Picked up a GC2300 fixer-upper. :D :D

[eCRX]

repaired the missing exhaust pipe and converted to the more reliable side exit. the small stump that was remaining also had a crack in line the one of the welded brackets. They really buggered up the muffler design on the first-generation GC2300s.

I cut off all the original supports and re-jigged the clamp and created a flexible solution. the the original pipe has way too much reinforcement. It's counter-intuitive, but in the auto-racing world, welding gussets and hard brackets to manifold runners causes them to crack! Metal tubing needs to be able to move when it heats up.

Don't look too closely at my welding

 

[tacticalturnip]

You seem to be having fun!

 

[BEAGLES]

If you bought that for a reasonable price w 150 hrs. You can’t go wrong. Fix it, clean it up and use it. Looks like a diamond in the rough.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Looks like good progress!

 

[eCRX]

replaced all fluids and filters, replaced all hydraulic lines, new orings on the FEL controller, built a tooth bar and a ~425lbs of ballast. starting to put this little tractor to work!

got a 5 tooth-and-shanks kit from titan and dusted off the welder. painted yellow to help prevent more trips to the urgent care.

Used the tooth bar for about 2 hours today to clean up some firewood, move some stumps, and branches from about 6 tree's I cut down in the spring. WOW, I was able to bulldoze and backdrag piles of branches etc WAY easier.

for the ballast I did some basic machining on some bar stock. The meaty part is some old weights and a chunk of water main pipe (wrapped in duct tape) full of concrete and a ludicrous amount of random scrap metal (old car\engine bolts, rebar cutoffs, ancient window weights etc).

 

[eCRX]

This little brat of a tractor handles a 5ft box scraper surprisingly well.

 

[5030]

Looks like poor heat treat to me.

 

[eCRX]

no doubt. just read the reviews. This particular box blade 'Princess Auto - Power First' (Candian Harbor Freight) are known for bad shanks.

Even still, it was pulling full boxes of dirt with turf tires. I didn't think a 5ft box would work as well as it did.