A tragedy, and a new hobby

[gagreen]

Well i have had a pretty bad week. My grandfather had a stroke March 7th after being lifelined and in the hospital for a while he passed a few days ago. He was a great man and a classic john deere enthusiast. He loved going out into the back field and watching me fly rockets as much as i loved helping him with his tractors and keeping up the farm. tonight after a visit from our pastor my grandmother and uncle came to me and my cousin and told us that we each now own one of his tractors. I think it is too soon to be giving away his things but that may be the state of shock that this all happend that i am still in.

I was given the 1940 john deere h. (i dont know the exact year but they were made between 39-46) It was the tractor he taught me how to drive on about 15 years ago and he has kept it in excellent condition so i dont really have to do anything other than reg maintenance, but heavy implement mechanics is totally new to me and its been about 8 years since ive drove one so i have some learning to do. I plan on giving it a tune up and possibly going through its body and straightening dings and spraying it with some fresh paint. Grandpa and i had planned on taking it to a few local antique shows this summer and i plan to keep my promise to him.

i just felt like i needed to share somehow and if there are any other old tractor fans this may be interesting. I feel like it is a hobby that my grandpa always included me in and now like he promised when i was a little kid, I have my own Deere. It is amazing the influence of a good family has in teaching life lessons and passing down a tradition i didnt really think i would get into. I hope that once i have a family of my own ill be able to pass rocketry on to them and further down the road grandkids. The tractor really made me realize that while i was a little guy handing him tools and asking too many questions the stories and experiences he shared may have stuck better by him allowing me to get involved. Now that i own it everytime that i will turn a wrench on it or see a john deere his lessons will come back to me.

So everytime that annoying kid hammers you with questions be sure to remember how precious and short life is, and the only thing that matters in the end is those you have made a positive life impact on. The greatest lessons he taught me were only little seeds that germinated but could only bloom after i lost him, and lessons when intertwined with a hobby you can pass on are amazingly strong.

 

[troj]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. It's never easy.

It sounds like you've got some great memories of your grandfather, as well as the tractor to remind you of the good times you had together.

-Kevin

 

[dixontj93060]

Sorry to hear. But sounds like you were blessed with a special relationship. I hope to develop one with my grandson through the sharing of hobbies.

 

[rockets4kids]

Here is a similar story I'm sure you will appreciate:

[YOUTUBE]NdBptlmu7kA[/YOUTUBE]

And the words to go along with it:

https://vintagebmw.org/v7/node/6920

 

[GregGleason]

So sorry for your loss and it sounds like he will be greatly missed.

If you don't mind, please post a pic of tractor. It is now part of your shared history.

Greg

 

[luke strawwalker]

Well i have had a pretty bad week. My grandfather had a stroke March 7th after being lifelined and in the hospital for a while he passed a few days ago. He was a great man and a classic john deere enthusiast. He loved going out into the back field and watching me fly rockets as much as i loved helping him with his tractors and keeping up the farm. tonight after a visit from our pastor my grandmother and uncle came to me and my cousin and told us that we each now own one of his tractors. I think it is too soon to be giving away his things but that may be the state of shock that this all happend that i am still in.

I was given the 1940 john deere h. (i dont know the exact year but they were made between 39-46) It was the tractor he taught me how to drive on about 15 years ago and he has kept it in excellent condition so i dont really have to do anything other than reg maintenance, but heavy implement mechanics is totally new to me and its been about 8 years since ive drove one so i have some learning to do. I plan on giving it a tune up and possibly going through its body and straightening dings and spraying it with some fresh paint. Grandpa and i had planned on taking it to a few local antique shows this summer and i plan to keep my promise to him.

i just felt like i needed to share somehow and if there are any other old tractor fans this may be interesting. I feel like it is a hobby that my grandpa always included me in and now like he promised when i was a little kid, I have my own Deere. It is amazing the influence of a good family has in teaching life lessons and passing down a tradition i didnt really think i would get into. I hope that once i have a family of my own ill be able to pass rocketry on to them and further down the road grandkids. The tractor really made me realize that while i was a little guy handing him tools and asking too many questions the stories and experiences he shared may have stuck better by him allowing me to get involved. Now that i own it everytime that i will turn a wrench on it or see a john deere his lessons will come back to me.

