She has Heart

-As Annie and I go down the road we get lots of waves and ppl even stop us and comment about her and ask a few questions.  They always say she looks nice but the other comment which I never had before until her is “she runs great”.   She does too….. this old tractor does run great but I can;t take any credit for that.   That credit goes to the J.I. Case company for a great design.  After all, Annie  ran darn good when I bought her and at that time she had a leaky gas line, crushed carb floats, 2  burnt valves, a cracked head and 3 broken valve springs and shot spark plug wires….  That she ran is amazing in itself, but that she ran good enough to drive 6 miles home is … well.. beyond description.

 

I almost gave up on Annie for I hadn;t planned on the cracked head.  But, for some reason I stuck with her and now as I go down the road with her giving her throaty bellowy  sound I smile for I love to hear her run.  Obviously others do too and I get a lot of compliments on how good she runs….  I don;t mind saying I am proud of this tractor. But, not for what I did to her, but for she is.. well .. one great quality tractor that was designed well.  The amount of neglect and abuse she took and kept running was just unspeakable….  no machine should be treated that way.  But, she spends her days here at the Meadow now in semi-reitirement, ready to go back to work when I get a plow set-up for her in the next couple of years……  When she does pull something the sound that comes from her motor is beautiful….  reminds me of a old car with that deep sounding growl and just exudes power.

ONe really neat thing I learned lately and have now taken action to get is that the Case IH company has on record all the Build Cards for the tractors made by Case.  A build card was tied to the tractor when they started buidling it and along the way it was checked for passing each step or it was listed what was wrong and that it was fixed.  They tell you the date it was built, any special options it had, the rpm’s it maxed out at, the rpm’s the governor kicked in at, the dyno test where they tell you the horsepower it put on the drawbar and belt drive and other bits of info such as what dealer it was sold to and if it was already sold the name of that person also.  This is a dream come true for a collector like myself.   I plan on hanging the photocopy of the build card over Annie’s parking space….    Old tractors are great mysteries for who knows who had them, what they went through or where they had been.   Unlike my Old Allis most tractors are a mystery and we collectors always lament we wish they could talk.  Well, a build card takes us back to their movement of “birth” on the assembly line and we can trace it till it leaves the factory.  Annie left Racine, WI in 1949… now I at least will know what date she was built and when she was shipped and where too…….if the implement or tractor dealer still exists I probably then will be able to get her sales slip copy signed by the original owner….  and the address of where that farm was…. if I have any luck perhaps the same family will still own that farm…….  if not at least I can drive by and take pics… and stand there and imagine Annie going across the surrounding fields…..

Yes, I almost gave up on Annie…. for a while I wish I had.. then when I started her the first time I fell in love….  While Old Allis is still my first tractor and the apple of my eye… Annie has turned me into a Case guy…..  I like Allis Chalmers,,, I always will…. but from now on… the garage will be filling up with more tractors from the J.I. Case company…. with one exception… a Oliver…..but that is another story in itself…..

In closing, we will get back to collies tomorrow…. but today I thought we could take a moment to share about the tractor that captured my heart  because when I realize how badly she was neglected and then heard her run after restoring I knew I had a treasure… she has heart and she wants to run….. Roger Welsch wrote “We love old tractors for old tractors have souls.”  Yeah….. they are machines… but somehow, in someway they have some sort of a soul…..  and that is why I cherish my Annie………

-she might have heart but she has a wet tire now too… muwahahahahaha

 

 

 

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She actually looked Red!!!!

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!!!

 

 

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Jay-Eye-See, no home for his bones…..

What to write about?  After the celebration of the crushing of the evil empire by the lads from Liverpool no tractor work was done and nothing unusual with the collies happened.  But, not to worry I have a story to tell about a horse…..

His name was Jay-eye-see which were the initials of his owner.. the American inventor and industrialist from Racine, Wisconsin named J. I. Case who founded two great agricultural companies which included… yes.. Case tractors. *Grin* The horse we are talking about was bought in a string of horse by J.I.Case and was thrown in as a afterthought for $500.

Jay-eye-see was born in 1878 and became a world leading trotter.  He broke the record for a mile by doing it in under 2 minutes 10 seconds in 1884.  Case once offered $10,000 for a one on one race to anyone who thought they could beat Jay-eye-see. No takers were found.  Jay-eye-see was injured and then retired in 1889. But, it was decided to make him into a pacer.  His comeback was underway.

J.I.Case died in 1891 but in 1892 Jay-Eye-See set the world record for pacing at 2 minutes and six and a half seconds!  The first horse to set records in two different gaits Jay-Eye-See is considered the greatest of double gait champions!

Jay-Eye-See was retired to the Case family owned Hickory Grove Farm. J.I. Case loved horses and horse racing so Jay-Eye-See was a popular destination for many tourists who would stop by the farm to get a glimpse of the great horse.  At the age of 31, in 1909 Jay-Eye-See died. He was buried nearby but his story does not end there.

