3/29 So winter in Minnesota can be nice, even beautiful but it is nice that Spring is starting to show its self. The piles of snow are melting and soon will be gone for the season. The time in between, form now until the grass turns green is a bit hard for me so I decided to use this thread as a bit of self therapy. I had to visit the chiropractor to get my back crunched into place today. I strained it last week taking off the rear tires of an old tractor I am restoring. It involved a 4x4 timber and a 8 pound maul. I don't think the rims had been off the axles for eighty years. There is a collar on the outside of the rims that holds everything in place. I had to recharge the battery on my impact wrench three times before I got the bolts loose. I ended up getting an Amish friend to help me load them in the truck and drove the 10 miles to the sand blast shop. I should be getting them back in a few days ready for a shinny coat of John Deere yellow paint. I have the day off tomorrow so I am going to adjust the valves and install the valve cover, the engine will be finished with the exception of some touch up painting! Dean
What will you do with the tractor after the restoration? Will you sell it to a collector or keep it? Sounds like a great project! Things like that where I use my hands are good therapy. Helps me to clear my head. But don’t let me fool you, I’m not much of a mechanic. I admire folks that have that talent. Restoring an 80 year old John Deere tractor to the point of getting it running again would be cool!
3/30 Hey MOGUY. It is an exact copy of the first tractor my grandfather started farming with so I will keep it for a long while. There is a tractor show in town the end of every August so I will take it there. The local county fair also has a long line of old tractors people bring. It's pretty cool to see them all. I have posted some pics on my media page of my project, check them out. Not much today. Just an AM doctors appointment and spent the rest of the day tinkering on the tractor. Set the valves and took the shifter apart to clean out the sand from blasting and put it all back together. Blasted and painted, or I should say primed a bunch of little parts, gas caps ect. Broke down and called the gas company for a refill of the LP tank for my garage heater. I have a feeling we haven't seen all the warm Spring evenings yet and I want to keep any fresh paint warm as it dries. Overall not a bad day until I got the mail and the stinking property tax statement. Dean
That’s some great pictures. That green and yellow brings up good childhood memories for me. My grandfather always had John Deere equipment. I’m assuming you were close to your grandfather. I was too. My grandparents lived right next door to us. He grew cotton, had a few cattle, pigs, and chickens. All of this was back of their house. It was a great place to grow up and I spent as much time there as I could.
My uncle kept the farm in Southern Idaho where he, my father and their siblings grew up. I loved going there when I was a kid. One year we were there when the wheat was ready for harvest. My uncle hired a harvester, but decided to sell the straw as well. He had Ford tractors, as well as a rake and a bailer. We all pitched in, including driving the tractors and stacking the straw bales. I suppose I'd have gotten tired of it if I had to do it every year, but I loved it that one time!
4/1 A little chilly today, even a few very light snow flakes this evening. Watched part of the Twin's game this afternoon. Looks like we may have a team this year. Finished blasting and priming the little parts this evening. I'm glad, it was getting kind of tedious not to mention the coal slag (sand) in my blaster needs to be changed. Test fit the hood, which needs some adjustment. Time to start cleaning the back half of the frame to get it ready for primer and paint. Tomorrow the little parts will get their first coat of green and yellow. Will have to go to the hardware store and get a can of red for the one gas cap. Back in the day you could start the engine on gas and then switch it to a fuel called distillate. Like todays kerosene. It was cheaper than gas back then. One cap was green and the other was red. I have some International Harvester red but just can't bring myself to use "than" on my Deere! Dean
4/2 Had a doctors appointment today. She was happy with the progress with the A1C. Another point lower and the diabetes will be considered controlled. Blood pressure needs a little work also. Picked up some sand for the blaster. Did some painting. Discovered I still had some zip lock bags in a tote with hitch parts to clean. Started the carburetor overhaul and got the bowl blasted and primed. Kind of slow work, lots of brass screws, every thing needs to be clean and assembled perfectly or the engine will never start. Dean
In my opinion "coming together" for a physical task, either family or community, is what is missing today in America. Coming together "glues" a family and/or community together.
Dean, That's an unusual restoration project you have undertaken. Most people seem interested in historic cars and trucks. Bravo that you are taking the time (and I'm sure spending the money) restoring a vintage tractor! Parts must be difficult to find. I easily forsee you driving it during 4th of July parades. *smile* I remember visiting a John Deere plant in Iowa many years ago. It was fascinating seeing how the assembly line cranked out the heavy machinery. Who knows? One day your tractor may end up in a John Deere museum. Good luck and take care of that back.
It's a country boy project. I miss the sound of a 2 banger! Dad use to farm with two model 60's when I was a little boy. I still smile to myself thinking about playing in the sandbox and listening for dad to come home. Too bad things had to change with him when I got older. Kind of like grandfather, he died when I was 14 or15 and he probably never said 50 words to me in my life. Kids were to be seen and not heard. In the end he had a massive stroke. I snuck my new English Springer pup in the nursing home and used his hand to pet it. He tried to smile. I hadn't thought about that or my pup for a long time. Lucky, my pup made 14 before I had to put him to sleep. I wept that night. Parts are not so bad, some are actually still made by John Deere and there are a few aftermarket shops that make some. So far there has only been one gasket that I have had to make. I wall have about 4k in it when I am finished. 1150 for the tractor, 1000 for tubes and tires and 760.00 for work on the upper part of the engine. 1 valve, grinding the others, valve springs, guides, keepers, manifold studs, surfacing, and push rod sleeves. A truck or car was always just transportation.
4/5 Had to work the last couple of nights. Watched NCIS, my favorite show. Back and hip are still sore. Been struggling with an extreme sadness the last couple of days. It was chilly out the last couple of days, almost a Halloween feeling type of day. I wish it would finally get warm. I wish I could find some sort of lasting peace in my life. I just feel like I could cry at any moment. Maybe part of me wishes, well.
Hey @johndeere3020 - I'm sorry about the extreme sadness. That's a heavy burden to bear. Is that a recurring thing? If so, when you come out the other side is it with some new realization, or does the sadness kind of fade away? I truly hope you're feeling better by now. It's getting warm here on the Southern California coast. I was thinking about you earlier this week when the temperature was around 50 in the morning, and my wife still figured she needed to start the car and leave it running in front of our house for a while, so it would be warm when she drove away. She needs to spend a winter in Minnesota!
4/6 Hey sevn, It use to be almost every day. This is the first time in several months. It just kind of fades away. Starting to feel better again. 50 degrees is near short sleeve golfing weather here, golfing for sure! We had several -30 degree -60 degree wind chill days here this winter. There is still some piles of snow left around yet.
Some years ago, I was in St. Paul in mid-January and there was a thaw. The temperature rose to 40. Even to me, after being there for only a few days, 40 degrees seemed pleasant. My brother and his family live there, so I keep track of the weather. The cold snap you all had this last winter was unimaginable to me, far beyond anything I've experienced. I'm glad to hear you're starting to feel better, @johndeere3020 . I often wonder whether my ups and downs are due to events in my life, or if the ups and downs are just my own rhythm and the 'events' are just stories I come up with to try to explain the ups and downs.
