Old Gravely

Jeff0253

Member
Hi All--

I'm going to go and look at the used Model L Gravely in the picture. I did a search and read some Gravely posts, but what I could use is some comments on what to look for when buying these old tractors. Anyplace where they tend to crack, leak, break, etc? Anything else to look for generally?

Thanks!


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I had an early one and from what I was told some of the early ones had a mag that would over heat and burn up the coils pretty easy.

But since that one looks to be electric start it is not likely to have that problem.

One of the latter ones my dad had one of the valves tended to stick from time to time and you had to pull the head and lube it up and tap it down a few times to fix that problem. Pulled the head one time and had some kids watch me and they told me I had to replace the head gasket. I told them watch and learn. Pull the head looked to make sure the gasket still looked good got the valve to close like it should and put the head back on and fired it up. They just stood there with a dumb look on there faces when it ran well with out a new gasket
 
This one looks a lot older than my 1962 model "L". You check the oil
level on the right side of the machine right behind where the snow
blower is bolted to the machine. Little 1/8 pipe plug if I remember
correctly. Machine tak3s like 5 or seven quarts. I need to look in the
book to see how much . Next is to make sure the override clutch is
still good. That big gear with the chain from the starter is what I
mean. There is a one way setup inside of there that goes bad. There
should be no slop, wobble,and no rumbley feelings or sounds. If the
carb is not full of crap this thing should just pop right off. Most
likely has a Fairbanks magneto. With the engine running you should be
able to take the leavers and make the machine move forward and reverse
a good bit before the leaver locks. This checks the clutches out. If
you want to take a 3/4 Ratcheting wrench with you you can take the
blower off and see how chewed up the engagement dog is chewed up. Also
the teeth on the saftey clutch should be a perfect set of little ramps
and not have the tops buggered off. Not a big deal to change but it
tells you how well the machine has been treated. These machines are
not known to be quiet runners "exhaust note" but listen for drive line
grinding. Lastly with the clutch locked in gear, (that loop handle on
the left side) see how much slop is in the drive of the blower. There
should be very little. Turn the auger back and forth. These blowers in
dry snow will take your breath away with how well they throw! Another
thing I can see is this machine does NOT HAVE the two speed drive
known as swiftomatic. Acts like a two speed rear in a truck. Gives you
8 speeds instead of only four. It is going to be a little hard to
handle with heavy snow cause you will need to slip the drive clutch
now and then to let the machine catch up. Go on the Gravely tractor
club of America web site and look in the manuals section. Down load
the manual for a model "L" machine. PDFfiles for free. You want a
manual from the 1964 to 66 area. More information. All of this I have
told you is in there and much much more. The site is really super! Let
us know. Last thing, you can also load the book for the blower too. It
looks like the one where y9u neex to position the shute by hand. WHAT
EVER YOU DO DON'T GET ANYWHERE NEAR THOSE AUGERS!!!!! That blower is
called the dog eater and with good reason.
 
Jeffcat--

Wow, very helpful indeed! Thanks so much for taking the time to give me such a thorough reply! I'll report back after Sunday and let you know what happens!

Jeff
 
The L, LI, and LS are all identical with the exception of the final drive gears. The L moves
quite fast for anything but mowing, the LS runs half the speed of the L, and the LI ground speed
is in between the two. The model designation is on the data plate but it is possible gears were
swapped at some point. If it is labeled as an L and rolls quite easily with the engine off it
most likely still has the original high speed gearing. (The greater reduction worm gears of the
LI and LS make the tractor harder to roll.) I have an LI and personally wouldn't want it to run
any faster, especially in tough conditions. The high/low range changes the PTO speed along with
the wheel speed which isn't ideal in my opinion. The L8 model has an additional two speed
planetary on the axle which does allow slowing the tractor down while maintaining a high PTO
speed. Gear reduction wheels that included taller tires were available to slow the tractor down
and increase traction but these are prized as collector's items and command a healthy price.

On these early Gravely's the engine speed governor was optional and because it is on the left
side it cannot be determined in this picture if this tractor has one. It's not mandatory
(obviously, since it was optional equipment) but would make the tractor a lot easier to use.
Governors occasionally show up on eBay and elsewhere and one could be added if desired.
 
