Ready to Run Boy, grandpap work to restore old John Deere
JEFFERSON TWP — It seems they're raising more than potatoes and cattle at Har-Lo Farms, 505 W. Jefferson St. They are also raising tractors from the scrap heap.
At least that's what Tim Foertsch, 11, and his grandfather, Vernon “Boff” Foertsch, 79, have been doing since Memorial Day when Tim bought a 1941 John Deere Model H tractor for $100.
“We brought it over on a truck. It was in bad shape,” said Vernon.
“It was all rusted up. We towed it here on a trailer,” said Harold Foertsch, 81, who owns the farm and the garage where his brother and his grandson began their mechanical resuscitation.
Harold Foertsch runs the farm with his sons, Jim and Harry Foertsch, and Jim's son-in- law, Zack Speers.
“It was put together, but it didn't run,” said Vernon, assessing the state of the Model H when it arrived.
Tim became interested in the Model H ever since “I sat on them at the Farm Show.”
Asked why he spent his Christmas money on an ancient tractor in need of an overhaul, he said, “Because it will give me something to do.”
And it gave his grandfather a chance to pass on some of the mechanic's skills he's spent a lifetime in learning.Harold Foertsch said his brother was always tinkering.“We'd be out plowing and he'd be taking an engine apart,” he said.“We took the whole thing apart,” said Vernon. “Every bit of grease and rust has been taken off.“We stripped it down and cleaned it and wire-brushed it and sandblasted it,” he said.Tim and his grandfather worked on the tractor every day.“We did it whenever we had the time. We can't count the hours,” said Vernon.“We had to get everything to join and then get everything lined up,” he said.They sent the engine block out to be re-bored and chased down parts to get the tractor running again. That wasn't as hard as it sounds.“You can get parts for it yet. You'd be surprised how many are stored around the U.S.,” said Vernon.“There are still some parts available from John Deere, even though the tractor has not been produced for over 70 years,” agreed Brian Hoist, historical equipment manager for
Deere & Co. in Moline, Ill.Vernon said, “I have a lot of parts. I've been doing this since I was his (Tim's) age.”“We've got to have it done by the Butler Farm Show (which starts Monday). We've got to put it all together, put the hood on and put paint to it,” said Vernon.In addition to the original price, he estimates that they have spent another $500 on parts.“I'd say that 95 percent of it is still original parts,” said Vernon.Tim is going to use the Model H in the antique display at the farm show.He said, “I'm going to run the baler and the cutter box and display it at the antique section.”On this day, the reclamation had advanced to starting the rebuilt engine for the first time.Tim spun the engine's flywheel and the motor kicked on, filling the shed with sound.
Not bad for a machine that may have been built before the start of the Second World War.According to Hoist, the Model “H” tractor was made in John Deere's tractor factory in Waterloo, Iowa. The production started in 1939 and concluded in 1947.The model “H” was the smallest of the horizontal engine designed tractors John Deere made.There were a little over 58,500 units made. Of those units there were four basic versions available. The model “H”, “HN, “HNH” and the “HWH, according to Hoist.Their durability might be why there are 12 John Deeres in use at Har-Lo Farms.“We have a couple of Farmalls. It's just to show we don't have prejudices,” said Tim's father, Terry Foertsch.After the farm show, the Foertsches said the restored Model H will be used for light duty around the farm.“It's not going to be doing any heavy hauling,” Terry said.
But it wasn't the need for another tractor that set them on this project, said Harold. It was passing along the knowledge to his grandson, Tim.“It's the first one he put together. He didn't do it all on his own. His grandpap was teaching him. You couldn't get him away from it,” Harold said.Vernon said he considers their work important.“We do it to show people how it was back in the old days, been doing that for 30 years now,” he said. “We have got to get these little guys interested in that.”His interest in the past has led Vernon to apply his tractor restoration efforts to another hobby of his.A converted 53-foot box trailer behind the garage containing the Model H is called the toy shed.Inside are nearly 200 restored pedal tractors, as well as hobby horses, dolls, lanterns, coffee grinders and other items collected by him.“I pick them up at flea markets, yard sales,” he said.There's a value in old things, he allows.“I'm an antique and I'm still here,” said Vernon.
