Teen Restores 1941 Farmall H
Helton Vandenbush is not like a lot of kids today. Last summer he started looking for a summer project and, instead of trying to get good at the latest video game, he got permission to pull his grandfather’s 1941 Farmall H out of storage, where it had been sitting unused for 10 years. His goal? To restore the tractor to like-new condition.
“My dad drove this tractor as a kid and inherited it from his father. So everyone in the family was excited by the project,” says Helton, who is 15 years old. “When I pulled the tractor out of storage during the summer of 2013, I found out it was farther gone than I had thought. The gas tank was full of rust, the sediment bowl was shattered, the tires didn’t hold air, and the entire wiring harness needed to be replaced. These were only a few of the many issues I had to work on. It took 3 days to get it to fire and about a week to get it running to the point where I could use it. For the rest of that summer, I used it to pull logs and plow the driveway. Although it was usable, there was still a lot of work to be done. There was no paint left on it, it leaked a lot of oil, and much of the machine was barely holding together. My grandpa used to say, ‘If you’re not going to to the job right, then don’t do it at all so, in the summer of 2014 I decided to do a complete restoration.
“I first disassembled the tractor, stripping it down to the frame and cleaning it off with a sandblaster. Once I got down to the bare metal, I found that the tractor was actually in fine shape.
“I started preparing it for painting, first making necessary repairs, replacing bolts, and welding cracks. First I sprayed on 2 coats of metal primer. Then I ordered industrial grade ‘Farmall Red’ paint along with the necessary decals and stickers. I finished painting at the end of August.
“Once it had all been painted, I reassembled the tractor in just one day, except for the tires. The rear tire rims were heavily corroded from the calcium fluid inside of them. I was able to repair one of them but had to buy a replacement for the other one on Craigslist and then painted both of them silver.
“I estimate the entire project cost about $700, which my parents funded because they knew it was a great learning experience. Also, I take care of the lawn and maintain machines, as well as doing other chores around home. My dad is a do-it-yourselfer so I learned by watching him. When I was 9 I got a Murray riding mower that always seemed to need fixing. Working on that tractor is how I learned to talk about engines, transmissions and welding.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Helton Vandenbush, Wisconsin (helton.vandenbush@gmail.com).
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Teen Restores 1941 Farmall H AG WORLD Helton Vandenbush is not like a lot of kids today Last summer he started looking for a summer project and instead of trying to get good at the latest video game he got permission to pull his grandfather’s 1941 Farmall H out of storage where it had been sitting unused for 10 years His goal? To restore the tractor to like-new condition “My dad drove this tractor as a kid and inherited it from his father So everyone in the family was excited by the project ” says Helton who is 15 years old “When I pulled the tractor out of storage during the summer of 2013 I found out it was farther gone than I had thought The gas tank was full of rust the sediment bowl was shattered the tires didn’t hold air and the entire wiring harness needed to be replaced These were only a few of the many issues I had to work on It took 3 days to get it to fire and about a week to get it running to the point where I could use it For the rest of that summer I used it to pull logs and plow the driveway Although it was usable there was still a lot of work to be done There was no paint left on it it leaked a lot of oil and much of the machine was barely holding together My grandpa used to say ‘If you’re not going to to the job right then don’t do it at all so in the summer of 2014 I decided to do a complete restoration “I first disassembled the tractor stripping it down to the frame and cleaning it off with a sandblaster Once I got down to the bare metal I found that the tractor was actually in fine shape “I started preparing it for painting first making necessary repairs replacing bolts and welding cracks First I sprayed on 2 coats of metal primer Then I ordered industrial grade ‘Farmall Red’ paint along with the necessary decals and stickers I finished painting at the end of August “Once it had all been painted I reassembled the tractor in just one day except for the tires The rear tire rims were heavily corroded from the calcium fluid inside of them I was able to repair one of them but had to buy a replacement for the other one on Craigslist and then painted both of them silver “I estimate the entire project cost about $700 which my parents funded because they knew it was a great learning experience Also I take care of the lawn and maintain machines as well as doing other chores around home My dad is a do-it-yourselfer so I learned by watching him When I was 9 I got a Murray riding mower that always seemed to need fixing Working on that tractor is how I learned to talk about engines transmissions and welding ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Helton Vandenbush Wisconsin helton vandenbush@gmail com
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