[AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem

Mon Feb 12 07:13:35 PST 2007

Carolina beach and Wilmington get even less snow than we do about 90 miles 
north of them and they get very little freezing weather.   However, I can 
remember clearly riding through Market St. in Wilmington sometime between 
1954 and 1962 (I know which car my daddy had) and it being so cold that the 
big fountain in the middle of the street was frozen solid.  It was a sight 
to see.  The fountain is round and sprays (or used to) water up and out in 
all directions into a lower bowl.  The thing was running when the freeze 
came and it froze slowly.  So slowly that the ice formed tubes around the 
flowing streams that extended a couple of feet up and out from the top.  The 
ice kept extending out until the tubes formed a complete arc down into the 
lower bowl.  It was as if the thing had flash frozen in place.

That  would have been at Christmas while we were on our way to my 
Grandparents farm in Columbus Co.  I think it was probably in the late 50's. 
By the way my Grandfather was a Farmall/IH man.
He had an A, a Super C and my uncle had a Super M.  They also had an IH pull 
type combine.  I don't remember too much about it except that it had it's 
own power unit and was set up with a bagging platform on the left rear.   I 
can remember helping fill and tie the bags and dropping them off on the 
ground.

Grandaddy  also had an IH baler that used wire instead of twine.  It jammed 
on him one day and he made the mistake of trying to clear it with the needle 
loaded up.  It sowed a loop of wire through the middle of his right hand and 
cut off part of his thumb.

Charlie

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Hall" <jthall at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 9:14 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem

> Didn't they get a big snow down around Carolina Beach around '80? I had 
> some family that got stranded down there. Obviously the DOT in that area 
> wasn't equipped. I think I remember them saying there were even 
> motor-graders with no cabs---that had to be a cold ride!!!
>
> John Hall
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "charlie hill" <chill8 at suddenlink.net>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>
>
>> Al I think we got about 12 or 13 inches in '80.  The big one was March of 
>> '73.  There was a strecth of the road that I lived on that had tall pine 
>> trees on both sides for about 1/2 mile.   That prevented any drifting or 
>> blowing and the snow was absolutely flat and level all the way through 
>> that stretch.  I was in the first group of folks that walked out through 
>> it.  We measured 19" in the middle of the roadway.  Since the road had 
>> some crown in it I suspect it would have measured deeper over on the 
>> shoulder of the road.
>>
>> Back then 4 wd vehicles were few and far between.  We walked out to US 
>> HWY 70 at a point about 7 miles east of New Bern.  There was one rut cut 
>> in the east bound lane and folks were trying to go both ways in that rut. 
>> Cars were parked as far as you could see in both directions and everyone 
>> was out pushing.  We helped.  We would push a car off into the snow bank, 
>> then pull one coming from the other direction past it and push the first 
>> car back into the roadway where he could go about 1 car length and have 
>> to repeat the proceedure.  It was absolutely a waste of time but what 
>> else do you do. Even wreckers, oil jobber trucks, etc. were stuck.  One 
>> of the guys that was with us was part owner of a body shop and his 
>> wrecker couldn't get to us.
>>
>> There was not even a rut cut in the west bound lane.  I was standing in 
>> the roadway and happened to look to the east.  I saw this cloud of snow 
>> blowing up from the west bound lane about 2 miles down the road.  We 
>> couldn't figure out what it was but it seemed to be getting closer. 
>> After a while we made it out.  It was a Chevy Blazer of the 68-72 
>> vintage.  It was green and light brown 2 tone paint and had big all 
>> terain tires.  The driver and the guy riding shotgun were wearing bib 
>> overall and caps.  In the back seat was a "gentleman" wearing a top coat 
>> and holding a brief case on his knees.  They were making about 40 MPH 
>> cutting their own rut over and through that 19 inches of undisturbed 
>> snow.  I was impressed.  I knew right then I had to have a 4 wd some day. 
>> I've owned 4wd's ever since about 84 or so and never had to use it in 4wd 
>> for snow but one time and that was about 6 months after I bought the 
>> first one.
>>
>> My impression was that the guy in the rear was wealthy and needed to get 
>> somewhere in a hurry and that he found those guys with that Blazer and 
>> payed them well to get him out.
>>
>> Charlie
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Al Jones" <aljones at ncfreedom.net>
>> To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'" 
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 9:45 AM
>> Subject: RE: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>>
>>
>>> Charlie,
>>>
>>> How much did you get in March of '80?  I was 5 at the time, but it was
>>> the first "big" (if any) snow I remember.  Lots of chicken and turkey
>>> houses collapsed around here.
>>>
>>> We have pictures of the '73 snow, my folks lost a lot of hogs it got
>>> down so cold.  That predates me by about a year ;)
>>>
>>> Al
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of charlie hill
>>> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 2:52 AM
>>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>>>
>>> Ralph,  I was thinking about that 8 feet of snow up in New York.
>>> I've lived in Craven County NC for my entire 56 years.   I believe that
>>> is
>>> more snow than has hit the ground here TOTAL in all of that time.  We
>>> did
>>> have a 19 inch snow in 1973 and a couple in the 1 foot range but mostly
>>> ours
>>> are 1 to 2 inches if we get any at all.  None so far this year.
>>>
>>> Charlie
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Ralph Goff" <alfg at sasktel.net>
>>> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
>>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:42 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>>>
>>>
>>>> CEE VILL wrote:
>>>>> I have heard of adding isopropyl (dry gas) to transmission / rear end
>>>
>>>>> units to bring moisture into suspension in the oil to prevent freeze
>>> up.
>>>>> Probably not a good plan for a hydraulic system. For this problem you
>>>
>>>>> might try adding Dexron.  Dexron is a premium hydraulic oil with a
>>> super
>>>>> all season additive package that would hopefully be compatible with
>>> your
>>>>> hydraulic system.  Once warmed up to emulsify the water, it might
>>> keep it
>>>>> mixed.
>>>>> On the other hand, Ralph Goff might have some really good cold
>>> weather
>>>>> advise.
>>>> Charlie, can't say that I have any ideas for this problem as it is one
>>>
>>>> that I have never had much trouble with. I do recall a hydraulic
>>> screen
>>>> plugging and collapsing from suction in the hydraulic system in the
>>>> Cockshutt 50 many years ago. That was just poor maintenance as we
>>> should
>>>> have changed oil more frequently to eliminate the condensation. With
>>> such
>>>> a small hydraulic reservoir it was not a big expense compared to the
>>> newer
>>>> tractors that take nearly a barrel of oil to change the hyd and trans.
>>>> I did get caught with ice in the old (non running) DC4 Case last
>>> winter.
>>>> Noticed a leaking valve stem on it (chloride) so I thought I'd just
>>> jack
>>>> it up, rotate the wheel so the stem was at the top. Surprisingly I
>>> could
>>>> not turn the wheel over at all. Finally realized that there must have
>>> been
>>>> enough condensation in the bottom of the housing that the final drives
>>>
>>>> were frozen in place. (oil drain and change on the list for when the
>>>> weather warms up) :-)
>>>> Today was "warmer" at +2F but still too cold for that kind of work.
>>>> Sure glad we're not getting the 8 feet of snow that New York is
>>> getting.
>>>>
>>>> Ralph in Sask.
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
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