You see, as famous as he was there is no monument to one of the greatest horses ever.  In 1997 the burial place of Jay-Eye-See  was chosen for development and a team of historians, horse lovers and others set out to find his bones and they did!  His bones were brought to a historian’s home to be kept until he could be reburied. Many thought he would be put in the Case Family plot but that didn’t happen and to this day his bones still lie in that box and no memorial is in place for him.

Perhaps a few emails to the CNH offices in Racine, WI might help?  This old champion needs a fitting resting place….. mediarelations@cnhind.com

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-Jay-Eye-See

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We Collies want Jay-Eye-See to have a proper resting place!!!!

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A Busy Weekend

Dad found time to play with us all weekend even though he spent all of his spare working on that stupid tractor…..but he likes Old Annie the Case SC.  He painted the left front tire, the lug nuts and the left front axle and turning pole…..

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He baked the lug nuts in the over at 175 degrees for a few hours to harden the paint and they turned redder which dad feels mean as the paint cures it will turn a bit redder than the burnt orange the flambeau red looks like now.

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Here you see the steering arm to the front turning knuckle to the axle to the left front tire mount is painted. Dad looked it up on the internet for he felt it looked like burnt orange instead of Flambeau Red.  Seems like a lot of ppl feel it looks like burnt orange.

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Dad doesnt know what to think about this color.  It changes… in the indirect light it is burnt orange, in direct sunlight depending upon the angle it goes from a reddish orange to a bright orange.  It is strange…..

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-I Mick think the tractor is more of a Sable color….  Is it time to play again dad?  Come on dad… put down that pint and lets go!!!!! What?  Just another coat?  Well I have a big coat perhaps I can give you some of it for the tractor?  Why are you laughing?  I am willing to do anything to help you dad….. oh… I love you too Dad…. 🙂

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-Poll results soon….

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Annie Continues To Amaze Us

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…

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Annie Comes Back To Life!!

Whoa!!!  HE did it…. the old guy finally did it…. but then even a broken clock is right twice a day… hehehehe

Let me describe the comedy of the old guy getting that old 1949 Case SC tractor running again….. you will laugh… I know it humored me watching him do this…

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–As you remember old Annie (yes he named his tractor!) had a cracked head and the old guy had to fix her.. that was over a year ago.  He bought some new valve springs, another head, gasket kit for head, gooseneck, valve cover and other things.  He had to buy a new valve, have the valves ground and the head milled along with the intake manifold.   New anti-freeze and a taking apart

and cleaning and fixing a broken float in the carb and the old guy, who was kindly helped by his father who is a mechanical genius and the tractor was put back together.  She wouldn’t start so they took the carb apart again and realized the float wasn’t set right.  So they fixed that and the old guy brought it all home and put it back together today…. will it start. With the old guy.. who knows but this should be comical.

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–Well, it is together and the anti-freeze full and everything back on.  HE begins to start it but it won’t start… it almost fires a few times but on goes the battery charger.  The battery was getting weak.  Finally it is charged quite a bit and he tries again. Nothing… then he realizes what I saw right from the start, the throttle needs to be opened about half way to start… hehehe… he is slow sometimes…. snicker.

Then he hits the starter and she starts but doesnt want to keep running. She backfires and sputter and then bang.. bang.. bang…then the loudest explosion I ever heard happened!!!!!  It backfired hard and the old guy’s ears are ringing now. Best part was watching the muffler fly up into the rafters  about 6 feet up and then landing in his plastic covers he uses to cover the tractors.  Ah yes, the plastic melted and is stuck to the muffler!  The old guy is funnier than Harold Lloyd!  He scrapes the plastic off and then puts the muffler back on.  He adjusts the card a half turn out on the screw that adjusts the mixture and tries it again… (I knew that was wrong too… but then I am so much smarter than any human!). HE tries it and she starts up but is sputtering…. he adjusts the card and she has a slight miss but keeps running. He tightens up various nuts and bolts and Annie smooths out and runs like a champ!

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He jumps on her and rolls along onto the driveway… back and forth he goes quite a few times…. I can see he isnt ready to trust her going any further than that right now as it is getting dark.  But, he ran her for an hour and she ran very well… not bad for an old human…. HE pulls her back in and sees she has a slight leak on the gooseneck… Bar leak should fix that and then as he is looking things over he tastes this horrible taste in his mouth. Ah, another small leak of anti-freeze.  As he spits it out I laugh… But, he found that the new ground up root they put in the anti-freeze to keep us collies from drinking it works. They claim it is the most bitter thing in the world and the old guy could taste it a half hour later even though it was only a tiny drop. YAY Prestone for putting that bitter root in the anti-freeze to save animals…. He figures Bar leak ill seal that up too,….. Then he touched the wires to the magnetop to make sure they were tight and got poked….I could swear his hair stood up on end… hehehehe

Well, that is the old guy’s adventure today!  I know we collies laughed up a storm. Sometimes he works on those old tractors and gets it done without a hitch. Other times it is like today… a regular Harold Lloyd film I tell you…. Thats all from the Meadow. -Ginger

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