picked up an older Troy-Bilt tiller this morning

[Smokin Harley]

I finally got this machine this morning , been waiting over a month on the guy selling to get off night shift .
So far all I know about it is it's -
a Troy-Bilt with an electric start 6 hp Tecumseh engine .Its not written anywhere but by a little searching I'm pretty certain its a Horse model ,maybe it's older than I think since it doesnt have a decal that actually reads "Horse". Its a 4 speed -Fwd, Rev, Hi and Lo speeds. The guy I bought it from said he used it up until 2014 when it "let go" and suspects its connecting rod broke. It spins but has zero compression so I'm going with what he says until I can get more solid info on it and dig into it. The owner previous to him repainted it and painted over the engines ID plate so I'm only able to get the numbers from the embossed model HH60 105060D and serial 0316 06699 numbers off the housing. If any of you guys have one like this I'd sure like any sort of info you can give me. What year it is ? What actual model # is it so I can hopefully find a correct owners manual.
By the way I gave him $150 for it (it also came with 2 furrowing attachments which he claims go for $100 by themselves) and by what I can see an electric start 6 hp Troy-Bilt Horse alone goes for upwards of $2000 so I think I made a decent investment once I get her to running and working condition. I'm figuring I can put about $100 or less in parts into it and be up and running this coming spring and then sell my Craftsman tiller for going rate and I'd probably break even(wishful thinking). Unless I go with a Honda re-power for $350 and be done with it. With a Honda, it should run damn near forever.
I'll post pics when I can.

 

[DGBAMA]

pics? sounds a lot like one my sister bought some years ago. If so, it is more of a walk-behind tractor than just a tiller. great machine. Harbor Freight has "Honda Clone" engines for repowering at a fractional price that I have had good luck with.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Theres a HF less than 5 miles from me ...please tell me more. I'd like to rebuild the original motor but just in case that option fails. I'll post pics probably tomorrow when I am on the tablet.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I'm sure a Honda clone would work but as for longevity I still have the original tecumseh engine on mine and it was built in the '70's.
You're going to like that electric start. One push of the button and it fires right up.

 

[Chicken]

I will look up the serial # and get you the year and what model it is when i get home...theres a "yahoo group"". On troy bilt tillers.you should join it...and theres a " old tractor forum" that discusses troy bilts extensivelly...ill give you that website tonight when i get home..

 

[Smokin Harley]

 

[Chicken]

Looks good...and for $150.00 plus the 2 attachments...you stole that thing.

 

[bonehead]

i have a front tine tiller and it works but i need to make my garden bigger next spring and one of those troybuilts would make my life easies.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Thanks Chicken, I like old machinery like this , seems as long as its all together and original ,its worth fixing . Then when I saw it was electric start and had the attachments , yeah It was a no-brainer. I'll crack it open soon and see what kind of parts I'm dealing with while you find the info on the model year and I'll be sure to check out that yahoo site. My dad gets on some tractor forum too. Hes completely crazy about his lawn more than I should be.

 

[DGBAMA]

YUP. THATS THE MACHINE. you got a good deal.

the motor, honda gx200 clone:

http://www.harborfreight.com/65-hp-212cc-ohv-horizontal-shaft-gas-engine-epa-69730.html

electric start kit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/390616290772?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82

 

[Chicken]

i believe that electric start is something some-one added to it.... they didnt offer elec. start till 1991

i wish your pics werent sideways

look at the right tire, on the frame right at the top of the tire, is where the serial #'s are located... the numbers you gave arent right. 0316- 06699

i believe the last 5 digits are the right numbers.... if so it was made between april-july of 1969 and it looks like it could be a 69 era machine, especially with the type rims it has,

the website that goes in depth on them is '' my tractor forum.com''

and the yahoo club is '' troy bilt tiller club

..https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/troybilttillerclub/info

and the tractor forum................http://www.mytractorforum.com/214-tiller-talk/153157-troy-bilt-tiller-serial-number-list.html

 

[Smokin Harley]

