She was in sad shape when I brought her home, an old Farmall F20, my first tractor. I bought her from a local boy scout leader when I was 18 in trade for an old outboard motor and $200.00. I had never seen one like it but the price was right. My father expressed his doubts and told me to park her behind the garden. I took stock of my prize and made a list of what I needed, several pages. Radiator shot, transmission gears broken, bearings smoked, governor worn out, cylinders scored, head cracked, sheet metal torn and bent, generator burned up, axle wishbone and cradle broken, tie rod bent, all bushings and pins worn out, rims rusted through, tires rotted, lights gone, control rods missing steering wheel falling apart.

The biggest challenge was finding parts. I started with the local IH Dealer who advised me to go to a salvage yard for any parts I would need. I learned to ask for a lead from anyone who would listen. I attended local farm shows and spoke with anyone who might help. I met many who had one part or another and a few showed me vast collections of hundreds of old tractors. I drove hundreds of miles to salvage yards and shows, always one goal in mind, further my old F20’s restoration. I was rewarded with many finds. NOS pistons rings and sleeves, valves, and radiator core

But the years rolled by and I grew discouraged working on her. In time I found parts new and old. I paid machine shops to make and repair parts. One by one the machine shops went out of business. Crowley Boiler Works, Miller Tool and Die, and others all gone. I would move on to another shop farther away. In time 4 decades passed and more. With my 9 children mostly grown I still struggled to make ends meet but I never lost sight of my goal. I left no stone unturned, the Job is Done. The old gal runs strong and true no smoke or leaks. The PTO Dyno says 28 HP.
My Grampa would have loved her, he was 39 when this F20 was shiny and new in 1936.

Edward Prestin
Jackson, Michigan

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