I finally got my maternal Grand Father's tractor,a Ferguson TO30, bought back. A cousin talked my Grand Mother out of it in 1976 and let it set outside ever since then. He finally hit rock bottom. He was going to be foreclosed on. He had always said he would never sell it to me. I guess setting out on the curb was a worse idea than selling to to me. LOL
I gave way too much for it. He told me it had good tires and had been overhauled 3-4 years ago. Plus the Ferguson rear mounted cultivator that it came with. Well when my son went to get it both back tires were flat. They do have good tread but weather cracks clear to the cords and both rims rusted out. Engine is not locked but the starter will not turn it over. The cultivator is NOT the one that came with it. My Grand Father's was a rigid shank and this one has the spring tooth shanks on it. I also think it is a Dearborn not a Ferguson cultivator. The rigid shanks are worth $400-500 and the spring shanks one $100-200. So I know he switched it out.
I had my oldest son go and pick it up for me. I knew if I went there would be blood involved. LOL It is on my trailer in the shed. I will try and get it into the shop in the next few days. Raining and windy today here so I am not fooling with it right now.
This will be a total rebuild. Tear it down to the castings and start reassembling. New paint, overhaul everything and tires/rims. I know going in I will have more in it that it ever will be worth. I would guess 7-10 times it's resale value. I do not care. I now own both of my Grand Father's tractors. They will never sell as long as I am alive. I will bet they will never sell as long as any of my Grand kids are alive either. They all know the family history too.
The two Grand sons that are 11 and 12 are bugging me already to "help" with the rebuild. They where out in the shed "driving" it on the trailer this afternoon. LOL It will be a good project for us to do. Simple tractor for them to learn on.
This tractor means more to me than any of the others. It is the first tractor I ever drove. It is the last tractor my Grand father ever owned. I had thought it was the only one he owned but I was wrong. My Mother came out this afternoon and told me the entire story of this tractor. He had owned a Ford 8N and he disliked it. So he traded it in on the TO30. She says she thinks it is a 1952 model and he traded for it in 1953 or 54. I will have to check the serial number and get some pictures.
Just glad it is finally under roof. Amazingly the sheet metal is still in good condition. I would have thought the fenders would have been rusted out at the bottoms but they seem to be solid.
I gave way too much for it. He told me it had good tires and had been overhauled 3-4 years ago. Plus the Ferguson rear mounted cultivator that it came with. Well when my son went to get it both back tires were flat. They do have good tread but weather cracks clear to the cords and both rims rusted out. Engine is not locked but the starter will not turn it over. The cultivator is NOT the one that came with it. My Grand Father's was a rigid shank and this one has the spring tooth shanks on it. I also think it is a Dearborn not a Ferguson cultivator. The rigid shanks are worth $400-500 and the spring shanks one $100-200. So I know he switched it out.
I had my oldest son go and pick it up for me. I knew if I went there would be blood involved. LOL It is on my trailer in the shed. I will try and get it into the shop in the next few days. Raining and windy today here so I am not fooling with it right now.
This will be a total rebuild. Tear it down to the castings and start reassembling. New paint, overhaul everything and tires/rims. I know going in I will have more in it that it ever will be worth. I would guess 7-10 times it's resale value. I do not care. I now own both of my Grand Father's tractors. They will never sell as long as I am alive. I will bet they will never sell as long as any of my Grand kids are alive either. They all know the family history too.
The two Grand sons that are 11 and 12 are bugging me already to "help" with the rebuild. They where out in the shed "driving" it on the trailer this afternoon. LOL It will be a good project for us to do. Simple tractor for them to learn on.
This tractor means more to me than any of the others. It is the first tractor I ever drove. It is the last tractor my Grand father ever owned. I had thought it was the only one he owned but I was wrong. My Mother came out this afternoon and told me the entire story of this tractor. He had owned a Ford 8N and he disliked it. So he traded it in on the TO30. She says she thinks it is a 1952 model and he traded for it in 1953 or 54. I will have to check the serial number and get some pictures.
Just glad it is finally under roof. Amazingly the sheet metal is still in good condition. I would have thought the fenders would have been rusted out at the bottoms but they seem to be solid.
