Meppen, Illinois 62064
I bought this tractor at a farm sale. The owner of the tractor
passed away December 1986. He was our neighbor and he never
married. He was 91 years old at the time of his death. His nephews
and nieces had his machinery and farm sold to settle his estate. He
never made a will.
He bought the Z tractor new in 1950 and my brother was his hired
hand at that time and so he was there when the tractor was
delivered. The farmer had almost all Minneapolis-Moline machinery
including a 1942 M-M R tractor, a M-M 1960 Jet Star and a 1931
McCormick-Deering 10-20 tractor.
I bought the Z tractor from the machinery auction of the estate
April 25,1987. When 1 bought the tractor the engine was stuck and
the front tires were rotten and the rear tires were not much
better. I bought two new tires and tubes in the front and one rear
tire had a large break and the fluid in the tire was leaking on the
wheel which put deep pits on the rear wheel. I drained the fluid
out of both rear tires and put a large boot in one tire
My brother and I totally disassembled the tractor in the summer
of 1988 and sandblasted each piece. We removed the spark plugs from
the engine and put light oil in the spark plug holes and let it
soak for a while and got the pistons loose. We removed a dent from
the hood and then we started painting it, first with a primer
paint, and let it dry for a couple of days. Then we painted the
second coat Prairie Gold. After we let the paint dry we put it all
back together. About a month later we put new decals on it.
I use the tractor for light work on my farm.
