New! Tractor Restoration Stories & Photos
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1955 Oliver Super 77 restored by Dan Stricker, Park Rapids, Minnesota. “We bought the 77 at an auction in 1970 and used it on our family farm for many years,” Dan notes. “After retiring from a career as a heavy equipment mechanic, I tackled the restoration in 2009, replacing seals, gaskets, bearings and wiring. I got it done just in time for our tractor club’s summer show—and enjoyed the project so much I’ve already started restoring an Oliver 66.”
1950 Case DC-4 restored by John Maxwell, Clinton, Illinois. “I was raised with Cases and enjoy restoring tractors that are a little different from the usual Farmalls and John Deeres,” John says. “I bought the DC-4 about 10 years ago from a guy who used it for tractor pulls. He’d had the engine rebuilt with the bigger 4-inch bore Case used on the ’53 DC-4s, so it ran great. Back on the farm, we pulled a two-bottom plow in second gear with our DC-4. This one pulls a three-bottom plow in third.”
1939 Massey-Harris 101 Junior restored by Harry Bulthouse, Nunica, Michigan. It looked like a piece of junk when he found it at a tractor show, Harry says. “But I decided to take on the challenge of restoring it and bought the tractor for $200. I’m 81 years old. Now all I have to do is play. The guy I bought it from didn’t think it’d ever run again. I installed new spark plugs and put some new gas in the tank, and the engine started almost instantly. For the next two years, my son Tim and I worked on it off and on. We scrounged around in the scrapyards for back rims, and made our own front rims. It took a lot of time, but we think the tractor turned out nice. We have fun running it in two local parades each summer.”
