My Tractor Story


GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Seeing the Ford Tractor posted not long ago by PeteK, got me thinking about my own tractor story.
The tractor is not a Ford and is not really relevant to this forum, but it is a story I enjoy telling and hope you enjoy reading.

I grew up on a wheat farm in central Kansas. We had several larger tractors for the work related to wheat, but my father also had a smaller 1944 International Farmall B that we used to do a variety of other work (cultivating, mowing, raking, baling hay, etc.). My father first let me drive it at 8 years old. Soon thereafter, he had me using it for all sorts of field work – many good memories! When my father passed in 1980, all the farm equipment was sold except for the International tractor. It sat un-used and rusting in a field near the family home until 1994. My wife and I had purchased a 5 acre lot in middle Tennessee in 1993 and were in the process of building our current home. During the 16 months it took to build the home, I was using a small riding mower to try and keep down the weeds and the mowing was taking much longer than I wanted. My thought was to refurbish the old tractor and add a 72” Woods belly mower to it.

So I buy a dual axle trailer (12’ long by 6’ wide with a drive up ramp. I had a come-along winch and a few light chains that I threw on and began my journey (my wife wanted no part of it!) from middle Tennessee to mid Kansas – just under 900 miles. The trip was uneventful and I made good time. The next day I backed the trailer in front of the tractor and began winching it up the ramp and onto the trailer. The front “tricycle” portion came up easily despite the weight of the engine. As the rear wheels and dry-rotted tires came up, I saw a problem I hadn’t anticipated. The rear wheels were too wide for the angle iron sides of trailer. So, I began the knuckle busting task of removing the rusted bolts and nuts holding the wheel to the hub that is attached to the tractor’s rear axle. I finally complete that task which drops the tractor much closer to the ground. I begin winching the tractor back up and now realize the hub and axle are still about 2” too wide to fit on the trailer. So now what do I do besides feeling very foolish? Our closest neighbor, who began farming the land for us after dad’s passing, lived only about ½ mile away. So I called him, explained my situation and without hesitation he says “I know how to fix that, I’ll be over in 20min”. I had been off the farm awhile, but what was I missing that was obvious to him?

In about 20 minutes I hear a loud motor approaching. He is driving a very large 4WD tractor with a front end loader. He positions the elevated loader above the tractor, we use chains to attach the tractor to the loader, he picks up the tractor and angles it enough that the rear now fits! He says “it’s on, you’ll have to figure out how to get it off!” I laughed and thanked him. After loading the two rear wheels and cinching down the tractor. It was back to Tennessee. Wherever I stopped for breaks or food, the tractor always attracted attention – mostly older guys who had owned or driven one just like it. Once I made it home, my wife’s reaction was why did I bring a bunch of rusted junk home? See first photo:

Fortunately, my wife’s brother, had several tractors and enjoyed restoring them. He agreed to help restore mine and we had a great time over the next year taking it completely apart and bringing it back to life. It amazed me how easy it was finding parts for a 70 year old tractor! The few things that the local Case/International dealership did not have, were available online through collector forums. It was very inexpensive to restore the tractor. The kit to rebuild the engine was about $300. The seat was restored with original canvas for a little over $100. The battery box was about $75. The tires were about $600 and having it repainted by Case/International was about $600. Not bad! The rusted heap now looked like it just rolled off the assembly line! See second photo:

Before buying the mower attachment, I drove the tractor over our new land and quickly discovered the tractor was well suited to the flat lands of Kansas, but ill-suited to the rolling hills of Tennessee. The weight of the engine is too high and the tricycle front end not practical for hills. So I did what any guy would do. I bought a large zero-turn mower and kept the tractor in its original condition!

For the next 20 years, I gave neighbor kids rides, drove it around the neighborhood and occasionally used it for hay rides at church and charity events. Keeping it in my garage, I still had to add air to the tires, change oil, fresh gas, charge the battery, etc. After 20 years, the thrill was gone and I decided it was time to let someone else enjoy the tractor. No one in my family was interested, so I asked my circle of car friends if they knew of anyone who would like to buy an antique tractor.

