Amusing Experiences With Crawler Tractors

(Page 2 of 2)

March/April 1972
Don E. Reed 
Article Tools
Print
Comments
RSS
Bookmark and Share

Minneapolis 'Old Minnie' 25-50 Hp. 4 cyl. O. H. V. gas tractor. Serial No. 109. Last job of hulling seed peas in fall of 1925, at Nick Freswick ranch in Manhattan, Montana. A 36 x 58 Case separator converted to huller with special cleaner on top deck. Chevrolet 490 trap wagon.

RELATED CONTENT

Old Minnie was ideal for hulling and threshing as well as moving. I ran both ends alone.

Holt 75 Hp. November 1930. We had just pulled through Manhattan, Montana and had one more river to ford before we could locate on the new homesite. We pulled across wheat fields and that made the engine 'speak up'. I held the governor open. I did my steam and gas threshing in Wisconsin and Montana.

A friend of mine drove this same Cat for another commissioner for a while, and thought he would be cute when he drove into the shed one night. He pulled both steering clutches back to stop in the shed, then discovered he had no extra hand to reach the hand clutch, or to push the fuel valve in. He yelled to his boss to come shut the Cat off. The boss liked a good joke, and saw the skinner's predicament, so he said, 'You got into that fix, get yourself out!' The driver let go of one steering lever and shut the Cat off, but not before the Cat had turned around in the shed.

Another friend of mine was moving a Cat on the road one time when he came to a very steep hill with a sharp bend at the bottom. He wanted to see if a Cat would coast so he pulled back both -steering levers. The further he went, the faster he went, and he was afraid the motor would go if the levers were released. He did release the levers just before the sharp bend, and he thought the Cat was going to fly to pieces. Needless to say he never tried that again.

The H. D. 7 A. C. Crawler was a nice tractor to handle. It started directly on fuel oil, needing no starting motor for warm up. A push on the starter button started it in the summer, and a hand pump putting fuel in the manifold around a firing spark plug, started it in the winter; of course, the starter button was pushed too.

The extra fuel pumped to the motor and not burned was returned to the fuel tank, the tank soon became warm. Nice place to warm cold hands in the winter.

Well, I've been pretty long winded so I better sign off.

I enjoy G.E.M. and the Album very much, wouldn't be without them, getting better all the time.

Page: << Previous 1 | 2 |
Bookmark and Share
RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

Comments

Add Your Comment

You can use this comment form to enter your personal experiences or additional information and resources that you'd like to share with Farm Collector readers. Your helpful advice will be posted on this page.  E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to GAS ENGINE?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.
FEATURED ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR


SUBSCRIBE TO GAS ENGINE MAGAZINE TODAY!

First Name: *
 Last Name: *
Address: *
 City: *
State/Province: *
 Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
 Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here

GAS ENGINE MAGAZINE is your best source for tractor and stationary gas engine information.  Subscribe and connect with more than 23,000 other gas engine collectors and build your knowledge, share your passion and search for parts, in the publication written by and for gas engine enthusiasts! Every Month GAS ENGINE MAGAZINE brings you: restoration stories, company histories, and technical advice. Plus our Flywheel Forum column helps answer your engine inquiries!

Be sure to take advantage of the Square Deal Subscription Program.

  • No Missed Issues.

  • No Renewal Notices.

  • No Additional Cost.

The Square Deal Subscription Program is designed as a paperless transaction with automatic renewals at a preferred low rate.   With advanced electronic notification, a 100% satisfaction guarantee and an easy opt-out plan, the Square Deal Subscription Program is the best value, risk free, eco-friendliest way to subscribe.