Old Tractors Never Die
|
Article
by Gary Martin
Photos by Mike Boyatt
|
|
By now everyone knows old
tractors neither die nor fade
away. They just wait for decades
in the dark corner of a barn
until someone figures out that
heap of rusting iron is worth
more today than it was when it
was new.
A Ford Model 8N sold for
about $1,000 when it was
introduced in 1948. Today,
collectors expect to pay about
$2,500 and up for an 8N that has
never been restored. The tractor
will cost another $1,500 to
$4,000 returning it to original
glory, not counting the time
someone must spend doing the
work. Collectors say that same
tractor, unrestored, could be
worth $7,000 as parts. But
restored to like-new, it may
sell for $10,000 or more.
|
|
New Holland's
Tractor Heritage
When Ford tractors
became part of the New
Holland line in 1991
they brought with them a
history rich in tractor
innovation. In the photo
above are, bottom row
left to right: Fordson
(1917-38) , 9N
(1939-41), NAA Golden
Jubilee (1953), 871 Gold
(1959). Second row:
Ford-Ferguson 2N
(1942-47), 8N (1948-52),
601 Workmaster
(1957-61), 4000
(1962-64). Top row: 2N,
541 Offset (1957-61)
6000 Commander
(1961-64), and New
Holland TN .
|
|
Today, any old tractor past its
useful farm life is collectible. Of
course, no one knows the useful life of
the "N" series tractors, made
from 1939 to 1952, because many of them
are still working on farms and ranches.
But when a tractor, any tractor, has
been around for at least 30 years, it's
a good bet it eventually will be either
restored or used for parts to make
another tractor run again.
The Ford line of tractors became New
Holland tractors in 1991 when the two
companies became one. It was an ideal
match. Ford had a long history of
tractor innovation but was no longer
manufacturing field equipment; New
Holland was known for its long line of
harvesting equipment, but did not have a
tractor.
 |
Unique Species
Those who collect and restore
antique tractors are a special
breed themselves. All their
spare time and a lot of their
money is carefully and lovingly
poured into those iron legends,
perfecting every last nut and
bolt just as the original
manufacturer intended. The wives
of tractor collectors could wish
for such devotion from their
men. But never fear, the wives
have learned to cope, cooperate,
and capitalize from their
husbands' "old
tractor" illness.
|
"I love it," said Jerry
Griffin's wife about her husband's
enthusiasm for old tractors. "I get
a hardwood floor out of this."
Griffin is a Ford tractor collector from
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. "You see, we
have an agreement; when he buys a
tractor, I get something for the house.
So I'm always asking him, 'Why don't you
go out and buy another tractor?' "
|
|
Once restored, an old tractor
enters its second life, this one
in the public arena. Each year,
antique tractor collectors
rendezvous somewhere around the
country like a bunch of mountain
men coming out of the wilderness
once a year to trade and play
games. These tractor hounds
gather from all points of the
compass, driving hundreds of
miles with their best
restoration projects in tow.
Whatever compels them to pull
that iron all the way from
Connecticut or Illinois to a
fairground in Tennessee may be a
mystery to some. But they
obviously enjoy it in spite of
the very considerable effort and
personal expense. "This
week is probably costing me
about $700 just to get here,
eat, stay at a motel, and go
home again," commented
Steve Parker, of Mahomet,
Illinois.
|
Not For The Money
"We're not here to make
a buck," commented one
collector as he stood beside his
1953 Ford Jubilee. "We
spend the bucks just to be here.
This is heavy iron, and we truck
it pretty far just because we
enjoy doing it. People who come
to these things really
appreciate seeing all the old
tractors."
And what those people see are
grown men playing with their
adult toys. "They just
never grew up," one of the
wives laughed. "Only now
they can afford the real thing
instead of a toy, but they know
how to take real good care of
their toys."
At the Appalachian Antique
Farm Show, in Gray, Tennessee,
last year, visitors were treated
to several hundred old tractors
on display. At that show the
spotlight was on the National
Ford/Fordson Collectors
Association. Among more than 100
antique Ford tractors exhibited
were at least two of the
hard-to-find Model 6000 (1961 to
1964) along with the oldest
American-built Fordson known to
exist, serial no. 9X
(experimental, 1917). British
Fordsons and just about every
American Ford tractor model ever
made were also represented.