A month or so later, we were at a crawfish broil at the daughter and son-in-law of one of our best friends. The son-in-law was a vice president at Gaylord Hotels and said “I hear you have a tractor for sale?” I said yes and he said “let me introduce you to someone who might be interested”. He introduces me to a guy named Steve who asks what kind of tractor I had. I told him a 1944 International Farmall B. He then asked what color it was (I knew this guy did not know tractors since all the Internationals I had ever seen were red) and so I pulled out my phone to show him a picture. He said he was interested and when could he come out to see it. Since I was retired, I said just about any time. Four days later he came to the house with three female assistants who began to measure the tractor, take photos and have side conversations. Seemed a little strange. Steve says he wants to buy it but could I first tell him how much it weighed? I expected questions of HP, or speed or regarding implements, but not weight. Fortunately, I had the owner’s manual which showed the weight at a little over 1800lbs. I asked why he wanted to know and he said because he planned to hang it. When I asked what he was talking about, he said he works for Blake Shelton and they were opening a restaurant/bar/entertainment venue in downtown Nashville. The place was to be called Ole Red after one of Blake’s first big hits. And would I mind if they were able to get Blake to come over and film him driving the tractor? Unfortunately, Blake’s schedule did not allow him to drive the tractor before the Grand Opening. They soon came and loaded up my tractor (see third photo) to begin draining all fluids and steam cleaning to remove all stubborn the bits of grease and oil.

My wife and I got to meet Blake and enjoy the facility before the public did at a pre-opening event for all the people who helped to get the venue open (designers, architects, construction etc.). It is a really great setup. The son-in-law that introduced me to Steve, his teams oversaw the renovation of the building. Gaylord is responsible for the hospitality (food, drinks, staffing, etc.) Blake brings in the talent that performs. If you’ve watched The Voice on TV, you get an idea of the source and quality of the talent he brings. The first Ole Red opened in Oklahoma, where Blake is from. The second is in Nashville where my tractor now hangs! They opened a third in Gatlinburg, Tn which now has an older model International Farmall as well. See fourth photo below showing Blake at the podium and Colin Reed, the CEO of Gaylord Hotels to the right side.

And the last photo shows the tractor hanging upside down over the stage - which is why the steaming of the fluids was so important!

Funny how things work out, a tractor from Kansas moved to Tennessee now hanging above the stage at Ole Red. My father would be laughing at where his tractor ended up!
 

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twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
I grew up on a dairy farm (my grandfathers - actually milked cows by hand when power went out). We had an N1 for the every day stuff. I first drove it when I was 6 (I remember, just in first grade which by the way was the last class in the township's 1 room schoolhouse.). He needed to take the other tractor from the barn to the house, so he got them side by side, put the N1 in first and released the clutch and let me steer it to the house pulling a little trailer full of gallon milk jugs. he hopped on the bigger Ford (don't remember the style) and got to the house before me and walked up and stopped my unit. It was one of the earliest things I remember.

The little one was for the farmyard stuff, like moving wagons of ground corn, hauling hay out to the cows. The one thing it did have was a sickle bar mower that we used for cutting hay and also for weeds around the buildings. This one mounted on the side between the front and rear wheels and raised/lowered the bar with the rear hydraulic lifters. I cried when I accidentally cut the legs off a barnyard cat. I think I mowed my first hay field when I was 10 or 11. He didn't trust me to make straight lines for plowing (big tractor) but I did get to drive with the disc harrow after he plowed. He did the planting - and the rows were always straight as an arrow. I did get to change the planter from corn plates to bean plates. At the end of the day we washed the grease off our hands with gasoline from the pump. Leaded. Never wore sunglasses or hats and us stupid kids walked the beans without shirts and noone heard of sunscreen. My eye doctor says that's why I had cataracts and the derm is amazed I never got skin cancer but still have a year round tan :)

The big tractor had an interchangeable tricycle front or two wheel front. The tricycle was used for packing beans and corn, but most often just had the wide front. As I recall the spacing was set to do every other furrow so 3 up, 3 down.

I remember it fondly...
 
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AJB

GT
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jun 28, 2006
2,943
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Thanks for sharing. Tractor stories are always cool. I have a New Holland TC34DA , front loader and 60 inch Woods tiller ( fairly new stuff) at my Pennsylvania farm.
You are correct, that even slight hills are a bit unnerving.
So I too bought a John Deere commercial Zero turn mower to do my mowing.

Zero turns are fun to use too.!
Andy (ajb)
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Growing up on a farm seemed inconvenient and a lot of work back then, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything!
 
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GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Thanks AJB! I enjoy the zero-turn as well!
 
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twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
My dad took over the farm after grandpa passed away. He was a "gentleman farmer" - an architect and builder primarily so coop'ed the farm with a neighbor for the heavy lifting. Some time after my wife and I were in Colorado he bought an old John Deer "popping Johnny". As I recall you started it by spinning the flywheel. It was cute, and I'm sure in its day, was a workhorse. By that time the farm's Fords were gone and I think he had a Massey-Ferguson to do the main work.
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Yes, we had a John Deere "D" tractor that you started by spinning the flywheel. When I was younger, that was a daunting task, but grew easier as I grew larger and stronger. My father was always playing jokes and would invite his friends to try and start the tractor. As he moved away from the flywheel, he would distract the friend and close one of the petcocks making it almost impossible for the friend to start! I don't think they ever caught on!
 

digman1

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Feb 8, 2007
391
Dallas Texas
Headed to Nashville in June, so hope to see her at Ole Red's.
 
