Haven't You Always Needed A Tractor?

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 01/10/2015 at 12:05 • Filed to: None

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Have you ever bought something just because the price was right? I mean, something you did not need and hadn't even considered before you saw one for sale? This is such a thing: a 1945 Allis-Chalmers tractor.

Mark Lieberman is a friend of mine and he owns !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , where he restores, buys, and sells old cars. I visit his shop from time to time - this is !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! not long ago - and every time I am there, I see some cool new vehicles.

This time, I noticed this bright orange beauty. I asked him, out of curiosity, if it was for sale and what the asking price was. $3,000. That's right - just $3,000. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! because I found out you could buy one for less than $5,000. I certainly didn't need an army truck at that point in my life. And that thing took up two spots in my 3-car garage. This tractor could probably fit between two cars in your garage and your wife might not even notice it there.

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This is a 1945 model C, and Mark went through it from front to back. Rebuilt carb, new battery and starter, cleaned fuel lines and so on.

I asked him how it ran and he fired it up for me. I've had cars that were harder to start and they weren't built during World War II. Notice the cool offset axles - for the ground clearance you will need to get over those pesky stumps in your front yard.

You can tell by looking at it, this thing is indestructible. It will outlive us all. And it is fun to sit in.

Just buy it, stick it in the garage and throw a tarp over it. She will never even notice it's there. And if she does, tell her you bought it to help her with that new garden she's always wanted to start. "It was going be a surprise!"Seriously: What else would you want to spend !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on?

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Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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Birddog > SteveLehto 01/10/2015 at 12:19

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(Image via GIS)

I've thought about buying a "Yard Guard" often.

A buddy has a 1945 Case VA that's in need of a restoration for sale. It could be had for $600 and runs. But with a move on the horizon I'm restraining myself.

JCAlan > SteveLehto 01/10/2015 at 12:20

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Old row crop tractors with no attachments in great shape can be bought for very cheap around here. Even though I could easily justify it with my wife (read: trick her), I have so far resisted the urge to pick one up, mostly because of my complete ignorance on the topic. But ya, I def want one!

ly2v8-Brian > SteveLehto 01/10/2015 at 12:22

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I like old tractors. Someday I'd like to fix up an old 2 cylinder Deere. But this is one nice Allis.

f86sabre > SteveLehto 01/10/2015 at 12:29

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My dad has 4 or 5 classic Deeres and a Chalmers. Not that pretty, but in good shape and he uses them to take care of his 12 acre hobby farm. I have been preparing my wife for the fact that one of them is in his will to go to my, now, 7 year old son. Classic tractors are way cool. Practical engineering at its best.

shop-teacher > SteveLehto 01/10/2015 at 12:32

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I once got a Craftsman riding lawn mower with a 42" cutting deck, towable dump trailer, and 42" snow plow for my under 1/4 acre suburban yard. It was pretty ridiculous, but the price was right ... Free! My parents were moving to a place with an even smaller yard.

It was nice to be able to mow the whole yard in 11 minutes, but the plow was more trouble than it was worth, and I never used the trailer once. I got tired of having to move it every time I needed to use my saws. So this spring I sold it, and used the funds to buy my wife a really nice camera.

JasonStern911 > SteveLehto 01/10/2015 at 12:42

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I think my dad owns an older Allis-Chalmers, but I do not know enough about them to comment on it. I will say, though, that $3,000 for a running one without much rust sounds like a heck of a deal.

JasonStern911 > JasonStern911 01/10/2015 at 12:44

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He also owns a few of these:

They're not quite as refined as the Carrera. :)

Funktheduck > SteveLehto 01/10/2015 at 13:20

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Is it tractor day?

BigBlock440 > SteveLehto 01/14/2015 at 13:42

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First thing I noticed, does the PTO even turn on?

Old tractors have to be almost the easiest thing to restore. You could get them running fairly easily, they run such low RPM and so low of speeds (on top of the brick shithouse construction), that they almost never "break". Sure some things wear out, but most of those things don't really keep the tractor from moving. A fresh coat of paint (and with the minimal bodywork, it's a fairly easy coat) and you basically have a restored tractor.

SteveLehto > BigBlock440 01/14/2015 at 13:51

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I believe everything on this tractor works. I did not check the PTO but I did hear it start and run.

BigBlock440 > SteveLehto 01/14/2015 at 14:08

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I believe it runs, and don't really have any reason to believe the PTO doesn't work, just that it looks like it hasn't been turned on since it was repainted. Old tractors are very easy to get/keep running, even if they don't perform as good as new. A file or some sandpaper, some fresh gas, maybe some contact cleaner, and it should start. Just went through it a few years ago with an old Farmall we pulled out of a barn, must have been sitting 20 years. It didn't get a paint job, but it now does the grass cutting on the farm. Old tractors are great hobby projects.

OneHeadLight > BigBlock440 01/14/2015 at 17:02

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I crashed one of these into a large tree on a drunken teen joyride. Jumped off and ran like hell with the rear wheels still spitting up sod and mud. Dear farmer, whoever you are, I am sorry.

Pickup_man > SteveLehto 01/14/2015 at 17:32

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That's the crappy part about old tractors, if you restore one properly, unless you have a very rare model of tractor, you will never come out ahead. They are really cool though and I hope to inherit a few someday from the fiance's dad.

lostabroad > SteveLehto 01/15/2015 at 07:19

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I did the same thing when I bought my 1958 Porsche Diesel (Junior 108) tractor.

I only got it because it was local, my father always wanted one and last but not least the price was right ;-).