So everytime that annoying kid hammers you with questions be sure to remember how precious and short life is, and the only thing that matters in the end is those you have made a positive life impact on. The greatest lessons he taught me were only little seeds that germinated but could only bloom after i lost him, and lessons when intertwined with a hobby you can pass on are amazingly strong.

Hey gagreen... sorry about your Grandfathers passing. That is never easy, but after having seen how Alzheimer's and other "long term" fatal diseases can ravage a person, sometimes it IS a blessing to pass fairly quickly, rather than linger in pain or not knowing who they are or who their family is...

I'm a farmer/rancher and tractor collecting is a great hobby. Sounds like you've got a good one to start with... we've never had a John Deere H on the farm here (we've got a late-model John Deere B with electric start that had a cotton stripper on it, but since the stripper was basically falling apart and kept the tractor from being useful for ANYTHING other than sitting, I pulled it off and hauled the stripper for scrap. The tractor is awaiting restoration, but it was running and has pretty good tires.) There are lots of websites that can help you get started with stuff, and magazines like "Green Power" and Yesterday's Tractors, Old Iron, etc. that are available from your local TSC or other big ag store (Big R, Rural King, etc). They also usually have some repair manuals and a limited selection of tune-up parts available as well. Most of the magazines I mentioned also have good websites, and some neat forums as well. The big ag stores are also a good source of paint for repainting the tractor when you're ready.

You should be able to get just about every piece of metal on that tractor off the internet somewhere. Of course if it's not too "dinged up" you should be able to straighten it out. If you're not experienced in such things, a good place to start is at the local library-- check out some books on autobody repair and metalsmithing. Usually minor dents and dings can be taken out with a ball-peen hammer and a dolly, and you can get small body hammers and inexpensive dollies at your local autobody supply. A good car autobody repair book will illustrate it's use, or better yet, team up with a neighbor or friend who restores old cars-- using a dolly and hammer can be a bit of an art, but there's no "magic" to it... but sometimes it's easier to see how it's done than read about it. I'm sure there's also vids on the internet that can help if you DON'T have a neighbor or friend who's into old cars...

As far as paint/body work go, most of the same stuff we do for rockets is DIRECTLY applicable to tractors... the quality of the paint job will be DIRECTLY proportional to the time and effort spent on the prep work-- IE getting all the dents out, sanding down all the rust, applying a thin layer of Bondo to cover any rust pits or small holes, sanding, sanding, sanding, shooting a good coat of primer, sanding, sanding, and more sanding, and then shooting the paint... color sanding, etc. It depends on how far you want to go with it... I've seen tractors that look like they were just rolled off the assembly line, some better than they EVER looked off the assembly line, that had color sanded, rubbed, and clearcoated finishes that the paint looked a mile deep on it, just like those fancy antique show cars you see at car rallies... The sky's the limit, depending on how much money and work you want to put into it. It takes SOME money, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune, either... depends on how good your skills are and how much you're willing to learn, and having a good supply of used parts is also important. Here's a good one my brother used to work at-- he ships nationwide-- Eagle Tractor Parts Company, Eagle Lake, TX 77434 phone 1 (800) 833-5867. Ask for "T". There are also lots of "aftermarket" parts and body panel manufacturers as well.

If you need any help with anything or advice, just PM me here and I'll do whatever I can to help you out. Once you have your tractor up and running and pretty, you might even look into "tractor drives" in your area-- this is becoming increasingly popular in the Midwest, as antique tractor afficianados gather together to drive in a caravan down rural roads along a predetermined route and just enjoy driving their tractors through some pretty countryside. Pull a trailer behind you for the wife/kids...

Good luck! OL JR

 

[JPVegh]

I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[gagreen]

thanks for all the support everyone. Once i can get back out to the farm ill get some pictures of it for everyone. My friends and i used to body drop and bag s10's i learned how to weld, work sheetmetal, and have sprayed a few times im no pro but for the simple lines of a tractor i dont expect to many issues. The tractor doesnt have more than a few rust spots on it grandpa always kept it inside and had gone through and fixed the major rust it used to have so i dont think i will need to get to many if any replacement panels hopefully. She could use some new rubber but at 400 ea for the rears ill keep with the ones it has till they start loosing pressure. Pics as soon as i can get them

 

