tractor restoration Archives - Antique Tractor Blog

1952 Ferguson TO-30

09/23/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

I bought my 1952 Ferguson TO-30 from a “collector” back in 1995. As I used it it became clear this machine was held together by just enough silicone sealer to allow it to run. Oil mixed with the water, and the rear seal was basically the seal carrier pumped full of silicone sealer. It became clear the lower cylinder seals were shot, as was just about every seal in the engine.

At that point I was able to locate a new short block in Iowa. I drove to Des Moines and picked up the short block. A local expert rebuilt the head, with new valves, new rocker shaft and bushings, and even pinned a crack. With the rebuilt head and new short block it was a new engine! When reassembling it I put in a new clutch plate and pressure plate.

Since then the Ferguson TO-30 has run great. I’ve repainted the sheet metal and put new headlights on it. It has mowed a lot of fields and smoothed a lot of rock roads. The Continental Z129 is a great engine. I’ve rebuilt the carb and added electronic ignition. I’ve had two 9Ns and they cannot touch the Ferguson for power and reliability!

Larry Snyder of Mountain View, Arkansas

If you would like to submit a story with photo(s) about an experience with your tractor, interesting facts about its history, or a restoration project, please go to Tractor Story Submissions. If your story is picked to appear on the blog you will receive a FREE Steiner hat. Some stories will also go on to be published in our quarterly magazine. We look forward to hearing your story!

1952 John Deere B

09/15/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

My father brought the 1952 John Deere B tractor home in 1952 to use on his 400-acre family farm. He had all the attachments also. After he passed away I stored it in a barn.

Last year my grandson, Cayden wanted to restore the tractor as his senior project. With the help of my son, Chad, they started by sanding the tractor and buying a few new parts from Steiner Tractor Parts. After about six months of restoration, Cayden took the tractor to school for his presentation.

He is planning to drive it in parades and take it to tractor shows. It is a tractor that can be passed down to the next generations. I am proud that he restored it and has an interest in preserving tractors for future generations.

Ellen May Brand
Edinburgh, Indiana

1951 John Deere B

08/08/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

This is my 1951 John Deere B. I bought it in February 2022. After searching for over a year for an antique tractor to use on my family’s hobby farm I decided to post a “looking for ad” online. Within an hour a nearby farmer messaged me with some pictures and his phone number.

I contacted him and we got talking. It was an older restore he used on his farm to pull tobacco wagons into the barn. He bought it more so for his grandson but he lost interest in it so decided to sell it. After doing a test drive in the door yard we agreed on a price shook hands and it was mine.

This tractor is used on my family’s 7-acre hobby farm where we grow, corn, soybeans, and sunflowers for wildlife, and grow decorative corn and pumpkins we sell along the roadside in the Fall. This tractor fits in with the farm very well. My dad and I collect and restored two John Deere garden tractors, and we set all tractors up along the roadside with lights and flags on them for patriotic holidays. My goal is to fully restore this tractor someday and hand it down to my son.

Tony Voigt
Fox Lake, Wisconsin

Chris Brady
Lebanon, Kentucky

1941 Ford 9N

07/28/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

My tractor is a 1941 Ford 9N, six-volt system. I’ve done some repair work on it, front axle pivot pin, wheel bearings, left spindle, carb rebuild, a new gas tank, and right 3-point rocker lift arm.

I have three implements for her a Ferguson 14-inch double bottom plow, a Ferguson 5-foot pull behind the disc, and a John Deere back blade. Her name is Edna.

Joel Pfrang
Lake City, Michigan

Allis Chalmers WF45 Restoration

07/14/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

My Allis Chalmers WF45 is a custom-built restoration project. The tractor began life in 1949 as an Allis Chalmers WD. But by the time I received it around 2013, it was in really bad shape. All the sheet metal was missing, and the engine was locked up from water getting down the exhaust. The transmission and rear end were locked up as well due to the gear shift being removed and mice making a nest in the diff that locked up the ring and pinion. It was missing many other parts, governor, tires, original rims drawbar, starter, and distributor. It did come with a parts tractor with no motor and with bad rear rims that didn’t at all complete the other tractor. I paid $150 for both machines. When I got the tractor I had this crazy idea to lower it and make it a standard tread tractor. On my property is a 2-acre pasture field with many trees and I wanted something shorter to mow under the trees with. But I’m a die-hard Allis fan and the only tractor that really would work would be an IB or a WF and neither of those has a good three-point lift or live hydraulics or PTO. Both of those tractors are rather rare to find too and usually come with a $2,000 or more price tag. So I thought I could build one out of this WD cheaper.

