I have a 1972 new Holland s14h.
Same exact thing as the Ariens ones except for the color. Ariens actually bought the whole line from Sperry new Holland in the early 70s, changed them to orange and they had a heavy duty GT. I just went to GT talk (wow I've had this machine longer than I thought) and found thread from the guy I got it from, "coinman66"-- he hasn't posted anything anywhere that Ive seen in a very long time -- where it was said that when looking up info on the "tractor data" site that mine is the EXACT tractor photographed for the section on those tractors. Not one "just like" but THE tractor on Tractor data.... Looking at the colors and the silver deck ( it's got some peels and the original pale yellow paint is poking thru) it isn't "right" as built in the colors it has had since before it became mine but it's obvious that he was right that mine is "that" machine. I never thought much of it....
I got it as a basket case with engine partially apart, and I stuck another onto it that I had laying around but I have it's original one sitting here all freshly (and properly) rebuilt.
The guy wonders why it knocked and smoked.
Somewhere along the way it was rebuilt. And a standard rose was put on a journal that was already 0.013 too small from wear. So it's now 0.020 under with a corresponding brand new rod. It has been bored out as well with a corresponding NOS OEM piston, it's been a few years but I think it only had to be bored 10-over. Engine is all fresh and never yet been fired. Not sure I want to reunite them or use that engine on something else. It runs fine on the engine in place although the one I have on there has to
Come apart because of an oil leak behind the flywheel anyway. And I am gonna have to pull the deck for some new bearings.
I didn't run that tractor this past summer but when I last did it was a beast.
Unsure of what I want to do with that tractor right now, gonna have to do some thinning out this coming spring. Not a complete liquidation of my GTs but definitely a thinning out.... Gotta figure out which ones will leave though....
