P.O. Box 65, Mountain Home, North Carolina 28758
You say you’ve never heard of a Parmley? Well I’m not
surprised, as this is the figment of Kenneth Parham’s
imagination. It was interesting to talk to Kenneth and find out how
he built this one-of-a-kind machine.
Kenneth is a member of the Apple Country Engine and Tractor
Association. He was born in Leicester, North Carolina, a small
farming community near Asheville, so he’s been around farm
equipment all his life and loves it.
Kenneth’s Parmley is powered by a 3 HP Fairbanks model Z.
The rear wheels
are off a McConnick-Deering binder, and the front wheels off a
farm wagon. The rear end came from a Ford Pinto cut down to 25
inches wide. The transmission is from a Wayne floor sweeper. The
seat is from a wheat binder.
The tractor has a Volkswagon steering wheel. The gas tank was a
three-gallon Freon tank. He built the cooling tank that sits up
front from sheet metal. He did let his wife, Iva Jean, do the hand
lettering. Building the tractor took Kenneth about six months, as
time permitted. He has nine tractors, all in working condition. He
works as a mold repairman for Ball Glass.
The Parmley debuted at the Spring Wheat Harvest at Marcus
Johnson farm in Campobello, South Carolina, on June 13. Needless to
say, it drew a lot of attention and comments.
