Restoring It One Piece At A Time
If you walk into Gooseneck Implement in Stanley, the first thing to catch your eye might be a 1926 Model D tractor. You might also wonder how it got there or the history behind it.
It turns out the tractor was a four-year project for Isaac Martens. What you may or may not also know, is that it is one of two classic tractors that were restored starting at the same time as Steve Martens was also restoring a 1929 Model D. Even more interesting that both tractors came from Howard and Janice Rehak’s farm.
Isaac’s journey started knowing that Steve was going to restore the 1929 tractor that was bought new by Howard’s father Anton and delivered to Ross in March of 1929. That tractor was eventually sold to the elevator where it was used to pull rail cars, but it was bought back from another farmer after it had been sold at auction. Howard says that one had a lot of sentimental value to family and friends.
Howard had originally bought the 1926 tractor to fix up that 1929 tractor, but it never happened. Isaac was out with his friend Isaiah Anderson, Howard’s grandson, when he found the 1926 in a pasture. He asked Howard about getting this tractor so that he and Steve could work on their tractors side by side. Howard gave him the tractor and that began the four year journey for Isaac and a little over a three year journey for Steve. The process took them to at least six different states and Canada for parts because they both wanted original parts.
Isaac had some experience in restoration with classic vehicles, but this was a different task. It was his first tractor and the most extensive restoration he has done. He says that every piece was touched many times as they were taken off, worked on or replaced. The many trips he and Steve took were to get the hard to find parts and extra tractors just looking for parts. Between them, they had fifteen different parts tractors.
He did a lot of his work in the shop at Gooseneck as he worked on parts and other pieces. He also says that he learned a lot about the tractors over the four years in conversations with people, noting that nearly every family had one of these tractors at one time or another.
The hardest part was making the numbers match as they wanted to make sure that the tractors were authentic in the restoration. Steve’s tractor, the 1929, was the model that had the most made in one year. As for Isaac’s 1926, it is known as a nickel hole D with only a little over 1,000 made. Those nickel sized holes in the flywheel were unable to handle the stress and would break. That led to recalls on those flywheels, with many simply replaced to avoid the issue. To find one with that flywheel intact was almost miraculous. Because only a few survived, it made Isaac nervous to use it, but he says it was worth it in the end.
Parts hunting took them everywhere. Rear wheels came from Montana, while the front wheels were found in Canada. Even as Isaac tried to salvage what he could, there were things that had to be found.