A buddy of mine has a JD 970 that he bought new in the late 90's. He swears it will do everything that I will want it too. Its 38HP I believe but the older ones seem to be built a little heavier. He wants me to play with it some before I buy one. I don't want to buy something bigger than I need but I want to be happy with what I buy. Been shopping on the internet several hours every night lol.