DGBAMA, I'm going to try just rebuilding the original first . If it doesn't pan out I'll try a Predator...those look pretty nice...and about $125 cheaper than an actual Honda re-power.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Chicken, the push button for the starter is located in the left handgrip and from what I've seen even though it may not have been offered until 1991 it still looks to be original to the machine. Those numbers I put up are off the motor housing shroud, not the frame of the machine. I'll check out that other location and see if theres numbers there.
I have to take my truck in for oil change service this morning and a pair of tailgate support cables(BOTH the old ones snapped at the same time when I loaded the tiller , tailgate came down on the bumper and now the gate has two nice dimples in the sheetmetal,only dents in the whole truck ) then my day is free.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Chicken, I just went out to take a look at those numbers by the wheel...
H
1/13/70
cast in the gear box housing just like that as long as when I post this it doesn't edit the position.
I'm guessing then it was built January 13 ,1970
the opposite side was cast "OIL LEVEL" by the filler plug.

 

[Chicken]

You'd be wise to go ahead and change the tranny oil..they sell it at O'Reillys auto parts..I think its 170 weight gls oil..$18 a gallon..in my tiller thread i got a pic. Of the gallon jug.

And id try and rebuild that motor..they just look a lot cooler when they got a old--school powerplant on them....but that harbour freight motor is a good one..i got one on my front tine tiller..i took my depth bar assemblly off..when i till i go as deep as the machine will go.

 

[Smokin Harley]

ok , I just noticed another set of numbers above the H ...I had to get the inspection mirror out to see it fully... TH 1001 .
Yeah the truck repair shop didnt get my gate cables so they'll call me and reschedule when they come in, this afternoon.
So, I may try and get this motor at least off the machine then start in on it.
Any idea how to detach the motor ? Looks like a chinese puzzle so far . Not sure where to start .

 

[Smokin Harley]

got the motor off .wasn't quite as bad as I thought but interesting nonetheless. Opened it up and this is what I saw floating around in the case. Connecting rod pretty much exploded and took a chunk out of the piston skirt . crank has scoring. I'll order everything here plus a complete gasket kit. Luckily the cylinder wall and cams are almost perfect. I don't think it'll be too bad and if I get the correct numbers for parts i should have it back together pretty quick. Only concern is i hope the new crank has the bearing on it or i may need to track down someone with a press.

 

[Smokin Harley]

ok so , I also took some of the wifes nail polish remover and put it to the ID plate and clearly found I had the wrong model number ...it is HH60-105080D
and then I called a Tecumseh parts place and they can't even get all the parts I need to rebuild it and I still would have had a bill close to $200 between the crank and piston assembly with a set of rings and gasket kit . I'm thinking a 6.5hp Predator re-power kit is looking better all the time. Maybe not for originality but longevity and reliability. Seems I have a tendency to acquire machinery that is either rare for parts or just plain obsolete (reference to my former Harley Heritage Springer, rare to begin with then parts were obsolete ) .
So then- DGBAMA, I'll be looking into a Predator and possibly the electric start but as long as it starts and runs like a Honda , I may forgo the e-start.

 

[Smokin Harley]

$120 for a 6.5 HP Predator at Harbor Freight... dang . I couldn't even buy just the Tecumseh's crankshaft for that . Looks like a trip to HF tomorrow. I saw a YouTube of a guy who re-powered the same exact model TB with one , besides having to buy one different bolt for the belt pulley , it looks to be a simple bolt-on job.

 

[Chicken]

did you look for the numbers right above the top of the right tire, stamped into the flat surface of the tranny case?the top of the tranny case. i believe your still not looking at the correct spot,

your gonna have to rig up a throttle cable for the harbour freight motor... it comes with a '' slide bar'' for a throttle,

and inspect your tines. they may look fine. but when laid next to a new pair they may be worn out,

and if you decide to repaint it. the decals are offered. at amazon...e-bay and a decal company.... im proablly gonna order mine from the decal company,, they arent '' grainy '' at all and from reviews are real sharp . i used rustoleum '' sunshine red '' as did a lot of people on the yahoo group.... id steer clear of farm implement red. it just aint bright enough.