5208 S. Hillcrest Drive North Street, Michigan 48049
In the December 1993 issue of GEM I was asking for information
on my 1948 Economy tractor. I received about thirty responses from
all over the country (California to Pennsylvania). I now have a lot
of information on this tractor.
It’s called a ‘bare bones’ model and it doesn’t
have any frills. We took it apart. My son Craig sandblasted it in
the cold weather. It has a Crosley three-speed transmission with
reverse. The transmission was full of water, so I had to replace
everything inside. My brother Dave was going to Hershey,
Pennsylvania, for the big flea market there, so he got me another
one and it was real good, except for the cluster gear, it had a
chipped tooth. So I contacted a fellow out in Wisconsin, and he had
one like new for $10.00. So after using parts of three
transmissions, I now have one as good as new. The engine was in
very good shape. I took the head off and there wasn’t any ridge
wear and I cleaned out the bottom end and put in new oil, and it is
nice and tight. When I bought the tractor I didn’t know that it
was missing so many parts. I had never seen one of these tractors
before. When I started getting information on it and talking to
people, I had to start locating parts, which came from all
over.
The people I got the tractor from, (it was his grandfather’s
who had bought it new), had taken the rear brakes off except for
the little drums, and thrown away the handles and everything. So, I
have to get some more. The first time I took it for a ride I was
coming in my driveway which is downhill, and I almost crashed into
my garage door. My neighbor was there and grabbed on to it and
stopped me in time. The new tires came from Utah and Wisconsin. It
has a Wisconsin A.E.H engine.
The tractor goes so fast in high gear it scares me! Low gear is
more my speed.
I still need to find the sheet metal that goes over the top of
the head. The picture doesn’t show the drawbar, but I have it
on now. It had to be sandblasted and painted when the picture
was taken. I could still buy the same type steering chain at
the hardware store that it had on it when it was new.
This is the right color for it. Some had black wheels, but when
this was sandblasted, the color in the little nooks was this orange
color. When the mag was taken off and rebuilt, the plate it sits on
was orange also, though someone had painted it red. When I get the
rest of the parts I’m going to take it to the local shows. It
looks real sharp and it’s fun to drive. I know the Economy
decal isn’t original, but I like it. I have an old Gravely I
bought in ’54 and I think I’ll restore it next. I still mow
the lawn with it.
Thanks for all the help.