HankB 16 #1 Posted July 4, 2010 OK, we closed the deal last night. Some cash and a 1 year old Poulan Pro 4620-AVX chain saw for a Raider 12. The Raider had some rough spots, but overall seemed sound. It has an unusual smoking pattern, putting out an occasional puff of blue smoke. Electrics are funky too. Headlight wire is cut. Ignition does not kill the engine and the clutch switch is disconnected. I'll probably rewire it. Oh, the coil is mounted on the rear cowl of the engine instead of in front. Bodywise it looks fairly solid except foor a 1" hole in the hood just above the carb and a couple holes drilled in the grill. And the crack at the base of the dash tower. And the rear edge of the fender pan is a little bent. Then there's some kind of bracket mounted to the front. Maybe it was used for a generator. And the pin for the hitch is frozen. Here's a shot of the front bracket. It looks like some kind of mule that some PO had welded a bracket to. Perhaps someone here knows what the original bracket was for. Electrically It's a bit if a shambles. The lead for the electric PTO clutch is not connected and the PO plugged it in somewhere to energize the clutch (which othwerwise seemed to work OK.) Lights do not work. Itnition switch starts the tractor but does not short out the coil to shut it off. Need to close the choke to kill it. The choke cable is not connected either, but the throttle seems to work OK. On the bright side, the battery is good and apparently the engine keeps it charged. Mechanically ... The trans seems great. No evidence of leaks and it moves in all gears in both high and low range. The engine starts right up even with no throttle. It does smoke and the PO notified me ahead of time on that. It does not seem to smoke as bad as he led me to believe. And it seems to be an unusual pattern. Rather than smoke all the time, there is an occasional puff of blue smoke. At the same time that it puffs smoke, it seems to miss or stumble. Maybe that's just a result of the oil burning or perhaps the smoke is a result of the miss. If you have any insight into this, please join my thread in the Engines section (http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/index.p ... opic=19626) The deck looks typical of decks from this period. There is a welded patch across the front. Other than that, the spindles and idlers look fine so it should mow. So, not a pristine find, but I didn't pay for one either. I think it certainly has potential for restoration. And until I get around to that, I will still be able to mow with it. best, hank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rickv1957 75 #2 Posted July 4, 2010 Be hard to beat them old Raiders!,Rick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SAM58 30 #3 Posted July 4, 2010 Hank, I have a 1972 Raider, original engine also puffs smoke everyonce in a while until it warms up then no smoke at all. it's been in the family since 1974. Need a deck for mine... I am fairly new to the sight, can someone tell me the secret to adding pics? :thumbs: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HankB 16 #4 Posted July 4, 2010 Hank, I have a 1972 Raider, original engine also puffs smoke everyonce in a while until it warms up then no smoke at all. it's been in the family since 1974. Need a deck for mine... I am fairly new to the sight, can someone tell me the secret to adding pics? Thanks for the tip and I'll have to spend more time with mine and see if it does the same. There are a couple threads here about posting pictures: http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/index.php?showforum=83 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