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twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
You are correct, that even slight hills are a bit unnerving.

I bought a "Bobcat" - a Case 1845C when I built the houses. Best purchase I ever made. Sold it after 12 years for the same I paid for it. Hint: If you're doing a construction job just buy one at auction, you can sell it for what you paid for it and save the rent.

Anyway, during the process I had it setting on the side of the house away from view. The neighbor's house was being excavated and the lot clearance was narrow so I decided to move it. I had a bucket and forks. I backed down the hill and dropped the bucket and started up the hill to get the forks. Oooops... Front is now light, hill is steep. Ass end dropped - front wheels off the ground. Major pucker moment. The back end rested on the bump from the swinging hydraulic oil cooler - if that hadn't been ther it would have rolled. It's like the cartoon - if you get out the thing is going to flip. Fortunately the hydraulics weren't perfect and there was enough leakage that it slowly crept back down about 2' and the front went back down again. I backed up the hill and used a chain to bring the forks down.
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,268
Kalama, Free part of WA State
I’m reversing the wheel hubs on my tractor to widen the rear track to about 68”. That should significantly help preventing roll overs.
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Digman1, great - if you're here on a Saturday morning, come by Cars & Coffee, would enjoy meeting you!
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Twobjshelbys, when our house was being build, I rented a bobcat to satisfy my ADD and move some dirt before final grading. I had no prior experience with a bobcat and almost did the same thing! I did not go as far back as you did but was envisioning a roll over! I slowed down and did more backing up from that point forward!
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
PeteK, once I got the tractor home and started the restoration, I discovered there were 4 possible settings and widths for the wheel/tires and was able to drive the tractor on the trailer using the most narrow setting!
 

extrap

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 16, 2020
1,751
Gainesville FL
My dad talks fondly of being 10-12 and being allowed to operate the old 2WD 'trike' tractors on our family's Pennsylvania farms.

But, when it came down to it ... He has a modern 4WD 4HP Mahindra with Roll Over Protection (of course) (y)

Guess it's not much different than doing donuts and haulin ass in my '76 Trans Am with no seat belts on. I assume it had them, but don't actually know. How did we survive?! 🤪
 
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extrap

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 16, 2020
1,751
Gainesville FL
.
 
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twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
Twobjshelbys, when our house was being build, I rented a bobcat to satisfy my ADD and move some dirt before final grading. I had no prior experience with a bobcat and almost did the same thing! I did not go as far back as you did but was envisioning a roll over! I slowed down and did more backing up from that point forward!
It's a lot easier to over-load the front and tip down. I saw even pros lift a bucket high to put it in a dump truck or a load in a dumpster and tip down (but almost always into the truck receiving the load, so no big fall). Mine could lift over a ton and I often had pallets of stone. If I was heavily loaded on the front I would still back down since if it wanted to tip (even with the load not too high) you'd be stuck with the pallet on the ground and the rear wheels in the air and only recourse was to take some stone off. That, and banging my head on the GT door, happened only once.

I used mine for snow removal too.

There's a Caterpillar dealer with a huge lot nearby. They have a dirt pile in the back that people can move around to try new and used equipment.
 

tpraceman

THEE GT OWNER
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 20, 2006
2,835
Washington Michigan
Thanks for sharing. Tractor stories are always cool. I have a New Holland TC34DA , front loader and 60 inch Woods tiller ( fairly new stuff) at my Pennsylvania farm.
You are correct, that even slight hills are a bit unnerving.
So I too bought a John Deere commercial Zero turn mower to do my mowing.

Zero turns are fun to use too.!
Andy (ajb)
I knew we think alike my TC34D is a favorite, but I can't seem to get the nerve to sell my 8N :)
 

tpraceman

THEE GT OWNER
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 20, 2006
2,835
Washington Michigan
I just looked up Brentwood, I plan on making a trip from Jasper Highlands TN up to see it this summer.
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Old tractors are the original "Heavy Metal"! :cool:
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,268
Kalama, Free part of WA State
For those of you in the Midwest, there’s a really huge, fun, and interesting gathering of antique tractors and farm equipment in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, every September. It’s called “Old Threshers reunion.” If you’ve never been, it’s worth seeing at least once. The “tractor pulls” are only one small part of it.