[Farmall] Tractors Too far gone?

[James Moran]

Folks-
 Make no mistake, here...this is most assuredly NOT  "commerce"!  All of these machines saw service on my wife's family  farm (established 1902).  Sadly, it appears that the prevailing  mentality of the era was to use things "up" (sorry for the dangling  participle).  Then, when it came to decision time, an older unit  was replaced with something else and the cycle would repeat.   Oddly, the "used up thing" (tractors, trucks, wagons, etc.) would be  relegated to a hedge row or corner of a field and left to the  elements.  Why this generation of "eyesore building" was the order  of the day, I don't know.  It would have thought that there would  have been some trade-in value as opposed to harboring (what came to be)  junk in anticipation of cannibalizing a nut or bolt in the distant  future.
  In my specific case, as I am sure that I have related to at least some  of you, I need machinery that is reliable and won't leave me stranded  in the "back forty" in the midst of accomplishing work.   Therefore, I tend to buy "recent iron" and keep a few "relics" around  such as an old LoBoy.  Again, I lack the time and skill-set to  tolerate dicey adventures.  Wish it was different, but it ain't.  ;-)
  JM
  
Jay and Diane Liedman <genscan at tds.net> wrote:  I think it depends on what your goal is.  If the idea is to fix the 
tractor up and sell it for a profit, then when the tractor is "too far 
gone" is simply a mathematical equation.  Will the cost of parts and 
labor be less than the probable resale value?  My own approach is 
different in that, although I am for the most part known to be unusually 
tight with money,  the reason I get an old tractor to fix on is mainly 
for the satisfaction of bringing it back from being scrap iron to 
operational condition.  Alas, I have more than once spent more money 
fixing than the final product will likely sell for; but am still happy 
with the project.
JL in MN

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