[john hall]

Around here, all the Cadets are lawn mowers. I did pick up a tow behind sprayer for one last year. We just don't need them to do heavy work, so a belt drive model would be fine for us. Lord knows the 110 Deere dad bought in 66 is ready to go tonight. Having said all that, I think most of the folks on the forum use them for something besides mowing grass, so they need the more durable driveline and rear end. Concerning the general public, hardly anybody mows grass with an old Cadet any more--they are too old, unreliable, and too slow. That's painful to say but its true---it applies to any brand of 30+ year old lawnmower--if you don't go through it from end to end fixing what needs fixing, your yard will become a hayfield. Face it, practically everyone here turns their own wrenches. If we didn't, we couldn't financially afford to run 30-50 year lawn mowers. I'm so deep in Deere country its pathetic. Honest truth, the 3 houses to the south of me all bought big, high end Deere's from a farm tractor dealership in the same week--none of them cut over an acre of grass.
We run Cadets because anybody can "follow the herd". I can go buy a $10K Deere tomorrow, but I don't want to be that boring--I'd rather have a whole fleet of classic machines.

Regarding your "oddball", hey I like it. I kind of want a 582 Special myself, just because they are unusual. Not looking for one but should one show up and the price is right with cash burning a hole in my wallet.......