Dan, I got the instructions. Many thanks. I didn't shave this morning, either.
The '14 looks great. I started driving my father's '38 F-12 when I was about 8 (in 1938!). I couldn't reach the pedals that year, so somebody would climb up on the drawbar to work the clutch. Then I'd pull a wagon through a big field with a hayloader attached, or do something slow like that so somebody could help me stop or start. In a year or so, I could slide down and reach the clutch. By 10 or thereabouts, I was cultivating and plowing. I still shudder to think that my father didn't put his foot down and say, "Get down, ya little punk!" What would OHSA say today to a farmer who let a 4'6" 4th grader drive alone in a field? Well, he would have had a fight on his hands, I guess, 'cause I was "bound, bent and billy-be-damned" I was gonna drive. One little story that now makes me cringe is that in the late 40s, I wanted the F-12 to look like your -14 does. I guess it was the influence of the H and M with their rakish steering wheels up high. I didn't ask. I just cut off the steering shaft behind the steering-gear box and took the shaft to a machine shop to get holes bored so I could bolt on a U-joint that happened to fit. Then--this is the real horror--I cut off the steering post and stuck a piece of plumbing pipe over it, then dropped the short part left over at the top down into the pipe! Now I had what looked like an F-14, if you didn't look too close. It really looked pretty ratty. The seat had to be raised a little, so I put a piece of 2 x 4 under it. We used my phony F-14 for several years after that. I'd love to have that old 'gal like it was before I "improved" it. A cousin with a wicked sense of humor must have sensed what I was into. As soon as he saw what I had done, he asked me, "Well, did that make it go any faster?" Sheepish grin on my face. Your grandson really is cute. Tell him all about mags and points and oil pumps and clutches and power lifts and mufflers and carbs and water pumps (or none, in this case) and pulleys and PTOS, and let him drive where it's safe. Not only will he have great memories of Grandpa, but he may learn to share your joy in machines. I can't tell you how much I learned about machines just by being around them, watching my father tinker them up (he didn't explain anything unless I asked, which I did; I would have soaked up anything he said about a machine if he had volunteered). Grandparents can leave wonderful memories. I still have a warm spot for one of my grandfathers, who invited me and my 2 brothers, in turn, to spend a week on his potato farm. He knew I loved tractors, and he always gave me some "work" to do, like driving his little homemade doodle-bug truck to and from the potato field, and disking up the fields after the taters were dug. Then he'd give me $20 (a fortune in the 40s) for work I would have paid him to let me do. He also took each of us downtown to the pharmacy for some ice cream, and then with great pride, he'd introduce us to the pharmacist. I think kids are avid for the kind of just-come-and-let-me-show-you something kind of attention. If I had young grandchildren, I'd show them how to build a model airplane, how to make a picture frame, what's under a car hood and how it works, how a clutch and transmission, or maybe even an automatic transmission work, how to make a good exposure with a camera, how to measure the height of a tree without climbing it (trig, I guess), and on and on. Keep up the good work. I can see you're going to have a good time with this young feller.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Box Plow Blues - by Tom Schwarz. One of the first implements most tractor owners obtain is the box plow. For very little money, this piece of equipment promises to plow and flatten any hill or vale on your ranch road or farm. At least that's what I thought! As simple as a box plow appears, it can be rather challenging to make work correctly. In our sandy soils of Florida, traction is king. You can never have wide enough tires or heavy enough weights to get all the traction you want … unless you own a monster tractor. U
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Oliver 550 Diesel runs like a watch three point hitch pto engine gone threw about two hundred hours ago nice clean tractor
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
