old flame rekindled

Just wanted to brag on the old girls. Two weeks ago I took time off from work and drove solo to NY to help my Dad get some stuff done needed doing. Him and my stepmom bought their own place last fall ending many years of renting which also necessitated separate "living" arrangements for some of his AC equipment. Grandpa's WD(loose but badly needing overhaul) and all the SC equipment had been setting in a field behind a friend's house on the other side of town for about 2 years now. Dad and I towed it to their place so at least it was back with its sisters(WD45 and 190XT). Dad really wanted to hear her run again so to amuse him, I gave her a quick fluids check first. Then, I dropped the sediment bowl from the tank and cleaned it out prior to pouring some fresh gas into her tank. The only extra battery around was a 12V which Dad insisted wouldn't hurt the magneto so out with the long ago dead 6V and in with the 12V. Not expecting much, I grabbed the starter pull rod and choke and got her spinning over. She was firing right away way better than either of us expected increasing our excitement. Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to get all 4 cylinders in sync and running by herself before the battery went dead. Dad seemed pleased though and convinced that he could get her running after the battery was recharged. Too bad we didn't try her earlier in the week instead of my last evening there. Before all that, I got to drive the WD45 across the back roads to pick up her 3 btm SC plows to plow the spot where they wanted to put their garden. While I learned to drive with the WD45, I had never operated SC tillage equipment before. By the time I was old enough to do field work, the 190XT and Oliver 1750 had taken over tillage work with their bigger equipment which is what I operated when we had the farm. I thoroughly enjoyed the trek especially climbing the hills listening to the old girl run completely unaware of the experience that awaited me. The plows were mounted and then began the return trip. The first thing which caught me off guard was the noticeable lightness in the front end. Mind you, our WD45 has 4 stack weights on her nose as well as individual front wheel weights. Nonetheless, it was an even better ride home as she barked a little more hauling that extra weight back over the hills. The ultimate joy came later when I reached the new garden spot and lowered the hydraulics. As the bottoms tore into the sod, I heard the old girl start working slightly and then roar to life as the governor opened up and across the yard we went. I was able to repeat that experience a few more times until Dad insisted that was enough garden for them. What I would have given right then for a field needing to be plowed under. I always loved plowing the most of all smelling the freshly overturned earth as the diesel engine lugged in front of me but there is no comparison to dropping the plows and hearing this old girl go to work. I know you all know what I mean. We accomplished a lot in that week yet I haven't felt this reinvigorted in quite a while. The one thing I loved the most about farming and now miss the most was working with my Dad like we did last week. He may not be able to do what he used to due to his health but that old feeling was there just being able to spend this time with him. I know a lot of you understand this also. Sorry for the long post and thanks for letting me share this experience with you.

Glad to hear about spending quality time with your Dad and some AC's. I never spent much time working on tractors with Dad, but we did attend many shows together over the years. I think the biggest kick he ever got out of a tractor show was when an old fellow hooked his team up to a walkin plow and laid out a land. He only made a couple trips across the field before turning things over to his Grandson, but Dad really enjoyed it. Special memories come in handy sometimes since we lost Dad last July. Make the most of things while you can. Charlie

Where in NY did you go to? I'm 35 miles east of Rochester.

Lionel, thanks for sharing that. I got up to see my folks today. Dad let me borrow the pull-behind bush-hog and the disc harrow so I can do a little work on my sons place. We had a pretty good time loading up the implements, even though we had to use the JD 2040(cause it had the FEL on it). Got to poke around and look at some of the other old AC implements that are stored over there. They still have the mounted cotton planters for the Cs. Some parts are rusted out from the fertilizer, but they look better than I thought they would. Mainly, I enjoyed getting out and working with my dad some. We don't get nearly enough time to do that. I'm looking forward to getting back up there and spending a day getting his and our cousins Cs tuned up and running right. Dads has a starter problem and needs tuning up. Cousins has no fire, so I will be going through the mag, then giving it a good tune-up. Both tractors are sheltered, so they shouldn't be too bad to get back to right. I'm looking forward to it.