Thanks for the vote of confidence there Tim.:beerchug: I was waiting for the, "zippy's got one, I wouldn't buy anything from that @#$%^...":biggrin2:

Ian. With all of that equipment you have, you must be landscaping the whole state of RI. The state's not that big, but still, that is a lot of machinery. With a couple of exceptions, that list of models is pretty much the same as what Yosemite Sam recommended. A couple of them aren't viable unless they have either electric lift or hydraulic lift. Yosemite also included the red 82 & the Quietline series. My first choice is the 149. I mentioned the 169 only after seeing Mike's thread on his restore/rebuild/mod of his 169. That was pretty awesome looking. Now that you mention it, the rare status of the 169 would create problems finding parts if that need would arise. I appreciate the reminder.

Tim. Another vote for Todd. He hasn't really done anything to the tractor yet, but the pic's that he sent me do look really nice. If we can work out a number it would be my first choice.

Mike

Mike as much fun as that would be, I stick to my own acreage plus an occasional neighborly excursion. I do have to say, there's not much left on my 'want' list! Several are projects waiting their turn, but my workers do work hard. Hope you find something good. Most of my experience has been with narrow and wide frames, never worked with quietlines or the 82 series yet. Never been disappointed with any of my cubs; on the contrary I'm regularly still impressed with them, particularly when it comes to moving snow.

Yes, you can get a hydraulic lift add-on for a narrow frame tractor. It was designed to work with hydro and gear drive machines. I think the NF was the only style gear drive you could get a hydro lift for.

Yup, Narrow Frame hydro units are out there, but they command $350-$450 usually, and that's as much as it costs to buy a servicable tractor at times. Of course, if you're a decent fabricator, you can rig something up with any automotive power steering pump and you will have plenty of oomph for lifting implements. Still, I'd say 149 is your best all-around machine, and that's coming from a narrow-frame guy.

Considering I've been punching, bending and welding metal for just over 50 years, I could probably figure something out. I do try to avoid the heavy stuff though. I'm just not wanting to get that involved.

Todd's 149 is still my 1st choice. Also, it is nice that he is only about 150 miles north of me. I'm waiting to hear beck from him on a number.:NailBite::NailBite::Pray: