slave to your possessions....

sgtbull

Member
I've been collecting and restoring engines, tractors and implements for nearly 30 yrs. I've completely restored close to 40 tractors and dozens and dozens of engines and implements, but have traded or sold many of them over the years.
I did an informal count the other day, and i still have over 200 tires, 19 batteries, 25+ sets of points, 15 radiators, and hundreds of grease zerks to attend to. It would take over 50 gallons of engine oil and I have no idea how much gear lube to service all of the engines/transmissions.
I came to the conclusion several years ago, that I needed to limit my collection, and that is STILL what I have!
I've got several friends who are badly infected with the tractor bug and some of them have a hundred or more tractors. One of the common themes that I hear is that they are overwelmed with all of the pending projects, some to the point that it almost depresses them to go into their shops.
I've started divesting myself of some of my tractors and implements but have a hard time letting go of stuff too. Almost everything I have kept is restored, but holy cow, just the MAINTENANCE of them can be overwhelming.
The hard part is deciding which things I can sell. I've sold several things over the years and often find myself suffering from "seller's remorse." It is a relief though, to walk out to my shop and NOT have a dozen projects staring at me from the corners.

It seems that owning the things doesn't bring as much satisfaction as the restoring of them, and you can only do so much.

Anyone else out there in the same boat? I'm guessing there is, as there are auctions every week.
 
Yes with getting older and the cost of some common things getting higher to just run the machines. My opinion is that common pre 1960 tractors have already topped out in value and will only continue to drop. Larger later models may hold prices for a time. But less people have equipment to restore the big ones or can do it because of cost, hauling or other things.
Yes hard to let some things go. If like me I keep finding something else to drag in after getting rid of some.
 
I have seen the same thing. I told my wife I am not going to buy another tractor until all 5 I have now are perfect. I'm not talking fully restored, but I want to walk out to the shed on any given day and start it without wondering if I will have a problem or working around a known problem.

My grandpa (75ish) is going through the same things with his big Ford collection. He has 20+ restored Ford cars and he says it is a nightmare just keeping the batteries in good condition. He has been selling them off slowly to fund his retirement and to lessen the work load.
 
Make room in the boat for one more....

I have more than enough tractor and car projects and have been passing on other things I find even though they"re interesting. Though I can"t say I would turn down a SMDTA if I found one.... Also wouldn"t mind finding a Stage I SMLP, then I would have a totally complete LP collection of the M sized machines.
 
Just find a happy medium, all about balance. There is some really positive stuff going on with the antique tractor hobby. There are auctions, one coming up in Fremont, NE in April, where it is solely about quality restored stationary engines, tractors, equipment. So all that effort and skill you put into your collection, you can feel happy and proud of, in that you can sell it to another hobbyist who will appreciate the heritage and fun piece of agriculture history you saved.
 
At one point i had close to 50 tractors. I didnt think this was a big deal since i was barely 30 and seemd to have all the time in the world. In the last few years ive sold off about 17 or so but i am still left with a good portion of iron in the shed. One plus i see is half of my collection is pre 39 so i dont have to worry about tires or dead batteries......


I have rounded up odd and rare tractors for one purpose only and that is for a retirement sale. I dont have a 401K so i figure i can have fun and play witht his stuff now and sell it when im older and want to retire. I do have quite a few 'family' tractors that will never get sold, they will go to the kids and so on.

I find the satisfaction in keeping a restored one because its soemthing you built, and theres pride in that

I think without being able to prioritize well anyone can get overhwelmed with any hobby they have.
 
(quoted from post at 07:54:04 03/17/13) Just find a happy medium, all about balance. There is some really positive stuff going on with the antique tractor hobby. There are auctions, one coming up in Fremont, NE in April, where it is solely about quality restored stationary engines, tractors, equipment. So all that effort and skill you put into your collection, you can feel happy and proud of, in that you can sell it to another hobbyist who will appreciate the heritage and fun piece of agriculture history you saved.

Add that to the Mecum Auctions. They have 2 a year and there are a number of high quality restorations at each. There always seems to be a collectors disposal at each sale as well. An aquaintance (if that is how you spell it. I wouldn't call him a friend) restores a somewhat rare JD for each sale. He is getting quite a reputation and has been a featured tractor at the last sale. He is the kind of guy who does a VERY good job to the point of over restoration. He even sands/fills the castings so they look pretty similar to sheet metal. Some guys like it and some don't, but he has never sold one for less than 5 figures.
 
I can relate.(On a smaller scale)
I just sold one of my Camaros this weekend. I had fun with it,but HAVE NOT drove it in months. I was glad to see it go to some one who is going to take care of it and actually DO something with it.(Good fellas BTW)

I kinda knew Harry Lee here from Indiana. (My grandpa used to drink Coffee with him in the morning on occasion.)He had a MAGNIFICENT collection of IH as anyone on here or RPM knows.(He is known across the U.S. for his obscure collection he possesed.)

