Two new arrivals today.
The Comet needs it's carb cleaned and a good tune-up. I can't believe the lady drove it all the way here, considering how it runs.
The Chevy truck was flat-towed here by a farmer. The local dealership doesn't want to / can't work on this stuff. When I got it to fire, it would only run on half the cylinders. Looks like one side of the carburetor is gummed up badly.
Part of being able to fix anything is having to fix anything. they bring you.
That Comet looks like it’s in fairly good shape aside from needing a good buff. That truck is giving me flashbacks to my childhood. I remember stacking hay bales in the back of one just like it. Or trying to stack them, as well as a kid can lift hay bales. I was probably just getting in the way.
It's rough but solid.
It's in perfect condition really, it's the kind of car you can park anywhere and not worry about.
Friend had a 2 door version of that Comet with a V8 in HS. It was reliable but rusty.
Like this one?
I was explaining the term "tractor mechanic" to someone last week. Basically when you are a farmer you have to be able to fix anything on the farm that breaks, especially the tractor. I guess in this case its the truck.
Yup, just yesterday I was machining new pins for the shift fork in a rototiller.
I remember someone on the AACA forum using "tractor mechanic" as a derogatory term.
To fix old tractors, you have to know all the same stuff that it takes to fix pre-war automobiles. There's not much difference between a Ford Model A engine and a Ford N-series tractor engine.
To fix new tractors, you have to be an auto mechanic, heavy-duty mechanic and computer diagnostic technician, all in one. Most of the tractors around here are in the million-dollar-plus range. Even my 10-year-old 50hp Kubota was $40k.
You couldn’t pay me enough to want to touch all of the electronics on modern tractors. New cars are a walk in the park by comparison.
Yup.
A local family lost two combines last season.
They were out in the field overnight, went to start them in the morning and the instrument panel was lit up like a Christmas tree.
Service guys came out and figured out they had been hit by lightning.
Insurance wrote them off.
That would be our very own @Edinmass who throws around the "tractor mechanic" label. Don't take it to harshly he's dealing with fragile stuff that has had heavy hands usually.
The electronics are a problem across the board, not just farm equipment. Think about the complexity in any modern hybrid car. Then think about the chances of that car running in 30 years.
I got a thick skin. I used to hold the flashlight for my dad.
I completely understand the ham-fisted stuff he's probably seen.
My 2019 Silverado has a panic attack every winter when it gets below -20c.
It pitches a slow 02 sensor code because the heaters can't warm the sensors fast enough. Everything in the system is fine, the sensors are new. I just keep my scanner in the truck in the winter to reset whatever shows up.
in the right situation, it will also give a cam sensor code if the traction control comes on.
CEL lit = remote start disabled which really sucks in the winter.
😂😂😂 Shawn you made me laugh! Thank you. I was holding a light for @TomLaferriere last weekend and all he did was yell at me and ask why my dad didn't teach me to hold the light correctly.
What model is that John Deere? Looks like a big boy.
It's an 820 that belongs to a neighbour.
I have to get the carburetor on the pony engine sorted out and re-line the clutch brake.
Yup, that’s a pretty big machine. 7.7 liter twin. Those pistons must look like 5 gallon buckets.
I'm not really a John Deere guy but I can fix almost anything.
Tractors are kind of like a religion out here. There's green tractor folks and red tractor folks and the rest of us off in the fringes.
I'll give JD credit, they're a marketing powerhouse. They're the Harley Davidson of tractors. They're not any better than the others but they've managed to get people to pay extra, just because it's green.
You can also buy all the HD-type gak from John Deere. Get your JD mailbox, JD booty shorts, JD T-shirt, toilet seat, etc.
That’s the same everywhere. I’m actually a red tractor guy.
International?
I want to get my hands on an old Farmall M-series. My grandfather farmed 1000 acres with three of them.
I love IHC but I settled on a Kubota because it was such a good tractor.
My brother had a great back hoe - excavator that he used for everything. But that stuff around here even used is a fortune. I looked at getting a used commercial wood chipper for years and 10k bought something beat to crap on its last legs so I gave up.
The one tractor I would really want would be one of these. But last one sold for a fortune. I know the guy that owns the only surviving car version.
No, it’s a Massey Ferguson. Certainly wouldn’t mind an IHC though.
The Bryan is a steam tractor
You’re not kidding about used equipment going for way too much money. I looked for years for a medium size tractor that at the very least had a loader. Everything was $10-$15k and absolutely thrashed. Then this machine came along a few years ago with a backhoe and only 800 hours on it for $10k. Couldn’t get the money out of my pocket fast enough.
I drive past a metal recycler on my way back to B.C. that has a Case steam traction engine parked out front.
The fact that I don't own equipment big enough to bring it home is the only thing that keeps me from stopping and making an offer on it.
One day, I will have a steam tractor.
I thought we were insane and then I was introduced to the traction engine guys.
That Comet is a solid looking car. No salt up your way?
They use that calcium chloride brine and gravel.
Winters hit -40c so salt really doesn't do a whole lot.
