There are a lot of small farms in Catawba County, N.C., and
I’ve been fond of trucks and tractors since I was a little boy.
My uncle has a Farmall A, and I was driving it by the time I was 8.
I live on three acres, and moving into my later years (with my own
children – and now grandchildren), it was a given that we would
have our own tractors.
I really enjoy my tractors, and I have five John Deere classics
among the 10 tractors 1 own. My first restoration was a Farmall Cub
that was my dad’s, and then I got the green fever. My first
John Deere restoration was a 1958 420T, and it turned out great. My
son, Kelly, then restored a 1950 B John Deere and it turned out
great, also. Our third restoration was a 1958 320S John Deere, and
this tractor turned out great as well.
We kept thinking of something to pull behind the 320S, and I
finally figured out what it should be. I have two John Deere Model
E hit-and-miss engines, a 1-1/2 HP and a 3 HP, that I like to take
to shows. Living as we do in the center of NASCAR racing territory,
I decided I wanted a War Wagon, the portable tool crib that is
rolled into pit row at every NASCAR race.
So Kelly and I built our own John Deere War Wagon to haul our
supplies and our John Deere hit-and-miss engines when we go to
shows. As you can see, it also turned out great, and it was a real
show-stopper at the Southeast Old Threshers Reunion in July 2002 at
Denton, N.C.
Contact engine enthusiast Kermit Lee Nash Jr. at: P.O. Box 446,
Catawba, NC 28609.