Any comments?

[Goose]

On another thread, comments were made about over-restoring tractors.

Every July 4th in my home town they have all sorts of stuff, including an antique tractor show. Some guys, friends and relatives of mine included, bring tractors that are so over-restored it's obvious all they do with them is keep them pretty for the next show.

Now, I have a '52 H Farmall with a hydraulic tilt bucket loader that I use most every day. It's totally healthy mechanically, but most of the paint is gone. I've thought about taking it to the tractor show and parking it next to all of these immaculate over-restored tractors with a sign, "1952 H Farmall. Used Every Day. Doesn't Stand Still Long Enough To Restore".

Wonder what kind of reaction I'd get?

 

[JDB]

You would likely get flamed but I would rather look at a mechanically sound tractor wearing it's work clothes. Hey Goose aren't you from eastern Nebraska?

 

[onefarmer]

How about a sign that says "Never restored but repaired and maintained as needed"

 

[ScottyHOMeY]

Actually, you might be surprised at the positive reaction. I've had both my workhorse (a WFE SuperC, aftermarket 3-point, faded paint here, bright touch-ups there, sporadic light rust all over, intermingled with oil and grease) and my baby (a BN rebuilt from stem-to-stern finished off with a deftly applied cover of high-end paint, all the excess stemming from sentimental attachment to a family tractor) out to shows, and they both draw attention fom the folks that care about tractors.

One difference is that the correct police rarely, if ever, have anything to say about the SuperC. They do, however, go right for the grade five bolt where there should have been a dot-head, and won't pass up remarking on the run in the paint on the inside of the back of one fan blade. All that tells me is that they're more intersested in tearing down the owner/restorer than the machine. They'll respect the work a machine does but look for any chance to bust a guy's chops after he's put 150 hours or more into restoring what was a dead machine headed for the torch.

Can you guess I don't have much time for them?

Again I say, take your hoss to the show. I think you'll be surprised at the positive interest it gets.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have both restored and in work clothes. There are more negative comments on the restored ones. My tractors are not the (perfect) ones. I do everything myself and there's a run once in a while or a fan not the (correct) color. I can put up with decent comments but when they are just nasty, it's funny to watch them them move away very fast when either I or someone else looking at the tractor tells them what they can do to themselves.

 

[rustyfarmall]

A "restored" tractor with a high end paint job is NOT restored. It has simply been "customized". Restored and customized are totally different things.

 

[ScottyHOMeY]

Ken, when they misbehave and make nasty comments, I've found it most effective to ask where their tractor is parked, so that I might stop by for my edification, to see the true light, and come to know the ignorance of my ways.

Funny thing. Not one of them has ever had any of their work there to show me.

 

[ScottyHOMeY]

We're gonna hafta agree to disagree on the paint thing, Rusty.

If I buy into, I'd have to go on to say that there hasn't been a true restoration of anything older than twenty-five years done in the last ten (numbers approximated). Those old paint bases and the tints that go into their formulation haven't been available for a long time. I could not, for example, go out and find the same turquoise and off-white paints that Pawpaw's '56 Olds was wearing when it left Detroit. I wouldn't call its restoration, otherwise historically accurate, and certainly not a customization.

Likewise, IH2150 is, to my eye, a lovely color to behold, but it's more orange than the IH50 originally applied to the letter series, and is no longer available thorugh CaseIH or CaseNewHolland. So one does one's best to replicate the color of IH50 and apply it in a thickness representative of what the old darling was wearing when it left Chicago. If it happens to be acrylic instead of alkyd?

Customization? My mind goes immediately to chrome stacks, locking chrome lug nuts, dingleballs on the light bars, and leopard-skin prints for the seat covers.

Not trying to pick a fight. From what I've read, I know we agree on a lot of other things. If we differ on this point, then we do. But using modern paints, in my book, does not rise to the level of customization, and does not take away from the quality of a restoration.

My two cents. YMMV. ;8^)

 

[Dave H (MI)]

150 hours on a restore?!? If you will remember, I spent about that just on the distributor. Man, you ARE good!!

 

[ScottyHOMeY]

Aw, jeeze, ya caught me! I thought long and hard about that number, but you're right. It donesn't begin to cover it.

250 (or even more) is probably more accurate for actual wrench and painting time. And that isn't allowing for phone and driving time getting parts and tools, online time getting advice, the untold hours sitting and pondering how things have gone so far and what best to do tackle next, set-up and drying time between coats, and the (still ain't done) tinkering trying to get the old girl just right -- the most important part of any such job. The clock's still tickin'!

Don't think I've asked how you're making out with the crawler.

 

[Lanse]

The old ones love to work, ive worked with a few over the summer. Tractor cruelty: a great runnin tractor with a beautiful paint jOb that never gets dirty. but thats just my 2 cents. Id say go for it. Only add "This is how most of em look" to it.

 

[RobMD]

how about a sign that says "unlike the rest of the pretty a$$ boys sitting next to me, I work for a living"

NOW that's a sign and a half

 

[Walt Davies]

I pretty much don't care what others do to their tractors Paint them an polish to high shine or just paint to original dull tractor paint or something in between that. I just think they should have some paint and decals to look good if you want to show them. At least be in some sort of restoration that shows you care little about what it looks like. Of course if you are a puller or just out working or going to a plow day then who cares as long as it doesn't smoke and spew oil all over the place.
Walt

 

[rrlund]

We had 72 tractors in the Momorial Day Parade a few years ago. Somebody showed up with an H and an M with manure still on the tires and rust and grease from one end to the other. Nobody said anything that day,but they were quite the topic at the coffee shop the next week.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Just thought I"d share this. I looked up the definition of restore and this is what it said. Restore - (to renew or rebuild)- (to put or bring back into exsistence or use) - Renew definition - (to bring back or put back into former or original state)Sounds to me like there are many ways to restore something and by definition you can't truely argue one way over another. Just my 1&12 cents worth.

 

[Mike (WA)]

Guess I feel the same way about tractors in their working clothes as farmers in their working clothes when they come to town- no objection to "working clothes", but they should be clean. Taking a dirty tractor to a show simply shows a lack of pride of ownership, self- respect, and respect for others.

 

[joe zip]

If you don"t like it don"t do it. There"s no reason to try and put someone else down just because they like it that way. If everyone was the same we"d have a dull life and I"d bet you would still see something wrong with it.

Sounds like an old neighbor lady we had once, nothing pleased her.

 

[Goose]

JDB, I'm about halfway beteen Seward and Milford.

Whereabout are ya'll from?

 

[kyplowboy]

Look around at tractors on e-bay for a while. The term "restored" covers a very wide range. The only thing you will find more is "ran when parked"!

One of the things I have learned on here is that tractor people covers a wider range that the term restored. Take her to a show if you can go a day with out working her, hit her with a garden hose to get "organic matter" off and be pround of her. You are going to get some looks and people will ask why she ain't painted. You won't need a sign.

Have fun!

Dave

 

[Don-Wi]

I'm with ya Scotty. I restored my grandpa's Oliver 1600, and I used Dupont Centari paint, not the regular AGCO paints on it. Nothing wrong with using AGCO stuff, but the white is too dark, and Centari is what my brother is familiar with as he did the paint.

I did have a few things chromed, even though there was no chrome originally. Mostly just a few accents, nothing major.

Donovan from Wisconsin

 

[Leland]

I agree it's fun to stick it to the trailer queens once in a while ,and show the yuppies what a real tractor is used for .

 

[JDB]

Hi Goose, I'm between Louisville and Plattsmouth