Neighborhood adventures

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » February 7, 2007, 2:46 pm

After reading the question posted yesterday about using a slick as a car or truck I got to thinking about our neighbor from down the road form where we used to live. He had an old caddy that had the flat body style and he would load bags of seed and feed 3-4 layers high on the trunk and hood. He would leave a slot about a foot wide down the hood so he could see to drive.

Once he had me help him pull start his tractor. We went over there hooked up to it and he pored about 6 quarts of oil in it. It had locked up solid. I offered to pull it to his house but he said it will start its done this before. After dragging it down the road a while it did start. I saw him bush hogging with it the next day. A couple of weeks later he stopped by the house and asked if the crankshaft could be turned in the tractor. I told him no way He spent every evening for about a month under that tractor with a arc welder and some emery cloth rebuilding the crank. He did get it to run again for a little while.

His next project was to get an old combine running someone had gave him. I watched them pull it around and around in the pasture next to the house just blowing steam & smoke out the exhaust like an old locomotive. I stopped by his place a few days later to see how he was doing on it and he said the head was leaking so bad he just welded it to the block so it would keep the coolant in it longer.

This man had been a farmer and lost everything in bankruptcy He was going to farm his brothers ground but try to do it on a low budget. Someone did give him an old tractor so he got a crop of soybeans in and was able to get someone to combine it for him. It took a couple of years but he got back on his feet and is doing ok now.

There's many more tales with this neighbor fun with hydraulics, ancient cat dozer in the middle of the road, his dogs etc but I am tired of typing for now.

You just don't get neighbors like that everyday I kind of miss the old neighborhood

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » February 7, 2007, 3:30 pm

Most of the previous generation of farmers (WW2-end of the 60's) were like that around here Jack. I have seen everthing steel that could be welded to another piece of steel welded there. My dad, 2 of my uncles, and both my grandfathers were farmers, I have prit-near seen it all, in my travels to other farms with them. And while hunting around farmyards for my own project trucks.

The one thing they universally seem to agree on, besides that a stick welder is the handiest tool known to man, is that old trucks should be returned to the earth. Never sell one until the floor pan is sunk at least a foot into the ground.

FORDMANLCRACKEL · Post by **FORDMANLCRACKEL** » February 7, 2007, 6:56 pm

A farmer i knew a long time ago told me he would have to give up farmin if it wernt fer hay war. Hay war, # 2 must have tool for farmin.

Lonnie

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » February 7, 2007, 8:10 pm

Yes the old farmers are a good bunch to know. I have learned a lot of local history and the old ways of doing things from the ones I have met. Our neighbor tried working at a factory for a few years but he was bound and determined to get back to farming.
I met one a that lives down the road from us last year. After I got my slick I noticed the roof line of a slick behind there hedgerow. They were out in the yard so I stopped in to introduce myself. Very nice folks an 85 year old lady and her 60 year old son.

They showed me there slick a 64 model shorty with a service bed it still had everything on it down to the hubcaps. Her son was trying to get there old powerwagon running so I ended up helping him with it the ballast resistor wire had gotten loose and cooked the terminal off it.
We went down the hill to get one from another vehicle and they had every vehicle the family had owned there. There was stuff from the 40's on up parked on that hillside.
They appreciated the help getting the truck going and fed me a great lunch.

I had to ask if they would part with the 64 she said yes that she did not like it It was to short and they kept getting it stuck in the gully's when the went to check there fence rows It was bad rusty but after I finish the 66 I might have to check into it.
What I liked was her wheelchair in the yard. she would load it up with feed for the critters and when she got tired she would have a seat.

I hope I have that much get up and go at 85

DV65CustomCab · Post by **DV65CustomCab** » February 8, 2007, 9:14 am

Slightly OT, but we just found out the farmer who owns the land behind us (and owned the land our house was built on) has applied to turn his place into a Preserved Farm. That's a big deal around here, with all the development going on. Safe from developing into anything else for 100 years, so no crap-box townhouses will be built behind me.

Makes tolerating that manure spreading much easier!