Hi...happy to have finally signed up!!!

[Green Acres rAf]

Hello All,

Well, I finally signed up after two and a half years of "only reading" posts...figured it was time for me to jump in and contribute.

Want to thank all TractorByNet members for the outstanding support and knowledge of "everything" tractor.

My wife calls me Mr. Green Acres (the old TV show)... I am a city boy born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I now live in Maryland on my "huge" lot of 3/4 acre in a DC suburb. Upon the birth of my son (he just turned 3), I wanted to clear the back end of my lot (the vision was a park for my boy). Figured I needed some help in accomplishing my goal, so I set out, with zero knowledge of anything tractor, to purchase "something". I found this website and the journey began...

Two years ago, I purchased an old Satoh S-650G tractor off Craig's List (the price was right...I looked at JDs, Kubota, MF...I could not believe that "old" tractors were soooo expensive. I so wanted a "nice" diesel JD or Kubota but I could not justify the $6-8K price tags). This 650 came with a 60" FEL, power steering and a 5' bush hog. She looked rough and 'sort-of' ran okay, but I just needed her to run long enough to help me move logs/debris/etc. I cannot say that I wasn't worried about a "SATOH"...who ever heard of such a brand? A "gas" engine on a tractor? Where am I going to find parts for this thing? And MANY, MANY more questions came to mind. I hit these forums hard (a special THANKS to Bill at Valley Power and Len at Sheaffer's Town & Country for their knowledge and support from day one!) Oh well...I really didn't have a choice as funds where tight and I was lucky to find a "working" tractor at this price...I took the plunge forward...$2K didn't break the bank so I brought her home!

I mentioned to my wife that I bought an old tractor and she said, "Sure, Okay". The day I rolled up with my old beauty, she said, "That is a REAL tractor, we live in a sub-division, not the country!!! What are you going to do with THAT?"...i guess she thought I was referring to a lawn tractor! hahahaaha!

Not knowing anything about tractors I started to read...and read....and read... figured I'd buy my dream Kubota later, so this little Satoh was a good "starter" tractor. Well, after two years of working her hard...I truly LOVE my "ol' girl" and will not trade her up. As long as parts are available, this "ol' girl" is mine. Like everything else, there are a few "bells and whistles" I wished she had, but overall a great solid machine.

I did end up clearing my land, it took A LOT LONGER than I anticipated (2 years--on a very part-time/spare time type thing)! Cutting down trees is hard work, no wonder those tree guys charge an arm and a leg! I have enough wood for at least 5 winters, not to mention the whooping $15K in savings as a tree guy came by and congratulated me in my endeavors. He said, "I can't believe a city slicker, a STHL chainsaw and an old tractor finished the job. I was waiting for you to give up, so that I could pick up the job. You know if I got the job from the beginning it would have been in the $25K price range, but the clean up would have still been in the $15K range. I surely thought your old tractor would break and die...what brand is that thing?" Proudly I responded, "That is a SATOH S-650G...a bullet proof Japanese tractor!" This year (2011) is the "landscaping" year. I invested this entire winter into my old S650 with a top end rebuild (even found a brand new carb), entire electrical system rewire, a full "fine tooth comb" service, repair of anything "sketchy" and currently a new custom built bucket (I will be making it to resemble a skid steer bucket with 30 degrees of rollback and extra heavy duty for scraping, smoothing and some digging)...she even got a bath! Turns out she was white and not gray!!!! Best of all...she starts right up and NOW runs excellent...idles at 600 rpm and purrs like a kitten, at 2000 rpm she sounds strong and ready for duty (the new starter switch cranks for a mili-second and instantly she starts... the days of "will she start today?" are OVER). BEAUTIFUL...

I did this thing with my church about two weeks ago and they used a Kubota tractor... I thought to myself, "My ol' girl can kick that Kubota's butt!!" hahahaa... I guess Mr. Green Acres loves his Ol' Girl... :thumbsup:


A LOT of knowledge came out of these fun projects (thus the part of me joining to contribute).

So I look forward to all the chats about "everything Tractor".

Rafael

 

[irvingj]

Welcome to TBN, and what a great story!

I'm afraid I "cheated" and bought a new tractor... I'm a bit envious that you found an old gem and brought it back to life; you've done very well with it! (How bout some pics?)

 

[JEH412]

Thanks for sharing your great story! These tractors really are tough old birds.

I bought a Satoh Beaver S370 last winter to replace a large garden tractor that I was using to maintain a gravel drive and plow snow. The Beaver has a 2 cyl. diesel, rated at less HP than the garden tractor it replaced. Apparently nobody told the tractor. It did a first-rate job on the gravel, once I got used to the larger machine, and it pushes snow better than the plow trucks neighbors use. The Beaver, like your S650, has been around a long time, but they're rock-solid and I plan to be using mine for a long time.

John