FLtractor 185 #1 Posted May 8 Morning, About 2 hour .. 100 miles away.. thoughts on tractor? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 67,208 #2 Posted May 8 Price is right but that looks like it may be a money pit, Bring a battery along and make sure the engine turns over with compression before you put any money down. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeM 10,070 #3 Posted May 8 5 minutes ago, 953 nut said: before you put any money down check trans for H2O too! If there is excessive rust on the stick, it will need split and cleaned at the least. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 8,875 #4 Posted May 8 That is a whole other definition for "rode hard and put away wet." 2 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 11,609 #5 Posted May 8 You’re in Florida which has about as few Wheel Horses as Texas. If you can use parts for other projects it’s easily worth $100. I usually consider 100 mile as one being in my back yard 6 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 31,666 #6 Posted May 8 Love the Black Hoods!!! Hard to tell whether the green is mold or paint...! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 47,254 #7 Posted May 8 That has sat outside for a while. Unless you have to have it I'd spend the Franklin on a nice steak instead! 6 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 12,386 #8 Posted May 8 "everything is there" - - NOT! Where is the outer half of the PTO?? It looks rougher than a Saturday night in County Lockup... is it really worth 200 miles of gas money on top of the selling price?? How long has it been listed for? Maybe let it bake in the Fla. sun & the price comes down?? Looks to have the "always broken" plastic rear fender pan too... 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeM 10,070 #9 Posted May 8 (edited) Sometimes you luck out. I got this one from @RJ Hamner I think there was a tree growing in there too. Put a sip of gas in it and a new battery and fired right up and sounded great. The 8 speed needed taken apart and cleaned up but it turned out good. Turned out good but a ton of work. Edited May 8 by JoeM 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C-85 810 #10 Posted May 8 I love my C-85, it must be one of the most rugged 8hp tractors ever made! When I was a dealer and sold these, the tractor was the same from 8hp (C-85 through the C-175) 17hp That looks like someone wasn't very nice to it, but maybe it is worth it! My name is C-85 and I'm darn proud of it! 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FLtractor 185 #11 Posted May 9 On 5/8/2026 at 10:34 AM, squonk said: That has sat outside for a while. Unless you have to have it I'd spend the Franklin on a nice steak instead! Much better idea.. possibly steak dinner for mom Mother’s Day idea 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 18,720 #12 Posted May 9 Just about every tractor I own started as bad or worse than this. It just depends on how much time and effort you're willing to put into it. For me (here in NC) there aren't enough tractors around anymore for me to be picky. Of course, I no longer am looking to purchase any additional machines. But- Small block Kohlers are bulletproof. If it isn't siezed up and has any compression, it will run with a little love. You can spin the flywheel by hand and tell one way or the other. The green paint is ugly but I've brought home far worse just for parts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 57,273 #13 Posted May 9 Talk him down to scrap price and go get it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Retired Wrencher 6,765 #14 Posted May 10 (edited) On 5/8/2026 at 10:34 AM, squonk said: That has sat outside for a while. Unless you have to have it I'd spend the Franklin on a nice steak instead! 14 hours ago, kpinnc said: Just about every tractor I own started as bad or worse than this. It just depends on how much time and effort you're willing to put into it. For me (here in NC) there aren't enough tractors around anymore for me to be picky. Of course, I no longer am looking to purchase any additional machines. But- Small block Kohlers are bulletproof. If it isn't siezed up and has any compression, it will run with a little love. You can spin the flywheel by hand and tell one way or the other. The green paint is ugly but I've brought home far worse just for parts. Kpinnc. Good info on your post. If you have the time and mostly the $$. They can become good tractors. The 1056 In have soon to become a 1066. Gave me many hours of frustration. The hood still doesn’t fit right on it and never could understand if it was on the right frame on this or not. But overtime I made it work definitely not a show tractor but still plow snow. Edited May 10 by Retired Wrencher 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
