2013 - Volume #37, Issue #3, Page #37
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He Restores Tractor Tachs
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Customers can choose to keep the face as is, or he’ll make it look brand new with a face decal specific to your tractor. Zeevi has 150 decals for most tractor models including Deere, International Harvester, Massey-Harris, Massey-Ferguson, Minneapolis Moline, Allis Chalmers, Oliver and Case. About the only model he doesn’t carry is Ford.
Restoring tractor tachs is a very specialized business that keeps Zeevi busy in his garage in his “retirement”.
“You need a special calibration machine. I made my own,” he says. His experience includes fixing electronic components on large trucks used in the mining industry. When he accepted a job in a speedometer shop, he discovered he liked working on tachometers. When the shop closed, he started his own business repairing tachs for all types of vehicles. When he retired and moved to Florida he decided to focus on tachs for tractors.
“It’s lots of detail – like fixing watches – and very sensitive. I have tons of patience. I can stand there for 12 hours and not move,” he says.
When customers call, he finds out exactly what level of restoration they want. His services include sandblasting and painting the housing, replacing faces and needles, fixing cables and calibrating.
“About 7 out of 10 customers want to keep the original hours on the tachometer,” Zeevi notes.
He charges between $185 and $195 and warranties his work.
“Customers don’t have to pay ahead,” Zeevi says. “I send it finished to them, and they see what they are paying for. The farming community is so honest.”
And apparently, they are also grateful for his quality work and attention to detail.
He does a lot of repeat business, he says, and receives notes of gratitude.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Haim Zeevi, Star Speedometer, 12 Federal Ln., Palm Coast, Fla. 32137 (ph 386 569-5284).
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