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While I'm usually spouting off about rifles and pistols, I spend a lot of time dealing with the realities of working on machinery that should have been scrapped a half century ago.
My oldest tractor, a 1955 Farmall Cub, is getting a little tired. It generated about 11 h.p. at its best, and it is probably down to 8 hp now. I suspect it is going to be down for a year for an engine overhaul and new set of transmission gears to make it stop howling in 1st.
Last fall I bought a "new" Cub to take over the tasks that require threading your way through the woods where the big tractors fear to go. This one is mid 1960's vintage (I haven't cleaned off the data plate yet to see when it was built) but it runs well, even with an intake manifold leak.
So, the past couple of days have been spent changing tractor tires. The old ones were rotten and the rims were rusted through to the point the ballast was seeping out. $900 later, and a lot of busted knuckles, and a little blood, she has new kicks. Thunderstorm is rolling through right now, so I probably will not get the ten gallons of RV anti-freeze ballast loaded into the last tire today. I'll just have to watch the rain fall.
And, of course in the middle of typing this, the power went out. Yeah, life on the farm. Okies, now that all the UPS alarms are turned off and the juice is back on...
Here's the 1955 doing what it does best...
Some folks go hunting with their tricked-out and pimped ATV's. Not me... I just keep working the Elmer Fudd vibe.
My oldest tractor, a 1955 Farmall Cub, is getting a little tired. It generated about 11 h.p. at its best, and it is probably down to 8 hp now. I suspect it is going to be down for a year for an engine overhaul and new set of transmission gears to make it stop howling in 1st.
Last fall I bought a "new" Cub to take over the tasks that require threading your way through the woods where the big tractors fear to go. This one is mid 1960's vintage (I haven't cleaned off the data plate yet to see when it was built) but it runs well, even with an intake manifold leak.
So, the past couple of days have been spent changing tractor tires. The old ones were rotten and the rims were rusted through to the point the ballast was seeping out. $900 later, and a lot of busted knuckles, and a little blood, she has new kicks. Thunderstorm is rolling through right now, so I probably will not get the ten gallons of RV anti-freeze ballast loaded into the last tire today. I'll just have to watch the rain fall.
And, of course in the middle of typing this, the power went out. Yeah, life on the farm. Okies, now that all the UPS alarms are turned off and the juice is back on...
Here's the 1955 doing what it does best...
Some folks go hunting with their tricked-out and pimped ATV's. Not me... I just keep working the Elmer Fudd vibe.
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