It took a few years to get started on the tractor but in 2015 I started working on it and it took 2 years to fully finish it. I started by getting the transmission loose and lowering the tractor. I pulled the final drives (which was not easy as the break pins wouldn’t come out) and drilled new break pin holes and spun the final drives up one bolt. I then repaired the rims on the parts tractor, one of which I had to cut out 1/4 of it and replace with a new section. Then I mounted the smallest 28in tires I could find 11.2 x 28 in rims. I then leveled the tractor to start working on the front axle. I dropped the tricycle front pedestal, cut the end of the frame rails, and then began fabricating the front axle. Most of it is made from scratch but it is made to fit many Allis parts. I pulled the axle pieces out of the tricycle front and fabricated the wide front to fit these parts. The steering arms are off an Allis B and the drag link is off of a B. The steering box is off of a 1954 Chevy 2-ton truck. The steering wheel and the seat were lowered. I also had to make new fender brackets and decided to fabricate a full platform to resemble the wf and the U. And of course find many of the missing parts. After that was all done, I then started the engine. I couldn’t get the motor free so I did a full overhaul on the motor, new piston sleeve kit with overbore and got a 226cuin crank and new bearings, and refaced all the valves and seats. I decided to go to 226 cranks because by then I wanted to dub the tractor the WF45 and wanted to make it such. I thought about finding a WD45 block too but I had to move the oil filter to fit the steering box and that was much easier with the valve guide plate on the wd block. Ultimately the longer I worked on the tractor, the more it made me want to do it right and make the tractor look like it could be factory-made.

So ultimately my cheap standard tread tractor quickly became pretty expensive. It wound up costing me over $3500 to complete and tons of hours of labor. But I think it turned out really nice. We now use it actively on the farm. It bush-hogs the pasture each year and is the backup tractor for baling and many other tasks.

David Kasler
Ashville, Ohio

“Clara stays in the family”

07/12/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

This 1955 Ford 860 was used by my grandfather until he retired from farming in 1963. My father purchased the tractor from him so he could use it on his seven-acre farm. He also used the tractor to plow many gardens for friends and neighbors over the years.

The tractor was retired to the barn in the early nineties where it sat until this year. With the help of my son Evan, my nephew Nathan, and Steiner we were able to find all the parts we needed to get it running again. I decided to nickname the tractor “Clara” after Henry Ford’s wife. Today we are now using the tractor for enjoyment on the property it once farmed fifty-five years ago. My dream (after the pandemic) is to display its durability and share its history.

Gary Armstrong
Columbus, Ohio

Allis Chalmers WCs

07/08/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

This photo is our 1933 Allis Chalmers WC, serial number 14, It is the oldest known to exist at this time. Along with the 1948 Allis Chalmers WC, serial number 178202, it is the last WC made according to the serial number listings. The next tractor off the line was WD #1.

We have a few other unique pieces also. An Allis/Dodge M7 snow tractor in its Army uniform. We have 2 WC maintainers, an unstyled 1938 and a later styled one as well. We have an unstyled wide front WC. Also, another interesting piece is a Plymouth tractor. Thank you for your interest.

Fred & BJ Wilke
Hanover, Pennsylvania

June Customer Review Winner

07/07/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

My tractor is nothing special in the grand world of John Deere’s but it is certainly special to me.

It is a 1948 model M “standard” that was first acquired by my grandfather- Hobart Koontz. As my grandfather had quite a few two-cylinder tractors, most of them were well used while this one fell to the wayside. Over the years it had fallen into a state of disrepair and needed a little attention. My dad (Larry) brought it home when I was about 10 years old and that became my summer project. Together we made all of the necessary repairs and even added some shiny new green paint. For a short time, this one saw a few tractor shows and parades and then settled into a life of small gardening. My dad and I shared a passion for the “putt-putt” tractors and together we have owned models A, H, M, MT, 430, LA, and 1010.

