Torsdag, Mars 14, 2019

I have a tractor, an old Massey- Ferguson 180 Diesel with a Perkins 4-cylinder 65 hp engine. A two-wheel drive, it has 12 speeds forward (with Multi-power), three speeds in reverse, power steering, live PTO, three remote hydraulics, differential lock, ‘Power adjust’ rear wheels, and a 3-point hitch. It’s about 52 years old and runs just fine with a little maintenance. In the past month I’ve rebuilt the PTO shaft and replaced the starter. What an amazing difference the new starter made! That’s the thing about old tractors, they seem to last forever, and have a fan following that is second to none.

Of course, there are John Deere tractors with approximately 330 different models of tractors made between 1918 and 2000 (my count) Other tractor lines include Case-IH, New Holland, Ford, McCormick-Deering, Co-op, Farmall, Minneapolis-Moline, Kubota, Allis Chalmer, International Harvester, Mahindra, J.I. Case, David Brown, Oliver, White, Yanmar, plus Zetor, Fiat, Fendt and Deutz-Fahr. Any farm auction on-line or on-site worth its salt has these models of tractors although sizes vary greatly.

But my ‘little’ Massey-Ferguson is just a little ‘pony-sized’ tractor in comparison to what is commonly used on farms around me with their dual and triple-tires front and back and horsepower exceeding 450 hp. Of course, the bigger the horse, the more hay it eats, so I’m happy that I’m just feeding a pony and not a Percheron.

I love my tractor. Well, few people would really admit their love or affection for a tractor. Cars are loved, definitely motorcycles, but tractors? I doubt it. However, the small farmer, like me, who owns the farm, owns the tractor, and does all the work him or herself develops an affection for those things that serve him or her well.

The tractor is red--or was red when it was new, back in 1967. It’s sort of pinkish-red now--and not even Turtle-Wax Finish Restorer will bring it back. The fenders look the same color. The engine, transmission and rear axle and differential are silver/grey. But the 15.5-38 rear wheels and front tires look like they’re new-- and they are compared to the rest of the tractor. It doesn’t have a cab. Several years ago, I purchased a canvas cab called a heat-houser, then modified it with boards and conduit pipe to include a blue tarp roof. It last a couple years, but now I just dress real warm when I go blow snow.

Ten years or so ago, I had a rear tire flat fixed. The shop owner called me to say the rim was rusted through along the rim and the rim was in bad shape; thin in spots because of rust inside the rim from the calcium chloride used inside it for weight. He urged me to get new wheels or repair them if possible, and soon. The tires were still very good, having made that huge investment just a few years after I got the tractor. I think I had to order the rims from Iowa (of all places) as this tractor, a Model 180, is as rare a beast as their ever was in tractordom--and of course, it was waiting there in Roseau for me to buy it.

At first I took the old rims to Solom Machine Shop where the guy said they were too far gone, but if I wasn’t going to work the tractor he could probably repair it enough to drive in parades and the like--just not use as a real farm tractor anymore.

Couldn’t have that. I need it in condition to plow and disk firebreaks, mow willows from between the tree rows, and blow snow from our road and yard. So after calling tractor supply houses from here to Timbuktu, I finally found a place on-line and they shipped two new rims to the tire shop in Roseau. I talked to the tire guy about a non-chloride biodegradeable product I saw in an Ag catalog called ‘Rim Guard’ that is a liquid ballast for tractor tires that’s 30% heavier than water; weighing about eleven pounds per gallon. You do the math. It’s made from sugar beets so it doesn’t pollute if the tire gets punctured--and the rims last a long long time. He said other farmers had inquired about it too but that he had to buy a thousand gallons, minimum. I encouraged him to get it because I wanted it in my tires too. He did. I used the old rims for campfire rings.

So tires, front and back are in good shape. I even bought a spare tire and rim for the front  end that I can change out myself when I have to. The rear tires and rims weigh about 750 pounds each, plus the weight of the cast iron hubs, if I figured that correctly. So I’ll have to pay a princely sum to have the tire guys come out here to repair them.

 

Still, I love my tractor. It’s not new, not green, not even really red anymore, but it runs like a top and is happiest when it’s working. How do I know that? Well, it purrs.  And, it’s great on fuel. I can blow snow all day and not use a tank of fuel. I don’t know what it equals out to miles-per-gallon-wise but it’s probably close to the 25-30 mpg range. Very fuel efficient.