I'm back. I bought it. The salesman, hardly the corect term, was real good. My decission process draged on. It was not the cost but the application of a small BH. A small BH is not and can't compete with it's larger counter part. So in the end if you think you have enough small projects that either don't require the full BH called in or want to do them on your schedule, get one.
I was trying to justify the cost of a new one. I couldn't do it. There's many toys I would choose first. So this older used beast was just perfect, a $1200 fixer upper. I desidded to buy now and if it turned out to be not what I could used, I'd sell her to the next tractor dreamer like me.
She has been modified from the original setup. The unit has had a frame made for a quasy sudframe attachment. This was setup to be mounted on a Ford 600 series tractor. It was mounted to the rear axels at the fender attachment as well as the 3 point attacment. The control valves that control the stablelizer arms/legs were replaced with a seperate system. Now located just to the right on the seat. The down side to this is it's on a seperate hydro-circuit. There is a lever shut off that in one position alows for up/down of the stablelizers and the other position for bucket/digging operations. The external pump mounted on the PTO appers new.
Now I'm looking for a 4wd tractor to mount her on. My early X-mass present.
Patrick