Interesting encounter today

[cfellows]

I went to the local grocery store this morning, where, each year about this time, they have an old John Deere B tractor parked out front amidst pumpkins, corn stalks and other Halloween / Thanksgiving paraphernalia.

Standing around admiring the tractor were 3 older men, dressed in blue jeans and bibbed overalls. Thinking they were kindred spirits, I walked up and started talking about the tractor. It was most likely an early 40's version since it had an open flywheel but also had a styled front end and solid disk wheels. Turns out these guys didn't know squat about the tractor other than it was "probably" old. So I had a good time giving them a tour, and to their credit, they did seem interested. I guess I thought everybody in the US over 60 knew all about John Deere tractors!

Chuck

 

[tel]

Nice minis Pat - Briggs motors?

Ah for the good ol' days when Too Dear made tractors and not overpriced pieces of c**p

 

[deere_x475guy]

I went to the local grocery store this morning, where, each year about this time, they have an old John Deere B tractor parked out front amidst pumpkins, corn stalks and other Halloween / Thanksgiving paraphernalia.

Standing around admiring the tractor were 3 older men, dressed in blue jeans and bibbed overalls. Thinking they were kindred spirits, I walked up and started talking about the tractor. It was most likely an early 40's version since it had an open flywheel but also had a styled front end and solid disk wheels. Turns out these guys didn't know squat about the tractor other than it was "probably" old. So I had a good time giving them a tour, and to their credit, they did seem interested. I guess I thought everybody in the US over 60 knew all about John Deere tractors!

Chuck

...

I always thought JD tractors, was like hot dogs and baseball....every American knew about them..))

 

[Bernd]

My father-in-law, rest his sole, hated green tractors. He liked the Cock-Shutt's and Massey Harris tractors.

He had a 1915 Massey Harris that he sort of fixed up and let me run. It had 2 levers for shifting gears. One was reverse-1st, the other was 2nd and 3rd with a hand clutch. Top speed I think was somewere around 5 to 8 mph. Steel wheels and all it was a bear to steer, but still fun to run down a dirt road.

Bernd

 

[Troutsqueezer]

I bought a Kubota tractor last week. This week I became aware of the fierce rivalry between owners of various tractor makes. Came across one guy talking about attending a John Deere convention where they were showing off the older JD's. He went wearing his new Kubota baseball cap the dealer had given him with his recent purchase. He was lucky to get out alive from the sound of it. It figures, I guess. This happens with everything else, why not tractors?

 

[cfellows]

When I was a kid, the big rivalry was between Farmall's and John Deere's. You were either a Farmall guy or a John Deere guy. Same was true of Fords and Chevys. I was always a John Deere and a Chevy guy.

There were lots of other tractors, Fords, Massy Harris, Case, Oliver, Allis Chalmers. But the JD's and Farmall's always seemed to be in hot competition. I think what drew me to the John Deere was the unusual engine.

Chuck

 

[mu38&Bg#]

We went to a tractor show in Union Grove, WI, this past weekend. This caught my eye. The man who built it said it was half size, I forget which model (L?). The interesting thing was he had two Briggs crankcases joined together. He's working on a 1/2 size JD Model B I think it is right now.

 

[tel]

Yeah Pat, I had a Nuffield like that,'bout 65 hp, only you started and warmed 'er up on petrol (gasoline) and then switched over to power kerosine.

 

[lordedmond]

Yeah Pat, I had a Nuffield like that,'bout 65 hp, only you started and warmed 'er up on petrol (gasoline) and then switched over to power kerosine.

or known in the UK as TVO ( Tractor Vaporising Oil ) paraffin by another name

I think it was a Massy Ferguson with 18 mm spark plugs , hand throttle that looked like a band saw blade , one pedal brake and clutch all in one .



I thing I was about 7 years old at the time had to jump off the seat to use that pedal

Stuart

 

[bearcar1]

In the farming area I grew up in there wasn't so much of a rivalry as most of the petrol powered equipment the farmer owned was largely dependent upon which dealer was closest and what the farmer could afford. Massey Ferguson and Ford were the two biggies as there were dealers in town that had large parts counters and each had a decent shop and mechanic. To get into the JD lineup you had to travel a minimum of 40 miles to get to one of their dealerships and most farmers didn't have a flatbed for transport so it all boiled down to basic economics and convenience. The JDs were then as now, the more expensive machines to purchase. There were a couple of guys around that had purchased International Harvester machines and at least one of them is still in use today that I know of. Me, I'm basically a JD fan but am torn in loyalty as my Dad and two uncles ran Barker Brothers Massey Ferguson. You see my dilemma? :big:

BC1
Jim

 

[cfellows]

Here's a couple of cool sounds. One is an old Farmall starting up and the other is a John Deere B under load:



View attachment farmall_start.wav

View attachment Bwork.wav

 

[jpeter]

Back in the day (middle 50's) around here anyway (lower Michigan) red tractors ruled. Only in the last couple of decades did 2 cylinders become cool. To me though there's nothing more pleasing than the sound of a 2 cylinder John Deere.

Hey, like outdoor fishing stories? Check out my son-in-laws blog. http://urbangrizzly.wordpress.com/