[Farmall] THT's

[Bob Currie]

Karl, great story and sounds like another venture down to Paul's place?? I 
remember years ago making that same trip with you, and buying that Farmall 
Regular from a guy named Rudy..Interesting enough, January 10th was also a 
THT day for me. Same scenerio mostly. After doing some annual wheel bearing 
and brake maintenance on my 25' goose neck trailer, we took off on a trip 
down to the north San Francisco bay area. Round trip was 374 miles, and it 
was a day full of snarling traffic, rough 'n bumpy slow lanes on Interstate 
80, grouchy waitresses, and not so good coffee at McDonalds. But the lust 
for rust treasure hunt and adventure is never bad! I finally cut over 
through the Napa Sanoma wine country and made it to the small town of 
Cloverdale in order to take possession of a 1918 Heider, Model "C" friction 
drive.  My friend Jimbo "GB" Farber was hauling the Heider into Cloverdale 
from his place in the mountains. We met at a lonely, wide place on the old 
Highway, put our trailers bumper to bumper, and made the switch using two 9k 
electric winches. The hand off went real smooth, and so followed it up with 
some lunch at Cloverdale's famous Italian Restaurant. The Heider is in very 
good original condition, has excellent compression, no strange noises, and 
should run with minimal effort. It's always a challenge for me when I start 
tinkering with the real old machinery, and since this is the first time I've 
ever messed with a friction drive tractor, it should be quite a learning 
experience. This tractor rolls and steers good, thanks to Jim's repairs, and 
much of the cab structure, dash, and operators platform still has it's 
original wood framework. Maybe that's where the word "dash board" came from. 
No transmission to mess with, and the entire motor slides back and forth on 
rails when one wants to speed up or slow down using the friction drive 
system. If any of you are curious, have a look at

www.heidertractor.com

bobcurrie,
greenwood, CA



----- Original Message ----- 
From: <olmstead at ridgenet.net>
To: <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 8:27 PM
Subject: [Farmall] First THT since November


> I'm tired.  This tractor hauling trip stuff can be exhausting.  Drove 412
> miles today, mostly on the California freeway system, to bring home two
> O-12s that a friend of mine in Desert Hot Springs was selling.  He got fed
> up with the hard starting.
>
> California's budget shortfall is beginning to show.  Highways 215 and 10
> were rougher than I have ever seen them.  On the way south, with the
> trailer empty, I found several stretches that were choppy at just the
> right spacing to resonate with my truck and trailer.  I was bouncing up
> and down so hard that the seat belt was jerking on me and I could hear the
> 5th wheel hitch slamming up and down, which never happens in normal
> driving.  Had to drop back to 50 to break up the resonance.
>
> I left a little after sunrise this morning, and would have made it home by
> dark if CHP hadn't closed off Highway 395.  That threw a monkey wrench in
> my plans and resulted in a 50 mile detour.  Still kicking myself for not
> taking the laptop computer and GPS attachment.  That plus some mapping
> software really helps when I am forced off the beaten path.  Typical
> southern California weather; it was 28 degrees when I got up in Inyokern,
> and I had to run the A/C in the truck when I got down to Palm Springs.
>
> But enough griping.  The best O-12 is a '36 or '37, hand clutch, flip up
> seat, large front wheels.  New rear tires.  I drove it onto my trailer.
> Runs just fine despite an after market magneto.  Missing the fan belt, and
> needs a lot of small stuff, like rebuilding the fuel pump and reassembling
> the factory fuel plumbing.  The hand crank bushing is all busted up, which
> is par for the course on O-12s.  The worst thing about the tractor is the
> fenders; someone has removed the wrinkled fender top skins and welded flat
> sheet metal to the inner fenders.  At least I think it is welded.
> Hopefully I'm wrong.  Completely functional, but they don't have the
> factory ribs.
>
> The other tractor is a '34, foot clutch, large front wheels, and bucket
> seat.  The engine isn't stuck, so I'll probably try and get it running.
> Tires were all up, but mismatched and pretty rough.  No hood or fenders.
> Dead F4 magneto with E4A automatic impulse.
>
> Both tractors had water in their cooling systems, so I had to go back out
> after supper and drain them.  It's been freezing every night here, and the
> tractors are out under the stars, still on my trailer.
>
> I may be slightly overstocked on O-12s.  I think the grand total is now
> twelve.  I'm gradually pulling them out of storage and lining them up to
> do an inventory.  I'm thinking that four or five would be plenty to keep.
> A couple will probably get parted out.  I don't like having my storage
> shed packed full; it leaves me no room for future acquisitions.
>
> Anyway, I'm back safe and sound.  Tomorrow I'll get the new tractors
> unloaded and lined up with the rest for pictures and evaluation.
>
> -Karl
>
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