Great! Brendon added about the neat little govenor unit. They go for
around $100.oo on flebay. See the little tag with 30wt on it? You MUST
check that oil level now and then. They really do work but the carb
needs to be modified just a little to retro fit them. Not hard you
just need to look at how one was put on. I have two Gravelys and I
just love the big bad Commercial C-10A from 1969. Has the 10hp Kohler
engine . Wity ANY Gravely in the winter time they are fussy when
starting in really cold weather when you NEED them! Here is what I do.
Use Hi test winter blend fuel. If you still have a fussy start this
really works. Go to your local airport and buy a 5 gallon can of 104
AV gas. Not cheep but it sure works! You will need to regulate the
carb to it. Fuel air mix screw needs about a 1/2 turn in. The main
jet needs almost a Full turn in. Makes a fantastic differance on these
machines when it is like 10 degrees and you need to blow that snow. By
the way, you can put a longer chute on that blower. Add about one
foot. Makes it so you don't get as much snow dust blow back on you.
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Hey Brendon, just took a look at the picture through the fuzzyness. It does not have a gov. It still has the thumb paddle type. With the gov. they use a throttle cable deal. We have tooo much trivia in our heads don't we? Hehe
 
Hey Old, another thing that has come up on YT a lot of times is to switch over to Synthetic blend oils. With air cooled engines the oil will carbonize a tinny bit from contact with a hot valve stem. My Briggs 17.5hp engine on my Troy Pony mower has blend from day one. Couple of months ago I checked the valves and when I took the cover off it was Spotless! Straight 30wt blend should be fine in a Gravely I would think. Worth a try.
 
I have NEVER run a synthetic oil in any thing and would not do so in anything but a new engine but to me the extra cost is not worth the hipe
 
Gentlemen:

Thanks for all the extra info and the picture too! Once I have this thing home (if I do end up buying it), I will look into the governor kit. Luckily, the tractor will sit in a garage attached to my house. It's not heated, but it stays around 50 degrees even in the winter, so I'm hoping that will help a bit with starting.

I have a couple of other pictures if it would help, I will post them. Let me know?
 

At one time i owned 13 running Gravely L's. Biggest problem, most common I should say, is the timing being off making it a hard starter. It's an easy fix. Same for cleaning the points. Dirty fuel or rust in the tank can also be an issue. Running w/o a muffler is had ont he exhaust valve IMO. The clutch is pretty bullet proof. The governor is kind of a mixed blessing IMO, sometimes it's handy, other times it's a pain. The standard L simply moves too fast for me. Maybe mowing lawns it would be okay, but my standard speed L's have the gear reduction wheels. Much more better-er. Gravely L's are LOUD. A simple can type muffler almost seems to enhance the noise. I had one with a modified car muffler that worked well.

As far as what to look for- check the head bolts (1/2" IIRC) to make sure none are stripped or broken off. Check the advance casting (the casting with the shipper shaft for the PTO that the implements bolt to) for cracks around the bolt holes. Check the oil pump to make sure it's working (pull the fill cap while it's running, you should see oil flowing and probably spraying/misting out the fill hole). Don't believe the oil pressure gauge if it says no oil pressure. Gauges go bad, check the flow. These things only have a few lbs pressure at best. They made a higher volume/pressure pump but its very expensive and requires splitting the case to install. If the tractor doesn't move when the lever is engaged that can be a misadjustment or it can be a bad clutch, but I've only seen one bad clutch out of maybe 25 Gravelys I've seen or used. Check for a noisy crank/wrist pin. If there's much play at all in the crank pin or wrist pin you are into some money to repair and since no ever changed the oil on these it's something to look for on all of them. Be advised the ID plate is on the gas tank assy and they got changed fairly often. So what may be marked as an "LS" might be an "L". Lots of mine had an "LI" tank on an "L" machine.

