as a kid

[Hoofer B]

What Cases did you spend a lot of time on your farm or as a hired kid? When I was 8 on up I helped on my buddys farm. They had an SC, 400, early 730 and 830, and a 1030. I also helped other area farmers who had 530, 970's, 1390, 1490, and 2390. The tractor I used the most was my Dads VAO. My Dad never farmed but we used the belt pulley alot to plane wood on our 26 inch planer. When I was 12 or 13 I started renting some small fields in the neighborhood.

 

[Tgrasher]

Early on a VAC then a 400. Got off school bus one day and there, over by the barn, was a new 350 with a loader, oh happy day! Learned to make that tractor dance, even fought a ginormous Holstein bull with it. Then we got a 730 and a 830 followed a year later. All were narrow fronts. Farmed 760 acres with those tractors so we spent a lot of time together.

 

[kenbob]

Holstein Bulls! I watch bull riding on TV sometime and think how wimpy those bulls are compared to the Holstein we had. He was a ton of muscle and mean. We couldn't even walk across his cattle pen. He had blinders on, but he knew when we were there. We let him have a 55 gallon barrell to play with. I think he could have launched it into low earth orbit!

 

[Don Rudolph]

Started off on a VAO, which was referred to as the little Case then moved up to the late model D, referred to as the big Case. The we got a DC4 and another DC4 and were big time operators farming 320 acres with those small tractors. LOL

 

[Hoofer B]

Don, I cant imagine running that much land with DCs. Did you run them around the clock? Tell us more how you got all of the field work done. 3 bottom plows I assume. How big were the spring tillage equipment? Bill

 

[chcase]

Started out driving a vac case then cc case and then dad bought a new 1966 730Ck diesel Dad had no trouble getting one of us kids to haul manure or bale hay after the 730 showed up.(for the first year) then it was still all work

 

[Bruce from Can.]

My dads VA and VAC , they were the go to tractors.

 

[Hoofer B]

Don, Funny how you and I started out on the same VAO 5061734 Bill

 

[Don Rudolph]

Bill,

I spent a lot of seat time on D series Case tractors. When I was a kid had a lot of hay ground and our big cash crop was oats, along with about 10 acres for corn silage. We were farming 200 acres. Then my uncle died and we bought his 120 acre farm. My Dad said we needed more power, so he bought 2 DC's. Shortly after buying the DC's they were converted to 4 inch aluminum pistons and the heads were shaved, and, of course, the mufflers were replaced with straight pipes. Amazingly, my hearing is still good. This allowed us to pull a 3-14 Centennial plow and a 3-16 Oliver Raydex plow. We bought a Case 4 section drag harrow and an IH 401 drag harrow, both of which the D or DC's could pull in 3rd gear. 1969 was the first year we grew corn for grain as Renk Seed came out with a dependable 87 day hybrid for this area.

Plowing down the corn stalks was difficult with these old plows, but then we switched to 30 inch rows from 38 inch rows, all the while increasing corn acres. What a nightmare that was. In 1973 we purchased the neighbors NI corn picker and I picked hundreds of acres of ear corn each fall for most of the small dairy farms in several townships, all with a DC Case.

Then in 1976 we bought a used 830 COM from Marvin at Newton Implement. We bought a Kverneland 4-16 mounted plow for it and still had some trouble plowing down cornstalks. We traded the Kverneland plow for an IH 710 when we bought the new 1070 in 1978. Along the way we bought a Case model S 15 foot disk and a Case (Glencoe) 15 foot field cultivator. The 830 worked much better for corn picking. I even got a Heat houser for it.

Tillage changed in 1985 when I bought a Case model G offset disk and duals for the 1070. No more plowing and practically no more stone picking. Sorry for the long-winded reply. Don

 

[Don Rudolph]

Isn't that amazing? I can still remember spray can painting those front rims silver. We traded that VAO to Marvin Zimmer for the 830 COM IIRC we got $500 for it.

 

[Kow Farmer]

I put a lot of hours on a round nose 300 picking rocks in the spring every year. In Fall I drove an 870, 1070, 1370 and 4890. The small tractors were for hauling grain, chopping corn stalks and the 4 wheel drive was for moldboard plowing. This was over 30 years ago for an old neighbor. Enjoyed these days so very much!
Kow Farmer Kurt

 

[jon f mn]

The first tractor I drove was an 830d com eh. I drove that a lot plowing discing and baling hay. Also spent a lot of time on a Ford jubilee raking and pulling the rope to pull up hay into the barn. Then dad got the new 870 and I drove that a lot plowing and discing. Then he traded the 830 for a 730 ck and I drove that plowing and discing and cultivating corn. The last new tractor dad got was a 970 which I think he got in 76. I remember him saying he felt he had to trade because they offered him twice what he paid for the 870 for trade value.

 

[formerly ny bill]

When I was about 10 or so, Dad had Farmalls and a Case D. When I drove the D, the only way I could use the brakes to stop was to stand on the pedals on each side and pull against the seat spring to make myself heavier.

A few years ago, I was talking to my uncle in Missouri, a few months before he died. He had stayed with us his senior year in high school. One of the topics he mentioned out of the blue was you know which one of your Dad's tractors I liked the best? It was the Case D. He said it just floated over the plowed ground when he was dragging. A nice memory for me.

 

[RJKeith]

VAC. Paid for part of college by baling hay with a VAC.

 

[DKase]

My Grandpa farmed 320 acres with a VAC and his horses.

 

[Nedd]

When a 5 or 6 my father worked on 2 DCs. The heads came off and found they were stuck and they sat for 10 years. But that whole time my older brother and I would sit on them and act like we were farming. But my first actual drive was when I was 11. 830 eh COM high tin. My older brother showed me how to use the COM and said rake hay. We used that tractor forever. Then when I was about 15 I got to drive the BIG 1370. It had a cab and radio. I dont know why but some of those memories you just dont forget.

 

[casecollectorsc]

Dad farmed 320 and rented another 80. Farmed it with 5 boys 2 DCs and a SC.

 

[jon f mn]

Before I was born dad farmed about that with 2 dcs and a Ford jubilee. Before the jubilee he had an 8n with the funk v8 conversion I believe. Traded that because the clutch wouldn't hold is my understanding.

 

[tpc]

As a kid I helped my Uncle Bill on his dairy farm. He had a 770. We would help his brother Ralph with his hay. Ralph had a DC and worked away. I remember being dropped off at Ralph's to rake hay. I thought the DC was cool because it had a hand clutch and a straight pipe. It was kept in an old garage. I always thought it wasn't going to start. It would barely turn over with slow groaning cranks and then all at once jump to life. Great memories.

 

[chuck machinist]

(quoted from post at 16:22:39 12/23/23) As a kid I helped my Uncle Bill on his dairy farm. He had a 770. We would help his brother Ralph with his hay. Ralph had a DC and worked away. I remember being dropped off at Ralph's to rake hay. I thought the DC was cool because it had a hand clutch and a straight pipe. It was kept in an old garage. I always thought it wasn't going to start. It would barely turn over with slow groaning cranks and then all at once jump to life. Great memories.

The DC-3 was the tractor that Pastor John, myself, and younger brothers, Ken and David cut our teeth on. Growing up, the first task using the DC-3 was baling hay and straw. I look back on it now, and I suspect it was dad's way of keeping an eye on us as we developed our driving skills. It was not until later that we would be allowed to run the Suoer M. CM