10422 Highway H, Marshfield, Wisconsin 54449
This story started about six years ago. I went along with a
fellow club member by the name of Wilfred Miessner, an elderly
gentleman, to his farm to get some logs for a drag saw
demonstration for our North Central Wisconsin Steam and Gas Engine
Club Show at rural Edgar, Wisconsin. As we drove by this
dilapidated overhead granary, which had partially fallen down, I
spotted an old tractor inside with the granary floor on top. I
asked Wilfred what kind it was, and he told me it was a 1937
‘Z’ Moline. When we came back from the woods with the logs,
first thing we did was stop at the granary to have a look-see.
After some conversation, I asked if he wanted to sell it. You know
the old story, ‘Someday I want to fix it.’
Over the next few years at our monthly meetings, I asked
Wilfred, once in a while, if he wanted to sell the ‘Z’ yet,
but I just got a no answer. Finally, the first meeting of the year,
February, 1989 I just jokingly asked Wilfred if he wanted to sell
the ‘Z’ yet and I’ll be darned if he didn’t about
floor me when he said YES! I couldn’t believe what I had just
heard. I asked him for a price, and he told me it wouldn’t be
much but he did finally give me a price. I told him to consider it
sold.
The first meeting of the year was on Sunday afternoon, so I told
Wilfred I’d be over there Monday forenoon. I was going within a
mile of his place anyway to look the situation over, for getting
the tractor out from under the granary. I would need a jack, some
blocking, maul, chain saw and some wrenches. A date was set to get
the tractor.
The day finally came to retrieve my prize possession. The only
way to get the tractor out was to take boards off the side of the
old granary and cut the braces out with the chain saw. After
jacking some beams up and blocking them, taking a couple bolts out
to lower the steering shaft and wheel, a cultivator bracket and
lever had to come off, and I was beginning to make progress. One of
the beams had fallen on the gas tank and smashed it down a couple
of inches. Now for some air in one front tire, the other one was
already blown out, and a little in one rear tire. I didn’t want
to put too much air in the rear tire or I’d have to jack the
beam up higher. Also the rear tires were sunken in the ground about
six inches. I had to turn the front wheels at a right angle to come
out the side, the only way out. I was now ready for the big pull. I
had Wilfred pull it out with a bigger Moline. It wasn’t easy
getting those rear wheels out of the holes. The ground outside was
starting to thaw and getting muddy so traction wasn’t the best.
We finally got the ‘Z’ out and pulled onto the trailer. We
were still conversing about the ‘Z,’ and Wilfred told me
the tractor had been overhauled not too long before it was
parked.
Something else went wrong but I didn’t remember what it was,
or why he parked it. Then he said he had to get different rear
rims, because they rusted out in places due to fluid from the
tires, so the Moline dealer made him a deal on some used tires,
rims and cast wheels.
I asked if he had the original rear wheels, and he said that
they were out behind another shed frozen in the ground yet. It had
originally come with rear steel wheels, which were cut off and
replaced with rubber.
After a half hour of chopping frozen ground, I got them out and
loaded onto the trailer too. Now after about four and a half hours,
I was ready to head for home.
The ‘Z’ stayed on the trailer a few days until I got
time to pull it off. I parked it for a couple of months, until I
got more time to work on it. I cleaned the carburetor and cleaned
the gas tank out. I had repaired the original rims and primed them.
I eventually got the tires off the cast wheels and put on the
original wheels. The front rims weren’t any good. A friend of
mine had one. The second, I found didn’t have the right center,
so I cut the center out of the old one and welded it in.
I tried starting the ‘Z’ with the crank, but that was
too much work. I had already checked for fire at the magneto, and
checked the plugs. I would have belted it up to my WC Allis, but
the pulley for the ‘Z’ was broken, so I waited until I got
help to pull it. I finally got it started by pulley. It didn’t
hit on all four, but the longer it ran the better it ran.
Before starting, I had checked the valves to make sure there
weren’t any stuck, but I suspected one wasn’t closing all
the way, and that is why it wasn’t hitting. Now it got parked
for another year. I had moved 30 miles away. I did a few other
projects and a lot of other unimportant things as I believe
everyone who has this hobby does. I do restore and paint tractors
for other people once in a while, too.
Now it’s about the middle of July, 1991 and I wanted the
‘Z’ ready our show, which was to be August 24, 25. Friday,
August 23, was set up day, and I still had plenty of work to do
before painting. I had other things to do besides working all the
time on the ‘Z’. The rear fenders were in pretty bad shape.
Someone had tried to pound out some of the dents, probably with a
maul, the way it looked. That only makes a job of straightening the
fenders take twice as long.
I finally had the fenders and hood straightened and primed. I
wanted to get the gas tank straight, too. I took a short piece of ?
inch key stock, slid a short small chain over the key stock and
tied a wire around the chain and key stock and slid that into the
gas tank filler neck. I wired this set up so nothing would fall
into the tank, for then I’d waste more time. I had my
come-along on a beam in the garage and hooked it to the chain and
started pullling the smashed tank up. It straightened real
good.
Now it was Monday, August 19, late afternoon. I got the wheels
off and tractor on stands. Tomorrow I would paint (Tuesday). I
painted the wheels Wednesday and Thursday morning and I put them
back on the tractor. I put on a new muffler, new spark plugs and
turned on the gas. One pull up on the crank and it was running. I
used acrylic enamel paint so it would be dry quickly, so I
wouldn’t get my pants stuck to the seat. I loaded everything on
the trailer so I’d be ready for Friday morning.
The show was our biggest yet. I got a lot of compliments on my
‘Z’ and lots of leads on other ‘good’ iron. After I
brought it home, my three year old grandson, Jeremiah, wanted a
ride on it every time he came over. I had thought about selling the
‘Z’ but he says, ‘Papa that’s my tractor!’ So
it’s in the shed covered up. I hope as he gets older he will
like the ‘old iron’ and help preserve it. Now, on to
another project that I’ve had longer than the ‘Z.’ I
have a B2 Co-op to restore.
