Shoutout to the free lawnmower that almost set my garage on fire

Back in 2019 I snagged a riding mower from this group, a real old Craftsman that had seen better days. The guy said it just needed a new battery, which I should've questioned since he was practically jogging to my truck to hand it over. First use it ran fine for about 20 minutes, then I smelled something like burning toast and saw smoke curling out from under the engine cowling. Turns out the wiring harness was melted and touching the exhaust manifold, a real fire hazard hiding under a fresh coat of spray paint. I shut it down, pushed it back to the shed, and spent a weekend rewiring it with parts I found in the free bin at the local transfer station. That mower still runs today, but I always keep a fire extinguisher within 10 feet of it now. Has anyone else grabbed a free machine that turned out to be a project instead of a win? What was your worst fixer-upper find from this group?

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