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SimplicitySwede
USA
379 Posts |
 Posted - 07/23/2012 : 09:38:00
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Well last June I posted pics of my grandpas Farmall 450 that he bought new that he bought twice and sold once. I bought it for the 3rd time and its not leaving. I finally got the whole story typed out and thought I would share. I know its red but your dont wanna miss this story.
Well I think this story has been proof read and fixed. 1958 Farmall 450
I guess I should start this story from the beginning. My Grandpa, Enoch Olson, grew up in the Morrison, IL area. My Grandpa’s first tractor was a Massey Harris 44 Special, which he bought from his dad. He said it was the worst tractor he ever owned. One Saturday night, he went into town to buy groceries. As he was paying for the groceries, the lady cashier gave him too much change back. My grandpa told the lady that she gave him too much change back and he gave it back to her. One of the Handel brothers, who ran the Handel Implement dealer in Chadwick, IL was sitting in the store that night. My grandpa didn’t think much of it.
One day my grandpa was picking up parts at the Handel dealer. He was looking at a 450 that was a left over since it was 1959. The one Handel brother that had seen my Grandpa in the grocery store on that Saturday night asked if he wanted to buy it. My Grandpa said, “No there was no way he could afford it right now.” The brother replied, “I saw that you gave back that change the other night at the grocery store. Most people would have just kept it and wouldn’t have said anything. I think we can work something out.” So he traded the 44 Special in for a brand new 1958 Farmall 450.
My Grandpa bought this 1958 Farmall 450 new in January of 1959 from the Handel Implement dealer in Chadwick, IL. It was a left over 450, since International Harvester (IH) had already introduces the 60 series IH. It was delivered on January, 30th 1959. That day, there were six foot tall snow drifts. The 450 got stuck in them. It took five hours to get the 450 six miles to its new home. A few years later, my Grandpa had to quit farming. This was caused by the rickets his mom had, when she was pregnant with him. Rickets can cause low calcium and bone growth resulting in his leg bones to be weak. He had a farm sale in January of 1963 where the 450 was sold to my Great-Great Uncle, Joe Olson.
After he sold his equipment, he moved to Pinckneyville, IL where he worked for the Interstate Producers Livestock Association (IPLA), where he managed a feeder pig facility. A Couple years later, moved to a little area West of Pinckneyville called Conant and started farming again. In Conant, he continued working for the IPLA. In the mid 70s my Grandpa located the 450. He bought the tractor back and had it delivered to his farm in Conant. When my grandpa got the 450 back, it had been converted to Liquid Propane (LP) fuel by my Uncle Joe. He had the hood cut to fit an LP tank. My Grandpa converted the tractor back to gas. To make it more presentable, my grandpa needed to find a non-cut hood. Since there was no JP Salvage back then or any other tractor salvage yard, finding a hood was difficult. All he found was a diesel hood. The exhaust and breather holes are on the opposite on a diesel 450 than those on a gas 450. So the holes on the exhaust side of the hood were welded shut and new exhaust holes were put in the other side of the hood.
There were quiet a few changes over the years. The hood had been cut around the hydraulic filler hole to fit a funnel easier. He traded two F-20’s for a two point fast hitch that replaced the standard draw bar. In 1978, he sold out to a coal company and he moved to Campbell Hill, IL. In Campbell Hill, he put a Tractor Supply Co (TSC) wide front end under the tractor. The front end had John Deere wheels on it. My dad painted the wheels with nasty orange red paint. In about 1995 or 1996 the tractor was sold again.
There are many fond memories of this tractor. My late Grandma, Dorothy Olson, always told me about the day it came home. She recalled my uncle, Jim Olson, looking out the window when the tractor arrived. He was almost a year old at the time. We have a home video of me looking out the window watching my dad blade snow off the drive way with the same 450. My dad can recall accidentally breaking the center steering wheel cap with a rubber hammer putting it back on. I can recall the after-market wide front end on the 450 when I was pretending to drive it as a little kid. My dad and I wanted to find the 450 and buy it back.
After a few years my dad and I gave up all hope of finding the original 450, so my dad bought a 1957 450 to replace it. On June 20, 2011 I was going South on 127 in Murphysboro, Illinois and saw a Farmall 450 sitting at Norman Fred Truck Service. I noticed it had an after market wide front end with nasty orange red wheels with yellow paint showing through. I called dad to tell him I think I found Grandpa‘s 450. He doubted it, but told me to look at it anyway. I pulled into the parking lot at the truck service and could smell fresh paint. The tractor had just been painted. I walked up to the tractor and noticed the serial tag was missing which I was disappointed about. The person who painted didn’t clean the tractor at all and painted over dirt and grime. I walked around the other side of the tractor and looked at the hydraulic filler hole. The sheet metal had been cut for a funnel to fit. I think a lady sitting in the truck looked at me funny when I let out a yell of excitement! I knew this was grandpa’s 450. I got a hold of the owner and he said he would sell it. The next day Dad, Grandpa, and I hooked the trailer to the truck and went to pick up the 450. My grandpa, as soon as he saw it, knew it was his. The only thing I plan on doing to it is cleaning up and repainting it. I plan on leaving the hood the same to help tell my story. So for the third and final time, I brought the 450 home. |
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oldron
USA
2732 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2012 : 11:19:22
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| Thanks for the story,looking forward to the photos. |
 'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!' |
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1014211
USA
2317 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2012 : 14:47:13
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| Great story! :) I agree, we need to see this baby!! |
Jon
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olcowhand
USA
5115 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2012 : 16:40:16
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| Congrats on the finding of the old family friend! Rare to happen like things worked out! Now where's the pics?? |
Daniel in Ky -- So much to do, so little time!
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B10Dave
Canada
1951 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2012 : 17:46:08
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| Nice write up on the history of your tractor Jared. But we really do need to see some pics.!!! Dave |
Money can't buy you happiness.
It can however buy you a beer.
And that is close enough.
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skunkhome
USA
12827 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2012 : 18:04:33
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| What a great story! How I would love to track down one of our old tractors. And everyone is right you need to take some photos and edit your story inserting the photos showing the modifications your grandpaw and family made to the tractor over the years and include e photo of your dad plowing the snow with it yers ago. |
  Phil
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty."
Benjamin Franklin |
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SimplicitySwede
USA
379 Posts |
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Its been over a year now
