My John Deere 318 a Lifetime Dream comes True

[General Stuart]

Hello Forum member's
It has always' been a dream of mine to Own a John Deere 318 I remember while in High school I passed a House that had a John Deere 318 in the yard and that Guy had all of the Toy's with his including Dirt dozer 4-Way Blade, Mowing deck, and Rear mounted Model 30 Tiller. I have had other John Deere's since I got married in 1983 including my First John Deere a Little Model 70. I cleared a Three acre lot with that Little Guy before it's Tired 8-Horsepower engine finally gave up. I then made a Lethal Mistake and Bought a new Model 116 John Deere that had The Twin cylinder Briggs & Stratton engine that was Low on Power unless you screamed the engine at wide open Throttle. I quickly Traded that Mower off for a Model 216 with Optional Hydraulic lift. That 16 Horsepower Single cylinder Kohler was all about Power at Low R.P.M.'s but it would rattle your eye Teeth out. I then found a Blown up 1969 John Deere 120. The 120 was John Deere's first attempt at using a Hydrostatic Transmission. I Placed a New short Block 12-Horsepower Kohler in it and kept that Tractor for Six years. I had a Cozy cab for it for winter, as well as a snowblower, and a single cylinder 54" dirt dozer blade. I sold it as a split up package at a Local Farm auction that they had once a year and walked away with $3600.00 In hand after Paying the 10% auction Fees. I was not long without another John Deere as I Picked up a 1964 round fender Model 112. It had a mowing deck, snowblower and front blade. I Paid $100.00 for it, but Before long a Neighbor wanted it more than me as he offered me $1000.00 for it and it became his Tractor




I then came across a 1969 model 140. It came with a 48" Mowing deck and I added a Model 31 Tiller to it. It was my Main Tractor for almost Six Years. Three Years ago, I came across the Tractor of my dreams in the back Lot of a Tri-Green John Deere dealership. It sat there with a flat right front tire and it's battery was dead. I went to The dealership mechanical shop and asked the mechanic what he could tell me about it ? He said that they had just gotten it in the day before, and they had not had time to look at it yet, but the guy that Traded it in for a new one said that it had belonged to his Grandfather who had Passed away Three years' ago, and he had gotten it through his estate. The owner told him that he did not think that it Ran. I asked the Mechanic if I could borrow a Pair of Jumper Cables ? He loaned me the shop Jumper's and I headed back to the 318. It started right up as soon as I hooked the Jumper cables to it's dead battery and it did not smoke or make any strange engine noises. It's Hydrostatic Transmission seemed fine, as well as it's Power steering and Hydraulic lift. I could see that this Tractor had almost a Brand New Replacement 48" deck on it. I shut it down and went up front to see a sales guy. I asked how much they wanted for the 318. The sales guy said simply "3". It was nice enough to be Three Grand, so I asked Grand ? He said heck No, Three Hundred. I bought it on the spot. I returned with my Landscape Trailer, a set of Jumper's and my 12-Volt air compressor. The sales guy said that he would send out some guy's to help me load it, and I told him I would not need any help. I had it on the trailer and was strapping it down when the sales guy and Three other's came up to me. The sales guy asked me how I loaded it and I said I Jumped it and drove it on my Trailer. He seemed shocked as he told me that it was Traded in Not running and they sold it as a Part's Tractor. I thanked him and drove off with my New to Me 318.




