This 1941 Farmall A started its life with the Canadian military – being used to pull aircraft around. Shortly after my dad came home from the Second World War, he purchased the tractor from an Army Surplus Store in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Growing up as a young child, I have very fond memories of dad teaching me how to drive the tractor, and I will never forget the pride I felt as I drove all over the farm, my dad standing behind me on the drawbar. At one time, the tractor planted over 350 acres with a 4-row corn planter. My dad built a wooden plow to plow snow with it, and we’d even retrofitted it to milk cows! Unfortunately, in the early 1960s, as our needs changed, my dad decided that it was time for an upgrade, and the A was sold to a neighbour for $400.00. My dad passed away unexpectedly not long after that, but I never forgot about the old Farmall A that had such an influence on my early years. I learned that the neighbour had since sold the tractor, but amazingly, I was able to locate it fairly easily, as it had been sold to another neighbour. So, a quarter of a century after my dad had first brought that Farmall A home, I was $1200 lighter and it was back in the laneway of our family farm, in much worse condition than it was the last time I watched it drive away. I set to work restoring and overhauling the A, and went on to use it for many more years around the farm, including using it to teach my own children how to drive a tractor. It has been to parades, won plowing competitions, and been a constant, special reminder of my father who was taken far too soon.
In 2011, I was preparing to repaint it and do some major work to it, and had it completely stripped in my shop. Due to very unfortunate circumstances, my beloved tractor ended up outside in a field, completely exposed to our harsh Canadian winter, where it sat for the next two years. Using Steiner parts and a lot of patience, I slowly started to piece my tractor back together. Even after I had spent countless hours sanding, painting, and reassembling, I still had no idea whether or not the engine would even fire. I will never forget that sunny August day when I started that old tractor up, and it sounded like it had just come from the factory. So, 73 years later, with a few modifications, my Farmall A is still going strong, and I hope that it will be for many more years to come. I have included a photo of it laying in the field, and what it looks like today, with the restoration almost complete. FARMALL!
Murray Bennett
Ontario, Canada
I went to a barn sale for a farmer that was retiring. I asked his wife if they had any old tractors for sale. She said that they had an old one in the field. Her husband said he forgot about that one. We went out and looked at it. It was a 1953 Golden Jubilee. I bought the tractor right then and there. I went back the next day with my chain saw and cut it out and brought it home. I was able to get it running 3 weeks later. My wife thinks I am crazy but I always wanted one of these old tractors.
