Farmall H Carb

13-year-old restores tractors

MANCHESTER — There is something special about the bond that fathers and their sons share.

For Wyatt Sailor the bond that he shared with his father, Colby, was cut short. His father died in 2006.

Sailor, 13, has found a way to continue to share a common bond with his father. He has a passion for restoring old tractors. This passion was ignited by the way his dad restored classic trucks.

“It inspired me because I can be like my dad,” Sailor said. “I like restoring old tractors, and it inspired me to start working on these old things.”

Sailor’s story began as a cleanup mission. He was working on a wooden box car and couldn’t find wheels for it. He was told if he tore it down he would be allowed to fix up an old tractor in the shed. The Manchester resident did just that, he tore down the car and returned the pieces to the wood pile.

The tractor turned out to be a 1940 Montgomery Wards Twin Row. The tractor, belonging to Sailor’s grandfather Pete Nielsen, had been sitting in the corner of a shed for 35 years. Originally the tractor belonged to his great-grandfather Faye Severtson, who gave the tractor to Nielson.

At the time the tractor was rusted through, and the engine was in horrible shape. Where the front tire should have been stood a truck tire, and the back wheels were completely rusted out.

“We took the header off, and some of the valves were completely rusted off,” Sailor said.

Sailor and Nielsen worked together to replace the pistons. They also mounted a starter next to the engine and attached a battery box to the tractor. Finally the duo was able to clean the carburetor out to get the Wards Twin Row to run.

“We had to take it apart at least 20 times to get it to run well,” Sailor said.

After the engine problems were resolved the team moved on to tackling the cosmetic damage. They turned to painter Rodney Heideman for help. Heideman said Wyatt did all of the preparation for the painting including doing all of the sanding.

“(My dad) was a professional painter, and he would have painted this tractor for me but he didn’t get a chance to,” Sailor said. “I didn’t start working on it until after he died.”

After a year and a half his first project was completed. He entered the Wards Twin Row into the 4-H competition at the fair and won grand champion. He then went onto the state fair and won the same award on the larger stage.

Farmall H will not run correctly - Tractor Forum

On the bottom of the carborator there should be a T screw, turn screw to the right until it bottoms out, don't force it. When you feel it bottom out, back out two full turns. You should be able to adjust the mix here with slight adjustment after you crank the tractor. Make sure you are getting gas to the carb, there should be a screw in the bottom of the carb with a hex head that you can remove to see if you are getting gas. If for some reason you are not getting gas check you needle and float to make sure it is not stuck and there should also be a strainer in the top of the glass bowl that comes out of the bottom of the gas tank.

Classic Farmall Tractors, History, Models, Variations & Specifications 1922-1975

Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Nebraska

Legendary Farmall Tractors, A Photographic History

The Nebraska tractor tests, 1920-1940

Farmall Regular and F-Series