Once got it home I dropped all of the fluids and replaced the Point's & Condensor. It has mowed perfect for me for the past Three years, I Mow Two acre's of Grass per week with it, and we have Nine Month's of Mowing season where I live. Early This spring I found a Rear Mounted tiller for it. It was Located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 575 Miles from me. I told the seller that I would Take it at his advertised price of $800.00. It came with the Optional Under belly Mounted belly Pump and the Non Three Point Hitch brackest's to mount it on the rear of my 318. Once I got it home I decided that I No Longer needed my 140 so I sold it wih it's tiller for $850.00. I had all ready sold it's mowing deck for $275.00, so I got all the Moneyt out of my 140 Package. About Mid summer I came across a 54" dirt dozer blade for my 318. It was rusty but nothing serious so I Gladly Paid the seller's price of $100.00 for it. I got it home and went to put it on my 318, and realized that it was made for a 400 series Tractor as the quick attach frame was about 2" too wide for my Tractor's frame. Out came the Torch & welder and I Narrowed it's quick attach frame to fit my Tractor then welded it top and bottom. I then decided to restore the scaley rust Blade so took it all apart and sanded it all down, Then re-painted it with John Deere Yellow paint. In August our Daughter asked me if I could use my John Deere 318 along with my Rarely seen John Deere Model 30 dump cart, for our up-coming Granddaughter's first Birthday Party ? The Party was not until December so it gave me some time to get both Pieces restored and looking good. I started the dump Trailer in August. It was in super Bad shape, but our Daughter had her Heart set on me using it as I used to ride her around in it when she was Little, and now she was 22 Years old, so we have had it awhile. I found out that John Deere does not offer and Part's or Decal's for this cart, which at first I found odd. I Later learned out why, as it was made by the Raido-Flyer Corp. out of Chicago Illinois, and they only offered it for a period of Two years. I then Ordered a decal Kit for a model 80 dump cart and Cut The "8" Portion of the 80 Decal In half to give me the Number 30 decal that I needed. I sanded the entire dump cart down and had to use a Full Gallon of Body filler to fill all of the dent's and Rust that it had. I then sprayed it with a Primer surfacer sealer which was a Two part Urethane style sealer, and Sprayed it with Four coat's of John Deere Green.




By The end of summer, I noticed that my John Deere 318 Onan engine was getting tired. It started using oil and I noticed a loss of power. I took a compression test and it showed to be only 70 Pounds of compression between the Two cylinder's. I then decided to replace the engine with a Fresh Onan. Putting another engine in this Tractor never entered my mind as I had my Fill of Ill Power from the Briggs & Stratton Twin cylinder 16 horse power engine that came in my John Deere 116. I contacted Kustom Small gas engines /Clark Racing in Minverna, Ohio. I had them build me a Fresh Onan for my 318. While they were building my engine, I stripped my 318 down to a rolling Chassis, and Painted the entire frame using my spray gun along with some John Deere Blitz Black semi gloss paint. Once that was done I painted the wheels John Deere Yellow. I then replaced the rear drive shaft coupler with the newer style of heavy duty type as well as the drive shaft U-Joint's. I sanded down all of the body panels and painted them John Deere green. I Placed the new fresh Onan engine in my Tractor and got it up and running good. I replaced the starter with a brand new OEM Onan starter while I had the engine out. By Now the Temperature had changed and it was getting colder. I had to use Two Kero-son heater's to keep my Garage warm enough to Paint in. I was down to the wire with less than a week left before the party. I remembered that I still had our Daughter's Ertle John Deere Pedal Tractor stored over head in my Garage attic. It was well weathered and in much need of a restoration. I ordered a decal kit for it and paray painted it along with my John Deere Panels. I Put the decals on it and was finishing it up when Our Daughter stopped off at the house for a vist. She had no ide that I was restoring her Old Pedal Tractor. It was now almost 25 Years old but when she saw it she told me that it looked better than whaen I gave it to her brand new. She was quit shocked to se that I had restored it, and I told her that it was our Granddaughter's present from her mother & I. The day of the party I Trailered over my John Deere 318 and my Model 30 dump cart. I had it Tarped off so that the guest's did not see it or know what we were up to. Once all of the Guest's arrived, our Daughter told them to all come out side as we had a surprise for them. I drove out from behind the Pizza Parlor with my John Deere Towing trhe Guest of Honor our Granddaughter intop her First Birthday Party. The Guest's cheered us on and took the Picture's shown below. The song "John Deere Green" from country Music star Joe Diffy was played as we rounded the corner of the building. The Earlt Pedal Tractor was the center piece of the party as we were able to use the Open Trophy case in the rear part of the Pizza parlor that we had rented. My wife made the John Deere cake along with Our Granddaughter's John Deere Bib Overhauls, Our Neighbor Bought The Pair of Offical John Deere Boots that Our Granddaughter was wearing. Everyone had a Great time, and Many approcached me and commented at how they had Never been to a more Fun or Unique Party as this one was. My John Deere 318 sit's quietly now in the back corner of my Garage awaiting spring time for many More Year's of Loyal Service. The Moral of The story is, Never Give up on your Dreams if you try hard enough, they will come True as mine Did !









