This is the 1932 "L" Case Tractor my Grandpa, his brother and father bought brand new in 1933. We weren't quite ready for the picture!
The tractor is not restored....we call it "field ready." It originally had steel wheels, eventually, Grandpa put the rubber ones on. The back tires are from a "LA", but the front is something quite neat. Grandpa took an axle out from a truck, and mounted the entire axle under the tractor. It even has a spring and shocks! Very nice for the rough fields.
Since it had rubber wheels, Grandpa put a 4th gear in the transmission to get down the road faster. While he was at it, he put on hydraulics and adapted an electric starter! No more hand cranking! Although it usually starts easily by hand.
We believe it was put away in the barn in 1970. We do not know of it being started since. But the town of Damar was having a car show, and one of the gentlemen getting the show together asked if we had anything old to show. Grandpa said he had his old 32 tractor. They said to bring it up. So....we added a bit of air to the tires, towed it down the the hydrant, and washed it off. Then we took out the spark plugs and put a fair amount of engine oil in each cylinder. Cleaned the carburetor, put water back in the radiator and gave it a "once over." We turned it over by hand, and all seemed free, so we added gas and tried starting it! Just a BOOM and some smoke. We decided to take off the valve cover and check the valves. One exhaust valve was not shutting all the way. A little penetrating oil and some tapping with a hammer, and it was working. So, we tried again to start it. We cheated and pull started it with another tractor. But it did start! Not bad for sitting in the barn for about 37 years!!
Here it is on the trailer, ready to be taken to the show. The Damar Car Show was on 21 July 2007. It was quite an impressive little gathering.
This is the little "information table" we set up for the show. On the left side of the table is a photo copy of the cover of the parts catalog for a slightly newer version. The center is just some information about purchasing the tractor. On top is a photo of the tractor being used for harvest. I do not know which tractor it is in the photo. The tractor is also in the right two photos. Again, I do not know which one it is.
return HOME return to Photo Menu