I have an old, old GDLT that I picked up off a guy cheap. It was in pretty rough shape but a little work and it made it through duck season. I took it to Go Devil to get some work done and the famous Coco refused to work on it because he said the "engine was too high" and it had been modified.

How high should it be? The guy I bought it from obviously added the 2" spacers to accommodate something but I want to get it back to how it is supposed to be to get the best performance. I bought a new shaft from GD so the only thing that isn't GD is the U joint. The original engine was a 18hp and now it has a 20hp vanguard.

This is the best pic I have:

The only thing I can think of is if it had a bigger motor with a higer PTO previously, is the 18 the motor that came on it from the factory?

WTF?

it looks like the frame was bent all to hell when the motor was installed. Coco was right.

we need more pics from the side and back.

The frame has BS186FT so I'm assuming the original engine was an 18 briggs. I'll get some good pics this weekend. I don't have any on my phone.

By bent, you mean where the engine mounts is at too much of an angle from the shaft?

Man mine is a 1986 and it looks nothing like that. that thing has been modified out the wazoo!

I'm not sure what year it is but the serial number is just over 1000. The lady there laughed and agreed it was really old. I'd just like to get the engine how it should be. Only thing that bugs me is the handle, it's a PITA so I'll probably get a friend to weld up something else.

those motor mounts need to come out, the motor should be mounted flat on the base plate. everything else needs to be cut and welded to fit there. you may have to drill new motor mount holes, which is what the previous owner should have done. the 23 will likely have to move forward from where the 18 was due to higher crankshaft height.

I saw a GD lt frame on Louisianasportsman for 450. that would be the best bet. your frame is wonkerjawed.