White GT-1855 value?

[valleyview]

Going to look at a mid 80s GT 1855. It has Yard Boss on the side red strip but no jumping stallion like the newer ones so guessing it is probably a early to mid 80s. It has the 18 Horse Briggs V-twin but burns oil. Comes with 50 inch deck and snowblower. The guy blew snow with it in the last couple of weeks. It has chains and rear wheel weights. I have no idea what it would cost to take an engine like this in to have it rebuilt. Can someone give me an idea on the cost of engine work. Also give me a ball park figure of what I may have to look for and average value. Looks like outside metal is decent as it should be and grill is good. Seat looks pretty rough from the pictures. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Bob]

"I have no idea what it would cost to take an engine like this in to have it rebuilt."

Bottom line is if you have to "take it in" for engine work and pay ANYTHING AT ALL for it you may just as well cut your losses and pick up a new "tractor" when there's a sale at one of the "big box stores".

 

[valleyview]

I'm not buying it to use as I've got a nice 20 horse Agco for regular duty. I'm just getting interested in collecting the White Chrome grill series of tractors. I've got a couple of small models from the 70s but not too familiar with the 80s models.

 

[Bob]

Sorry about that!

Sounds like a neat old tractor.

Is it REALLY a v-twin Briggs or a horizontally opposed Briggs?

 

[valleyview]

Ad says V-twin which I'm familiar with. I'll check that out.

 

[Trailer Trash Tractors]

I respect you want to go ' pure stock ' in regards to the engine. Automotive Machine Shop
prices vary, it pays to shop around, and find someone small engine friendly. Figure aprox $ 70 per Hour, so any work you can do, disassemble, clean, retap holes, will save you $$$. As for ' quality ' that's a tough thing to measure, seeing a similar job always helps.

 

[El Toro]

Call smallenginewarehouse at 1-800-321-6725 to see if they have a new shortblock. Hal

 

[Traditional Farmer]

I have a Yard Man 16HP which is almost the same tractor just the sheet meatal is a little different.I replaced the 16HP 2 cyl Briggs with
a 18HP 2 cylinder Briggs off a Craftsman fit perfect.You'll need to change the sheet metal on the Craftsman engine to make it look exactly like the one you have.