The old guy is sort of moping around the house right now for it is winter time and he can’t go out and tinker on his tractors or play with us as much for it is too cold. With his new job and the training he comes home exhausted from all the learning… so he sits and vegges looking at tractor films on you tube or reading. The good news is it will be in the 40’s near 50 this weekend and with gasoline down in price he is going to buy some for the winter snow plowing and to play a bit.
He also plans on playing with us since it will also be dry so we should get a good long play in each day and some walks!
The old guy likes to tell how in the old days one could tell which type of tractor was coming down the road just by the sound of it.. just like each brand of car had its own sound. Sort of like us collies who dad can tell who is who by the bark… and we make sure he gets plenty of those! LOL
Here are a couple of vids so you all can tell the difference in sounds.. the first is by an Allis Chalmers WC giving what dad calls the “Allis Purr” as she pulls a plow…. when dad plows some neighbors come out to see for it is a loud purr….. sounds exactly like dad’s…..
Then a Case DC …… he says it is more of a throaty growl…..
Hopefully Dad will get his tractor fix this weekend….. we want to play…..
In the early morning dew and mist the old guy checked everything, flipped the on switch and hit the starter button. Instantly Annie came to life and sat there purring with pure happiness. He climbed up on her and put her in first gear and slowly pushed the hand clutch lever forward and with a throaty bellow old Annie rolled forward and rolled down out of the garage onto the driveway and up under the Maple where she sat idling for a few minutes as the old guy took pictures, cleaned her off with a soft blankie and loaded up some tools just in case.
Then the old guy jumped on Annie and increased the throttle and put her in fourth gear and let out the clutch lever and with a throaty deep bellow Annie rolled towards the road and onto it and away they went with Annie purring along unconcerned with the world around her, sounding happy with the old guy bouncing on the spring loaded seat from the big cleated agriculture tires running uneven on the cement until they gained enough speed to run smoothly. Around the corner she went and began the long climb into town…Cars passed by but Annie just purred along happily.
Up over the hill they went and then the next turn came and Annie purred around it and headed up the curvy road to the meeting point. Ahead he could see donkeys, other tractors, some cars and other floats. HE pulled up and the people putting people in line smiled and laughed saying “so, they gave your 1949 Case the number 49….
As they lined up and Annie sat there purring up pulled a machine, a self driven baler the old guy had seen at a earlier tractor show and it was driven by a friend of his father and so he was able to sit there for a half hour talking to him and the people behind him who had a John Deere from 1941. It was nice but then the WWII Navy fighter planes roared overhead signalling the beginning of the parade in the bright, clear blue skies with the soft west wind blowing.
Off they went heading for the main drag and the old guy grinned and patted Annie on her gas tank as they rolled along and then they turned the corner crawling along into a mammoth crowd of people on both sides of the road. Children lined the curbs and waved and flags were waving and the old guy was in awe. Watching the children, waving back at people, talking to people as they yelled compliments or asked a question as well as keeping his eyes on the flow of the parade making sure he had a safe distance between himself and the machine in front of him kept him busy.
Soon, he saw a few people he knew who cheered and yelled compliments about Annie which made the old guy smile and think about what a wreck Annie had been at one time. Soon, he saw people show waved and called him by name and he felt bad for he could not at that moment remember who they were.
As they rolled along Annie never missed a beat running better than ever and the old guy felt very proud of Annie, not for anything her did, but that she was running so well because she was built so well, a true American piece on ingenuity. Because they were going so slow the big treads on the rear tires kept the old guy bouncing up and down on the seat and someone yelled “like riding on air”? Sort of…. the spring makes it soft the old guy yelled and he rolled on bouncing.
Soon, he saw a man and his family and their son who had sat on Annie a while back and they all waved and the son was yelling.. “The Tractor!!! The tractor! Hi chuck!” The old guy waved back and smiled. Then an old man in the crowd stood up and pumped his fist in the air and screamed “CASE!!!!!!!” The old guy waved backed and laughed and then little kids along the way waved and people were giving thumbs up signals and the old guy patted Annie again… after all they weren;t cheering him, they were cheering everyone and especially those old machines who still get it done yet are so old.
As they rolled past the announcer the old guy heard someone yelling and it was his son and his friends and a few men nodding and pointing yelling “Nice!” As they rolled on the end came and as they turned the corner the old guy stopped Annie and put her in fourth and off they went with a bellow and then he opened her up and let her fly down the road and then a couple more turns and they were back at the starting point and the old guy kept Annie rolling till they passed it and headed back onto the road home.
As they rolled along with Annie still purring steadily cars passed and people waved and he figured they must have seen Annie at the parade. They rolled down the hill around the corner and up into the drive and stopped in front of the garage as Annie sat there purring and the old guy patted her hood for she hadn’t missed or sputtered at all. Amazing is all he could think, just amazing.