As life happens too often, this little M once again fell into a state of disrepair. My son is now 15 and we have embarked on another journey to restore this little tractor to its former glory. Not nearly the same level as the original task my dad and I took on when I was 10, but still a worthy project for a father and son. I grew up in a very mechanically gifted family and this project will certainly afford me the opportunity to share this same knowledge and passion with my son.

Thanks for providing a great service to the “old tractor” hobby! And thanks for letting me share a little bit about this special little John Deere M.

Greg Koontz
Clemmons, North Carolina

Each month we randomly select one of our customer reviews to receive a $25 Steiner Tractor Parts gift card. This month’s winner was Greg Koontz. Congratulations Greg, and thank you for purchasing your tractor parts at Steiner.

The Old Ponderosa, Farmall F-12 !

06/27/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

Back around 1950, the boys were mowing hay at Lake Tahoe when the motor started to overheat and steam. They tried to get back to the ranch house for water but did not make it. They burned a hole through the cylinder wall and there she sat for a year or two.

The Ponderosa Museum took the tractor and put it under a big old tree for the kids to play on. She sat there for about 70 years and then was headed for the junkyard. My son, Bill Jr. saw it and knew his Dad had to have it out on the ranch. I think he paid $50.00 for it and sent it out to me in 2019.

I had rebuilt an F-12 before so this was not new to me. However, I was 83 years old at that time and I sure had my hands full. Two years later, in late 2021 I had it all back together but was not strong enough to crank it! So step two was to install the Flex plate, starter, and then alternator and a small dashboard. Now WOW, just touch the pedal, and off she goes.

Bill Watson Sr.
Lamoille, Nevada

Chevron Tractor Restoration Competition

06/10/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

The Chevron Tractor Restoration Competition (formerly known as Delo TRC) is celebrating its 25th year and now accepting entries for the 2022 competition!

This prestigious national competition, open to high-school students across the US, is a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun, and provides the opportunity to learn and grow — both professionally and personally — with hands-on exposure to real world skills! The competition awards prizes totaling up to $20,000. For more information, visit ChevronTRC.com

June Featured Photo

06/02/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

Grandpa’s Red Fever Tractor Collection

Front Row – Right to Left – Farmall Super AV High Crop, Farmall H, Farmall Super H, Farmall Super HTA, Farmall M, Farmall MTA, Farmall 300.
Back Row – Right to Left – Farmall 350 Diesel, Farmall 450 Diesel, Farmall 460 Diesel, Farmall 504, 544 International Harvester, International Harvester 656 Hydro.

My father-in-law, Dennis White, retired in 2013. He decided he needed a hobby and took an interest in locating tractors to restore. To date, he has fully restored 13 tractors and is currently working on his 14^th.

Dennis retired from being a mechanic at a tractor implement dealership where he worked on farmers’ tractors every day. So, it only makes sense that his love for tractors did not stop at retirement. He continues to add additional tractors to his collection as he comes across tractors that need to be restored. As a family, we enjoy sharing these tractors with others by riding in numerous tractor rides, parades, and sometimes just a stroll around our town on a nice day.

Dena White
Osceola, Iowa
2022 Tractor Photo Contest Winner

1950 CO-OP E-4 Buda 262 motor

05/26/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

Originally utilized at a farm located near Ann Arbor, Michigan. As technology brought new tractors, this Co-Op was then utilized to haul crops from the field to the farm for storage. The tractor was discovered in the field row, almost out of life, and purchased. It was re-built to the current condition by Gary Baker and Warren Townsend. In its new life, it is a Division 2 puller and has won numerous pulls it has entered. It will spend the rest of its life within our family.

