Questions about a 300 for auction

There is an auction 5 miles from me coming up in three weeks and they will be selling a Farmall 300 row crop tractor. I talked to the owner of the tractor about 3 years ago when I was out bicycling and saw it in his yard, he said that a relative who was a mechanic had put a new TA and some other transmission parts in it a few years before that and it ran well but that it had almost immediately begun to howl whenever he took his foot off the clutch and he had driven it to where it was and parked it till the relative had time to come back and work on it again. It is still sitting in the same spot, so I will assume it has been there at least 5 years. It is in the open but it has a 5 gallon bucket over the exhaust. I didn't offer to buy it at the time because I had very little experience in repairing tractors and it sounded like more than I could handle, plus he said he had spent over $2,000 on parts and I didn't want to offer a really low amount. I can see that it has a live hyd pump with lines running to what looks like a 2 way valve and I assume it probably has a fast hitch but it is not visible in the photo. The whole tractor is somewhat rusty but not too bad. I am thinking about leaving a bid on it once I have gotten a look at it, I would be glad of any advice about what the value might be. I am guessing that the tires may not be good anymore, and the engine may be stuck after the amount of time it has sat. I would think it would be a handier tractor than my H for pulling the haybine and baler. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Zach

Here is a link to the photo. I have never looked at the tractor up close but I will probably try to pay a visit soon.
Zach
picture

Well, it could be OK or not. I just bought a 560 diesel that sat outside for 5 years with the exhaust covered. Water had gotten into cylinders two and three through the air intake but I managed to get them out. The TA dry section is full of rust and ruined. (I did not count on that)

Anymore unless I am willing to put more money in it than it is worth or am looking for a project I don't bother buying fixer-uppers as I have never come out ahead. But I always fix things right!

I would think 500-1000 would be a good buy. Tires are expensive and scrap seems to keep getting higher. Good Luck

It has a fast hitch, the front cylinder and bracket is showing in the picture. Lot of them are missing on tractors now. Bought several in the past about like that for $800 to $1000 with most running but not good. Also have saw a not running F300 bring over $2000 at a auction before.

Yup, i would agree it would be a better/handy tractor than a H! That pail would do a poor job of keeping water out and it looks like it has set a long time! Hot cold hot cold = sweating and there could be lot's of rust/pitting on everything exposed?? Power steering would be a plus? Bud.

Sounds like he screwed up the throw-out bearing,cheap, just not an easy fix.

It has the early style fast hitch, that's definitely a plus, the hydraulic pump has been replaced, also a plus.
Needs a front grill, probably a new clutch & throw out bearing, new tires all the way around, every oring in the hydraulic system replaced, new exhaust pipe extension, need to tap out the manifold for the new pipe. I am sure the gas tank is really rusty.
If the engine turns over, that would be a good start. The T/A & clutch linkage is probably out of adjustment. If the hydraulics work you have around a $1500 to $2000 tractor, motor stuck, won't run we are back to $1000 or $1200.
These tractors are a bit more complicated to restore than the super H it replaced, but they make a very handy tractor when you are done :

This one took around 3 months of until around midnight after work through the week, and 8 to 10 hrs each Sat & Sun. I had expert mechanical help with the splitting to replace the T/A & Clutch, and all the drive train bearing & seal replacement. I did most of the "helper" grunt work, I had an expert prep & paint after we got all the leaks fixed.