Ford 1710

   / Ford 1710 #11  
Being an owner of a very well taken care of 1710, it is sad to see one in this condition. I wouldn't pay much for it, you will be dumping lots of bucks into this guy. Maybe $1500 if it truely does run ok. The money that you think you may be saving by buying something in this condition, in the long run I think you will be putting much more into it. Best of luck to you with what you decide.

I agree with this statement. I'd offer $1500, and depending on how well it ran and how much I wanted it, I would not pay a dime over $2000. Well kept equipment holds its value fairly well, abused equipment does not.
 
   / Ford 1710 #12  
For me, beauty is only skin deep.
I bought a 1720 10 years ago.
There was no grill or side screens, the hood had been smashed and beaten back out so many times the headlights were non-existant, even the brackets for the headlights were gone.
The FEL bucket was fish mouthed and had so many patches on it that I eventually threw it away. The tractor came from coastal FL originally so the salt did a number on the fenders too. Holes had rusted through both fenders in many places.
After I got it home and got it washed I also found that the bottom ears of the engine block, where it bolts to the transmission had been broken and welded back. I looked it over good before I bought it and except for the broken block ears, I knew what I was buying. I wasn't rooked. I had been told it had lived a rough life up to that point.

But it ran and worked SWEET. Hydraulics, engine, transmission, PTO, everything worked just as it should. It had ~1400 hrs when I bought it.

So I paid the guy $5500 ten years ago and brought it home.

It will reach the 3000 hr mark in a month or so. I've put ~1600 hrs on it in the 10 years I've owned it and it has NEVER let me down. It's done everything I asked of it, even when I asked more than I should. I've done minor repairs and normal maintainence and it has served me well.

Since it will be 25 years old and reach that 3000 hr mark this year, I've started to work on the cosmetics. I hope by the end of the year that it will look almost new again.

But it's up to you really. If you can look beyond the 'skin' and find what's in the heart of that machine, you may have a real gem on your hands like I did.

Mark
 
   / Ford 1710 #13  
We had a 1710 4wd with loader (almost identical to this one) for 20 years. It had 1600 hours on it when we bought it. The only problem we had were related to the seller (no longer in business). We had to re-engine it due to Loader damage to the engine case (at 1800 hours). We ran it to 3800 hours with only minor issues (water pumps, belts, hoses) It was a great little tractor.

Since it has a loader I would suggest looking at and testing the bolts that attach the loader to the engine case (4 on each side). If they're damaged or won't budge, be skeptical. Loader abuse will cause it to lever the engine case and can (and did in our case) cause the big end bearings to spin.

Check the 4wd and the PTO. The PTO is a 2 stage dry clutch. I doubt you'll want to split the tractor to get the PTO running.

If the PTO is good, the hydraulics work, the 4wd works AND the loader is properly attached to the tractor/engine, you can expect at least 2K hours more on that tractor.
 
   / Ford 1710 #14  
Rust and tractors go hand in hand. As long as its not cancer, which a few holes wearing in a bucket after 20 something years of use is definitly not out of the ordinary, then the looks should not matter. You can always get to cosmetics later on if it really bothers you and you need to have a shiney new tractor. If it is mechanically sound, then this is a good machine. I have the exact machine from 1986 and it has very similar rust... not the prettiest tractor, but she runs great, and does what I need it to do. I paid $5300 for mine used about 6 years ago, and it has served me well.
 

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