This is how my 1983 John Deere 318 looked when I brought it home Three Year's ago for $300.00. I have since restored it and placed a set of Bar Rear tire's on it

Here is the Model 30 Hydraulic tiller I found for my 318 at work ! It has a 42" cut as it has the Optional 12" tine extension added to it

Here is the 54" dirt Dozer blade that I picked up for $100.00. It was Not Pretty when I brought it home, But I quickly changed all that, once I got it to fit my 318.

The start & finish of the Rarely Senn John Deere #30 Dump Cart

The start & Finish of my John Deere 318 and the Eartle Pedal Tractor project

The day of the Party

 

[Johndeere3720]

:welcome: to TBN! Talk about some true craftsmanship, excellent work on those restorations! :thumbsup:

 

[JD2007]

Awesome job on the restoration, great to see one of the older John Deere's fixed up that nice!

 

[murphy1244]

:welcome:

 

[Carl_NH]

Wow, Stuart - nice work - I had the JD pedal tractor too, and we had the JD240 I think as a GT and other JD 420 and 1020 on the Farm.

The 318's are great tractors and you definitely have a knack at restoration and I can see why your other machines sold quickly for top $.

Welcome to TBN, you will enjoy the company here.

Carl

 

[Lou66]

Enjoyed it. nice job,,. thanks.. Lou

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have the diesel version of this tractor, 332, and it still runs good. Deck is in bad shape but still cuts good and lots of power from the 14 HP Yanmar 3 cylinder diesel engine. Perhaps some day I will try stripping it down and restoring it to like new.

 

[General Stuart]

Awesome job on the restoration, great to see one of the older John Deere's fixed up that nice!

Hello JD2007 & Other's
I appreciate Your Kind Word's. I have always' Had John Deere lawn & Garden Tractor's. I Noticed early on with owning them, That Part's are readily available for all of their Machines.I watch Craig's List in our area quit a bit. I have scored some nice Mower's off it in the past. I try to stick with John Deere as they sell the best. That said early last spring I came across a good deal on a John Deere R-72. I saw it advertised for $50.00 and the add read does not like to start. I followed up on it and 30 Minutes later had it in my Landscape Trailer headed for my shop, The Owner of it dropped the price to $35.00 as it would not start and run for me. I found the hard starting problem to be a Miss adjusted choke cable. I spent the rest of the day going over the machine and Placed a new spark plug, Mower drive belt, and cleaned the Carburetor. I Put it back on Craig's less than 24 Hours later for $395.00 as shown below. I got a call on it 30 Minute's after I Placed the add. The woman that called said that she had an Older Cub Cadet that was not running. I told her I would deliver the Mower as I wanted to see her Cub Cadet. It sat in the corner of her Garage with the Body work pulled off it. She said that her son had hit a tree with it in the back yard, and that the body panels were broken, and that it sat outside for a month in the rain and now would not start. I asked what she wanted for it, and she replied is $50.00 Fair ? I knocked $50.00 off the price of her New to her John Deere R-72 and was on my way to the shop with another Project.