Sadly he passed and his collection was sold/auctioned off piece by piece.I remember talking with him at the Elnora fair grounds one year. He had 50+ tractors at that show! Just Him and his wife brought them all over,and then took them home after it was over! (Granted they lived close by,but STILL a feat,in my mind!!!!)

Point I am making: You CANNOT take them with you when you are gone,so you might as well SHARE them with others that want them while you are here to do so. ;)

He spent his life doing those tractors. I understand his love for them.But I personally could not/would not take care of THAT many "toys". That HAD to be A LOT of work to attend to??? :)
 
My old grandpapy used to say....You spend the first half of your life acquiring all of your possessions, and the second half getting rid of them....
 
(quoted from post at 05:49:41 03/17/13) I've been collecting and restoring engines, tractors and implements for nearly 30 yrs. I've completely restored close to 40 tractors and dozens and dozens of engines and implements, but have traded or sold many of them over the years.
I did an informal count the other day, and i still have over 200 tires, 19 batteries, 25+ sets of points, 15 radiators, and hundreds of grease zerks to attend to. It would take over 50 gallons of engine oil and I have no idea how much gear lube to service all of the engines/transmissions.
I came to the conclusion several years ago, that I needed to limit my collection, and that is STILL what I have!
I've got several friends who are badly infected with the tractor bug and some of them have a hundred or more tractors. One of the common themes that I hear is that they are overwelmed with all of the pending projects, some to the point that it almost depresses them to go into their shops.
I've started divesting myself of some of my tractors and implements but have a hard time letting go of stuff too. Almost everything I have kept is restored, but holy cow, just the MAINTENANCE of them can be overwhelming.
The hard part is deciding which things I can sell. I've sold several things over the years and often find myself suffering from "seller's remorse." It is a relief though, to walk out to my shop and NOT have a dozen projects staring at me from the corners.

It seems that owning the things doesn't bring as much satisfaction as the restoring of them, and you can only do so much.

Anyone else out there in the same boat? I'm guessing there is, as there are auctions every week.

Yes-I have done the same thing and I am the only one who sees what I see in the stuff. Used to kid myself into thinking the rest of the family cares about tractors, but they don't. My wife pretends and truth be known, she wishes it all to be gone. She won't say it, but the signs are there. Oh well I guess I have entered the Twilight Zone. What else is there to do I can't sit still for long? When you read books the story is the same, just different places and different people, so why bother reading top pass the time. Do that in the old age home I guess.
 
You can't possibly be using all that machinery enough that it requires much maintenance, regular oil changes, greasing, etc..

If you're doing it to keep yourself busy, that's one thing, but if it's causing depression the answer is simple: Pace yourself.

The oil was in the ground for millions of years and it didn't "go bad." It's not going to go bad in a tractor that you only run for a few hours a year, if you don't change it but once every 5-10 years. You don't have to change it every 90 days or annually or whatever schedule you're currently on.

If leaving the oil for that long makes you uncomfortable, have it analyzed by a lab. That will tell you there's nothing to worry about.
 
You're correct,the oil doesn't have to be changed that often as I don't use all of them nearly to that extent.
Tires and batteries though, seem to be items that require periodic attention regardless. Its not that I'm swamped with taking care of them, I'm just not one to let things simply sit and deteriorate, so everthing gets started up and driven around periodically to keep oil splashed where it needs to go, tires from sitting too long and batteries charged. It never fails though, the implement or tractor that I DO want to use, has developed an air leak in a tire or the points are tarnished, or the battery is low.
I suppose I could block everything up for the tires sake, but that is an incredible pita for things you do actually use. They're not in a museum so that is impractical.
There always seems to be SOMETHING that needs to be addressed. Last night, I took apart an ammeter that quit working, to find a tiny metal shard stuck to the magnet. Then I had to clean the points on a '49 cub and finally I disassembled and cleaned the right brake on a '36 B that was sticking. Sitting, NOT working, is harder on some things than a daily workout.
I really like going out to use a tractor and having no issues to contend with other than putting fuel in it. The whole fuel thing is another issue. I don't dare let fuel sit in a tank anymore, so everything is dry, so to start it up, I drag a fuel can with me. After running it a while, I drain it again. I INTEND to get back and start it before too long, but I also konw things happen... and if you don't run it, the bad gas causes all kinds of problems.
For those who aren't terribly concerned with taking good care of their stuff, its not an issue. I on the other hand, spent too many hours restoring this stuff to allow it to decay from neglect.
My whole point is that I have been, and still am,limiting and/or diminishing my collection.. I just can't understand how anyone with 50 or 100 tractors does it, unless they are drained, blocked,batteries removed and rarely if ever used. I don't think I'd enjoy a collection of tractors I couldn't drive.
 

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