Bill Parker
Goodrich, Michigan
2022 Tractor Photo Contest Winner

1953 Ford Jubilee

04/27/2022 by ST 1 Comment

1953 Ford Jubilee, with Davis Loader. I have owned this for 21 years! Great little tractor.
About 19 years ago, I completely disassembled and rebuilt everything. It has been fun using it in tractor pulls, putting in lawns, pulling firewood, plowing snow, plowing, and discing. I have the original bucket, but use the bigger one I designed and built.

Scott Andrews

Scott was our March 2022 monthly review winner, he received a $25 Steiner Tractor Parts gift card. A winner is drawn from all of the reviews submitted to us in the previous month. Congratulations Scott!

The Family Ford 9N

04/21/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

This was my wife’s grandfather’s Ford 9N, he got it new in 1943. When he passed away it sat in the barn for 30 years. My wife’s dad wanted it so bad, and when his mom passed away she left it to him.

I took it and restored it for him and he was so happy with it. He would just go out and set on it for hours. Now he’s gone and my wife has it. It will go to our son next and I hope it will stay in our family. The Family Ford 9N.

Tim Kirk
Marengo, Ohio

Case L Tractor

04/19/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

We are buyers and sellers of vintage tractors, based in the UK.

This Case L tractor was purchased from a fellow collector in Devon recently. It is a striking tractor with a great presence and a powerful sound to match!

The serial plate of our tractor begins with 440 which allows us to date this as a 1940 build, which would have been one of the last built before the Case LA took its place on the production line.

Very little is known about the life of this tractor but it has clearly been sympathetically restored at some point.

Kindest regards

Sarah Young
Tavistock, Devon, United Kingdom

Oliver 770 Brought Back to Life

04/08/2022 by ST 2 Comments

This Ollie was built in Charles City, Iowa and sent to Brighton, Michigan. It was then sent to a dealer in St Johns, Michigan who must have leased it to our Lake Odessa Canning Company where we assumed it remained for several years as my wife’s brother and their father purchased it somewhere in the mid to late 1960s.

Larry farmed with it up into the 1970s when he purchased a larger White. Their father did not want it sold so he bought it from his son and kept it for odd use around the farm. Before he passed away, he gave it to his daughter Kathy who I married.

The tractor was left in the upper area of the barn and pretty much remained until we decided we needed to get it running and bring it to our barn where we could fix her up. One thing turned into another,…..first front tires weather checked,…which means clean up the wheels (sandblasted and powder coating to get it down from the upper level of the barn). Cleaned gas delivery system, started her up,….we drove it to its new home.

Fall was setting in so we power washed it and parked it in our barn for more going over. Long story short,……I worked on it most of Winter 2019 and we could see it was now more of a restoration than simply getting it working. We started back in the Spring when COVID rolled in. Lots of phone calls and parts trips to several Oliver junkyards,…..sanding and painting,….gas tank renewal,…..new gauges, many hours wiring we eventually parked it in our yard to remove back wheels and tires,….THAT WAS A BIG EXPENSE! But now all new tires and powder coated wheels,…..NICE!

By the Clarksville Steam and Gas Show she was ready to make her way to visit the public. Grandson Ben Scobey drove her the 6 or so miles to the show and she sat for others to check her out. We still have a couple items to work on yet,…front axel bushings need replacing and the clutch could use some help. It has the Power Boost so that may be a major job.

Mike Scobey
Lake Odessa, Michigan

April Featured Photo

04/02/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

A strength to draw inspiration from, like the East Tennessee Smokey Mountains, this 1939 Model A John Deere joins primary “Seasoned” caretakers, David Banks and Golden Retriever sidekick, Whiskey, when taking care of a 6th generation family farm.

Although the Model A was not in the best of shape when first making an entrance to the farm, after much-needed care and repair, it now works beautifully when answering the call of an active farm life.

Mata Banks
New Tazewell, Tennessee
2022 Tractor Photo Contest Winner

Family Tractor Restoration Project

03/21/2022 by ST 1 Comment

Grandpa on his just-restored 1951 Ford 8N that he fully rebuilt with help from his grand-daughters
left to right: Elina (with Shadow), Joy (with Buffy), and Carys (with Scout) on their farm in Davis, California.

