chesbaycruiser 82 #1 Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) So I was watching this little Toro Wheel Horse 8-25 on Craigslist for a couple of months. It looked to be in decent shape in the (tiny little) pictures in the listing, but the ad said it wasn't running, and the owner thought it "might need a new starter" and "might need carb work". You know, the typical scenario all CL hunters eventually face where you have to decide if the guy really doesn't know much about engines, or he does but wants to "play dumb" to avoid revealing known issues. When the price dropped to $100 in November I reached out to the guy figuring I might as well at least go look at it, but I got no reply. I didn't give it too much thought and shortly thereafter the ad went away. Jump ahead to last week and I see the ad has reappeared. Now the price is $60. So I reach out and this time he promptly replies. We aren't too far from one another, so we set up a time and off I go, figuring that if he hasn't sold it in all this time the photos must be misleading or someone else would have bought it long ago. Well, I get there and sitting in the driveway is a rock-solid little rider, a little dingy and dirty, but overall in great shape. I figured I could afford to roll the dice on a $60 crap-shoot so I loaded it up and brought it home. The carb did in fact need some work. The fuel inlet was cracked to I had to extract the old one and press in a new one, as well as tanking the carb and replacing the usual parts. Although it was a pain in the rear to get to, all the starter needed was a new pinion gear. I added an inline fuel shut-off and a new fuel filter, and presto....running tractor! So right now I'm all-in at $88 bucks and I figure if all else fails, I can get that out of the engine if I have to! (I did find one issue with the tractor, but I'll save it for a separate thread.) These photos show the little fella' in just the shape I found him. Aside from a tiny bit of surface rust along the edge of the deck, there are no significant blemishes to mention. Anything you see on it is just dirt that I haven't been able to wash off yet 'cause it's too dang cold! Most of the Serial # sticker is unreadable, but I believe this is a 1999 model and it's pretty clear it was stored indoors most of its life. (My phone's camera wasn't cooperating all that well, so I apologize for the cruddy photos. I'll post more when I get the little tyke all cleaned up!) Edited January 20, 2014 by chesbaycruiser 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neil 2,409 #2 Posted January 19, 2014 Looks like a nice tidy , cute little tractor . infact that looks really clean & tidy thats another one saved thanx for sharing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,497 #3 Posted January 19, 2014 yes sir, clean as a whistle. cant wait to see it scrubed up and it dont need much. Glenn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 41,010 #4 Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Worse case, remove the deck and make a tractor show/ flea market transporter out of it! Edited January 19, 2014 by squonk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smoreau 658 #5 Posted January 19, 2014 I got to try one of these out last year and they do a very nice job cutting grass! great for the person that lives in town and doesn't want to push mow the yard. Or if you want to play Forest Gump Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pj1960 11 #6 Posted January 19, 2014 Nice find. That would quickly sell around here to the "city folk". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomtractor 71 #7 Posted January 19, 2014 I used a similar tractor around my house pulling a cart and stuff. I worked the pants off it. It was so impressive it made me look up Wheel Horse and 9 tractors later I write this message. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,125 #8 Posted January 19, 2014 Looks like the perfect way to put the wife to work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 1,029 #9 Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) I'm sure you can double your money come mowing season, I picked this little one up a few years ago with a snow blade, and bagger, for $50 sold it later after robbing the seat and front weight off it. Edited January 19, 2014 by Kelly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheel-N-It 2,968 #10 Posted January 19, 2014 I was looking at that one too because it is the baby Toro. I have a bagger system that I'm pretty sure will fit it if you are interested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foozerush 40 #11 Posted January 20, 2014 I like mine.... I call it the "Go-Kart". Eats leaves in the fall real good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmondred01 2,237 #12 Posted January 20, 2014 That little fella looks good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chazm 413 #13 Posted January 20, 2014 $$ 60.00 Can't go wrong with that deal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chesbaycruiser 82 #14 Posted May 11, 2014 Epilogue: Got this little fella' cleaned up, added a new drive belt and put it on Craigslist for $300. 48 hours later it was sold! Not bad for a $60 tractor, $40 in parts, and some elbow grease! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neil 2,409 #15 Posted May 11, 2014 What a result Chris . Congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmondred01 2,237 #16 Posted May 11, 2014 Turned out great Chris. Now take the 200 and get another. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
