You thinkin' ' bout sellin' this? I'll make you a decent offer......!
Hey - real tubes in dem tires!
These are Gravely tractors, which are basically unstoppable. They were built by the Studebaker Tractor Company. Gravely is still in business, if you really want a $25,000 lawnmower. But the antique iron is choice because the tractors are often still in use after fifty years. They were heavily overbuilt, are easily repaired and restore to very good function without much exotica. Basically 1940s technology and built like a tank. There's a fiercely loyal, cultish following, which means that technical information, manuals and oddball parts are readily available. The parts tractor in my pic is equipped with a set of gear reduction wheels in good condition. Those slow the unit down so it runs at the optimal speed for plowing new ground. They alone are worth nearly what I paid for the tractors.
I've joined the dark side of a group of old Gravely fanatics... you can read that either way and it's still be accurate. I'm hoping these will eventually yield one very nice restored plow / garden tiller / earthmover / brush hogger / etc. They date from about 1960 - '63. Neither runs at the moment, but with an old Gravely, that's usually a temporary problem.
I also bought another two units that are getting trailered down from the Adirondacks. One is mid-sixties and the other is a more robust unit from the late 70s, both of which work. So far the count is four and I haven't been kicked out of the house yet.
The design is essentially a self propelled powerplant with a power take off connection on the front. There are many attachments still available that
bolt on: snowblowers, rotary mowers, reel mowers, rotary plows and post hole diggers, garden tillers, even a four foot chainsaw was available for a while. And I have a sulky on wheels that connects to the back of the unit so the tractor converts to a rider.
For example:
I bet you thought I was kidding about the chainsaw. Of course, safety considerations in the 1950s were a bit relaxed compared to today.