Once I got it home I discovered that it had spark but it was weak spark. I Pulled the engine and found the fly wheel and electronic Ignition coil rusty. I cleaned them up with sand paper and set it to 0.10". I Placed the engine back in it and it cranked right up and ran good. It has the Kohler Magnum Twin cylinder 18 Horsepower engine. Oddly this Kohler Engine has an air breather sticker that say's The engine is 15 Horsepower, yet it is an 18 Horsepower engine. I surmise the reason for this was that Cub Cadet had all ready given this Tractor the Model 1541 Number, so it was easier to have a 15 Horsepower sticker on the engine air breather than it was to change the Machines model number's. My son in law dropped by and said that he wanted it. I said that I would Take in his Rarely seen Gravely Model 408 lawn Tractor and $450.00 Boot. He agreed. I spent the entire next day going over the Cub greasing it and checking everything over. I changed the oil & Filter and Placed a 850 Cold Cranking amp battery in it, That I had on hand as someone gave to me saying it was no good and all it needed was a good charging. I mowed my lawn with it to make sure it ran out right and it ran flawless. I then Loaded it and took it over to our Kid's. The Picture's of it were Taken just before I delieved it and showing my Son in law Mowing his Yard with it for the very first time. He mowed all summer with it having Zero problem's with it. I Loaded and took home his Gravely 408 Lawn Tractor. He had used this Tractor for Three year's with no issues. We Found it in a Hedge row. It came to us with a Piston seized and he gave $50.00 for it. I Pulled the spark plug and squirted some Kroil Oil down into the cylinder. One the Third day it broke free so I cranked up it's 8-Horsepower Kohler engine. It smoked badly as the ring's were stuck so I used a full Can of Gum-Out spraying it into the Carburetor with the engine running wide open. It cleared up and quit smoking. In the three year's that he used it it never used any engine oil after I broke the ring's free. This Wasn't the First time I have fixed stuck ring's with Gum-Out. I had done it before on a John Deere rear engine rider that had a Kawasaki engine in it, and that engine quit smoking too and Ran great.



I cleaned the Gravely 408 up and Painted it it's original Factory white color as it was it's Original Factory color and I had a quart of it on hand to use on it. It was done and ready to sell 48 Hour's after I got it home, so I Put it on Craig's list for $875.00 and it sold within an Hour to a Gravely collector. He paid me $75.00 to deliver it 60 Miles from my home. It was bought so that his son could Gather the chicken egg's with it in a small dump cart he had for it. The Kid was Just 8 Years old and was Pleased with it. I reminded the Father that this 1970 Gravely did not have any safety's in it, so to be sure the boy Knew that when he got on it, The Danger Involved with running and mowing with it. As I Pulled away from the Buyer's house I could see his Young son riding that Gravely around the yard and it reminded me of when I was young, I felt Pleased that someone got it that enjoyed & Appreciated it. Gravely Ran an add in 1970 when these Model 408's came out. They Traveled from Washington D.C. to New York City which was a 306 Mile Trip. They used the More common walk behind tractor, with a Salky attached to it as well as a model 408, and a Much larger Garden Tractor. I can't Imagine Traveling 306 Miles on a Tractor of this size, but other than a flat tire caused by broken glass on the shoulder of the Road, there was no mechanical issues. The Funny part of all of this, is after I sold my Son In Law's Gravely Model 408 to The collector he placed it on the Gravely 408 Forum and they made it the front page Tractor picture of their forum. My son in law had belonged to that forum the whole time he owned it and even joined it, but no one Knew that this Newly Found Gravely was my son in law's to begin with, and it's serial number was all ready on their 408 List. Here are some picture's of last spring & summer's Find's and Flip's. Sorry about the Thread Drift here, but I thought some of you may be Interested in my Obsession of working on lawn Mower's and how I Take them from scrap Heap's to running good again. I Can't wait for this spring to Roll around here so that I can find more machines that have been Neglected to repair and Market them as good running mower's. Here is a Link to that gravely 408 Forum I spoke of, That has the Gravely 408 That I Sold as their front forum page cover Tractor, L.O.L. Regards, General Stuart

Gravely408 : Gravely 408 Lawn Tractor Group




Here is the $35.00 John Deere R-72. All it neded was a choke cable adjustment and an Oil change. I Placed a new Mowing deck belt on it before I sold it.

