Grandpas MC

[clarkwd]

About the time I was born my grandfather traded lumber to Pakulis, the local John Deere dealer, for them to put up a building on Columbia Ave in Willamantic, CT. He took an MC in trade for the lumber. We are not sure if he got it new or used, but SN 10478 came with an unidentified brand outside mount plow that was jury rigged to the tractor and it sure was used when he got done with it. I can remember Grandpas dozer from when I was little. He used it to haul out saw logs and firewood, push back the manure heap, plow snow, grade driveways and lawns, clean out his pond, run the saw rig and his planner, pack silage in the trench silo or just take the grandkids for a ride. It had a petcock on the intake manifold for vacuum to run the milking machines when the power was out. He built a skid to drag a sap collection tank through woods that us kids used to run behind and he would laugh like crazy when we would miss the tank and dump 5 gallons of sap on ourselves. We always brought a change of dry clothes. Sometime in the early 80s my brother and I fired it up and tried to push back the manure heap one last time but we spun off a track before we could finish. We towed it away from the barn. Grandpa died in 1982 and not long after that my uncle stopped shipping milk and the tractor sat where we left it. I think my brother took the engine off. When noone was watching, my cousin went through the farm and picked up all the old steel he could drag on his trailer and sold a 32 Buick, and a bunch of Rio trucks for scrap. Evidently the MC was too big a lump to move and my brother found it on its side in the corn field. He fixed the track and brought it down the street to his house where he got it running so it could sit waiting for his barn to fall on it. Another cousin robbed parts from it for his 420 and someone else shot it up pretty good. Everything filled with water, cracking the block, but somehow the transmission case was spared. Last winter I brought the engine back to my house for a rebuild and this September I retrieved the rest of it. What a thing of beauty. Everywhere I went I found evidence of the neighbors welder, welded sprocket spokes, and side plates, welded track clutch linkages and some of the finest mouse nests you have seen in the clutch housing and in one track clutch housings. I found a local source of parts and with a lot of cash, a little work and some paint it is back together. This afternoon, for the first time in more than 20 years, it started and drove out of my garage on its own and was able to steer left and right. Maybe next week I'll find my way to the woods with it.
Pictures here
http://rides.webshots.com/album/561319170HkKEJc
Bill

[Toivo1037]

Great story and awesome pictures.
You have some great pics of the construction show too.

[mini kahuna]

that's a great story,me and my dad are working in his old case backhoe right now,it would of made more sense to just get a newer tractor but dad can't part with the old beast.
as soon as I mentioned fixing the old girl up,he lit up and started ripping it apart,I am sure it's going to cost more than it's worth but seeing my dad is worth more than money can buy.
by the way,I am in brooklyn,ct and remember the pakulis dealers,there were three of them at one time,bought two tractors there,still have the jd 1050.

[spooler]

Excellent story, makes this old man kinda misty. Here is to hoping my kin find a worthy place for my old 420. It may not be long, I am trying to give my grandkids as many memories as possible.

Thanks,
chuck

[Howard Yoder]

great job if you have some spare time I have several projects that I would let you play around with LOL

[neil]

I have a model 40 3rd generation. My Dad got it from his uncle when he took over the commercial fishing license. I have the license now and all equipment through the estate settlement. The old pussycat still runs good but a lot of wear in the under carriage. got a home made blade on the front and a 19" ice auger on the back. Works great on the ice. lots of memories there too. my oldest boy got up one morning talking about his worst nightmare ever and it was the breaking of his favorite hockeystick---my worst night mare was having a tree fall on the old pussycat when we were on a wood run. I'm up here in northern Manitoba waiting on the ice to get thick enuf. no real ice yet. Great job on your crawler

[Stretch]

What a great job and story.
I used to live in Lebanon, Ct. and know Pakulis well. Had a lot of dealings with them.
Stretch

[clarkwd]

I got the sheet metal painted and the pretty stickers on and have taken it out in the snow a couple times. After reading the stories about rigs left outside for a while and what happens to the clutches, I was worried because this thing sat out for about 15 years. The block was full of water and cracked and the transmission was full of water and gooey gear oil. I changed the main clutch but did not mess with the steering clutches. It looks everything works just fine. We'll find out next week when we take it back where it came from and drag out some firewood.
Latest pictures here
http://www.rustyrestorations.org/galler ... itemId=663
and a movie here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTuC8k7b_y8
Merry Christmas
Bill

[cowboy4996]

Very very nice..........looks like you've done a great job.
I have the MC my great granddad bought new in 1951. It's a work in progress........but I'm gaining.
Thanks for sharing the pics.

[Howard Yoder]

That is really neat, nice job now I need to get off my behind and get mine done.

[Ray III]

Wow, you had your hands full with that one. Great job and thanks for sharing your story.