You know you own an old tractor when...

[Eastinlet]

I came across this on the internet and thought most here could relate. It sure spoke to me!

Maybe it's been seen before, if so I apologize. Didn't copy-paste it in since it is lengthy.

http://www.atis.net/you_know.html

 

[jinman]

And to add a couple:

You park it on a hill so you can let 'er roll and pop the clutch to get started.
You know that you can only go about 2 hours before returning to the house to air up your tires.
You know how hard it is to steer a tractor in loose dirt with one flat front tire.
You are sure that cussin' makes the transmission shift easier.
You cover your seat to keep from getting rust on your britches.
You keep a drip bucket under the radiator and pour it back in before a day's work.
You never have to do an oil change because you do changes by adding a quart or two every day you use it.
Your neighbor comes to borrow the tractor and you spend 1/2 hour showing him all the tricks and teaching him how to let out the clutch without killing the engine or poppin' a wheelie.

I could go on and on...

 

[slowrev]

When you pay about the same for a loader tractor as many do for just the loader.
Of course your clutch leg gets more tired than if it was a hydro.

 

[Soundguy]

Man... I kinda feel bad after reading that... I think about 95% of those had some kind of personal connection to me!

soundguy

 

[Tig]

My favourite "Your dealer explains that the part you're looking for is called bailing wire."

 

[RickS]

"You don't need to remove the key (if it even has one) because no one who isn't family would be able to start it anyway." - we've had lots of old tractors, pickups, and trucks like that over the years.

I laughed out loud at some of the lines on that list! Dad has had more old trucks than I can count that had no windows or seat covers left. A feed sack was the seat cover. Seat springs can hurt.

 

[Eastinlet]

"The potato digger goes a whole row without clogging and it gets written in the family Bible."

We had an old horse drawn single row digger we drew behind the tractor. You never knew whether it would go 10 feet or 100 feet between clogs and jams from stones. Ran like a champ until it didn't. I don't believe it ever finished a row without problems. My Bible remains empty of succeddful mentions.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

I'll add a few:

* The "key" is a toggle switch or 2 wires you twist together

* The starter switch is separate from the ignition switch and actually a salvaged foot starter switch from a 1957 Chevrolet Apache mounted in "the dash".

* The distributor has "spark ******" setting for ease of starting by hand.

* No instrumentation of any kind, you use your ears and the seat of your pants to set the throttle.

* Nothing is made from plastic, iron and steel only.

*Aluminum was still "new and untested" as a component.

* Liquid cooling was still a relatively new idea.

* Chain drive was still offered as an option.

* Everything on it was made in the USA by a person running a machine, not CNC.

* There are no warning stickers of any type and nothing is labeled as to it's function.

* It has either a crank handle ratchet or a rope pulley to turn it over by hand as electric start was still a "newfangled idea" when it was made.

* It has more than one transmission.

* The transportation museum calls you at least once a year and asks if they can use it for their "early 20th century industrial machine" exhibit

* All the nuts and bolts have square heads.

* Not a Phillips head screw anywhere, straight head only.

* It has "poured" bearings

* There are web sites, newsgroups and magazines dedicated "to the preservation and continued use of the American classic <Insert tractor name here> tractor"

* Most of your living and some of your dead relatives learned how to operate a tractor on it.

OK, that's it for now.

Tom