| Family links
Paul
Graves Jr. restored his first tractor when he was 14 years old. He
had helped his father, Paul Sr., restore tractors before, but this
was the first one he did by himself. And it was both a special one
and a rare one. It was his grandfather’s tractor, manufactured
in 1949 by retailer Montgomery Ward, better known for its catalog
than its farm equipment. The tractor, housed in a machine shed on
the farm, still holds an honored place in Graves’ collection.
 In
addition to having helped his father restore tractors, Graves
credits his grandfather with helping him develop an interest in
the work. "He wanted a tractor painted for a sale and said he
would buy me the paint gun if I would paint it." Soon,
neighbors were lining up to have him paint their tractors, too.
From there, the hobby grew into a successful sideline business,
Graves Restoring.
Graves
has lost count of the number of tractors he has restored since,
but they number in excess of 100. Today, he averages 10 to 12
tractors per year, although that number can vary greatly from year
to year, he admits. He’s restored about every "color,"
including – John Deere, International, Case, Farmall, Ford,
Allis-Chalmers, Oliver, Minneapolis Moline, Massey-Ferguson, Hart-Parr
and Rumley.
In
addition to the Montgomery Ward, Graves says a few of the more
unique tractors he’s restored include an International O6
(orchard), 1920 Rumley oil pull and John Deere crawler.
Close to the heart
One
of the most rewarding restoration projects was another tractor
that belonged to his
grandfather. He had purchased the Ford new,
but years later had sold it to a neighbor. It took a number of
years, Graves reports, before he could coax the neighbor to sell
it to him. The tractor required a lot of work to get it back in
shape, and Graves is happy to have it back in the family.
Another
sentimental favorite in the collection is a Cub Lowboy that his
two daughters, Ashley, 12, and Bailey, 7, helped restore about
three years ago. They put in many hours of cleaning and sanding on
the small tractor, turning it into a little yellow jewel. "I
probably get more compliments on that tractor," Graves says
proudly. He also tells that he has been offered a purchase price
15 times what he paid for the tiny tractor.
"I
told them they should sell it and save some of the money for
college and buy another tractor and restore it." But the
girls refuse to sell "their" tractor, he tells, a wide
grin breaking across his face.
Sentiment
plays a large role in the business for others, as well. Graves
estimates half of the tractors he restores for customers are done
for sentimental value, having belonged to fathers or grandfathers.
The other half is restored for fellow collectors. Most end up as
show or parade tractors, although a few are returned to
semi-active duty, he reports.
Graves
says he particularly likes working on the sentimental tractors
because the customers get so much satisfaction and enjoyment from
the finished product. Another nice thing, he relates, is that
those customers are rarely in a rush, which allows Graves to work
the projects in when he has time.
Mind over metal
In
addition to collecting tractors himself and restoring for others,
Graves also buys and restores tractors to resell. Or he might keep
them in his collection for awhile and then sell them when
something else comes along.
Graves
doesn’t advertise his services. He hasn’t needed to.
Word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business keep him as busy as he’d
like to be. One collector has sent him nearly a dozen tractors to
restore because of the quality of Graves’ work.
That’s
also how he acquires many of his tractors – "people come to
me to sell them." Good old-fashioned horse-trading comes into
play, too. Graves has traded labor, parts and tractors to acquire
other tractors to restore for his collection – or a more recent
interest, hit-and-miss gasoline engines.
While
a majority of his tractors have come from Illinois, some he has
bought or sold have been as far away as California to the west and
South Carolina to the east – and points in between like Indiana,
Wisconsin, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
The
extent of the restoration work varies from job to job. "It
really depends on how far the customer wants to go," Graves
explains. Some tractors he just paints, or does body work, while
some he refurbishes from the ground up.
The
latter can include tearing the tractor down to its frame;
rebuilding the engine; replacing or repairing radiators, steering,
wiring, gauges, belts, hoses, tires, wheels; welding and pounding
out bodywork; and then sandblasting, priming, painting and adding
decals.
The missing part
A
paint job takes about one and a half weeks, according to Graves,
while a full restoration can take up to six months if his schedule
is crowded. His restoration work takes a hiatus during farming
season.
The
biggest challenge in a restoration usually is getting all the
necessary parts. "There’s always a problem with every one;
you’re always short one little tiny part," he laughs. 
Graves pursues parts through a number of avenues. For major
manufacturers like John Deere and Case IH, many parts still are
available through the local dealerships. After-market dealers are
another often-used source.
He
also purchases some parts at auctions, or cannibalizes tractors he
has purchased just for that purpose. And he has turned to the
Internet to find some scarce parts. He also has sold several of
his
tractors over the Internet, as well.
The
decals for the restored tractors are purchased from a company that
specializes in this unique market.
Besides
the quality of his work, Graves believes his reasonable prices are
responsible for building his reputation and business. He charges
$25 per hour. But with increasing costs, he is looking at perhaps
raising his rate to $30 per hour.
Total
costs for a job vary widely depending on the extensiveness of the
needed work. He says sandblasting, priming, painting and adding
decals runs about $1,400 and up. Some easier restoration jobs have
been accomplished for about $2,000. Some have run $10,000, and one
even reached $15,000, he indicates.
Because
of sentimental value, some people have put more into the tractors
than they are worth on the market. And nearly all jobs have
exceeded the original price of the tractor.
A great start Graves
started farming on his own in 1989, a drought year marked by very
low yields. "A great year to start," he says with a
sense of humor that seems always at the ready. Today, he farms 500
acres of corn and soybeans, and assists his father with another
600 acres. He and his wife, April, and their two daughters, live
on Graves’ grandfather’s original farm. April works in
Bloomington at State Farm Insurance, a fairly quick 25-mile
commute on I-55.
For
the past three years, Graves has worked winters at Down’s East
Side Body Shop in Pontiac, supplementing his farm income and
honing his bodywork and painting skills. He says his painting has
particularly improved. His farm shop boasts mixing and painting
equipment to rival most body shops.
Graves
has been a Farm Credit Services client for a decade, using
operating and equipment financing, as well as crop insurance. He
came to FCS, he says, because his father had been a long-time
client, and because of his relationship with Mike Hertz, the
financial professional in 1st FCS’ Pontiac office.
"I’ve known Mike Hertz for years." And he adds that he
likes the friendly, courteous service provided by Kris Lambert,
the office’s client service representative.
After
years of working in the restoration business, Graves sums up his
advice to those looking for someone to restore an old tractor to
this: "Talk with someone who has had a tractor done by the
restorer. See if they are happy with the quality of work."
At
one time, Graves thought the restoration market would slow down,
but it has shown no signs of that as his waiting list grows. So it
appears he will be bringing back to life for some time to come
these four-wheeled workhorses of our agricultural past.
Graves
Restoration, located at 13387 E 1200N Road, Pontiac, IL 61764, can
be contacted at 815/842-4012, or by email: pgraves@route24.net.
Story
by John Leatherbury. Photos by Jon Cunningham.
|
come to die -- their skeletal remains
a pallor of rust, joints caked with time-hardened grease
from their ceaseless toil. Once proud and powerful, they sit
in varying degrees of decomposition, resting feebly on
haunches of missing or decaying rubber.