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the showman

The Showmans new Toy

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Back last summer while I was at a mates barn having a rummage, right at the back in the darkness I found a red tractor that ive never seen before.

After a bit of research I found that it was built by Toro for one year and because of poor sales was dropped.

The dealer had 10 and offered them at a deal and my mate bought 3.

Two were used for a contract that he had then parked up and the third is still new and not assembled.

The one I have bought is a Toro GMT 230 1978, It has a Kohler 23 hp engine, hydraulic deck lift and bends in the middle.

It was parked up in the barn in the late 90s after doing 170 hours work and left until I spotted it. After fitting a makeshift fuel tank and a good battery it fired straight up with everything working.

Have to say i'm chuffed to bits with it and sounds really nice, awesome thing to drive

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gmt 1.jpg

gmt 2.jpg

gmt 5.jpg

gmt 3.jpg

gmt 4.jpg

gmt 6.jpg

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35 minutes ago, Alan said:

Restore, or leave as Chris. ?

 

I'd find that a hard decision to make due to its rarity. Bit big for Chris's lawn, but great for the green and verges I mow.

Bet it will sup the juice though.

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3 minutes ago, Stormin said:

 

I'd find that a hard decision to make due to its rarity. Bit big for Chris's lawn, but great for the green and verges I mow.

Bet it will sup the juice though.

Well Norm, if he buys the new and unassembled one too, he needn't make the decision.  One for show and one for play.  If Pam didn't mind the first, shouldn't be a problem with another. 

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2 hours ago, Alan said:

Restore, or leave as Chris. ?

I'm going to leave as is at the moment apart from a good power / steam clean

1 hour ago, Chris said:

I would have brought if for the engine ChrisB)

 

Trac Fest Entry this year??

Would have been an expensive engine Chris

11 minutes ago, nigel said:

Very nice, never seen one before:thumbs:

I've never seen one either Nigel, its not even in my Toro history book

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Back in the early 80s I knew someone (now deceased) who bought three, still in their shipping crates and ran them for a while on contract grass cutting. Cheap but not entirely suited to UK conditions!

PM sent.

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That is an absolutely fantastic tractor, I love it. It hard to imagine that they were not a good seller as it looks perfect for cutting large areas of grass. Great find.

 

It has the same engine as my main grass cutting tractor and I budget for one gallon of petrol per acre. Those engines do run hot and can suffer from head gasket problems. I now regularly remove the tin around the heads, blow out any debris and re-torque the heads. Not had any problems since.

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Just remembered that I also had fuel pump issues with the K582 in mine, you would have to crank it over for a while before you would get fuel to the engine. At great expense I fitted a new OEM fuel pump but it made little difference, so I added a manual primer and in-line tap. A couple of pumps with the primer and it fires up the second you engage the starter. I also put an additional battery earth lead directly onto the engine which made it run smoother.

 

IMG_2654.JPG.c40326d939dce388c9f1357e7f043957.JPG

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31 minutes ago, slf-uk said:

Just remembered that I also had fuel pump issues with the K582 in mine, you would have to crank it over for a while before you would get fuel to the engine. At great expense I fitted a new OEM fuel pump but it made little difference, so I added a manual primer and in-line tap. A couple of pumps with the primer and it fires up the second you engage the starter. I also put an additional battery earth lead directly onto the engine which made it run smoother.

 

IMG_2654.JPG.c40326d939dce388c9f1357e7f043957.JPG

Thanks for the tip Iain I'll keep that in mind

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Well I saw Chris earlier today and saw his new toy. It is a very impressive bit and of kit and we both agreed that we were surprised the model never took off. It was great to catch up with him today and I look forward to catching up with him at RPT this August.

 

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