The 214 is a good maxhine. My uncle mkwed with one for 20 years. Once it finally quit on him, I tried very hard to buy it but he wouldn’t come off of it. He bought a new husqvarna lowes garden tractor. What a POS! He’s definitely not satisfied and is now planning to get the 214 running again.
The 300-400’s will do some serious work with their hydraulics, that box blade I put on the 318 has to weigh 350 pounds or better, the tractor would ride a wheelie until I put weights on the front.
Ive been telling the wifey that I want to get into garden tractor pulling and create a pull track in one of our fields for local competition. Maybe someday soon.

The only problem is , if the Hydrostatic trans goes out , you’ll need to either 1 find another compatible tractor or 2 trash the tractor and buy new, if taken care of like , not towing it back wards or running the thing out of fluid , it will last many many years , I was talking to our John Deere rep and that’s what he said about the first 400 I bought , I searched CL for days looking and most 400 were East coast, by the truck loads , I’m West coast nothing , happened Apone one JD 400 up in State of Washington , I killed 3 birds with one stone , hooked the flat bed trailer up and headed out , bought the JD 400 with Implements , picked up the engine and a load of hay , best road trip I had in a long time , now I’m trying to problem solve my father in laws 05 yardman from hell, it’s has a electrical short and won’t start, ended up replacing Battery, silinoid , starter and ordered a safety switch for the clutch , witch if it’s not 1 it’s has to be the other 2, got it running then it died , I’ll take my Craftsmen any day ,lol

oh man I live in farmland USA, john deere dealers on every corner and old garden tractors EVERYWHERE. They’re a dime a dozen here. On my local craiglist, I can find tons of used running and not running 300’s & 400’s.

I know , and some that never left the Garage, I just couldn’t drive that far to go get one, but I know where to get parts , in the event something comes up,lol

you let me if I can ever help ya find something.

Thanks Yoteman , I’ll keep ya in mind , hey what happened to the OP thread starter ? Wonder if he trucking around on a mini tractor , got stuck and waiting for a pull , maybe no Net out in the Wild blue Yonder ,lol

the Ag tires will get more traction, the other JD has Turf tires and for what I do , its more of a spin out derby , loved the turf for mowing though .i use the Craftsman for the yard and the Cows for the rest , lol

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