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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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need your opinions

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BH in Iowa

01-26-2005 22:04:44




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I know most of you repair,paint your own tractors,but do you all think there is a market for a tractor restoration shop? Thanks for your input.




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Aberdale Farm

01-27-2005 22:36:53




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 Re: need your opinions in reply to BH in Iowa, 01-26-2005 22:04:44  
It can be difficult to find someone willing to pay to have their tractor restored right. It can also be difficult to please some people, regardless of how good of job you do. It might be easier to buy a tractor, restore it, and resell it. Then you only need to please yourself with the restoration. Just be careful not to put too much money in it, and you should come out allright. Then you can buy another one and do it again.

This method takes a lot of pressure off in meeting someone else"s expectations. That way the restoration stays fun instead of work.

LMO,
Dale

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Lance R.

01-27-2005 07:09:48




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 Re: need your opinions in reply to BH in Iowa, 01-26-2005 22:04:44  
Where do you live in Iowa? There is a real good shop near Webster City that does some of the best work you will ever see. He even takes the tires off and sand basts the rims and repaints the whole rim before putting tires back on. He takes so much pride in his work that it becomes time consumming and expensive. His tractor restorations have been featured on classic tractor calenders.



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Gordo

01-27-2005 06:31:53




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 Re: need your opinions in reply to BH in Iowa, 01-26-2005 22:04:44  
I am near a small town of 13,000 in SD. There are four different places here that specialize in tractor "refurbishing" And a few that will do one on request. One place, one guy ,paint your tractor in 1 1/2 days. 500 dollars. He does 4-5 a week and they haul them in from IA, MN,NE by the trailerload.What you get is a tractor that looks good from 200 feet. Second shop, one guy. Better job, 1000-2000. Almost a restoration. Does one in a week. Third shop, Two man deal. Pick your poison, From wash and paint to full restoration. Does huge business in just sandblasting customer items of all nature. Fourth shop. Meticulous attention to every nut and bolt. Job done at hourly rate. Painting alone over 2000 dollars. There IS a market for high dollar tractors. One sold at auction here in SD about 6 months ago for 237,000 dollars. But I'll tell you the money isn't in the Farmalls. Too many of them made. Look at what a little 34 Plymouth tractor restoration will bring. 15-20 thousand. It's just like autos. You can spend a thousand hours restoring a 1960 four door bel air chev and it's worth 3,000. Spend same time doing a Boss Mustang and it's in six figures.

Gordo

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Michael Soldan

01-27-2005 06:04:47




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 Re: need your opinions in reply to BH in Iowa, 01-26-2005 22:04:44  
BH, there are two places in our area that paint tractors. One is a large blast and paint shop that does industrial painting and paints large trucks and machinery. They are quite pricey and most couldn't afford it. Another fellow paints tractors as a side line to his farm.He charges$1500-1800 to do a tractor like an H or an M...expensive. The solution is that many paint their own tractor and take the hood grill and other sheet metal to a body shop and have those pieces professionaly painted, then they reassemble. It is ..paint your tractor for the price of the paint and pay the body shop a few hundred to do the really important stuff. I like working on my own tractors and restoring them but working on someone else's would be WORK...Mike in Exeter Ontario

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Andy Martin

01-27-2005 05:26:09




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 Re: need your opinions in reply to BH in Iowa, 01-26-2005 22:04:44  
There are a few successful shops, but if you want to make any money you'd have to be an expert marketer. You compete against the guys who will restore their own tractor then sell it for less than the parts cost they have in it so they can buy another tractor and start over.

It is exactly the same deal with antique automobile restoration, the expert marketers sell to the wealthy few however there are far fewer wealthy people willing to pay big bucks for a tractor restoration.

If your goal is not marketing, or if you don't think selling lifetime knives from China for inflated prices at the county fair is not only fun but a good challenge, a tractor restoration business may not be for you.

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Robert in NC

01-27-2005 03:29:55




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 Re: need your opinions in reply to BH in Iowa, 01-26-2005 22:04:44  
I have often thought about the same thing. I know of two here in NC but when I say shop, I mean barn and when I say low tech, I really mean low tech. These guys do it more as a labor of love than for a living. Theres more of paint and body than any real mech work. I don't think that it would be a great idea in my area. It is most certainly not a get rich quick kind of plan but I know that it would be a great job to have. Perhaps there would be a better market in the Mid-west b/c of the tractors and lifestyle of the american farm and farmer there. It woud take a lot of marketing to get your name out there and even more to get it to stick.

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