He wiped her down and then put her in her spot in the garage and he idled her down and turned off the gas to empty out the carb and gas line so she won;t drip gas out of the carb onto her paint. Finally she stopped and the old guy finished shining her up and then he looked long and hard at Annie remembering how bad of shape she was in. He put his arm over her hood and sort of hugged the old tractor and said “Good job old girl… good job.” Annie sat there and then her radiator gurgled softly as if she was saying thank you……
What was amazing about this whole thing is that as I watched the people they weren’t cheering on the people but they were cheering the machines and the people at most got cheers for the restoration they did on the machines. I never saw so many people at a parade in my life and it was a lot of fun…. but the cheering for Annie, the other old farm machines, trucks and cars and such were because these old machines fed the world or enabled others to work to feed the world and still survive and it also brings back memories and brings a glimpse into the past that so many people fondly remember or have read about. Myself, I came away from today with a deeper respect and love for Annie. Despite her being a wreck, despite her abuse, despite her age she survived it all and today proved she still can run like new at the age of 65. I respect her and am finally ready to say I am glad I bought her…… it was a lot of work, but I only put her back together, her quality and toughness helped her to survive and now shows as she purrs along contentedly. Way to go Annie…. way to go….
-took all three out for 6 mile rides…. here is Annie after her ride… a 1949 Case SC…
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-Here is Allison my 1944 Model B Allis Chalmers after her ride…. look to the right in the background.. Annie is sneaking in for a inclusion in the picture….
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-Here is Molly after her ride…. she is a 1941 Allis Chalmers WC…
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-A family shot of my three tractors…
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-Orange is a perfect color, for when I burn them no one will notice till it is too late.. that will teach him to spend the day with those iron work horse instead of us! Bet Terhune didn’t ride on tractors instead of playing with those Sunnybank Collies.
Well, Annie got to go out and bake in the sun yesterday… that makes that enamel paint hard and it does take a while to dry properly. I was also able to get old Allis out and get her scratches from carrying and using that plow fixed. She looks pretty good again for a 70 year old work horse. For those interested Annie, my Case SC was produced in 1949. Old Allis is a war baby Allis Chalmers B made in 1944. Believe it or not she still has her original main wire harness in her. What makes this special is being a war baby they didn’t use copper wiring in her. She has a zinc wiring in her. Now, everything off the main harness is copper now… and someday I plan on putting a new harness in her but leaving the original harnness under it. That is a piece of history that does not exist in most tractors from the second world war yet….
-Annie sun worshipping….
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-Some of her decals on….. love that old Abe decal ….
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-Old Allis looking ready to do a job as her paint dries…
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-Annie and Allis sun bathing…. 🙂
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-reminiscing about when they worked on their farms before their semi-retirement…. ah the good ol’ days…..
The old guy got home and put the hose clamps on the gas line, covered up the hood just in case Annie decided to spew anything out of her exhaust onto the new paint. He put plastic under the carb, gas tank and lines just in case something sprung a gasoline leak for gas eats up fresh paint. He put gas in her…. turned on the gas line and no leak. No leak out of the carb…. so he flipped the Mag switch pulled the choke and hit the starter. He jumped for Annie started up instantly!!! We watched as he grinned like a fool as he checked for leaks and found none.
Then he checked the new temp guage for a leak on the radiator and nothing there either and the temp gauge worked. The oil gauge he repaired worked and Annie sat there purring steadily. He gave her gas and she instantly sped up and he slowed her down but she didn’t slow down!!! Oh.. oh… but the old guy spotted the battery cable was pushing against the throttle line and he moved it and Annie instantly responded. He let her run for 20 minutes and she ran beautifully and he did a dance in the garage as we rolled our eyes! So, Annie now runs again and now he can pull her out of the garage and clean up and paint the other side now…
-Yay Annie!!
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-Makes me sick seeing him so happy…. wait.. did they say Gasoline destroys paint? Muwahahahahahahahah
What a weekend… once in a while things go right and it is amazing how much work I was able to do on Annie, Party work and writing. The end is finally in sight!!!
The weekend started out backwards with the battery cracking and leaking, but I got the headlights taken apart, rewired, put back together painted and installed and a new battery put in…. here is a pic of them on today…
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Then, the Hydraulic Unit was finally done being rebuilt (my father loved doing that, he loves machines, hydraulics and all that!!) and we reinstalled it, refilled the fluid and no Leaks. Reformed the exhaust muffler pipe so the steering gear doesn;t hit it and put in the turn on/off valve on the gas tank and put the gas line back on. Then, Annie got painted on her left side all the way back to the hydraulic unit.. that includes left wheel!
Look, she looked Red…..
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-She actually looks Red.. 🙂
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-another view…. notice the wheel… I went with all orange…
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-the inside of the wheel…
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-the dashboard!
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-Annie Smiling…
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-Okay, time to play with us Collies!!!! Enough Tractors!!!! By the way, the Liverpool Reds won their final game today and finished in second two points out of first… very proud of them and next year will be our year Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez!!! YNWA!!!
