These are from a bygone era in American manufacturing, when machines were meant to be serviced and rebuildable. The 1987 model 1872 has an 18hp Kohler magnum opposed twin. It is the nicer of the two with 1,676 hours and very smooth power steering. I just made a new wiring harness for it, repaired missing baffles in the 60” mower deck, split the tractor in half to replace a $6 transmission gasket, and got new blades for it. It alternates between mowing and snowplowing duties. I made wheel weights that stay on year round, 100lbs on each wheel. That helps with traction while turning on my hilly 2 acres that I mow. I have a 1970s cub cadet dumping trailer for it that I use for a mobile workbench and tool hauler for projects around the property.
The 1990 model 2182 has a 21hp 3 cylinder Kubota gas engine. It has 3,115 hours on it so it burns some oil, but still runs so smooth. It has a 1972 Johnson Workhorse model 14 loader on it. I made a subframe to mount the loader to the tractor frame under the pedals with braces that mount to the front of the frame. It has 500lbs on the rear with wheel weights and a 300lb disc of steel hanging on the back. With me on it, it weighs 2,100 lbs and is a very capable machine. I still need to take the loader off and finish welding and painting the subframe, but we got 30” of snow in a single day here in northern Wisconsin a few weeks ago, so I had to immediately put it to the test moving buckets of snow for 7 hours. The only thing this tractor is lacking is 4wd. I just have to be more mindful of where I go with it to not get stuck. Now I’m making some pallet forks for it and have many summer plans moving soil and gravel around. It’s also a real back saver, I find myself lifting many things with the bucket that I would’ve moved by hand before.
Parts are getting harder to find to keep these old machines running. The 2182 needed a water pump and it was over $400 from Kubota so the previous owner sold it cheap. I gambled on a used $40 one on eBay and it’s been fine for 3 years now. I was an automotive mechanic and I’m now a welder, so I can fix just about anything on these.