I was all excited about getting my new toy home yesterday til I pulled the valve cover off today. When the bolt broke off just taking the valve cover hold downs loose I knew right then that it was not going to be pretty This is the 863rd Model 25 built so it is just a couple years shy of 80 years old, when I get to be 80 years old I will prbably have valve failure also.

I can't believe how nice the upper manifold looks compared to the valve train but I bet the lower end of the engine looks like a total nightmare just like the rest.

This project is a toss up do I spend twice what the tractor is worth and fix it up or go the other way? I personally have a really really hard time parting tractors out, expecially with matching Serial numbers. I think I will just oil it down good for now and save this project for another day down the road.