Opinion on Morbark 290 chipper

[Woodyjiw]

I found a Morbark disc chipper for sale near me. I believe it's a 290.
The owner says it's a 12" with a 4 cylinder Ford gas engine. He also said it works and runs fine but needs the gas tank cleaned and a new fuel line. It doesn't run unless you pull gas out of a clean can and has no battery. He also claims it was used about a year ago. I'm not sure that's true, looks like it been sitting longer than that.
I looked in the gas tank and it LOOKS BAD, very scaly rust, I'm not sure it can be cleaned and salvaged.
I believe it's an early 90's model, I couldn't find any info on the machine as it's been repainted.
He's asking $3500, says that's what he has to get.
I would like your opinions on the machine and his pricing. Here are a few pics.

Thanks Woody

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[Woodyjiw]

Anybody??

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[Deleted member 117362]

I would want to see it running and chipping. Are blades all there and in good condition? How does it run under load? Same thing happened to a friends chipper, we pulled tank, power washed the inside, poured in PB blaster, power washed again and raised fuel pick up. Replacing bearings, bushings and parts adds to the repair cost fast. His is Cat (Perkins) diesel powered with auto feed and gave $6,500 for the machine and spent another $3,500 on knives, bushings, bearings, tires, lines and paint.

 

[gdavis24]

Your pix don't show what I want to see...but the blade housing, feed wheels, chassis resemble a 290.
Any chipper at $3K is likely a project, and there are items more important to worry about than the gas tank and battery. You want to wiggle and test chipper disk bearings, knives, knife mount holes, clutch engage, hydraulic feed wheels, engine runs, engine noise at speed, chip some 4" poles, wiring, belts, tires and wheel bearings.
That said, the four cyl Ford gas engines are said to be mildly powered but last forever. I've run a diesel 290 for ten years. Anything under 6" it never blinks, and pines up to 12" it does the job if careful how you feed it.