KRAIG, KIRK - The 982 has a totally different steering linkage than any other CC, there's a pivoting yoke attached behind the center of the frt axle to convert the fore & aft movement to port & starboard for turning. The steering gear is much larger and more heavy-duty than any of the normal sized CC's, I've never had to adjust my 982's steering in the 12 yrs I've had it. I did replace the pivot pin the yoke pivots on to tighten up a little slop, made a BIG difference. The pivot for that yoke isn;t greasable. It was still available 5-6 yrs ago from MTD. There's jack bolts installed in the axle channel too to adjust the normal wobble or play the smaller CC's seem to get in the pivot too. Plus the frt axle is at least twice a beefy as any other CC.
The 982 tractor itself is bullet-proof, the later CCC-built models with the all diecast rearend housing have had a few instances of the top two axle carrier bolts loosening and wallowing out the threads. And where the frame squashes down and widen outs ahead of the steering console I've heard of a couple cracking the frame. But they are a smooth comfortable easy handling tractor. The tractors with ALL the options bring a premium price, they have the individual rear brakes, rear PTO, Cat 0 3-pt, and the extra pair of frt remotes.
The Onan engines can be finicky to keep running, and expensive to work on, but they make a lot of HP for a tractor the size of the 982. Mine runs the 50C deck with ease.
RICK A. Yes, the old 2-blade timed 38" decks do a nice job of mowing compared to the later 3-blade 38" decks. The short little belt running from the center driven pulley to the right spindle was their weak spot, that belt couldn't handle a lot of HP, and the timing belt didn't like shocks from hitting things at all. We broke one a year on our old '63 Original. When the second one broke in '65 the O got traded for the 70 out in the shop. I think that O is still mowing. It was repainted red/white by the IH dealer in Cambridge, IL and the guy who bought it back in '65 was still mwoing with it about 10 yrs ago.
MARLIN - Why not just get the whole IH pickup? Like Brian says, they were very prone to rusting, the lack of electro-galvanized steel & not good primers & paint made them rust quick.
I'd like to get a better horn on my '96 F250. The night I picked it up I tapped the horn and it's so wimpy I've never honked the horn again. My little Volvo has a MUCH better sounding horn.