515 ford sickle bar mower

[Fudpucker]

I ahve found a very nice looking Ford 515 with a 7 foot bar. The mower is a one owner with orginal paint and decals. It has been shedded all of it's life. It comes with three cutter bars, and extra belt and a five gallon bucket of extra guards. the asking price is $1,000.00 do you guys think that is too much. I know the JDs and the New Hollands area little higher. I really want it to run on my 4600. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
Fud

 

[old]

Shoot thats almost new price for one that old. Maybe $500 if the guy can prove it works well.

 

[AndrewFromNS]

Wow....I only paid $100 for my McCormick #27V. Now, given, paint on the 27 is but a fleeting memory, and TractorSam and myself spent about 5 hours fetching it from in the woods, during which time we had to borrow a 484Diesel. It came with as many spare cutter bars as I desired to retrieve from the wall....came home with a half-dozen complete bars.

For a grand, i'd buy new....or shop around a bit more...
Your bucks, though...
AR

 

[Fudpucker]

I am going to try to get the price down for sure. I have an old model 31 IH that I too only gave $100.00 for. Not a bad mower for a $100. I know that sounds high for a sickle bar mower, but tractor house has a few New Hollands and Deere almost three times that much. I'll keep you posted. I am going to meet the man tomorrow and make sure it works. I'll try to get it for $500.00. Wish me luck Old! Thanks for the replies.
Fud

 

[Chad Franke]

You'll need good luck...that 515 is a wobble box mower, much much more in demand than a 501 or other pitman mower. A five gallon bucket of extra guards could be a couple hundred dollars. Two extra bars is another $2-300. Belt could well be $50 or more...So you are almost wanting to buy his extra parts and get a mower in great shape (if it's as you describe) for free...don't be surprised if he says no.

 

[Finn Md]

I still use my 515 for grass hay mowing. Price seems a bit high, but when you factor in the extra parts it's not too bad if the mower is in real good condition, and does not need a lot of maintenance & adjusting. Check bearing in wobble box and see if it's well greased, remove 2 bolts and pry cover off. That's the main thing I'd worry about. Make sure you get the bracket that attaches on tractor lower right 3-pt lift arm to connect mower's breakaway spring. These are very durable mowers and if kept greased will last a lifetime. If you buy it, you can still get Operators Manual from New Holland. Good Luck

 

[nw_bearcat]

belts are closer to $200-300 last time we had to buy one if i remember right.

They're a pretty good mower, but as the earlier poster mentioned, make sure to get the breakaway bracket for the RH lift arm, or you'll be making one to get it to work.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have had very good luck with a 515 mower since the 80's. I use John Deere guards and sections in
it. I also use a belt from John Deere that is 1/3
the price of Ford and will last 10 times as long
or more.