Love Those 8Ns
But strangely enough, much of
the attention of the collectors
themselves seemed to be on one
of the most numerous tractor
models in the world, the Ford
8N. More than 520,000 8Ns were
made between mid-1947 and 1952.
That's an average of 260
tractors manufactured every
single day during that time.
You'd think collectors would
avoid the most common model and
go after the rare and more
difficult to find. But you'd be
wrong.
|
| Dealer
introduction Model 871 |
| 1946
Fordson Major, made in
Great Britain |
|
Why do they love the little 8N?
"Well, maybe it's like hunting
and fishing," one collector mused.
"You go where game is plentiful so
you're sure to get something."
Another offered that there are so many
variations of the 8N that a collector
has a good chance of finding one with
some detail that is different from the
others.
| Model
541 Workmaster Offset |
|
Dwight Emstrom owns 100
antique Ford tractors, 30 of
them restored. He was asked why
8Ns, with so many available, are
so popular among collectors.
"It's because of the number
that's still out there," he
said. "You keep looking for
lower serial numbers and
originality. They weren't all
made identical, and the
differences from one to the
other make them interesting to
find. It's part of life."
A Personal Connection
Another antique tractor owner
was philosophical about the
popularity of all the N-series
models, including the 9N (1939)
and 2N (1942). "This is the
tractor we grew up with,"
he said. "It was the first
engine-driven vehicle we drove
as boys on the farm, and we're
sure not going to let her go
now."
|
But it was Steve Parker who revealed
the absolute secret behind all the
antique tractor activity. "Do you
really think this is all about
tractors?" he asked. "Oh,
don't you know? This isn't only
tractors, it's the people. Tractors are
the draw, people are the reason. This is
like a reunion with some of the nicest
people in the world."
|
Parker's contribution to the
show was a Dearborn road grader
that was factory made to attach
quickly to an 8N tractor. This
enabled small municipalities to
use the 8N as a utility tractor
in the morning and a road grader
a few hours later. About 20-feet
long, it makes the small
4-cylinder tractor look like a
major piece of road construction
equipment.
"Some of these fellows
own hundreds of tractors and
spend thousands of dollars to
fix them up," Parker said
of the collectors. "Show
trips cost additional dollars,
there is no judging and no prize
money. It all takes a lot of
time. Is it worth it? Sure it
is, but it's the people aspect
that keeps them coming
back."
The Camaraderie Of Old Iron
Kathy and Danny Norman, of
Walthourville, Georgia, have
been collecting all brands of
tractors for only about three
years. They own 300 tractors,
but Danny pointed out that
collecting old tractors is
really about "being with
people you like. And anybody can
do it," he said.
|
1917
Fordson with
experimental
serial no. 9X |
|
|
| 1942
2N with aluminum hood |
|
His sentiment was echoed by
most of the others. "We
come to have fun with good,
honest people," one said.
"Of course we all like
tractors," another
volunteered, "but the
tractors wouldn't be any fun
without the people associated
with them."
Nearby, Frank Brandt sat by
his beautifully restored 1922
kerosene-fueled Waterloo Boy
tractor. He would sell it for
$35,000. In contrast to many of
the others at the show, Brandt
said there are a lot of reasons
to collect old tractors, and, to
him, making money is one of
them. "What other hobby can
you play with, use to work in
the field, wash, put on display,
parade, meet nice people, have
fun with, and make money
with?"
Well, let's see, doesn't that
just about narrow life down to
the basics...horses and antique
tractors?
|
The Ford/Fordson Collectors'
Association (F/FCA), Inc. has
approximately 750 members throughout
North America. The organization can be
contacted through its website (www.ford-fordson.org)
or by writing to Jim Ferguson,
Secretary, 645 Loveland-Miamiville Rd.,
Loveland, OH, 45140.
The F/FCA 2002 Annual Meeting and
Show will be held Sept. 12-15 as part of
the Ozark Steam and Gas Show in
Republic, Missouri.
|
1952 8N with road
grader attachment |
|
