Garnet Jess would have normally spent his winter months vacationing in Mesa, Ariz., with his wife.聽
But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that couldn鈥檛 happen this year. So he found a new project: restoring a 75-year-old International Farmall M tractor.聽
鈥淭hey were pretty big in the States. It鈥檚 one of those row crop ones where the 鈥� tires are close together in the front,鈥� said Jess, whose farm is east of Highway 47 and north of Highway 361 聽
The tractor was previously located in a slew near Montmartre and Jess said it was seized up; he described it as pretty much a 鈥渂oat anchor.鈥澛�
Jess expects it was in the slew for 25-30 years.聽
The tractor was listed on Kijiji. It had new rear tires, and the owner was essentially looking to sell the tires, not the tractor. Jess bought the tractor for $800, including $600 for the tires. 聽
鈥淗e tried to get it to run, and they couldn鈥檛 get it to run,鈥� said Jess. 鈥淗e said 鈥業t鈥檚 seized tight.鈥� He was right. It was tight. But we monkeyed around, we built a jig that I could actually pull the pistons out from the bottom, and we got them all out and freed up.鈥澛�
E&G Auto supplied him with all new parts.聽
Jess brought the tractor into his shop, tore it all apart, installed new pistons and gave it a complete engine overhaul to get it running again.聽
鈥淚 thought 鈥榃ell, I鈥檒l go one step further.鈥� I started painting the engine, and one thing led to another, and pretty soon I鈥檓 tearing everything apart, sandblasting, restoring and painting, and I bought all new decals and rewired the whole thing,鈥� said Jess.聽
鈥淚 got a little carried away, but it turned out 鈥� pretty good for a backyard shop paint job and restoration.鈥澛�
Jess needed to use a 20-tonne jack just to pull pistons out of the cylinders. 聽
Some of the metal on the hood was dented, which required time to repair. The radiator needed to be fixed as well. 聽
His son-in-law found some six-volt LED lights for the headlights, and those worked out well, Jess said. 聽
He estimates he spent about 300 hours on the restoration. 聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stuff I could not just put a wrench on and take the bolt out. I call it the heat wrench. A lot of it I had to put the torch on and heat the bolt up, because it was rusted, it鈥檚 been sitting for so long.鈥澛�
Jess is a mechanic by trade, and not a painter. There are some flaws on the finished product that he could quickly point out, but he鈥檚 still thrilled with the finished product. 聽
鈥淚t turned out really good. And it was fun.鈥澛�
The project became such an obsession that he couldn鈥檛 do anything else in his shop, because he was afraid he might scratch the tractor or cause other damage. 聽
This was the first time Jess has tried something like this, and he鈥檚 looking forward to doing another one next year. He already has the restoration picked out 鈥� a tractor that belonged to his mother, and has been sitting for 40-45 years. 聽
鈥淢y mom is 83 now, and I think she would like to take it for one more ride. So this winter I want to bring it in the shop, and see if I can bring that back to life. But it鈥檚 seized badly. Steering blocks are seized, the engine鈥檚 seized, the transmission鈥檚 seized. It鈥檚 just been sitting outside for 40 years.聽
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 give up too easy, as my wife says, so we鈥檙e going to give it a try.鈥� 聽
One person he knows referred to the restoration of the Farmall tractor as a 鈥淐OVID story,鈥� because if it weren鈥檛 for COVID, Jess would have never started working on it, and the tractor would likely still be in a slew. 聽
The tractor has found its way into a showroom again, too. It鈥檚 sitting in the Redhead Equipment Showroom, but Jess stressed it鈥檚 not for sale 鈥� he has put in too many hours to sell it, and there鈥檚 a lot of money in it, too.聽
Mike Mar with Redhead Equipment was quick to agree to have the tractor displayed. 聽
At one time, Jess was getting a text message a day about the tractor, some from people he didn鈥檛 even know. They told him how great he did, and how good the tractor looks. A lot of old farmers are getting a kick out of it. 聽
鈥淚t makes you feel good when you get these texts that people actually do see it and do appreciate it,鈥� said Jess. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of hours restoring it.鈥� 聽
