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What Was Your First Garden Tractor?

6K views 49 replies 45 participants last post by  Dcarr 
#1 ·
What was the first garden tractor you owned, this can be as a kid, an adult just needing to mow the yard ect. For me, I was mowing yards with my best friend around 11yrs old. I was using my parents Simplicity RER to cut and my friend Craig picked up a Bolens 1256 Husky at an auction. Our side business was mower repair out of his garage, so we went thru the mower deck and his dad had someone overhaul the Wisconsen as that was beyond our ablities yet. Shortly after that, at a church we mowed there was an old model 72 cub with a 38" deck in the fence row. The pastor let me have it and in short order I had it running again, repainted and mowing. I was finaly able to retire the worn out RER to the shed. I have owned many other GT's since then, covering most of the major brands. Mike
 
#3 ·
That would be my 1981 Sears GTV/16 (aka Big Bertha) that i just finally got repainted this spring.
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#6 ·
The first riding mower I ever used was a Swisher 2-speed 3-wheel mower with a 6 hp tecumseh motor that had the crank lever starter. When I got old enough Dad let me use the Farmall Cub with a Woods belly mower on it.
About 20 years ago I was looking for another riding mower to fix up to use (I could not afford a new one) and I found an old Sears ST10 in the junkyard at Arnold's Lawn and Garden. I bought it for 75 bucks and brought it back to life. Been hooked on gt's ever since.
 
#8 ·
well I had an older craftsman when I was about 15 that I used to drive around the farm until one day my brother was riding on the back and when I hit the clutch he flipped over me and landed in the top of the engine (no hood) and ended up with 27 stitches as the point of the flywheel sliced thru em like butter almost severing his arm at the armpit. Needless to say I was banned from playing with tractors for a bit.......When I got back into them, I ended up with what I refer to as my "baby" which I still have and will NEVER leave the heard....although I am a huge SEARS fan, its a 1964 Springfield 36
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#11 ·
The first GT I ever drove was Dad's brand new 1967 WH 1257 a hour after it was unloaded at our farm, I was a very excited 6yr old boy. Before that, I had been running a A/C WD45 in the fields plowing and discing, it had an hand clutch that I could operate.

The first GT I bought was a 1973 WH Auto 14 along with WH 416-8 that I got in a package deal in 1997.
 
#14 ·
Wow, where do I start.... it was the old riding mower, guessing a early 90s Mtd, no clue, long gone.

So then there is the family owned 1954 Farmall Cub which we still have. Very reliable, quit starting with the starter, but turn the crank twice and it's running lol.

Of course the GT's it would have to be a walk behind 1956 David Bradley 5756 that I restored, starting the DB craze.

Then the riders it was the 1963 Springfield model 36 which started the Springfield craze.

So lets see, the real ones that I work, the Gilson, but I'm skipping it cause it works under it's terms lol. So the Caterpillar (CraftsmanGT18) lol.

Any questions?? lol
 
#16 ·
I believe my first one was a '68 Cub Cadet.Long gone now,but I;d like to have it back now.
 
#17 ·
First one I owned was a 1969? John Deere 110 w/ a mower deck. I was working to restore it but that never worked out so I sold it.
 
#20 ·
When I was growing up dad bought a new mid to late 60's Sears Custom 7, complete with single bottom plow, push blade, and mower deck. When I was in high school I rebuilt the engine. My nephew still has it. I spent many summers mowing on that thing. It had the magnesium deck too. I guess that started it for me.

I bought an old toro rer probably 15 years ago, and a JD316 last year.
 
#21 ·
In 1960 my Dad and future FIL (and nextdoor neighbor) both decided that their mowing time could be better spent doing other things like fishing together. They saw that I could probably make time to do both lawns, about 1 3/4 acre and pitched the idea that they would go 1/3rds on a tractor with me. I bought a '56 Gravely L that had been totally rebuilt by a dealer and a 30" hog mower. Worked out great, I got some other side jobs with real estate people to maintain lawns for pay.

I bought a blade and a "dog eater" blower to keep the machine useful in winter and hauled it around in a '58 VW Microbus to different mowing and plowing jobs. After we got married in '67 I aquired a tired '52 Gravely and rebuilt it and used it while I rebuilt the '56. I named the mowers "Gee" and "Haw" after the positions where they lived on my truck. Sometime in the early '90's I "experimented" with a "lightweight" riding mower/tractor from Sears. It cut OK but was pretty much useless for anything else but that, so the Gravelys got most of my home jobs as well as the service mowing.

Sold everything in '93 when I left "Life #1" for "Life #2" and sold my house to go West... Now in "Life #3", I have a 2004 JD GX335 that can do everything both Gravelys did plus I can sit right there on the seat attached to the tractor! I do miss the Gravelys... but not enought to want to get back into them again as a "hobby". All I can see now is green and yellow!
 
#26 ·
First one I bought and owned was a MF 7 in 1973 .I bought it from the MF dealer and the motor was in a box in pieces.Have had a different variety and brands since then.Still have a MF scut and a Kubota scut now.
 
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