1976 John Deere Liquidator

[flowerpacker]

So I was at the eagle river grass drags and to my excitement I see a liquidator with a for sale sign on it! How much is this thing worth? The way it sits right now it has a liquafire motor in it and a suspension but the guy has all the orginail stuff for it! I told him I would buy it but I don't know what a good price is? I need help. Here is the vin number J34SE 055514M I would give it a high 7 or low 8 out of a 10 for condition! Please Help! Thanks GREG

[ICCSF 108]

Personally IF the guy won't give you a price for what he wants for it I'd walk. Only reason I say this is I'm tired of these guy that say what will you give me for it.. there are getting to be more & more of this stuff getting put out there for sale only for the purpose of finding out how much they can get someone fired up on it so they ( the seller ) can see how much there stuff is worth..
Sorry just had to vent..
To answer your question, as much as your willing to pay, there are just too many variables. Like how was the original Dator engine stored, (why didn't he have it at the show??) if not properly stored it could be all rusted inside.. are the original pipes there & muffler, are they rusted through? how much is the sled butchered up? ( like was the tunnel cut to install the 76-77 Liquifire tunnel coolers? Is the Dator air box there, does or did it have a rear tank, does it have a Dator heavy or Dator lite suspension, are the original 36mm carbs there? etc. etc.

Kenny

[harleysportster]

As Kenny stated, there are alot of variables determining the price. If the orignal Dator engine is junk, that hurts the price considerably. Back in the summer a "Trailer Queen" Dator sold on Ebay for $4500.00 or so. If you don't mind a Dator clone, check out this one.
http://www.jdsleds.com/community/viewto ... =2&t=10502

[flowerpacker]

Everything is there the motor is in lower michigan that's why it wasn't there! As far as being cut up it is not and does not have rear tank! It does have good pipes on it! He told me a price of 2800!

[Cabindweller]

I saw the Dator you are talking about listed on VSC last spring. He was asking allot more than that back then. I called him and talked to him about it. If I remember right he had bought a NOS Dator motor for it from someone on MI, and had yet to get it home. Seemed like a nice enough guy.

[flowerpacker]

Yes that is guy!

[harleysportster]

Gary's Dator clone sounds very nice to me. It all depends if you are looking for the "real deal" or not.

[Matt]

If the motor is the real deal, then the price is within reason, but that sounds a little suspicious. I wouldn't shell out any money until the real dator motor is in front of you.

[400brian]

Ask questions of the guys here, or you'll find yourself paying far more than something is worth! It's happened before.

And realize what you are buying. VERY FEW people ride these things, the engines are fragile, parts are non-existent, and the sleds are heavy.

They are the shiny red Corvette of the JD world though!

[lwb140]

i talked to this guy too at that time he didnt have the original motor just the nos one in michigan that couldnt be shipped only picked up .he only had the liquifire motor installed in the sled , didnt remember anything about the suspension either ?? seems like hes come down a little and now has more parts with it . the clone deal in northern oh. seems like it would be nice too but it would seem to me like a chunk of cash to have the most important part of the sled to be incorrect . small parts could always be located and changed out over time but if your project is built on the wrong chassis it will never fetch top dollar . my thoughts wade

[lwb140]

maybe what someone needs to do is spend $5800.00 buy both the sleds and build a dator and a l/f out of the two . i guess money may grow on someones tree wade

[Horicon Joe]

Don't forget ..... if the pipes are hooked up to a Liuifire motor they have been cut by the ball joints and rewelded. They will
no longer fit the Dator motor.

Joe

[sledder670]

no matter what they still look awsome sitting in the corner of the garage and being able to be lucky enough to get a hold of one even if it may take a few years to get it perfect again is worth it. id buy it

[JDCornFlakes]

Does this supposed NOS Dator motor come with it for $2800 ?

If so I would pursue the deal a bit more finding out what you can of motor condition.

Remember: You are contemplating buying a 34 year old rare factory racer. Don't expect the thing to be perfect for an asking price of $2800. Pipes can be fixed, seats can be repaired and etc. But like the guys said here above they are called hard to find parts for that simple reason. But over time you may locate all you need. Or you may not...

If it is what you really want to have then continue dealing with guy.
As my Dad always said either $hit or get off the pot ! Or some else will take your spot.

Dave

[lwb140]

Does this supposed NOS Dator motor come with it for $2800 ?

If so I would pursue the deal a bit more finding out what you can of motor condition.

Remember: You are contemplating buying a 34 year old rare factory racer. Don't expect the thing to be perfect for an asking price of $2800. Pipes can be fixed, seats can be repaired and etc. But like the guys said here above they are called hard to find parts for that simple reason. But over time you may locate all you need. Or you may not...

If it is what you really want to have then continue dealing with guy.
As my Dad always said either $hit or get off the pot ! Or some else will take your spot.

Dave

no the nos motor was oriced at $1500.00 by itself if i remember right , i think the package was priced at $4500.00 but i dont remember the used "extra" dator motor being part of the package wade