There are two big projects going on at the barn, but only one of them is making any progress.
My late Grandfather’s 1969 Massey Ferguson 135. This tractor has been a part of Twin Creeks Farm since almost the beginning. My Grandpa would have me sit on his lap as he drove me up and down the field, telling me stories about the land and all his animals. Even after the tractor stopping firing, it has remained a constant reminder of the memories it holds.
With my “new to me” Ford 1510 tractor, I want to know how to maintain, repair, and rebuild any part of this machine. The knowledge to keep this tractor running is a dying art and I don’t want to miss out.
There was no better way to learn all of this than to join in on the restoration efforts with my dad on an engine that would need to be rebuilt from the ground up. First came the verbal education, with home made drawings and talking through the components of a motor and why/how they work together.
Next came hands on education.
This project will be months in the making, but a few hours a week spent with my Dad is priceless. Yet another thing I would have never had the opportunity to do if it weren’t for my change in lifestyle.
The other project is getting The Imagine repaired from the damage cause by the tire blowout on August 30th, 2020. I have been in contact with both an RV repair shop and Grand Design customer service parts department. Both are less than helpful and give me the feeling that I am actually more experienced with this kind of damage than they are. They both seem to think that a complete replacement on every “possible” piece affected is the only way to repair an RV. That is huge money and time wasted!
After adding up all the parts, freight, and repair shop labor hours, we needed to take a closer look at what we were paying for. The cost of parts and freight are non-negotiable but the labor hours was where over half of the cost was going anyways! The repair shop wanted $$$ an hour for a minimum of 6 hours. This conversation got me thinking! I took the damaged metal off the rig after the blowout. It was held on by a couple screws and some foam tape. I will only be needing to replace 2 pieces of damaged material, resealing with a bit of caulking, replacing some foam tape, and bend back a portion of “metal skirt belting”. I could be way wrong, but I can not see this taking 6 hours or longer. Chris and I have been very handy with repairs on our rig for the last 1.5 years. Since we know exactly how we got the damaged material off the rig, I am pretty sure we can get it back on. So, thats the plan. Order the 2 pieces that need replacing and put in a little bit of sweat to keep this repair under budget and in a timely manner.
Can we get both projects completed?? Keep following along as we continue to make progress on our restoration and repairs… Especially, the repairs because if I am wrong, and this is a way harder job than I thought, I will be the first to admit that I should have left it to the “experts”.
