The Hunt

I'm not sure when the hunt began, but I became dead-set on finding a Troy-Bilt Horse tiller a couple of weeks ago.  The funny thing is...I have never had ANY attachment or connection to a Horse at all!  I'm a child of the 80's, and the only Troy-Bilt I had growing up was my Dad's.  He bought a Pony in the early 1990's (still running faithfully to this day), and I have fond memories working up his large garden with him.  But no Horse!

So I can't say for certain what initially led me searching for a Horse.  But I just knew I wanted one.  I researched the history of the tiller.  I read with fascination the story of Troy-Bilt and its subsequent sale to MTD in 2001.  But what really grabbed my attention was the machine itself.  It seemed that EVERY owner of a Troy-Bilt Horse spoke highly of it.  Owners praised its handling, its durability, its strength, and, of course, its tilling power.  You just pointed the tiller over anything, and it took it under the ground.

With today's cheap mowers and weed-whackers and, yes, unfortunately, tillers, I had no desire to buy cheap crap.  I wanted a legend.  I wanted a workhorse.  ha!  That's it!  I wanted a work HORSE!!!  So I started looking around my area for Horse tillers.  Oh, they exist.  But most were two hours away.  So I decided to put out a specific ad saying I wanted a Horse.  I listed the post on a For Sale site on Facebook.  Here is what it said:

WANTED:  Troy-Bilt Horse Tiller ($200)

I'm not sure if this is allowed, but I am looking for a Troy-Bilt Horse tiller in any condition (running or not). These were made for a few decades. Please let me know if you have one laying around...in any shape! Thanks.

I attached the above picture.  And that was it!  Now all I had to do was wait...and hope!!!  Well, would you believe that that evening I received a response back?  It read:

Andy, I have a Troy Bilt I'd sell. It ran this spring, but isn't getting any spark (last time I tried to start it). Here's a pic.

 

 

 

Oh, what a beauty!!!  That is EXACTLY like what I'm looking for!  I was on the road, so we coordinated a time to meet.  The owner lived about a half-hour away.  We agreed to meet two days later...