel tank on the truck, hook up your trailer, and head north. I've got a few you could add to your "fleet."

[J-Mech]

Todd, how the heck is your summer going? I don't know about you, but I'm growing tired of the heat! Miserable here with high humidity. I don't want to complain about how hot it is because I hate winter more. At least it's light for over 12 hours a day!

Thanks for sitting through my long winded story, lol. I like telling them! It is nice to have a dedicated grass killer. Since it is proving reliable, it may graduate to being used on all the mowing jobs for a while. Takes too long to get done using the little JD lt that we were supplied, lol.

I hope someday to make a trip to Gillette, Wisconsin and shake your hand buddy! But I'm not sure I want to take any tractors off your hands. What would you do then? If you don't have a project, none of us would have anything to read about on here during the winter when you rebuild one for our pleasure!!! Lol! I need to call you Todd. It's been too long!

[zippy1]

Oh, Jon, my summer is going just fine. If anything, it's going WAY to fast.
Todd don't care for the extreme heat, and humidity we've been having, "but" I like's it WAY better than the snow and cold, that's just around the corner. We all know, Todd hates the winter months.
Yeah, it would be nice if you could one day make the trip to "Gillett". Ain't much to see, as far as a tourist standpoint. But I'm pretty sure we could find something to spike you're interest...
Hee/hee, there really isn't anything in my "collection" that needs tending too. Except, they actually need to be used, not just sitting in the shed. Even had thoughts, of trying to sell my Original. Ain't going to get nothing for it, just kind of a waste, sitting there in the living room.
I think if I was to let it go, I'd probably have sellers remorse. Just leave it sit, the two youngest grand-kids like playing on it.
I can tell you now, sorry to say, the rebuilding through the winter months, yeah, that ship has sailed. Just WAY more than I can tackle anymore. We can talk about things when we get on the phone. Oh, it's nothing life threatening, or anything like that, so no worries there. Just how it is...
Yes, we'll talk soon.

[J-Mech]

Doesn't look like I will be going to work again this week. I got a cold and my employer doesn't want me at work unless I'm 100%. Maybe we can chat tomorrow. If not, then one day this week. I look forward to talking!

[Shrewcub]

Congrats Jonathan!

I'm now trying to ween my collection down to ones I am actually going to use regularly. The 782 I have is not going anywhere. Hope to get the steering box rebuilt and the correct hood on soon. That means by spring. LOL