1946 VACCASE

By Staff
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26 Lakeview Drive, Stansbury Park, Utah 84070

A few years ago, after a tractor pull in Twin Falls, Idaho, with
my GVI Minneapolis Moline, my daughter Lisa said she would like to
have a tractor so she could do some pulling with me. I started
looking around for something small and inexpensive. A few weeks
later there was an ad in the paper for an old Case tractor, which
turned out to be a 1946 VAC. After some discussion over the price I
brought it home for $75. We unloaded it and pulled it into the
garage with our little 12 HP Wheel-horse. After two days of tearing
it down I could see that I had my work cut out for me. The manifold
and carburetor weren’t usable and two of the pistons were stuck
so bad that I ended up taking them out in pieces. The cam shaft was
in bad shape and the crank shaft had to be reground. After working
on it during the winter, buying four new tires, 24 cans of spray
paint, a new battery, etc., it turned out to be a $ 1,500 Case.
During the restoration I made a few modifications a narrow front
end, lowered the steering column, and put on a more comfortable
seat. I also put the new battery under the seat not in the
‘bomb’ compartment under the gas tank.

Can you guess? After all this my daughter moved to Arizona
before it was ready to pull. So I took the little VAC to some pulls
and it has done quite well in the past two years in the 3,000 lb.
class, including three 1st place trophies. I plan to take it to
Arizona so my daughter can drive it for the first time.

I have restored five tractors so far and it always seems to cost
more than you think it will. But there is a lot of satisfaction in
giving these old tractors a new lease on life.

  • Published on Aug 1, 1994
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