All weekend I worked on Annie….sanding, cleaning, wire brushing and cleaning…. so now Annie is painted from the front to the back axle except for the oil pan…. as you can see the steering wheel is still wrapped for painting. Next is the seat, the fenders, axles and wheels….. then put the hydraulic unit back on and paint that and put it all together and then try to start it up after I do the oil pan. Hopefully old Annie will run when we go to start her. Below are some pictures of what she looks like now.
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Wow! It is shiny! Collies like! Wait.. that is Annie? !!!
I lil Hallie have a idea… we will let our readers choose… While dad likes to restore his old tractors close to original, he likes to give them a personal twist. So, he wants to do his Case in a Flame out… or all Flambeau Red or Orange as we call it….
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Others of us want the orange out but with the original silver colored back rims…. so you vote…. which do you like better?
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Here is the orange out….. everything is orange…. er.. Flambeau Red.. cough.. cough…
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Or… the back rims silver…….
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I think he should paint it Persian Orange instead… like an Allis Chalmer…..
This is a non-collie post, unless one of them sneaks in here. So, do check out our earlier post from today where Ginger is being a brainiac and taking action… sigh…
The highlight of my year every year is the third Weekend of August. My father, who is 75 years old and I go up to Buckley in Michigan to the Old Engine and Tractor show. It is so much more than a tractor show though… its about American life from the horse era through the early mechanical era. Everything is done with old machines and by hand up there and as you can see in this film, there is much more to do… like the Flea Market where we buy lots of tools.. used ones.. old ones.. for cheap! There are Antiques of all kinds there. We eat homemade Ice cream that is made using old hit and miss engines, go for steam engine train rides, watch plowing demonstrations, see old printing presses, swmills, old FORDS!!!!, farm machinery in use, see tools most people today do not know what they are in use, talk with lots of interesting people, see demonstrations of horse farming, see how people used to do everything from dig wells, cut their lumber using tractors or hit and miss engines with homemade saw mills, see how old candy was made, see cider being made, and well it just goes on and on.
Of course for me its the tractors although I find the whole thing fascinating. Here are a few films of the show and I saw these machines in action…
This film a guy drives around the grounds to show some of what is there.. he is driving a Farmall Cub tractor… I have a soft spot in my heart for them for that is the first machine I drove at the age of 8… so as you see him drive it you can see what I experienced at the age of 8. 🙂 Do watch for you will so many old things as he drives by.. watch for the Model Ts!
This film shows some of the machinery plus some of the old crafts such as handmade broommaking, blacksmith, leather working and more…..
this is a long film of different things.. you see some horse around 20 minutes… the thing I like about You Tube films is you can scroll along the timeline and get miniture previews of what you see on the film so you dont have to watch boring stuff….
Now its time for some of my likes…
Threshers!!! I love watching them!!!
Now when they announce the plowing demonstrations by the huge steam engine tractors I run to go see….
So, thats some of what I love to do up to Buckley. Something different for sure…. but if any of you are up there for the show let me know we could arrange to meet in person! 🙂 I have a lot of fun up there and its like a walk into the past…… and there is more than just tractors there as you saw…
To my Old Allis… my hero this winter….
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70 years old and still kicking butt… my hero!
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Now you knew I would make an appearance.. why look at that junk when you can look at me?
Ginger here… sigh…. the old guy perhaps was more amazing in that he had no catastrophes today… too bad.. er… that’s good.. snicker…
The Old Guy came home and changed Annie’s oil and it was amazing. Oil mixed with gasoline, anti-freeze and thick as tar. How that old tractor runs without smoking is beyond amazing. But, the Old Guy changed her oil and tightened up a few more things and then started her up to adjust the carb. She started right up and the oil pressure went to exactly where it is supposed to be. She struggled to keep running and the old guy amazed me in his adjusting the choke to keep her running till she warmed up. But, he did get his ears blown out with some more backfiring. He says he will have to readjust the valves and perhaps adjusting the carb helped too. It was amazing watching him turn the screws and she would run smoother, then rougher and finally he got her running nice and smooth.
Stunning! How does the old guy know how to do that? Perhaps he is smarter than we think! … naw…. heheheh
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He wiped all the oil, anti-freeze and gas off her from her being torn apart and leaking fluids and after she ran a good while shut her off. He got one of the anti-freeze leaks to stop but decided to go to the store to get some Bar’s Leak to stop the leak. He bought a flippy cap for the top of the muffler and some lead substitute to add to the gasoline for those old engines need it for lubricating! By the way, Cupcake from CUPCAKE SPEAKS (one of our favorite blogs) is right.. I am a genius. Oh, the old guy is giving me the stink eye so back to the story. Mean old guy!
Yes, old guy, I was the one who watered your wrench.. hehehehe
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But, guess what? The gooseneck stopped leaking all on its own while the radiator was full… so he bought it for nothing… muwahahahahahaha
So, then he came and played with us for a hour and it was fun as I made sure to pull on his pants legs as he ran… he doesn’t need that leg anyways, he has two after all… muwahahahah
-Thats it for now,
Ginger
Here is a shot of old Annie….. all she needs is some watering down that exhaust pipe and that will make the old guy’s day… snicker…
Collies Of The Meadow 