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PeacemakerJack

And now...the Back Stories

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PeacemakerJack

Thank you for that awesome story:clap: I enjoyed reading every line of it.  I’ll go back and read it again later when I’m not freezing up on the roof of the project home that I’m framing.  It’s amazing how owning, fabricating, and building a little tractor like that worms it’s way into a persons heart.  Maybe someone else can’t see the beauty until they see it through the owners eyes.  I can tell by the picture and now your post, that every piece on that tractor probably holds a story/memory!  Thank you for sharing...

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PeacemakerJack

These are great!:greetings-clapyellow: so cool to see the time capsule with the kids in the pics...I can’t wait to share this thread with Dad on Saturday when he comes over!

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elcamino/wheelhorse

@squonk You were a nice looking kid , what happened ? In 68 or 69 I was driving Big Boy toys.

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squonk

@elcamino/wheelhorse  somehow picturing you naked in suspenders driving a big-block Chevelle is just wrong! 328109581avatar.gif.a2d4c8e00d7c7a93497e117095aead94.gif252301634avatar.gif.7725628afaea00f4b5153728c4a1fd2c.gif897109581avatar.gif.f2064456fe50d758e087086ee4e163fa.gif

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ebinmaine

This is such an excellent thread !!!

Love the stories, the tractors, the memories... everything.

My own "history" with :wh: is only a couple years + . I too am hoping for a good long future with them.

 

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PeacemakerJack

Now that is a true “VINTAGE” photo!  Your love for “horses” goes waaaaay back:D

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elcamino/wheelhorse
3 hours ago, squonk said:

@elcamino/wheelhorse  somehow picturing you naked in suspenders driving a big-block Chevelle is just wrong! 328109581avatar.gif.a2d4c8e00d7c7a93497e117095aead94.gif252301634avatar.gif.7725628afaea00f4b5153728c4a1fd2c.gif897109581avatar.gif.f2064456fe50d758e087086ee4e163fa.gif

It was a 63 Cheby Impala SS/327/375hp ( not factory) get your story straight. 

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PeacemakerJack

:text-coolphotos: that first picture looks like it could’ve been used for :wh: promotional material!  The scenery in the background is awesome, the tractor and tub look like new, and the people in the picture are enjoying it all. Do you mind telling us who the folks in the pictures are?  Thank you for sharing...

 

Chevy had a slogan a few years back “Chevy—runs deep!”  As I look at these pictures and observe the decades of impact that these little red machines have had on generations of families, I can honestly say “Wheel Horse—runs deep!”

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Retired Wrencher

These are all great pictures. I hope we see more. :handgestures-thumbupright:

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Eric Friedrichsen

Jack, Thank you for asking. I am not a photographer. That picture is just shear luck. The pictures were taken on my father-in-laws land in Olivebridge NY. The large lake is Ashoken reservoir at the base of the Catskil Mountains.

1st picture, my brother Don is on the tractor and my son Ken (now 52) is first in the trailer. His friend Eric (now deceased) is behind him.

2nd picture, my father-in-law, Charles Vik, is on the tractor (died 1986), my son Ken with the two Davis children (neighbors) in the trailer.

When my father-in-law died the land was sold and I gave the 857 to my parents who lived on a lake (Swartswood Lake) in NW New Jersey. When they passed away I kept

the land in NJ as a summer home and used the tractor for mowing and general maintenance until 2 years ago when I rebuilt an abused 414-8 for my CT house. I moved my Commado 800 from my CT home over to my summer house in NJ and gave the 857 to a nice neighbor who always liked and appreciated the old WH 857. The neighbor keeps it in his garage and uses it for mowing and maintenance (hauling rocks and wood). The tractor is unrestored, still looks good (for 50 years old) and was well maintained by my dad and me and I know my neighbor is likewise taking good care of it. It is so bullet proof that I expect it will still be chugging on when we are gone.

 

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AMC RULES

Looks like the Hudson river back there.  :greetings-wavingyellow:

5a058c03892c9_20_31.EricSimonsenKenDonOlivebridgeNYJuly1969.JPG.d7a5f1782ea0c3d429f0c621e401fb8c.JPG.4707971ac609ce5938207a41ecad3443.JPG

 

 

Edited by AMC RULES
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Eric Friedrichsen

Close, It is Ashoken Reservoir near the village of Olivebridge.

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PeacemakerJack

Another :text-coolphotos: and interesting story. It is amazing how those accidents happen.  There are various things that I have recorded in the “Iron Horse” thread that happened over the years while using dad’s 875.  Nothing quite as fantastic as your story that required a new hood but there were dents, dings, a broken frame, and a demolished Schwinn bike! 

 

By the look of him in this picture, I’m only a couple of years younger than Garrett.  Do either of your boys have an interest in :wh: tractors today?  I know that the paths of life take us all in different directions with regards to interests, hobby’s, etc.  Just curious. :thanks: for adding even more interest to this thread by sharing yet another memory and picture from the past with us!

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AMC RULES

:huh: What...a demolished Schwinn bike?  :scratchead:

 

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PeacemakerJack

I need you guys to teach me if there is a way to link a single post from a different thread. As those of you who have read it know, the “875–Iron Horse” thread in Restorations is a long detailed history of that tractor with our family. On page three about 2/3rds of the way down, I have a post with pics of the Schwinn and the story an accident that could’ve cost me my legs but God was looking out for me in spite of my foolishness...

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