Our Massey Harris 20

In July of 2008 Tiff and I had bought 3 tractors already, a Farmall A that wasnt an original, a Farmall M that wasnt original, and an Oliver 60 hat was painted and restored 25-30 years prior to us buying it. One day about 3 months after buying the Oliver an older gent sopped by our house on a motor scooter and introduced himself as Fred and said " I heard you like buying old tractors?" I thought to myself "Harold!" :lol: Harold is my tractor mentor and who started this whole mess really, we bought the Oliver from him. Fred and I talked about an old tractor that he had lost storage on and that it was his step fathers, who had passed away some time ago. The tractor had been sitting in his homeplaces barn but the barn was falling in and scheduled to be demolished soon and tha tractor would have no home. The tractor was a Massy Harris 20...I had never laid eyes on one so I had to see it, Fred was to pick me up later that night to go see it. We drove north and then west for a total of 8 miles before reaching the old home place, we drove down a long driveway lined with corn. Behind an old home in the yeard was this

Never saw something so beautiful

The story is this, Fred stepfather Clarence bought it in 1972 from a farm sale...the fella who was the original owner was named Irv. Back in t he 1940s a Massey Harris dealership was just 14 Miles West of our current house up there on the same piece of road. Irv bought her new and drove her 9 miles to the East and farmed her there cultivating beans until the farm sale in 1972. Clarence bought her and drove her 5 miles East then 5 miles north and 3 miles west where he cultivated with her until his passing in the mid 1990's. When he passed the tractor was stored and used sparingly by his stepson Fred....who was then standing in front of me. The tractor is very original, as far as we can tell shes had jst tune ups, a mufller,a gas line, and rear tires in its life. Fred and I struck a deal and I paid him his asking price after getting the original 2 row cults in the deal. I took home some picks for Tiff but had to drive her back mysef later to show her in person and she agreed it was a gem. 6 days later Fred picked me up on a Saturday morning before sunrise and drove me out to the homeplace, I handed over cash and he handed me the key. I drove her off the homeplace for the first time since 1972, 3 miles East then 5 miles South to our house with no trouble at all. There she sits just 4 miles from her orginal farm back in 1948.
The day she came home

Less than a month later se was wearing her original cults and being run through the ringer by my little one :lol:

The reason I know so much about the tractors history besides Fred and his memories is that the original owners brother Les is still alive and remembers the day his older brother brought her home, Les is 93 years old. The tractor is problably our finest running machine and always a great conversation piece at shows
Me driving it in the July 4th parade in 2009

While driving through the parade a younger boy yelled "look it still has mud on it from the fields!" I was loving it and I passed Freds house in town, he jumped up and yelled "thats my tractor!" and laughed. I think we were both very very proud.....sorry for being so long winded but its my favorite story of my tractors