Teenager Restores Rare 1949 Case VAH
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As a young lad growing up in Nebraska, Leif Anderson enjoyed helping his family’s neighbor, Jim Moore, with various farm jobs while admiring Moore’s collection of nine older tractors. When Moore passed away, Anderson, who was 18 at the time, inherited his neighbor’s 1949 Case High Crop VAH.
Anderson says he was thrilled to inherit the tractor, which Moore had used to power grain bin augers, bale conveyors, and handle other farm jobs for more than 50 years. In recent years the tractor’s condition had deteriorated. When Anderson went to retrieve it, the engine was frozen. He and his dad towed the tractor to their farm, and he vowed to restore it in Moore’s honor.
Anderson pulled the spark plugs and soaked the cylinders in oil to free the pistons. He rebuilt the carburetor and replaced the ignition system so the engine would run, but “it smoked like crazy and made all sorts of noises in the back end,” Anderson says. The shattered oil pressure gauge read a mere 6 psi.
In the middle of his junior year in high school, Anderson enlisted the help of Darrell Beck, owner of Beck’s Farm Equipment in Edgar, Neb., to help him with the restoration. Beck is a well-known restorer who frequently wins ageless iron tractor pulls with his Minneapolis-Moline Model G. Beck hauled the tractor to his shop and began guiding Anderson through the restoration process.
The tractor was completely disassembled with Anderson spending many hours cleaning and sandblasting parts. The crankshaft was reground by Dibbern Machine of York, Neb. Anderson and Beck installed a new camshaft, pistons, oil pump, a rebuild kit, and new bearings. They surfaced the head, seated new valves and installed new seals during reassembly.
Anderson painted the entire tractor Flambeau Red, the “original” classic color used on Case models built from 1939 to 1954, under the guidance of Dave Beck, Darrell’s son.
“The whole project took us roughly 7 mos. and 800 hours from start to finish, but it was definitely worth it,” Anderson says. “I couldn’t have done it without Darrell and Dave’s help.”
Now thoroughly bitten by the old tractor bug, Anderson is planning to restore a Minneapolis-Moline UB for pulling, a 1937 Minneapolis-Moline Z, and his great grandpa’s 1951 Ferguson TO-20.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leif Anderson, 2080 Road 307, Edgar, Neb. 68935.
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Teenager Restores Rare 1949 Case VAH TRACTORS Antiques As a young lad growing up in Nebraska Leif Anderson enjoyed helping his family’s neighbor Jim Moore with various farm jobs while admiring Moore’s collection of nine older tractors When Moore passed away Anderson who was 18 at the time inherited his neighbor’s 1949 Case High Crop VAH Anderson says he was thrilled to inherit the tractor which Moore had used to power grain bin augers bale conveyors and handle other farm jobs for more than 50 years In recent years the tractor’s condition had deteriorated When Anderson went to retrieve it the engine was frozen He and his dad towed the tractor to their farm and he vowed to restore it in Moore’s honor Anderson pulled the spark plugs and soaked the cylinders in oil to free the pistons He rebuilt the carburetor and replaced the ignition system so the engine would run but “it smoked like crazy and made all sorts of noises in the back end ” Anderson says The shattered oil pressure gauge read a mere 6 psi In the middle of his junior year in high school Anderson enlisted the help of Darrell Beck owner of Beck’s Farm Equipment in Edgar Neb to help him with the restoration Beck is a well-known restorer who frequently wins ageless iron tractor pulls with his Minneapolis-Moline Model G Beck hauled the tractor to his shop and began guiding Anderson through the restoration process The tractor was completely disassembled with Anderson spending many hours cleaning and sandblasting parts The crankshaft was reground by Dibbern Machine of York Neb Anderson and Beck installed a new camshaft pistons oil pump a rebuild kit and new bearings They surfaced the head seated new valves and installed new seals during reassembly Anderson painted the entire tractor Flambeau Red the “original” classic color used on Case models built from 1939 to 1954 under the guidance of Dave Beck Darrell’s son “The whole project took us roughly 7 mos and 800 hours from start to finish but it was definitely worth it ” Anderson says “I couldn’t have done it without Darrell and Dave’s help ” Now thoroughly bitten by the old tractor bug Anderson is planning to restore a Minneapolis-Moline UB for pulling a 1937 Minneapolis-Moline Z and his great grandpa’s 1951 Ferguson TO-20 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Leif Anderson 2080 Road 307 Edgar Neb 68935