These things are old school- low speed, high torque. You don't "drive" one, you dance with it. Use the machines power to sort of swing it in the direction you need while pushing down on the handlebars. People will tell you that you are sure to get broken ribs using it when the implement catches and puts the handles into your ribs. I have never seen anyone stand between the handles, it's just not gonna happen. I suppose if you were on a sulky plowing snow at high speed and caught the blade it could happen, but not using a rotary plow, snowblower or cultivator. You'll probably get a lot of useless advise and warnings from people who have never, ever used a Gravely but heard something 45 years ago from someone else who never used one. Like cordwood saws and Stickler type splitters, the wives tales just won't die.
 

Also, be advised those old square chute "dog eater" snowblowers will easily swallow a rock the size of a baseball and fling it a good 50-60 yards at high speed. Don't ask how I know this, but they will do some serious damage to very expensive bay windows, cars, siding, etc.
 
Just to add a little more. The old timmers out threre who have a Gravely or two or more. This guy has way too much stuff. The mag you might be talking about were the Wico mags. The cheepos. Here are all of 5he mags I know of. The most popular is Fairbanks Morris, Wico, Bendix , and Edison. There might be more but they would go way back.
 
My thanks to all of you for the excellent advice. My appointment to look at it fell through last weekend--the current owner had to be someplace else. However, this was a good thing; I've had a chance to read up and make notes, including the stuff you've all told me! I'm going to look at it tomorrow. I'll come back and let you know if I buy it.

Meanwhile, question: can you buy gear reduction wheels for the model I am considering? It sounds to me like it might be worth slowing it down a bit. I do have a lot of experience with two-wheel tractors. When I was growing up, we had an acre and a half garden that we maintained with a Bolens Versamatic (wish I still had it of course). So I am used to "dancing" with the tractor rather than trying to muscle it; but thanks for reminding me about that!

Best,

Jeff
 

If it's standard L w/o the "Swiftmatic" tranny, and the one int he picture appears to be a standard, then yes. As far as I know the gear reduction set up won't fit on the later Swiftmatic models. I've seen the gear reduction units for sale on Ebay. Shipping would be outrageous since they're HEAVY. I love the GR units and their taller tires. Much better for everything but lawn mowing IMO.
 
Thanks Bret! Sounds like I need to keep an eye out for a pair!

And for all who have taken an interest, I bought the tractor today! I looked it over carefully, ran it around, started and stopped the snowblower several times, let it warm up and run for about a half hour just to see how it sounded. No leaks, no noise from the engine or the tranny, It doesn't smoke at all, all the controls worked fine, so I bought it. I gave $575 for the tractor and the snowblower. Seemed like a reasonable deal for one in solid running condition.

Thanks to all again for all the help! I haven't decided whether to restore it or just give it a good going over and leave it barn fresh. The original paint is still there, so I may leave it that way.
 

Biggest thing with them is just keep the oil changed and up to full. I run non-ethanol in mine. Keep it covered and dry and they tend to have fewer problems, although the one I'm using now has to sit out and it starts even after a winter goes by. Lucky!
 
Hi All--

I had the old girl out running again today and it works really well. Starts right up and chugs along, no smoke of any kind and still no leaks that I can see.

Question: This is indeed a standard model L. This winter I want to use it to blow snow, so I need a set of tire chains. It has standard knobbly tires, not V-shaped tractor tread. Is there a good source for chains?

Thanks for any info! You guys have been a great help!

Jeff
 

For chains for anything, my first stop is always "tirechains.com" Type in the tire size and they should have what you need.
 
Glad to read you bought the old girl. That is a very good price. Wait
till you see what the "Dog Eater" can do! Now you need to understand
that you need to run the blower in HI range and the transport in low.
It is SOOOOOOOO much better if you have the hi/low rear. The
Switomatic can be installed on your machine with parts from a junker
or go on fleabay for around $100.oo. Find a local mower junkyard or
Gravely dealer and have at it. Also put an oil gauge on it! Not hard
to do. The govenor is an emmense help when snow blowing! Keep in
touch and Have Fun! Welcome to the Gravely crazys club! Another thing
is look up the Gravely Mowin for 2017 and where and when it will be. I
have been to a couple and they are a lot of fun and you can blow all
kinds of money on Gravely toys! The 2017 is not listed yet but will in
a month or so.
 
Jeffcat (and all) thanks for the wealth of information! I have a couple of new questions; if I can't find answers I'll start a thread on here.
 

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