My name is Corbin Darilek and I am 13 years old. I am in the in the 7th grade and I am a member of Magnolia West FFA in Magnolia, Texas. This is my first year to be involved in FFA. I chose to join FFA because I enjoyed going to FFA tractor restorations shows with my older brother, Cody. My grandfather is involved in raising cattle and farming and has many old tractors sitting around and my dad is a diesel fleet mechanic, so I have enjoyed being around tractors and agriculture, and mechanics my whole life. I competed with my restored Farmall 200 at the San Antonio, Texas Stock Show, the Houston, Texas Livestock Show and Rodeo, and Blinn College Ag Mechanics Show in Brenham, Texas. Each time I was the youngest tractor restoration competitor. I am happy to say that I placed 4th in my class of 13 at San Antonio, and received a blue ribbon at each show.
The tractor I chose to restore as my first Ag Mechanics Tractor Restoration Project is a 1955 Farmall 200. Farmall 200’s were only built for 3 years, from 1954-1956. Only 13,791 Farmall 200’s were produced for the U.S., with 9,872 of those being built in 1955.
I purchased my Farmall 200, “Bandy”, from a farmer in East Bernard, Texas. The farmer’s son works with my dad and decided to sell his tractor to me when he heard what I would be using it for. He was the original owner of the tractor and had parked it in a barn about 20-22 years ago, updating to a newer and bigger tractor. I am very excited to be the 2nd owner of my tractor and plan on keeping it in my family.
The tractor was originally used for row crop corn farming. While researching my tractor, I discovered that the purpose for the Farmall 200 was to be used as a base unit for cotton pickers. I also researched the single wheel found on the front of my tractor and found that this was an option that was available, but did not come standard. I have only seen one other Farmall 200 with the single front wheel. I asked the original owner about this and he confirmed that he had ordered the tractor with the single wheel. A replacement tire for the tractor would have cost as much as one rear tires, so I decided to keep the original tire and cleaned really well and put tire black on it. I am very happy with the finished product and receive lots of complements on having the original tire. I also researched the air-cleaner on my tractor and found that this tractor was ordered with a collector type rather than a screen type air cleaner. I quickly realized that the jar on the air-cleaner was not the correct one, but was able to find the right jar in my Great-grandmother’s canning supplies.
Restoring the tractor was a lot of hard work. While my dad and older brother helped me with the heavy or dangerous parts, restoring the tractor was definitely my job. I worked on my tractor every day after school and every weekend until it was finished. I learned a lot working on my tractor such as sandblasting, welding, engine work, painting, and what comes from dedication and hard work.
I ordered most of my parts from Steiner Tractor and was always happy with the quality of the parts they sent. Some of the bigger items I replaced included the bottomgrill section, the gaskets for the engine and transmission, a new seat, radiator, steering wheel, original style gauges and the original style decals. Steiner was able to help me with many other parts that I needed for a complete restoration. Right before my first show, an ice and snow storm caused the headlight switch and my 6 volt coil to be lost in transit somewhere between Michigan and Texas. Without these parts, I had absolutely no chance of showing my tractor. Judges require all parts to be operable and I needed to be able to drive my tractor for the competition as well. I am happy and appreciative to say that Steiner quickly sent the parts to me a different way so that I would be able to show my tractor.
Finding a lot of information about the Farmall 200 is difficult. I was able to find out that the Farmall 200 is a restyled Super C with some improvements and had a reputation for being easy to use and dependable. I now take my restored Farmall 200 to tractor shows and talk to other tractor enthusiasts about their tractors and what they know about mine. I also drive my tractor in parades, including pulling a corn trailer with my FFA chapter riding along in our hometown Christmas parade, and with other tractor people through the country side on tractor rides.
I am really proud of my tractor and the way she turned out. I look forward to restoring a different tractor to show at the tractor restoration shows each year until I graduate. I also want to become a full-time tractor mechanic when I am older.
* Photo 2 is when the tractor was picked up
* Photo 3 is day the tractor restoration was completed
Corbin Darilek
Magnolia, Texas