[luke strawwalker]

thanks for all the support everyone. Once i can get back out to the farm ill get some pictures of it for everyone. My friends and i used to body drop and bag s10's i learned how to weld, work sheetmetal, and have sprayed a few times im no pro but for the simple lines of a tractor i dont expect to many issues. The tractor doesnt have more than a few rust spots on it grandpa always kept it inside and had gone through and fixed the major rust it used to have so i dont think i will need to get to many if any replacement panels hopefully. She could use some new rubber but at 400 ea for the rears ill keep with the ones it has till they start loosing pressure. Pics as soon as i can get them

Yep, rear tractor tires are 'SPENSIVE!!!! I just had to replace the two rear tires on my Ford 5610S last spring-- 18.4 by 30's so they aren't BIG tires (as far as tractor tires go-- heck some combines now have those for REAR (steering) tires and a lot of MFWD (four wheel drive) tractors use tires bigger than those for steering tires!) but they were still $1200 for the pair... but the good news is that I got US made TITAN 8 ply tires... I could've got by a little cheaper getting cheap Chinese 10 ply tires, but I had Chinese mudgrips on my pickup and they didn't last til the tread was gone-- one of them got a knot the size of my fist when the belt started to let go under the tread, so I figured 10 ply Chinese tires would MAYBE be about as good as any other brands cheapest 6 ply tires... and when you're spending that kind of money, no sense in going "cheap" and saving maybe $75 or $100 out of $1200 but getting cheap tires that may only last half as long-- the very definition of "penny wise pound foolish"...

That said, for a 'show tractor' that isn't going to put a lot of work on those tires, you can get some pretty good used tires for decent prices. Check Ebay first but a general on-line search will turn up a bunch of dealers selling used tractor tires at fairly reasonable prices.

Good luck! OL JR

 

[gagreen]

I got out to the barn today after the burial, appearantly grandpa had put new tires on the h last year, they still look like new. Here is the best picture i could get i had slacks and a dress shirt on so i didnt figure i should go crawling around on it and pull it outside today. Its in great shape, it has a nice layer of barn dust from sitting this winter but that will clean up easily.

 

[dave carver]

My condolences to your family on your grandfather's passing. I lived with my grand parents and now live in their house. My grandfather built the place and when my dad and mom got married dad helped with the construction.

One thing, I always wanted a garden tractor and saw the John Deere garden tractor behind the Model H. What is it? I just bought a '84 Ford YT 16. It came with a mower deck, a hand built 3 prong cultivator and the prize, a rototiller that runs off the power take-off. Needs restoration but that's cheifly why I got it, something to do that does something

As it's not particulary valuable I'm modifying it to have hydralics and build attachments for it...at least, that's the plan

 

[gagreen]

not real sure which lawn tractor that is behind the h, grandpa bought them fixed them up and traded them for other projects. We have about 10 running lawn tractors most of their mower decks are in another building. Probably 7 of the 10 are john deere's from the 60's a couple gravely rear engine riders and a few others. we also have 2 nearly new jd riders and a gator for mowing and hauling so the antiques only got used for pleasure rides by the grandkids. The old man bled green and yellow lol he would see them in peoples barns starting to rust away buy them for a couple bucks and restore them, he would usually only spend up to 25dollars for them and have them running with parts he collected over the years. 1 or two of the lawn tractors even have a pto drive which is kind of neat to have in a small package.

 

[dave carver]

Sounds like you have enought tractors to form a John Deere Precision Drill Team and do formation driving in parades, farm impliment shows and the like...

 

[luke strawwalker]

I got out to the barn today after the burial, appearantly grandpa had put new tires on the h last year, they still look like new. Here is the best picture i could get i had slacks and a dress shirt on so i didnt figure i should go crawling around on it and pull it outside today. Its in great shape, it has a nice layer of barn dust from sitting this winter but that will clean up easily.

Nice one, and doesn't look like it needs much work at all! Not like the stuff I have around here! LOL

Good luck! OL JR

PS... steer clear of the cheap grade gasoline-- that ethanol plays heck with the old carburator seals and gaskets and leaves a LOT of gunk behind when it evaporates, and it's harder on those old engine valves as well...

Use at LEAST a good mid-grade gasoline with "STA-BIL" in it, and maybe some valve "lead replacement" additive if you're running it quite a bit-- those old engines don't like this modern 'rot-gut' gasoline... :wink: