By
Mike C160
Greetings.
About 2 years ago I bought my first C160. It is an 8 speed and came with a roto tiller and the small grass cutting deck. This was the machine i cut my teeth on so to speak. I quickly learned this model was also made with a hydro static drive with a hydraulic lift. This seemed like the holy grail to own to me.
So i kept one eye open for an Auto. A few came up, but most were priced sky high. Too much for this old guy.
But then it happened. I was watching one for sale last year the guy wanted 2 grand for it. It was just too far of a reach for me to spend on an older tractor. Regardless of the value. Then one day last fall, the listing disappeared. I assumed it sold. Awe shucks.
But... it showed up again in the listings a few days ago. Turns out he had cancelled the listing for the winter. However the big difference was the price.... he had dropped price. Not just a little either.... he went from 2000 down to 800. And that was Canadian so 800 is like 600 USD. He said he was tired of looking at it.
Needless to say I snapped it up immediately!!!
Some of you have already seen this unit as I asked for some advice about connecting my tiller. Thanks to those who helped. You got me pointed in the right directions and i have some bits and pieces on order from Lowell.
So although it looks pretty, it needed some work to make it run well. Points, condenser, plug went in right away. Then an ignition switch. Sadly it had an amazon carb on it that was pure junk and I replaced it with an original one that works well. I also replaced the front plastic roller wheel on the mower deck as the one they put on was way too small and the deck was catching the ground. So it start well, runs well and cuts the grass well. However there is lots more service work to come.
So the big question is the hydro transmission. How well do they stand up? Do they have any weak points I should know about? If there anything I can do now to prevent a failure? Are they expensive to rebuild?
1977 C160 Auto Model # 1.6KS02
Just tryin' to stay ahead of the curve
Cheers!