Renewing the Old – Restoration of my Great-Grandfather’s 1953 Ford Jubilee
In 2006, I was able to obtain my great-grandpa’s 1953 Ford Jubilee that was in need of significant work. Everything was rusty, oily, and greasy, but, for the most part, operational – just not reliable. So, my father-in-law agreed to help restore the family tractor and I owe him a lot of credit for the mechanical aspects of the restoration along with a local mechanic for the engine work.
The engine was overhauled while the tractor was torn down to the frame, cleaned, sanded, and prepared for painting. All of the paint work was completed by me while the mechanical work was completed and coordinated by my father-in-law. Every aspect of the tractors external frame, fenders, hood and wheels were disassembled, prepared, primed and painted in a make-shift plastic sheet paint booth created in the garage. “Memorial dents” remain in the front grill area as they have been there since I can remember and are there now as a memorial to my grandpa and great-grandpa for the hard work the tractor gave to them and now to me. I have the original owners manual along with some documentation in the handwriting of my great-grandpa for the first oil change! Decals were applied and the finishing touches were completed to the state seen now.
The work began in May 2006 and concluded in July 2006. The tractor was originally passed on to my now deceased Grandpa James, then to his sister-in-law and then to me. He did not know I was going to restore the tractor so he was extremely surprised when I drove it the 5 miles to his home with a much different look than when he saw it last!
The tractor remains in working order and I continue to work on various details of the tractor along the way. It is an honor to now have the tractor that was used to provide for my entire family for four generations, and, it now awaits its turn to serve the 5th generation as time passes and it is handed over to my five year old son Jack when the time is right!
Dwayne Young
Lawsonville, North Carolina
