No. 10 auto patrol value?

I checked the ACMOC Chapter 12 for grader info, your 7E serial number prefix does identify it as a No.10 Auto Patrol, produced from 1933 to 1940, the 7E's had a gas engine and would weigh around 13,440lb single rear drive or 16,350lb tandem rear drive. These old graders often had two different serial# tags on them (grader serial # on the frame, power unit serial #on the engine) and these numbers will be different. The grader serial # is the one you'll want to verify for model identification.

If it is a gas grader, the condition of the manifolds is almost as important as the condition of the rest of the engine. Good used replacements can be difficult to find and new repros are expensive providing anyone is making them for your machine. If the manifolds are bad or the engine is stuck, the value drops significantly in my book.

Tires are another big ticket item that can also be costly to replace if you choose to buy new. Make sure they're not weatherchecked, rotted, or worn out. Look for excessive rust around the beads of the rims, plus keep in mind that most of the original rims on these machines were the split rim type, so safety is also a concern if they're in rough shape.

I snapped a few pics of my No.9 Auto Patrol parts donor machine to show some things to look for on the frame and chassis to help determine overall condition also. Check any riveted frame members for loose or damaged rivets, a tell-tale sign of loose rivets is if you see weld that has been applied to two components to cure a loose joint caused by broken or stressed rivets, see pic below-

[img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy310/TRNelson/photo%20214_zpstvtxkbn6.jpg[/img]


Also check for riveted joints that have cracked out or been welded -

[img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy310/TRNelson/photo%20215_zpstyky2pdo.jpg[/img]


Check for welds on the blade/circle jack screw brackets where they attach to the grader's frame, not uncommon to see where these have been broken clean off due to hard use, then welded back together like this one -

[img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy310/TRNelson/photo%20216_zpssz564kuz.jpg[/img]



Look for evidence of broken or repaired gear boxes -

[img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy310/TRNelson/photo%20219_zpswxaaxm4q.jpg[/img]



Check to see if there is excessive wear in the power control shafts where the pins pass through the bronze u-joint crosses -

[img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy310/TRNelson/photo%20217_zpsorckltxg.jpg[/img]



Also look to see if any rivets have been replaced by bolts, this either indicates that loose or broken rivets were replaced or that certain riveted sections have been taken apart for a prior repair.

[img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy310/TRNelson/photo%20218_zpsbndphxac.jpg[/img]



Check the moldboard over really well, look for thin spots or patches that have been welded in, see if you can tell if the cutting edge is still good and try to make sure the bottom of the moldboard has not been worn away from a cutting edge that was not changed until it was too late. Also, any attachments that may still be on the machine could increase its value - scarifier parts are rather rare, and snow wings, vee plows, blade extensions, etc are all bonuses. Look to see how much is left of the wood cab pieces (if it originally had one) and also if the door and window hardware is still there.

If most of those things check out and it seems like it could be a runner, then $3,000 might be OK but for me personally, I would want it to already run, be in overall good shape, be complete, good cab, and have nice rubber to spend that. If it doesn't run but is mostly complete and what's there looks like it has potential but needs work, I'd offer $1,000. But if it's in rough condition under the new-ish looking paint, engine stuck, manifolds bad, rubber bad, etc. then I would say its only worth scrap price minus the expense of hauling it to the yard - and that ain't much right now.

Thanks sasquatch, lota good information, I believe it's a single axle with duals and a gasoline engine. I don't believe it has a cab or maybe it has been removed.

If the price is right, buy it. If you find a better one later, buy it too, unless it is in my area!