DGODGR thanks for the compliments, Mine had been changes over to a Case pattern. Dad has=d some Cases when I was a kid. I like it it better than the Sherman controls. Dad and I put in a septic tank foar a friend log cabin. He had an old 4500 Ford hoe that was a highboy. Meaning it was based on the 4500 industrial but al lthe controlls for driving were extended and it had a platform like a newer machine. He wanted me to try it witg hi= his first and I couldnt hit the ground with it. I ran home and got mine. I bought his backhoe and finally got to be able to dig a hole. I didnt like driving it the seat sat low and to clutch it you had to put your knee behind your ear lol. The arms on the laoder had both been cracked and swollen from the moisture in them freezing.
I found out later why the arms were in bad shape, it was Prentiss County/ Booneville MS sewer lagoon. THey used it to scrap dried Sludge up into piles for disposal. I had the city workers banging it into the concrete bulkheads. We resold the 4500 to a factory that used it for maintenance.
I hope to have my old backhoe redone like they are in CLassic Plant Mag. I have seen a skiploader 3 point that mounts onto the mounts the backhoe mounts to. I want to find one mybe even build one. Id like to know how many stumps I got out, privet hedges pulled, brush piled, dirt loaded, barns piles and loaded and other things Ive done with it. Id like to get a 94 or 95 Ford 455 like my older brother had.
