Don't Forget to Snap It

Remembering an antique tractor the way it was is next to impossible. You’ve heard the phrase a picture is worth a thousand words, I’m sure. Never have these words rang so true as when restoring and antique tractor. I would be afraid to guess how many restorations have been completed only to hear the individual say, I wish I had remembered to take pictures along the way, or even worse, pictures of the way it looked before I started. There is usually no way to verbally paint a true picture of the “way it was.” Some restorations were in such poor condition that people might not even believe you when you try to describe it. A photo journal is a wonderful way to remember your project and share it with family and friends. Start by taking and dating the first photo prior to the start of any type of work beginning, in some cases that can mean before you remove it from its former home. Often project tractors have spent many years in one place, such as an old shed or barn, a fencerow, field, maybe even dumped into a ravine with other discarded machinery and garbage. Often an entanglement of foliage has to be cut away prior to moving the tractor to the location where work will begin. Take a picture when you arrive home with it, include friends and family that welcomed its arrival. Taking detailed photos can also help you remember where things belong when reassembling some rare tractors where little or no manuals or instructional information was available. Get friends and family involved so it is fun for all? Family members or friends that do not wish to be involved in the nuts and bolts of the project may enjoy keeping a journal of the tractors progress and snapping pictures along the way. Later when the project is completed your “historian” (picture taker) can assemble the project into an album/ scrapbook to be shared by all. These scrapbooks are excellent to pass along to future generations, and even duplicate so all interested family members can have their own piece of family history.