Here is the 1992 Cub Cadet Model 1541 Lawn & Garden Tractor that I gave $50.00 for. it Looked kind of Sad in this Picture the day that I Brought it home

In my shop showing the bent Sheet metal just before I Pulled it's engine. I was able to straighten out all of the sheet metal and I repaired the broken Body Panel's that it had. I Buffed the weathered Paint before I took it to our Kid's for the Tractor exchange

Here is is Finished, loaded up and Ready for delivery

This is my Son in Law Tyler riding his New Cub for the Very First time. He was Very Pleased to up-grade to a Much Larger More Powerfull Tractor. Although I am Not a Cub Cadet Fan, I will always' be a John Deere Guy, This Tractor had some cool idea's placed as Tilt Wheel, Hydraulic lift, Low Fuel warning Light, and Greasable deck Bearings. It does not have Power steering like the 318's do but it steer's pretty easy. This Tractor in comparission is about the same size as my John Deere 318. It has a Rugged 1/4" Thick steel frame and a forged front axle. The front wheel Bearings are Greasable, where my 318's are Not. Shortly after 1992 MTD started Making the future Cub's cheaper and I do not like what they look like or how they are built today. I am not certain when MTD and Cub Cadet merged, but this 1992 Cub only has the MTD style body which is all Plastic and leaves a Lot to be desired. I was able to repair the broken body Panel's where they mounted to the Tractor and was glad that I could as they want The Ball's for Cub Body parts. I am still shaking the Bushes to Find another Cub with this style body so we might be able to replace his body part's some day.

Here is the Little Gravely Model 408 that was replaced with the Cub Cadet. It has a single cylinder Kohler 8-Horsepower engine in it. I had it in and out of my shop in less than 48 Hour's with it's new white Gravely Paint job and these are the Picture's that I Placed on Craig's list when I sold it to the Gravely collector

These are early Promotional add's that Gravely used to Promote the sale of their new then 408 Tractor

 

[Carl_NH]

Speaking of old Gravelys and Cub Cadet's - here's my 1811 owned since new in 1990 and the Gravely Super Convertible with 30" brush deck and sickle bar, just arrived last month and I gave it a cleanup and some new paint.

All is original on the Gravely otherwise, the original owner I got it from had it since late 70's and rebuilt the engine in 2002 and hasnt used it much since then. Have all the manuals and a box of spares too.

I like the older iron, but dont get the "deals" you have..

Carl

 

[General Stuart]

Speaking of old Gravelys and Cub Cadet's - here's my 1811 owned since new in 1990 and the Gravely Super Convertible with 30" brush deck and sickle bar, just arrived last month and I gave it a cleanup and some new paint.

All is original on the Gravely otherwise, the original owner I got it from had it since late 70's and rebuilt the engine in 2002 and hasnt used it much since then. Have all the manuals and a box of spares too.

I like the older iron, but dont get the "deals" you have..

Carl

Hello Carl
Nice machines. I have Had two Gravely Comvertibles but they were the Older one's with the Gravely engine in them. The first one I Owned was made in 1948. It had the Leather style recoil strap and if you caught it on a compression stroke it would wind your Knuckel's into the grooved fly wheel pulley. It had a 30" sickle Bar, a 30" Roatary head like the one you have shown and I had a Dirt-snow blade as well as a salky. Later on I needed another one as I sold my first one and that one was made in 1952. It also had the Gravely 8-horsepower engine and I had the Rotary head, sickel bar, salky and a Two stage snow blower. They are the Most rugged machine ever built. Regards, General Stuart