The Audi and the Manure Spreader

[Cousinphil]

[IMG][/IMG]

]I recently fired up two of my favorite machines which were resting side by side all winter in an equipment barn: my Avant and my Ford tractor. The Audi fired up immediately and purred like a kitten. The Audi is a 2004 but the Ford tractor is considerably older. The tractor came off the assembly line in Detroit in 1954. I pumped up the tires on the Audi and had some new Koni shocks put on and she has been turning heads around town. She’ll do 85 without hardly trying. A great car for passing.

The Ford goes a little slower. It has no accelerator pedal, only a hand throttle on the column. Most of the work it does is done at an idle. First gear is low, low, low with a massive clutch. It has a sweet little governor which opens the throttle if the rpms start to drop. I hadn’t started the Ford all winter and the 6 volt battery hadn’t had a charge since last fall. Would it start? I pushed down on the starter button with a full choke for four seconds then pushed the choke home and she was idling smoothly. Amazing! After four and a half months.

[IMG][/IMG


The Ford is indispensable for pulling the manure spreader. The manure spreader is at the very heart of our farming operation here. It is an old John Deere circa 1910. It is ground-driven, built to be pulled with horses. We back it up to the horse barn and load it with aged manure which is light and fluffy, like chocolate cake. The spreader will straddle a four foot wide bed and lay down a thick carpet of soil amendments. Each bed is 120 feet long. There are 30 beds.

This is what keeps me off the streets of Blue Hill when I’m not out tuning pianos. The Audi is a superb tool for an itinerant piano tuner. The manure spreader rolling along behind the Ford Jubilee is also a superb tool. The engineering on both the Audi and the Ford was top-flight for its time. The Jubilee most certainly will still be running when I am dead and gone. It was built to last. If I don’t drive the Audi on salted roads, she just may outlive me. I guess it depends on how long I live ;-)

[mauromj]

[IMG][/IMG]

]I recently fired up two of my favorite machines which were resting side by side all winter in an equipment barn: my Avant and my Ford tractor. The Audi fired up immediately and purred like a kitten. The Audi is a 2004 but the Ford tractor is considerably older. The tractor came off the assembly line in Detroit in 1954. I pumped up the tires on the Audi and had some new Koni shocks put on and she has been turning heads around town. She’ll do 85 without hardly trying. A great car for passing.

The Ford goes a little slower. It has no accelerator pedal, only a hand throttle on the column. Most of the work it does is done at an idle. First gear is low, low, low with a massive clutch. It has a sweet little governor which opens the throttle if the rpms start to drop. I hadn’t started the Ford all winter and the 6 volt battery hadn’t had a charge since last fall. Would it start? I pushed down on the starter button with a full choke for four seconds then pushed the choke home and she was idling smoothly. Amazing! After four and a half months.

[IMG][/IMG


The Ford is indispensable for pulling the manure spreader. The manure spreader is at the very heart of our farming operation here. It is an old John Deere circa 1910. It is ground-driven, built to be pulled with horses. We back it up to the horse barn and load it with aged manure which is light and fluffy, like chocolate cake. The spreader will straddle a four foot wide bed and lay down a thick carpet of soil amendments. Each bed is 120 feet long. There are 30 beds.

This is what keeps me off the streets of Blue Hill when I’m not out tuning pianos. The Audi is a superb tool for an itinerant piano tuner. The manure spreader rolling along behind the Ford Jubilee is also a superb tool. The engineering on both the Audi and the Ford was top-flight for its time. The Jubilee most certainly will still be running when I am dead and gone. It was built to last. If I don’t drive the Audi on salted roads, she just may outlive me. I guess it depends on how long I live ;-)

I actually have one of those old Fords as well. I love putting it into 4th, and dropping the clutch. Can actually pull a pretty good wheelie lol.

[Cousinphil]

I actually have one of those old Fords as well. I love putting it into 4th, and dropping the clutch. Can actually pull a pretty good wheelie lol.

I've never tried to pop a wheelie on this tractor. But it cruises along at a pretty good clip in 4th gear. I also had a 1948 8N Ford which was a damned good tractor. I had it for 15 years. But when the Jubilee came up in the local swap and save magazine, I grabbed it. On this 1954 model they fixed everything that wasn't quite right about the 8N. The 8N was a good tractor. This one is a great tractor.[IMG][/IMG]

This is the old 8N.

[walky_talky20]

The smart money is on the Ford.

This is cool. Thanks for sharing!

[Seerlah]

We back it up to the horse barn and load it with aged manure which is light and fluffy, like chocolate cake.

Quoted for pure gold! lol

[refueler]

Nice manure spreader, the other equipment is real nice as well, you shouldn't underestimate the importance of the ability to spread manure.

[g huns]

Pulling that fine JD with a Ford should be a crime.

I'd make you a deal on one of these so they'd match...



Got a whole barn full anytime you wanna upgrade.

[lyates1987]

Pulling that fine JD with a Ford should be a crime.

I'd make you a deal on one of these so they'd match...



Got a whole barn full anytime you wanna upgrade.

It's not how fast you mow.....lol

[Cousinphil]

Hey that's a nice looking JD. Probably around 1940? Do you have one with a wide front end?

[g huns]

Hey that's a nice looking JD. Probably around 1940? Do you have one with a wide front end?

Thanks. Think that one is a 1938. All we have are narrow front ends. When I was a kid, my dad restored Grandpa's 1950 A that he bought new. Grandpa liked it, and he just started buying every old 2 cylinder he came across. My grandpa died in 1994, we still haven't got them all restored yet.

[Cousinphil]

http://s722.photobucket.com/user/cou...gwlkk.jpg.html

The Audi goes like hell. The Ford tractor runs like a cherub. The ground-driven manure spreader clickety-clacks along behind the tractor at a pace befitting its age.

It's almost time to plant corn. Another week or so. Today I spread the fish waste on the corn patch. I put a few inches of horse manure in the bottom of the spreader and then tipped two barrels of fish waste on top of it. Next came a foot of nice fluffy compost. I can hardly believe the manure spreader still works after 100 years. The Ford tractor and the John Deere manure spreader work so well together you would almost think they were made to be used together. I'm sure some of the readers to this post will disagree.

The tractor and the spreader will both straddle a four-foot wide bed. I line the tractor up in the desired direction and ease out onto the field until the back of the spreader is at the edge of the field. I engage two levers, one for the feed and one for the beaters, check to see that the chains have fallen onto the sprockets, and let out the clutch. The invitation still stands for corn on the cob in August.

[Cousinphil]