Restoration Specialist Makes Old Tractors New Again
“I grew up on a farm and enjoyed working on tractors from age 12 on, so you might say I’ve been working at it for 40 years,” says Jeff Weller, who owns and operates Elite Restorations in Pennsylvania. “From the farm, I went into the Air Force and spent several years painting F-4 and F-14 jets. After that, it was back to my small town, driving truck, restoring cars, and an occasional tractor.”
Weller initially planned to refurbish and restore maybe one or two tractors a year, but his customers had other ideas. “Every few weeks someone would call and want me to work on a tractor, so that’s what I did,” says Weller. Tractor restoration became his full time business in 1995. Today, he has a full-time employee and his two sons work part-time in the business. “We’re turning out at least one tractor a month, and sometimes more than that,” Weller says.
Most of Weller’s customers are repeat buyers who choose him because of the excellent quality work he turns out. An accountant and small farm owner “sends me one tractor after another and has for quite awhile,” Weller says. He also has two large farmers who give him a different tractor to work on every year.
“I like working on IH and Farmall tractors because that’s what I grew up with,” Weller says. “However, I also work on Minneapolis Molines, an occasional Oliver, and my boys are always working on something green.”
Weller started his business in a small workspace. It has since grown to include a large shop for teardown and assembly and a custom-made paint booth. In the warmer months the crew also works outside in a carport next to the shop.
“For most restorations, we rebuild the engine, carburetor, exhaust system, drive train, and brakes. We put in a new ignition system, repair all the metal, sandblast it clean, then give it three coats of paint and three coats of enamel. New decals and tires round out the work so the collector has a ‘like new’ tractor when we’re done.”
One customer sent him an old and thoroughly rusted Oliver 70 to be completely rebuilt and repainted. “I told the man he could probably find a nice one at auction for way less than what I’d charge, but he was very emphatic. He told me his grandpa had bought the tractor new and that he’d followed my work on Facebook for 2 years. I was the one he wanted to do the work.” Weller gladly accepted. Some customers, he says, may end up paying two to three times more than what a tractor is worth for restoration because of sentimental value.
Weller says they ocasionally work on a car or truck, but about 95 percent of their business is restoring tractors. He also sells repair parts for old tractors and ag tires.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Weller, Elite Restorations, 2212 Woodbury Pike, Loysburg, Penn. 16659 (ph 814-766-9929; Jeffmel2bikers@centurylink.net).
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Restoration Specialist Makes Old Tractors New Again TRACTORS Collectors “I grew up on a farm and enjoyed working on tractors from age 12 on so you might say I’ve been working at it for 40 years ” says Jeff Weller who owns and operates Elite Restorations in Pennsylvania “From the farm I went into the Air Force and spent several years painting F-4 and F-14 jets After that it was back to my small town driving truck restoring cars and an occasional tractor ” Weller initially planned to refurbish and restore maybe one or two tractors a year but his customers had other ideas “Every few weeks someone would call and want me to work on a tractor so that’s what I did ” says Weller Tractor restoration became his full time business in 1995 and today he has a full time employee and his 2 sons work part time in the business “We’re turning out at least one tractor a month and sometimes more than that ” Weller says Most of Weller’s customers are repeat buyers who choose him because of the excellent quality work he turns out An accountant and small farm owner “sends me one tractor after another and has for quite awhile ” Weller says He also has two large farmers who give him a different tractor to work on every year “Personally I like working on IH and Farmall tractors because that’s what I grew up with ” Weller says “However I also work on Minneapolis Molines an occasional Oliver and my boys are always working on something green ” Weller started his business in a small workspace It has since grown to include a large shop for teardown and assembly and a custom made paint booth In the warmer months the crew also works outside in a carport next to the shop “For most restorations we rebuild the engine carburetor exhaust system drive train and brakes We put in a new ignition system repair all the metal sandblast it clean then give it 3 coats of paint and 3 coats of enamel New decals and new tires round out the work so the collector has a ‘like new’ tractor when we’re done ” One customer sent him an old and thoroughly rusted Oliver 70 to be completely rebuilt and repainted “I told the man he could probably find a nice one at auction for way less than what I’d charge but he was very emphatic He told me his grandpa had bought the tractor new and that he’d followed my work on Facebook for 2 years I was the one he wanted to do the work ” Weller gladly accepted Some customers he says may end up paying 2 to 3 times more than what a tractor is worth for restoration because of sentimental value Weller says they ocassionally work on a car or truck but about 95 percent of their business is restoring tractors He also sells repair parts for old tractors and ag tires Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jeff Weller Elite Restorations 2212 Woodbury Pike Loysburg Penn 16659 ph 814 766-9929; Jeffmel2bikers@centurylink net
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