What you need to restore a vintage tractor

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Here is a list of things what you need to restore a vintage tractor

If restoring old cars and trucks are a hobby that you find gratifying, you might want to try restoring something a little bit bigger and a little bit more complex. There are many people who have found that restoring tractors can be just as fun and rewarding as restoring other classic vehicles.

There are a number of things you need to do in order to actually get the restoration going. There are also some steps you need to take before you even get started in order to evaluate whether the process is going to be a long one, or one that will be a relatively short effort. You might even need to call in some help if things get a little bit more difficult than you first thought. This is especially true if this is the first tractor you have ever worked on.

Just as when you first started working on cars and trucks, you aren’t going to know everything right out of the gate. Luckily for you, we’ve come to your aid with a couple of things that detail what you need to restore a vintage tractor.

Spare Parts

Having access to spare tractor parts is the most important part of the task of putting a vintage tractor together in a way that will actually have it up and running. This is also the trickiest because you’re going to have problems finding the right parts for some of the older tractors at your local tractor repair store. Look online for specialty retailers like Steiner Tractor Parts and other manufacturers of tractors and after-market tractor parts.

You’ll also want to make the decision as to whether or not you are going to want to use salvage yard type parts, or reproduced brand new parts. If you go with something that is reproduced, there are a number of different companies that will be able to help you find what it is you need to finish your project.

The Proper Training

No, this isn’t a thing you need, but if you are going to try and actually restore a tractor, you are going to want to make sure you know what you are doing. True restorationists have an end goal of actually being able to drive and run the the tractor. This means you need to make sure you have the ability to actually put this stuff together.

This doesn’t mean you have to be an expert who can put these things together with your eyes closed. You can certainly get a little bit of training and then look to something like a book that will help you through the most difficult steps when the going gets tough.

Paint

The right kind of paint is going to be rather important when it comes to making the tractor look as though it truly was restored and put together the right way. Some people might actually feel as though it looks more natural to leave the tractor’s exterior looking the way it did when they acquired it. That way people will know this is an actual vintage tractor.

Of course, someone who is looking to restore something isn’t really going to want to be riding around in something that looks as if it hasn’t been serviced in decades. If you’re working hard enough to get the thing running, you might as well take the final step and make sure it looks like its something that should be running.

Money

The fact of the matter is you are going to need to set some cash aside in order to finish most restoration projects. This doesn’t mean you need to have several thousands dollars set aside right away, but you might need to save money here and there and work in stages to complete putting the tractor together.

It is just a fact of life that you are going to be needing to spend some serious coin getting this thing up and running again, or even just looking like it did when it rolled off the showroom floor.