[Cliff R]

I've restored several older John Deere tractors and find them much LESS expensive than a muscle car, plus I find myself using them a LOT more. Cars are cool for sure, but you can't cut your grass with one, plow the driveway, push snow or till the garden.

Below is a pic of a John Deere 455 I picked up for $1000. It was a basket case. The front of the hood was busted with a huge hole in it, mower deck was busted and needed completely rebuilt, trans was leaking from every seal in it. The Yanmar diesel engine was just getting broken in a little at 2000hrs so didn't have to touch it. It needed some electrical work as well. It had a burnt spot in the fuse box someplace i a printed circuit that was in some sort of gel that I had to access and solder. That was a royal PITA to troubleshoot and why I ended up with the machine because it kept popping fuses for the previous owner. It's been so long ago I can't remember the details but they incorporate safety features into all these machines between the seat, PTO for the mower and reverse. There was an issue someplace in that system as well that needed repaired. I suck at wiring but managed to fumble around an figure it out. John Deere overbuilt many of these older Garden Tractors so restoring them typically is mostly cosmetic/electrical items not engines and trans/diffs other than leaking seals.......