What the heck is this blog about?!?

My maternal grandfather was a tractor mechanic and John Deere dealership owner in rural Saskatchewan.  In 1967 (before I was born) he bought a John Deere 112H, one of the first of a new breed of John Deere tractors, the garden tractor….  Because he was a tractor dealer, Grandpa had to have ALL the toys…  He bought a 46″ mower, a snow blower, a tiller, a cement mixer, a 110 volt generator and a front-end loader for it.

My first memories of my grandfather were riding with him on his John Deere.  So, from an early age, I was a John Deere guy.  When Grandpa passed away in 1987, his tractor came to my father…

John Deere 112H resting in the back yard

John Deere 112H resting in the back yard

The tractor ran when we got it in 1987, but time and neglect has taken its toll…

Two summers ago, I acquired a John Deere 160 to do snow removal around my house and neighbourhood.  It came with a blade, a snow blower, chains and a mower.

John Deere 160 with snow blade

Over the past 2 years, I’ve learned HUGE amounts about tractor maintenance and care, both from having LittleTractor to play with AND by participating actively in MyTractorForum. While Littletractor has been a GREAT machine, I’ve always been lusting after Grandpa’s John Deere 112. My wife agreed that, if I learned to take good care of LittleTractor, I could think about getting a vintage garden tractor to work on and restore…. Enter Ernie, my 1966 John Deere 110…

We found Ernie on Kijiji, outside of Lethbridge AB…  The John Deere 110 was the very first model of garden tractor they produced, but it shares all the attachments and MANY parts with the newer John Deere 112…  AND I just really like the look of the round-fender John Deere tractors.  Ernie came with the mower you see in the picture above, AND with the sleeve hitch you can see in the picture below…

JD 110 Sleeve Hitch

Ernie's Sleeve Hitch

Ernie runs fairly well, but needs some engine work.  He’s going to be a “practice” tractor for me…Ernie is an investment in the future, as these old John Deere tractors are becoming rarer every day, PLUS all the implements for my grandfather’s 112H will fit him (wherever THEY are)…

However, the tractor I REALLY want to get running is my grandfather’s 112H.  In April of 2011, we moved the 112H (we call him Bror) from where he had been resting for the past 20 years in my parents back yard to my garage…  Here’s the first part of THAT story, on MyTractorForum…

So, what the heck is THIS blog all about?  Well, its about the story of all three of these tractors, and the work it takes to get them and keep them running….  It’s about preserving all this work for posterity, so that MY kids, and my kids kids know how much work it was to bring these tractors back…

 

11 Responses to What the heck is this blog about?!?

  1. I absolutely love all the pictures of the old John Deere tractors and mowers. Great work with this little blog, I’ll be sure to bookmark it and head back often! Keep posting new stuff, its amusing and informative at the same time 🙂

  2. Bill says:

    Cool blog. I just picked up an early flat fender 112 in Alberta as a project to help a friend maintain his acreage. I can’t get over how solid these units are built compared to the fodder sold today.

    • littletractorguy says:

      Thanks Bill! If you’re looking for a great place for getting questions answered about these guys, check out My Tractor Forum. Lotsa guys on there with the square fender 110s and 112s! If you’re looking for parts, too, there’s a guy who lives not too far from me out here in Saskatchewan who bought a 317 and now has a 110 and a 112 parts machine he wants to sell!

  3. Denis says:

    I read your interesting blog last night. I enjoyed your different pictures. It’s interesting to know that there are more John Deere enthusiasts in Saskatchewan. My son & I are presently restoring a 1968 140 HI. It would be nice to know what part of Saskatchewan you live in?

  4. Abe says:

    This blog is great. Are you still writing about John Deere tractors? Please let me know!
    Thanks!

  5. Duane says:

    Hey look what I found! Been reading about the tractor adventures in MTF now I found your blog. Although this proves your way smarter than me if I tried a blog not only would it be boring lol but I’d do something and crash the whole thing somehow. Glad I found this its saved so I can keep up.

    • littletractorguy says:

      Thanks Duane…. I’m not as prolific on this blog as a SHOULD be, although its hard these days to find time for tractoring….

  6. Greg Landis says:

    I recently picked up a 1966 JD 110 with mower deck and snow blade for $500.00 to maintain a second property. I was mowing along the road one day and a truck driver stopped and offered $2000.00 for the tractor. I should have taken him up on the offer but this little chugger was working great for it’s first mowing with me aboard. It had previously been on display for the past fifteen years at our Bloomsburg Fair PA. and was in very good condition. Other than throwing deck blade pulley belts I have no regrets in keeping it.I only wish it had been fitted with the hydraulics because I could use a front end loader. Bye the way, nice blog!

    • littletractorguy says:

      Thanks for the note, Greg! Congratulations on getting a nice condition 110 for a good price! I’dve had a hard time not taking the $2000 dollars for it too, but these little guys really grow on you! The hydro IS a really nice addition! You know, if you want another place to share about these little round fenders, there’s a fair crew of us at MyTractorForum (http://mytractorforum.com) that have them. I put a lot more stuff there that I should be putting up here too!

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