Tractor Story – 1922 Farmall F20

I own a 1922 Farmall F20 which has many parts on it that were ordered from Steiner over the years. It was a Christmas gift to my grandfather in 1995, we gave him the crank wrapped up in Christmas paper. Ever since, the tractor has become more and more dilapidated and every time you go to use it, something else either breaks or stops working. So finally I chose to spend some time and money to fix a piece of AMERICAN history and get it running again. It started with an oil filter, magneto, carburetor, spark plug wires, spark plugs, muffler, tires, and rims. Up to that point things seemed to be coming together quite nicely when all of a sudden, things fall apart, literally!! As I was taking it up the road to the steam show. It occurred to me that the engine started to drag and not run quite right. The next thing I see is a line of about 50 cars behind me while I have a seized engine on a tractor in the middle of the road. Luckily, I was being followed by my grandfather in his pickup truck who towed me back to the shop. “Back to the old drawing board”, he said. After spending hours replacing the sleeves and pistons, that tractor ran great and to this day remains my favorite tractor on the farm. God Bless America and God Bless Farmers!!

James Yingling
Finksburg, Maryland