It is a good thing that I’m contractually obligated to announce the NHRA event in Topeka, Kansas this weekend because if I wasn’t, I’d be on a plane to Oregon to take in and probably bid on some stuff at one of the largest private collection auctions I have ever heard of. Nearly 300 tractors, the vast majority of which are John Deere branded will be for sale and they range from crawler tractors to the beautiful orchard bodied unit above. There’s even a vintage Peterbilt truck that is painted JD green and gold and was likely used to haul the tractors to and from various shows and events.
While not all of the tractors are show worthy pieces, they all seem to be intact and most at least give the appearance that they’ll fire up or be able to be easily torn down to restore because rust seems to be largely non-existent on these things. I have to believe that the majority of them came from the Pacific Northwestern region of the country but since tractors typically aren’t subjected to the harshness of road salt and other stuff, the rust may not be as aggressive or deep reaching. Look at the photos yourself, this stuff appears to be in pretty damned good shape.
The one thing I don’t know is how Buz Fine and Jim Becker became close and how they managed to accumulate nearly 300 tractors in their vast collection. Believe it or not there is going to be an auction for miscellaneous parts and pieces the day before the tractors cross the block. As I said previously, it is a good thing that I’m physically not able to be there but the cell phone usually works from the track, too…..hmmm.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS OF THIS INCREDIBLE COLLECTION OF TRACTORS AND AT LEAST ONE TRUCK
