Neal met Old Joe nearly 30 years ago, when courting Sandy.  Shortly thereafter, he took a picture (seen on the Questing page) which was later published in his book "A Pictorial History, Settlements Along the Escambia-Conecuh River".  Old Joe was retired way back then, a younger TO-30 and MF35 succeeded in duties on the 4 acre farm and various food plots.  Old Joe had been bought used.  It was used to plant the garden and run a hammer mill, which we also have.  Old Joe was named for Joe Godwin, Sandy's late father.

     Loading Old Joe was a challenge.  A Farmall Model A can be set wider than our trailer, and it was.  The wheels would not roll.  The steering would not steer.  We had no ramps.  The jack broke.  It got dark.  We gave up.  At the next opportunity, Neal drove Big Red up to Bluff Springs and used a boom to pick the smaller tractor up.  A big honkin' comealong was used to winch it onto the trailer.  Of course, with the tires set several inches wider than the trailer, the tires were shredded.

     It made for an odd sight, the half-dismantled Big Red, pulling a trailer carrying the Farmall A, blazing down U.S. 29 to Bogia.  A sheriff's deputy running radar clocked us at nearly 15 mph.

Assessment

     It is all there.  The front end is in great shape.  The steering was loosened with a little penetrating oil.  All of the sheet metal is rotten.  Electrical is shot.  Trans and rearend are an unknown at this point.  Brakes are stuck.  Engine is extremely stuck and was reportedly pretty well worn out.  Water got in through an uncovered stack.  That froze and cracked the cylinder liners of 2 and 3.  The water got into the pan and rusted some holes.  This engine will be a challenge.  We may rebuild on principle, but the smart thing to do might be to find a parts machine.  I still have not figured how the mice got into the bell housing.

Status

     We have pulled the engine.  The Case VAI is a higher priority for Neal right now, but the Farmall engine is on a stand and soaking with penetrants.  No sense getting in a hurry and breaking things.  By the way, John found that Wal-Mart sells Farmall Red paint by Krylon.  

UPDATE:  We found another wreck of an A.  The engine is garbage, but it has good wheels and tires---a worthwhile addition to our inventory.  In our spare time we hose down the A with penetrating oil.