I'm not sold. If you go to the "build your own" portion of the JD website, and check under miscellaneous attachments for the X500, that tiller looks identical to the 30" tiller used on my GT225, which I'm sure is the same one you're looking at. The only difference is that the X500 linkage connects above the pivot, whereas the others connect below the pivot. This is accomplished by a yellow bracket which is obviously a retrofit to the design. In the picture, you can plainly see what I'm talking about, where the linkage engages the housing. I'm sure you can buy that bracket, either with the linkage or without it. I don't think the older version has the bolt holes, so you'll probably have to drill, but I think you can make it work. I'd buy it while you think about it. If it doesn't work (doubtful), you can certainly sell it later. Even if the lift linkage doesn't work, you can still use this tiller. The pin on the side allows you to stow it in the transport position (independant of the lift linkage). You wouldn't have any depth control, but you could drop the tiller at your worksite and just till away. Even my 15hp GT225 can start the tiller with the tines on the ground. But I'm sure it would not be difficult to rig up a lift system using the X500 linkage and welding/bolting it to the housing. And if none of that works, you could probably buy the sheetmetal housing (which has the linkage attachment point)for a new tiller to use with the guts from this one. That would be a lot cheaper than buying an entire new unit. I find it hard to believe that John Deere completely redesigned their mechanical tiller and all the associated tooling in their factory, when it looks identical to the old one.

Sophie, I think that you are too harsh in calling this a vanity project. The poor OP is just trying to learn if this is practical. I know nothing about how parquet floors are put down and their tolerance for adapting to heat and different levels of moisture. Kudos to the OP for looking to save it. Not every little country church has high ceilings. At 1000 sq, I don't think that this is going to qualify as exactly an example of a "high steeple church" as my wife calls some." (She is in the business.) First thing you need to do is get clear on how much heat you can make a parquet floor take. Then you will know how much heat the floor can emit at that temperature. That is a simple calculation for a hydronic heat engineer. Lastly, does that number match your heat losss calculations? Thickness of the wood does not bother me that much. If there is enough insulation underneath the heat source, it is not going to change your heating costs. If the R=value of the parquet is 1.4, underneath is R-30 and the overall R-value of the building walls and ceiling is R-30, where is the heat going to go? What kind of heat to use? That depends on what fuel sources are available. If you have natural gas, you need to have a boiler. Any boiler can make 80 F water, you just need a thermostatic mixing valve. If your structure is amenable to radiant floor at that temp, you will have uber combustion efficiency. Radiant floor combined with some other heat delivery mehanism is going to be uber expensive. Who can afford to install two heating systems? I guess it might be 1.5 since a single boiler could supply both floor and other types of emitters (think cast iron radiators.) Finally, if you can't have radiant and parquet floor there may be more than one way to punt. One way, of course is another kind of hydronic or forced air heat. If your heart is more set on radiant than parquet floors, you could put the parquet to another use. How does a parquet wall or two appeal to you? You could do parquet wainscoating, or parquet trim around windows and doors. How about a parquet ceiling? I've never seen parquet kitchen cabinets, but why not?

Pine is a closed grain wood. Filler doesn't stick readily to closed grain woods. Filler doesn't stick well to things that are moving. I don't know that I'd recommend replacing any boards since part of the t&g is lost doing so and unless you get old Pine to patch with, it's never going to match. If the current filler can be removed I would suggest you try to secure the boards that are moving and buy some Woodwise (or equal) prefinish filler. It comes in different colors and you'd probably need two or three to mix to get the proper color. It won't solve the problem but it's flexible and has a better chance at staying in the cracks. It's water based so it stays soft and can be resoftened with water as long as it doesn't dry out completely.

Is your attic finished, or do you have only boards over the floor joists. Homes of this age can be balloon construction, meaning you could drop a line from the attic and it would go through to basement level. I'm not a pro, but looked into foam injected (via outside) for a mid century home and was told that if foam was used, it would fill up wall cavities, making access to future electrical work very difficult. I opted for blown in cellulose by a highly reputable company who filled all voids to avoid heat loss, and installed a sealing attic entry door with vertical sides to preclude movement of cellulose. You might want to look at some DR. ENERGY videos before deciding on best type of insulation.