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FFA members restore antique tractor
The team is one of five national finalists in the ChevronTexaco Tractor Restoration Competition. Others include FFA teams from Waterford, Ohio; Nappanee, Ind.; and fellow Texans from Cotton Center, Decatur and Abernathy. Rivercrest seniors Robert Jones and Morgan Wright and recent graduates Lance Bush and Keith Perry are to compete for $5,000 in prizes before a panel of five professional tractor restorers. Teams are to be judged on restoration process, results and documentation as well as oral presentation and safety precautions. The Rivercrest team produced a Power Point presentation to illustrate the process from start to finish. “The boys also sent in to the competition a three-inch notebook detailing each step they took in rebuilding the tractor,” agricultural instructor Craig Ingram said. The workbook details the entire tractor restoration process, from mechanical overhauls of the engine, transmission and auxiliary and ancillary systems, to the external appearance of the tractor. “We used a digital camera to take pictures of everything as we were tearing down the tractor,” Bush said. “That way we would know how to put everything back together.” While the team travels to Kansas, their 1958 model 450 International stays home to be sold so that monies can be returned to the Rivercrest agriculture department. Jones explained the 450 International was a challenge because of its hydraulic system. “We fix everything we can here in the shop,” Jones said. “What we can’t fix, we have to go looking for parts.” Often the search for replacement parts takes students to the Internet to browse antique tractor sites. “Most of our parts come from the north,” Ingram said. “Those folks work on tractors during the long winters when repair shops don’t have much of anything else to do.” Although antique tractor collectors may be more plentiful in the north, Texas is steadily gaining ground as evidence by the number of Texas finalists in national competition, Ingram said. Rivercrest FFA has a history of building award-winning stock and flatbed trailers mainly entered in competition at the Houston Livestock Show. “We’ve slowed down on building trailers because sheet metal prices have gotten so high,” Ingram said. “We started this tractor restoration about three years ago.” Tractor replacement parts are not nearly as expensive as sheet metal, Ingram said, explaining tractor restoration lends itself to mechanical instruction as well as welding and metal finishing. The mechanical aspect of the tractor interests Jones and Wright the most while Bush was drawn to the team because of the body work involved. “I’ve always liked to tinker with cars,” Jones said. “I liked working on the tractor, tearing it down and completely rebuilding every part of the engine.” Bush’s interest was in the body work. Dents, tears and breaks had to be fixed before final cleaning, sanding, priming and painting. “We sand, prime and paint every piece,” Bush said. “Then after everything is put back together, we paint the tractor again as close as we can to the way it looked when it was new.” Through tractor restoration, students develop skills applicable to the modern business world says Kurt Schulte, commercial automotive specialist with ChevronTexaco Products Co. “Skills necessary to be successful in the program — equipment maintenance, team work, project management, budgeting, planning and marketing —help develop the participants into future leaders,” Schulte said. “Year after year I’m amazed at the quality of work, dedication and creativity these kids apply to their projects,” he said. “I believe the 2004 finalists are some of the best we’ve ever seen.” While the past year’s winning team competes in Kansas, work continues back home on two tractors — a 1947 model W9 International and a 1964 model 504 Farmall. Jones and Wright are teamed with two other students for 2005 competition, while another team of four works on the second tractor. “We hope to keep this winning streak going,” Ingram said.
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