The future of the antique tractor hobby?

Well, I'm 18 and love working on tractors, cars, mowers, or whatever. Being off at college really isn't conducive to working on stuff, so for now I just have to hold out 4 more weeks for classes to get out.

thairs more then you think for young folks playing with tractors.   Iam 29 and quite afew buddies into this stuff. 

My dad always said that people covet the things of their youth. I grew up using a CA so that is what I collect and love. But it is a money foolish investment and young people only seem to see green

I think we will hold our own, I am 23 and I have a brother and several friends involved in both of our local clubs.  In fact the club in our county has three officiers under 30, President, Vice Pres, and Secretary.  I can understand the comment about coveting the things of your youth, except for me its the things of my dads youth, he was farming in the 70's and early 80's so in the last few years we have started collecting the bigger 60's and 70's Tractors.  Brian you are right about the laws it does make it challenging to haul some of these big tractors if you are not equipped and licensed.

I think the craze for antique tractors is moving up into 60's-70's era tractors. Look how the market has exploded for D21, 210, 220 sized tractors. They will bring twice as much now as they did 5-6 years ago. I personally favor larger turbo-diesel tractors.

As long as the parts availablity is there I think this hobby of fixing old tractors will be safe.

For me it was nostalgia, I was 48 when I started thinking I didn't want the barn to fall on grandpa's WC.  When I brought it home I was like a kid with a new toy at Christmas and haven't been the same since.

Ya im 18 and some of my earliest memorys are of driving tractors and working on them, alot of my friends are into old tractors and the local tractor show in town during the summer becomes our second home/playground I think that the "hobby" is safe and young people will get into tractor restoration just like older people did when they where young.

           Tractor collecting is a clean, fun, wholesome and rewarding hobby; but is also takes a lot of time and money - 2 things we "youngsters" are often in short supply of. I too know a lot people in their 30's or younger who have an interest in the hobby but just lack the time or money or both. I'm 33 and a full time farmer, I'm lucky to find time to attend a tractor show, let alone bring one of my tractors with me to one. It takes a great effort to plan and organize a show or put together a club, and my hat goes off to all, young and old, who help make it happen.               One thing I think you'll see in the future is collections growing smaller or at least, more focused. Right now, if the average collector really wanted, he could collect one example of every D series model A-C ever made - this is still an achievable long term goal, but perhaps not for long if prices keep rising. Some of the early collectors, who got started in the hobby back in the 50's are 60's. maybe even the 70's, were sometimes able to trade a used set of snow tires and a 6 pack of beer for a antique tractor - those days have been gone for some time now, but thats how some of these collectors were able amass these large hoards or caches of old iron; certain Auctioneers have built their carrers out of breaking these up and selling them off. 20+ years from now, I think it would be very difficult for the average individual to collect and restore one example of every 55 series JD ever made or one of every Agco DT series made.

Amen to both Glenn and Jim! I too beleave if a youngster wants to start in the hobby is it really worth it to make a big profit on that part he or she needs? Man you can kill a kids dream it a half a second with a pee poor attitude or over priced piece. They get the attitude I'll never be able to afford the part I need and give up and walk away. You can make it up some where down the road. I'm sure most of us would rather go to bed at night with a good feeling of helping a kid out over the feeling of, man I made x-amount of dollars today off the stupid kid! Ever action has a reaction, remember that!!!!!

Large numbers of people can stop any foolish law. (hauling, fuel burning, emisions.) there's  more i'm sure. Always help out the young and interested folks. People need to get together to save what we have left here in america. Even collecting tractors.(or old muscle cars). The tuners that sound like weed wackers. Best one I heard yet.LOL

I am 40 years old and still ain't to enthused sitting around looking at them . I like to see them in action . I think antique tractor pulling is holding its own especially watching tractors be bought and relocated in area.   I do think its time to raise the years above 59 though

I agree with all of the above, but would like to add that helping a kid is way more enjoyable than a profit. A couple of years ago at our club tractor show a friend  who was showing his farmall C that he bought new from my uncle in 1950 asked if I  ever see any early garden tractors for sale. He wanted one for his grandson. I thought about it as I walked around the show, and I went back to him and said I had a nice 725 simplicity  that ran good and would be an easy restore. I put a fair price on it and tld them I had a parts tractor they could pick on. I have not been to a tractor show since that  the young man seeks me out to show me what he and Gramp have done to it or the attchment he has found. I be lieve that having a class at shows for L&G tractors gets them started and interested in the hobby. Cal in Ct

I was 18 once.  Just thought I'd throw that in.  Worked on the family farm raising a small herd of dinosaurs. I always loved old tractors, because we could never afford new ones.  During college, Army, family, poverty, I was in remission.  In my very late 30's I fell of the wagon.  Everyone in my area was collecting Green and Red and keeping the prices up.  I found an old AC-B and started collecting.  Now I have another small herd of dinosaurs.  Gone full circle.  All the grandkids love the tractors, but two of them are avid.  We all carry the old iron gene and sometimes it blossoms latter in life.  But if you want future enthusists, sometimes it is good to grow them from seed.

I've always had an interest in allis chalmers and tractors in general, but never got "hooked" on them until I married my wife and then my father in law (Larry Swenson) got me into allis chalmers even more.  I'm 23 and bought my first 2 tractors this last year.  Both 1936 unstyled WC's.  I bought the first one from my grandpa.  It hadn't started since 1976 when he bought it for 10 dollars then drove it around the barn lot and parked it.  He turned it over a few times a year so the engine was loose.  With Larry's help this last summer we worked on the mag and once it was hot it took a few turns then popped right off.  With some carb work it is running good now.  It was missing fenders and had bad rear rims, so I bougth the second tractor with a stuck engine and used the rear rims and fenders and some other parts to make one good tractor.  I am the same as lots of others on here.  I love tractors and working on them, but lack the money to restore this one for now.  It will come eventually though.