We decided fairly early on that we were going to kind of "dink" around and play with the tractor most of the summer and work the tractor at a couple of late summer shows with Gary's JD buzz saw before tearing the ol girl down so there most likely will not be a ton of updates during the next three months.

We will however, be looking for parts during those 3 months and this could lead to some more side stories.  When Gary and I are out looking for "anything" together we usually end up with a story or two as I am sure the most of you do!   And if that happens we'll post these stories in our "Tractor Tales" pages.

As of this writing, we have not gotten our parts list "formally" started. One thing is for sure however....the grill is going to need replacing. It is "crunch city" and with my past experiences at body work, which is quite extensive, it would be more trouble than worth to try and fix.  We already have spotted two parts tractors sitting that have good grills.....who knows?

As you all can probably tell from some of the pictures, we are not going to have to worry too much about sanding off any paint. Actually this is good.....if any of you have ever had to sand off old paint you know exactly what I mean.  The paint is already gone! Never the less, we'll have to take some grinding discs to the metal and use a lot of metal prep before the primer goes on. This is work but not nearly as bad or as dirty as sanding off old paint.

At any rate, what we have done in the past couple of weeks is to get the old liquid wrench routine going on the sheet metal bolts as well as on any other bolts we could find. The mounting flange for the PTO shroud is cracked and has been brazed (not a very good looking braze) and we will need to remove the mounting flange which is a part of the entire differential housing.  But before doing this we need to take the shroud loose from this flange. The shroud is also bent and we will be able to straighten this when it is taken off.

The wheels and rims on both the front and the back are in excellent shape and will only need to be sanded, primered and painted. This brings up another thought.......a newly painted tractor will need to have new tires won't it? Not really......but it looks better, and this 'ol girl has one Firestone and one Goodyear on the rear and this is just not going to look original if left that way!   Add these to the parts list? Yeah, might as well.

When driving the tractor up the boulevard, or when it is running and you "pour the coal to her" the old blue smoke really pours out of the stack ......so a complete rebuilt will be in order come winter.

The steering is tight and won't need any work but the steering wheel itself will need to be rebuilt or find another one in better shape. The seat perch is in fine condition also but the seat isn't and it too will need to be replaced. Guages will need replaced as well.
That's about it for this time around. If any of you have hints, help, or comments about anything Gary and I will be facing we would certainly appreciated your E-mail to us about it.  And, as always, if you have a story of your own to tell about some of your tractor collecting experiences, we would like to hear from you as well.

Until next time......take care!!
Dave