[AT] 14 questions to ask yourself before you begin a tractor restoration

[Spencer Yost]

I have never been a fan of stuff like this because not being prepared, not being ready, not being experienced enough is how you get prepared, ready and experienced.  The article says nothing inaccurate, but has a general tone of discouragement.  So  I hope some of the readers answer like this:

 1: Heck no. That's why I am doing this
 2: Define worthy in a way that doesn't involve opinion or conjecture. 
 3: No. I stuff it all in my suburban garage and then pull it out on the driveway to work on it in sunny days.   I'll make do.
 4: Probably not.   But between work and the kids, I'll be spending slow and can swing it.  See#5
 5: Probably not.  Little Jenny needs braces, my boss wants me to work overtime and my wife says she'll ship me back to my mother if I don't paint the shed.  But all these pressures is why I need desperately to work on magneto at 11:30pm when everyone is asleep.
 6: Are you kidding?  I'll buy what is available and affordable when I need the part.  
 7: Probably.  If not, and after I learn the hard way, I'll write the manual.
 8: No, but I can beg, borrow or fashion them as I need them.  Plus, yard sale-ing on Saturday morning is marriage enrichment for me and the Mrs.  I'll find the tools.
 9: They make spray cans don't they?
10: See number 9 and then really ask this question again with a straight face.
11: Old man Brewer  comes by, drinks my beer, laughs at my tractor and then maybe shows me one little thing.  Or not.  Is that a mentor?  If so, I have one.

What burns my britches is the one and only valid question is safety.   "Are you ready to read labels, talk to suppliers, use googles, etc." is the question I was looking for.  Not all beginners are aware of the risks and this should have been stressed.

In short, these are not questions:  they are the talking points of existential angst for every hobbyist.   Approaches to resolve or reconcile them would have been more helpful.  This kind of stuff is why I wrote my books.   Not sure I did better but I at least recognized the problem in our literature and tried to correct it.

Just my two cents and worth less than you paid for it. (-:

Spencer

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 19, 2012, at 12:38, Mike Sloane <mikesloane at verizon.net> wrote:

> I found this interesting, although I never actually asked myself these
> questions - I just tore into the job and hoped for the best. Some came
> out better than others. (I just want to forget the ones that were half
> done and sold for parts because I could see that no amount of time and
> money were ever going to result in a whole working machine.)
> 
> <http://www.farmcollector.com/restoration/questions-before-tractor-restoration.aspx?newsletter=1&utm_content=FCM+eNews+06.19.12&utm_campaign=2012+ENEWS&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email>
> 
> Mike
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