Dwight has known this tractor since he was a child. It was on the Irwin dairy farm down the road from Dwight since the early 1950s. Mr. Irwin passed away in 1988 and his daughter gave it to Dwight in 2017 as a partly assembled, abandoned, rusted, frozen-solid hulk. Dwight carefully restored it with the help of some of his grandkids (a few in the photo) who watched, encouraged, learned, and enjoyed the process over three years. Dwight uses it to help farming neighbors and to work the 21 acres behind their church. He showed it at SteamUp! in Salem, Oregon in August 2021 and will enjoy taking it to a few local parades.

Dwight Morejohn
Davis, California
2022 Tractor Photo Contest Winner

The Chugg Story…

03/16/2022 by ST 1 Comment

Donald Feiner was our February winner of the My Barn monthly drawing. Donald won a $100 Steiner Tractor Parts gift card. Here is Donald’s story.

This might have started with creepy music, but no, there is no audio track here.

I was in a shop getting a little repair work done on a trailer of mine, oddly enough for my modern tractor, when I kind of nosed around and found myself sitting on some silly old tractor. (Probably the most comfortable seat in the shop.) But why my mouth went off and said I would buy it if he got it running, I don’t know.

It took about two weeks and I got this phone call out of the blue, the owner told me he got it running, but it was on only two cylinders. Hmm, I asked him to deliver it, my trailer was away from the house, and when the little clunker got to my place, it was complete, basically, but yep, it was really weak in two cylinders. Chugg, Chugg, but it did get me down the block and back, brakes worked, lights worked, vintage tow bar, ah heck, he was just too cute. I had to. See my profile picture for his first day home.

Then this happened…

I found the Chugging issue in a flat distributor cam lobe and since I was in there anyway, I figured I would take care of some of the loose bits. There are still loose bits, but hey, that’s the fun, right?

He now does silly things like this.

My dog is getting old so I built her a rack on the front…

I put it back to work on my property in East Texas and he pulls trailers, digs post holes, tills, brush hogs, pulls a subsoiler, and plenty else just as quick as my more modern tractor, in point of fact, if he had a front loader, I might sell the more modern tractor. Plans include a couple of brothers or sisters for Chugg, at this time I have adopted ‘Trash Panda’ so far, a 39-40 9N model that needs a pile of help, and a late 8N as well that has yet to get a name. Thank you Steiner for the parts I needed to help me put this much fun into my work.

Chugg’s family.

Dream of Farming

03/15/2022 by ST Leave a Comment

My name is Henry Lawson I am a 12-year-old boy and my dream of farming has been the only thing I’ve been wanting to do for about 2 years now. My dad has a Farmall M. He would go to the farm in Iowa with his brothers and parents, almost every month. He tells me about all the things they did.

My great-grandpa bought a Farmall M and farmed with it, he passed away in 2011. My dad bought the Farmall M from the family. Almost every summer we go to Iowa and ride our 756 and see family. A couple years ago we got the Farmall M transported over to California and let it sit in a shed. Over the past two months we’ve been working on it almost every other weekend, we’ve gone through problems like hooking up the battery wrong and not having enough gas but just recently we’ve got it running.

Henry Lawson
Sonoma, California

1952 Ferguson TO-30

1952 John Deere B

1951 John Deere B

1941 Ford 9N

Allis Chalmers WF45 Restoration

“Clara stays in the family”

Allis Chalmers WCs

June Customer Review Winner

The Old Ponderosa, Farmall F-12 !

Chevron Tractor Restoration Competition

June Featured Photo

Grandpa’s Red Fever Tractor Collection

1950 CO-OP E-4 Buda 262 motor

1953 Ford Jubilee

The Family Ford 9N

Case L Tractor

Oliver 770 Brought Back to Life

April Featured Photo

Family Tractor Restoration Project

The Chugg Story…

Donald Feiner was our February winner of the My Barn monthly drawing. Donald won a $100 Steiner Tractor Parts gift card. Here is Donald’s story.

Dream of Farming

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Grandpa’s Red Fever Tractor Collection

Donald Feiner was our February winner of the My Barn monthly drawing. Donald won a $100 Steiner Tractor Parts gift card. Here is Donald’s story.

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Monthly Archives