Well, I’ve been wood and LumberJocks deprived for the last month or two. I’ve been in the shop for hours a day, but it’s not been my own (which has been kind of weird, messing with someone else’s tools).
I’ve owned this old tractor for about a decade. It’s a 1955 International Harvester Farmall 200. My Father and Grandfather owned it before me. It’s been in our family for about 50 years or so. My Grandfather farmed with it, and we’ve used it to maintenance our property for years and years.
This tractor has had a rough life. It’s really been through the mill… and back, and it finally stopped running about two years ago. I took it to a mechanic friend of mine at the beginning of the fall that does an exceptional job restoring tractors. I only intended to FIX the tractor to get it to a “running” condition. Well…. One thing led to another… and I took some time ($ and a lot of cash $), and decided to restore the tractor. I helped quite a bit, but I would not have been able to work out the mechanics of it all had it not been for my very good friend. I’m grateful to know him, and I appreciate him a lot.
I’ve got some things to finish with it yet, but they are minor (My budget has to recover first, though).
Once I get the tractor in full swing, I’m going to be able to pull logs onto a bandmill to mill lumber (I know, that’s streaching it a bit, but it’s how I’m justifying this post as woodworking related… lol!!)
Anyway, I’m proud of the tractor and I thought I’d share some pics. It’ll certainly save me boatloads of time in property maintenance, and most importantly, GIVE ME MORE SHOP TIME!!!
We turned almost every nut and bolt on this tractor. All new bearings, rings, seals, gaskets, etc.
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
30 comments so far
jim1953
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2568 posts in 2038 days
#1 posted 1684 days ago
NICE JOB LOOKS COOL
-- Jim, Kentucky
Joe Lyddon
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6473 posts in 2249 days
#2 posted 1684 days ago
Steve, that tractor is BEAUTIFUL!
I’ll bet it was FUN working on something that was super simple, compared to what they have today; no computer control, etc.
You can see and get to all of the main parts of it!
I can see mucho $$$ just in Red Paint! And getting it so nicely applied!
You did a great job and you deserve to be proud about it!
Thank you for showing it to us!
May you haul all of the new lumber that you can… for years to come!
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"
dennis mitchell
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3994 posts in 2511 days
#3 posted 1684 days ago
Great Treasure!
lazyfiremaninTN
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528 posts in 2149 days
#4 posted 1684 days ago
Holy Crap, that is one heck of a restore. You did a great job. If you get tired of it, let me know. hehehe
-- Adrian ..... The 11th Commandment...."Thou Shalt Not Buy A Wobble Dado"
Woodhacker
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1138 posts in 1920 days
#5 posted 1684 days ago
Steve, let me guess…this is carved out of bloodwood and ebony.
Seriously, you did a great job…the hours spent obviously paid off.
-- Martin, Kansas
Chris
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1849 posts in 2187 days
#6 posted 1684 days ago
Bravo!
-- "Everything that is great and inspiring is created by the individual who labors in freedom" -- Albert Einstein
tooldad
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657 posts in 1911 days
#7 posted 1684 days ago
great job. Try mytractorforum.com There is another unrelated cousin to the lumberjock community. I discovered them the same way I discovered LJ. I was google searching for a tractor part. I found LJ by researching wide belt sanders and a previous blog popped up on the browser search.
Napaman
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5036 posts in 2273 days
#8 posted 1684 days ago
nice restoration!!!!!!
-- Matt--Proud LJ since 2007
lightweightladylefty
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2084 posts in 1909 days
#9 posted 1684 days ago
Steve,
Great restoration work!
This has brought back memories of the Farmall 300 that I grew up driving to make hay. You certainly did a fine job of restoration of that 200. My brother restored the old Co-op tractor, but has yet to restore the Farmall or the John Deere. My husband restored our 1949 Ford 8N so we know how much work you put into your tractor.
Thanks for sharing.
-- Jesus is the ONLY reason for ANY season.
Douglas Bordner
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3907 posts in 2260 days
#10 posted 1684 days ago
I’m Deere green with envy. Great job!
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
Grumpy
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17943 posts in 2047 days
#11 posted 1684 days ago
Steve, that is one great restoration job. well worth those hours of toil.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Tim Pursell
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481 posts in 1979 days
#12 posted 1684 days ago
Great job on preserving a piece of family history! I like the bibs, flannel & pitchfork in the third photo!
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/tpursell?ref=si_shop
RAH
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414 posts in 2073 days
#13 posted 1684 days ago
Nice restore, tractors are great to have around.
When I turned 50 I was going through a mid life crisis. Told my wife I didn’t want a fancy sports car or a girl friend, I wanted a bright orange Kubota BX23 tractor with all of the attachments.
-- Ron Central, CA
Mark Shymanski
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3958 posts in 1909 days
#14 posted 1684 days ago
One of my first jobs in the family was assisting a neigbour rebuild the 8N Ford Dad used for all kinds of yard maintenance jobs….many years later Dad restored his Farmall and used it for many years after. These are great tools and I am looking forward to viewing your tractor pictures once I get outside the firewall here.
We pulled a lot of wood out of the bush with both the 8N and the Farmall. The farmall just never quite working… which reminds me of the first time I had to start and drive it… but that is not wood related at all so I’ll stop LOL!
-- "Checking for square? what madness is this! The cabinet is square because I will it to be so!" Jeremy Greiner LJ Topic#20953 2011 Feb 2
roy
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130 posts in 1990 days
#15 posted 1684 days ago
the only thing more beautiful than a piece of wood is a nice tractor !!!
-- tn hillbilly.." tryin to do the best i can with what i got "
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