Looked again on 04/07/12

Hey guy's
I took another look at the 1010. It is a 1961RU. I cranked her over with a little choking and she fired right up. It does sound a little noisy and I don't know if thats from not running it for some time. I did't leave it run for over a couple of minutes. The tach say's 1685hrs. It has a small oil leak in front and one in back under pto shaft.
The guy is asking $7500.00 with tire chains and a JD pull blade that looks like the same year. Im a little leary on the price. The guy say's it's all original. There is no dents or scratches anywhere on the paint. The seat is a free floating and is missing the bottom piece whick is black pad, back and arm rests. Im going to drive it next and see how she drives shifts before any money is exchanged.
If anyone can tell me anything else to look for please let me know... Thanks jb

$7500 seems a little steep to me. There are plenty of really nice looking 1010s on Tractor House for around $5000 or less. Some with loaders/brush hogs. I'll admit I'm just window shopping and have no more information than what they give in the discription. Blades run about $500+/-. New chains run from $250-$500 new

Of course a lot of other things factor into the price like proximity, availability, one-owner, condition, etc. A matching blade might convince me to pay a little extra.

I found a 1010 that interests me but it is 300 miles away. Maybe not all that far but it would add about $500 to the price just to get there and back. So there is something to be said if it is nearby. If it was close and in immaculate shape with a matching blade then I might consider paying $7500. I'd see about getting a model/SN off the blade to date the blade. The model 80 was made in the early 60s and there may be others.

But you said there were a couple of oil leaks. Now a garden variety PTO leak is not that big a deal and shouldn't be that hard or expensive to fix. My son works for a JD house and he says PTO leaks are on just about every tractor that comes in for service so that is not an unusual find but a leak none-the-less.

Oil leaking in front....well that deserves a look or three. Where it is leaking from is very important. If it is just leaking from drain plug or around the oil pan then it may not be that big a deal. If it is leaking from the block or somewhere else then who knows?

I have only seen yellow OEM seats on these tractors. Again, not a big deal but it is not "all original". Now some may say that is nit-picky but you can't sell something as "all original" if it isn't. I also don't think free-float seats were around in 1961, at least on the 1010.

Has it been converted to 12V neg with an alternator? Again, not original, but that would be a plus to me as I would convert it asap.

Good paint and straight tin is a big plus.

In the end you have to be happy with what you pay...

1010 with loader
1010 with loader and hog

The industrial tractor I have came with an original floating seat. It had a big rubber doughnut and adjustable tension for different operator weights.

First off great post Skinny, Hey jb any chance you could describe this “Little Noisy” is there still a muffler on the tractor or is this a sound coming the engine itself? Do you have any photos of it?

1010-Tom wrote:

The industrial tractor I have came with an original floating seat. It had a big rubber doughnut and adjustable tension for different operator weights.

There you go. Looks like Industrial came with them. Any idea if any made it to the ag side? I've never seen a picture of an ag tractor with one and I certainly haven't seen one in person as I think we may have the only 1010 in the panhandle.

Skinny,
I guess I have a little re-search to do on the 1010. Maybe the guy is trying to blow smoke. I will be doing some picture taking of the tractor and blade. (will post asap) Where would the serial # be on the blade? By the way it is only about 20 miles from me and my good farmer neighbor said he would haul it for me. We do things back and fourth. I'm his electrician/carpenter I get to use his skidsteer for winter snow removal.(heated cab/radio) so it all works out the same. On the motor noise, it has a good muffler it sounds like it's coming from the engine. He did say that it had a new battery in it and I think it's 12 volt. What is it supposed to be? I don't know about the negative grounding thing. If the serial # say's it's an RU than why would it have a industrial free floating seat that 1010 tom replied about?

I'm far from an expert on the 1010, or anything else that matters.

There seems to have been an option of a Deluxe seat that had a shock absorber so that might be a free float. I found it in the parts manual but I haven't seen it in the service manual (or anywhere else) but to be honest I haven't paid much attention to the seat section (not even sure there is one. Manual is at son's house). Ours is a pan seat so I haven't had to consult the manual on it's use.

Not sure where a SN number would be on the blade. I would figure there would be a plate similar to the SN plate on your tractor somewhere. Maybe on top or along the side of the frame. Problem is that it is not unheard nor unlikely it got ripped off at some point in its life.

I guess most, if not all, tractors during this time had 12v positive ground and had a generator (or some tractors may have still had a magneto or 6v). A lot of folks converted their's to a Delco alternator and negative ground. Anymore I think this is a desirable thing unless you just have to have it original. It's not a big deal one way or the other and it is easy to do if you choose. The positive ground to negative ground conversion does make you scratch your head from time to time as you try to figure out how to wire up the coil and such. Again, not a big deal, you just need to think through it. I'm no mechanic by any stretch so if I can figure some of this stuff out anyone can.

Engine noises always worry me. That said, it is a 40 year old tractor and they didn't sound like our newer tractors or cars so some noise may be acceptable. It might help the more mechanical folks on here if you can describe the noise and location best you can.

I'm not trying to insinuate the seller is trying to rip you off or hoodwink you. Just pay attention to what you are being told and what you are seeing. I do think $7500 is high for this year and model but, again, that is an on-site call, not me sitting miles away behind a keyboard. I have spent a lot of time digging through forums, tractordata.com, and tractorhouse.com, and parts websites. There's not a lot of information on 1010s out there but dig long enough and you'll start putting a picture together. Of course I have learned, and I am continuing to learn, mostly from the tractor itself.