Nice Old 55 JD On Ebay

Check out this dandy older JD 55 on ebay.Always shedded and has one original drive tire.

Too bad its so far away.I wonder what it will bring?

• JD55

The machine had been sitting for about 20 years, and hadn't been run during that time. The engine was loose, so I brought a newly rebuilt carb and a fully charged battery with when I went to get it. We were getting it to smoke and sputter, but it wouldn't start when the elderly guy told me to try his idea. We sprayed a small amount of WD-40 in each cylinder, put the plugs back in, and tried it again. The engine smoked like heck for a while, but it caught and ran. His idea was the Wd-40 would seal the piston rings a little more and give it some more compression, along with a little firing boost. I was surprised that it worked, but it did. It smoothed out really nice and I drove it on the trailer!

After we had it loaded we went in for dinner and talked about wheat prices, wish I would have told him to hold everything until now!

Later, Brad

And now I must force myself to stop looking at it or I'll be tempted again.

My one question is, can you fit the machine and header on a 25' gooseneck trailer? A separate trip for each means $300 in fuel to bring it all home.

Yes,you can haul that combine on a 25' gooseneck.I do it all the time.

I pull the combine on backwards,take the header loose,and turn it on the trailer.Usually with someone helping me it doesnt take over 2 hours to do this.

You want to be sure that you are under 13'6" too.Sometimes a few tall things have to come off.

I have also left the headers on and took the back roads but I live in some pretty open country.

I don't know what people did with the weed seeds. I suppose you could feed them to the chickens, and then spread them out on the field again next year! I know pheasants really like them.

They make 'em like they used to. (Good or bad?).

I believe the folding unloading auger was available in 1950 or 1951, it was first available as an option; and then made standard. I have a 1951 #55 that has the folding auger, and a 1948 that has the straight auger. Sometimes these may have been added later as changeover.

That looks like a good old 55, looks like it was shedded most of the time; and is pretty straight. Would be quite a haul to go to Pennsylvania from anywhere in the midwest.

Have a good day, Brad

Gary mentions the late 55s had unloading auger folding back instead of up. I don't remember that and not sure it's correct. Do you know?

Ron

I'm still trying to find another 55 with the hand controlled variable speed. It appears those are pretty hard to come by.

It looks like I'll be pretty busy for a few months, as we are adopting twins in the next month or two. (Depends on when they are born, hopefully not too soon; right now the birth mother is 7 months along.)

Have a merry Christmas. Brad

I pray for all the best for your adoption process.

The 55 I told you of does have the hand controlled variable ground-speed control. But I have no idea if it still exists since it went at Dad's farm retirement auction in 69. My limited checking said it is a 1948 model. I have some old slide photos of it somewhere that I should dig out and print. Also have some limited movies of it with Dad driving that a friend converted to videotape for me. The movies were not all that great, but better than nothing.

When you get nearer to your possible trip to scout, send me an email and we can refresh any details you may need.

Merry Christmas to you too. Ron

Some one should write a book on the history of combines. I think it would just as interesting or more than tractor history. Later, Brad