The wonders of the Internet

Everybody knows how Cliff loves working on old tractors.  He switches brands from time to time, of course.  We used to be Allis Chalmers aficionados, but we've switched to Olivers.  Who knows why men do what they do?  All I know is, when Cliff changes loyalties, I do too.  Because I'm that kind of good wife.  
They don't make those old tractors any more.  These days the only two decent brand names left are John Deere and (Lord help us) Kubota.  There are other makes and models still being manufactured, but they aren't quality stuff.  
So Cliff chooses his favorite brands from the 60's and 70's and tries to restore them to their former glory.  He doesn't need them, but he loves them.
In the old days it would have been exceedingly difficult getting parts and figuring out how to make old equipment work, but Cliff is fortunate: he married me, and I introduced him to the Internet.  
So when he tears down an old tractor and runs into a problem, he goes to Yesterday's Tractors and consults the people lurking on the Oliver message board.  He ran into difficulty with his current project, an Oliver 550.  Let me tell you, the fellows on that board have been jumping through hoops trying to help him.  There is one guy who Cliff considers the guru, the superman, the king of all that is Oliver.  After I posted on the board about Cliff's problem, people began sending him helpful emails.  One of those emails was from the Oliver King.  
Tonight the guy called him.  Seriously, you would have thought my husband was talking to the President of the United States; he was that much in awe.  
How can you not love the Internet?
  

They sold their fenders for HOW MUCH?

When Cliff bought the money pit Oliver 1855, it had decent fenders on it, no big dings or dents.  However, he had been studying pictures of Oliver tractors on the Internet and decided he wanted fuel tank fenders on his tractor; not that he could ever afford enough diesel to fill them up, and not that he'd ever need a huge load of fuel.  He simply liked the looks of them.  We went to Cook Tractor so he could look through their junk fine used equipment and parts, and found what he was looking for.  

He paid $400 for the set; this came directly out of his tractor fund, so it didn't affect me.  This is his dream tractor; let him fix it up like he wants it.  

The other day Cliff saw some fuel tank fenders sell on Ebay for $800, so I guess he got a good deal on the ones he bought. 

About a month ago, he had me list the regular fenders on Craigslist, the ones that were on the tractor when he bought it; he asked $400 for them.  We bumped the ad up a time or two, but nobody had called about them until yesterday.  It was a guy who lives less than ten miles from here, and he wanted to come and look at the fenders.  

Turns out the guy is a fairly big-time farmer and is addicted to Olivers, just like Cliff is.  He's going to Tennessee before long to pick up a 2255 he bought down there.  

The guy drooled all over Cliff's big Ollie, said he'd never seen one look so good.  

Now, when you get two tractor addicts together, they're going to be talking awhile.  The guy was here over an hour.  He didn't leave with the fenders, because he told Cliff he'd give him an extra $100 bucks to paint them.  So, $500 will go back into the tractor fund, and Cliff made a new friend.  

Not a bad deal at all.  

Now if somebody would come and buy that 1655 we have listed on Craigslist, Cliff's tractor fund would be right back where it was two years ago.  

Hello from Iowa

For the last couple of years, Cliff has been on this Oliver tractor kick; that's why there's a behemoth green tractor in his shop , taking up half the space in there.  
So there's this huge Oliver tractor gathering at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Cliff just had to see all the green, red, and even purple Olivers.  So here we are in Ottumwa, Iowa (home of Radar O'Reilly), forty-five minutes from the show.  Because all closer motels were full of other tractor-loving folks.  
I love the Mt. Pleasant Labor Day show, with lots of steam engines, and sorghum-making, and all kinds of old-timey goings-on.  This Oliver show?  Cliff is going to enjoy it, but it's pretty much of a yawner for me.  After you've seen dozens of 1800 Olivers, some of them showroom shiny and some in their work clothes, you figure you've seen enough.  
Anywhere we go on a vacation, Cliff always tells me, "I'm only here because of you; I'd rather be home."  
Makes a girl feel really special.  Not.  
But now I think I can relate.  
I intend to make lemonade out of the lemons, though:  There are a couple of tours of historic places I may try to catch, and I know I'm going to walk to the square and look at the flea market and craft items.  Cliff and I have our cell phones, so we can keep in touch.  I brought my trusty chair-cane, so I have a seat any time my knees give me fits.  And of course, we'll have to opportunity to eat out several more times before we hit home.  No cooking for me!  
I dreaded leaving Iris at the kennel, but she acted excited to see all the dogs there, and not worried about my leaving at all.  I warned the people working there that she tries to kill small dogs, and they said they'd be careful.  I hope she comes through her stay happy and without incident, because we're going on another little road trip before long, one to which I look forward; a trip that involves a motorcycle and no tractors.  I want to know she'll do OK.  
Back to the subject of Oliver tractors:  After Cliff had used the little Ford tractor we bought in 1968 for a couple of years, he had the opportunity to step up in the world:  a friend of his restored an Oliver Super 55, making it look like the later model 550 Oliver in the process (a detail that caused us some problems when we tried to sell it later on).  For old time's sake, I want Cliff to buy one of those, since he's so into Olivers lately.  It's a smallish machine, and wouldn't take up much room at all.  I happen to know he has plenty of money in his tractor fund to buy one.  We even know of such a tractor, stored in a shed not far up the road from us.  It needs work, but hey, my husband likes a challenge.  
I'll try to have a few pictures for my next entry.  There's a story behind the purple Oliver tractors that I'll share.

So, let me show you some Oliver tractors

So this eighty-year-old man named Bob took us around to three different locations to see their Olivers. He apologized for not inviting us into his house. "My wife died five years ago of cancer, and I'm not too good a housekeeper."

He loves those Oliver tractors, and it was worth the trip just to meet this man. He told us he has one good ear, one good eye, and one good leg. "At least so far I've only lost things I have two of," he said.

The first tractor he showed us was right there behind his house: An 1855 Oliver diesel, one of the last ones built. It was manufactured in 1973. Don't ask me who Cliff's talking to; his cell phone rings often. It was probably his brother Don.

Then we went to another farm and Cliff test-drove a 1655 Oliver diesel. This one was well-worn, and requires a dose of ether to start it.

And the tires were horrible. Do you have any idea what a tractor tire costs? Don't ask.

Then we went to another of his farms (his family farms 2000 acres) and looked at Bob's personal favorite: it's a 1655 gas tractor. Trouble is, Cliff wants a diesel. He really would have preferred a 1655, and they had two of them. But one wasn't diesel, and one was worn out with bad tires.

Bob's son, Lee, showed up and shot us some prices. Cliff came home, did some research, and decided on the first one we looked at. The 1855 Oliver made in 1973.

And now... Arkansas, here we come!

Searching for a tractor

Cliff is in the market for a certain type of Oliver tractor. Since he wasn't having much luck finding one locally, I suggested he put an ad in Craigslist stating that he was looking for that special tractor.

He's had a couple of promising calls. This evening we headed north on highway 13 to check out an Oliver 1855.

It was far enough north to be in the area where my mom and dad were raised.

Would you believe the man's mother-in-law is my cousin? Small world.

The town of Knoxville is on highway 13. Every time we pass through there, I'm amazed, because the whole town seems to be a used car lot. Seriously. On both sides of the road! I did a video (through a very dirty windshield) just to show my readers.



Tomorrow we head to Baldwin City, Kansas, to look at more Oliver tractors.

How much fun can one person have?