The 875 in Action

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!

 

Today is the big day for us.  Caleb, Jim, Dan, and myself have been looking forward to this for weeks. Jim has been to the Big Show in the past but this is a first for the rest of us and we are looking forward to it.  We will be camping on the grounds and so we will be getting completely immersed this year in what this show is all about!  @Sparky has graciously decided to pick up Coulter Caleb’s birthday present—the new to him 854 (mentioned elsewhere on the forum) and we will be looking forward to checking that out mid day on Friday. 

 

My my daughter made Caleb and I some special shirts for the show. Yes, I will likely buy a couple of shirts and hats but nothing I could buy would replace the labor of love by her.  

 

 

the back...

 And Caleb’s...

The front is cool too but I don’t have a pic of that yet.  Well done Claudia!

 

So—I need to get through the project this morning and complete it so that I’m ready to roll this afternoon...

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Some days feel like the clock is broken, others go by so fast you find yourself wanting to hit the “pause” button.  Today is one of those days filled with excitement for us and it seems time can’t go fast enough.

 

I finished my morning trim project and cleaned up the site by lunch.  Got home and decided to cut the lawn so Kelli wouldn’t need to worry about it while I’m gone. We ran the two diesels with Caleb cutting on the Case 224.  We had the whole 2 acres cut in about 50 min!!!

 Now it’s time to clean up and load the truck.  Soon we will be headed for Jim’s... 

[Coulter Caleb 532]

We started at @WHX20's house and then we are now we are going on the long,long,long,long way to Pennsylvania   laughing all the way. While listening to eastbound and down  again,again,and again.

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Got to the J&C Ranch about 5 min after 5pm and Jim had some grub ready for us. It’s a big trip and we needed to start out right!  

“another burger Caleb?”  

“Of course!” Says Caleb without hesitation!  He is gonna be 14 in about 5.5 hours and in about three months I predict that he will be taller than his dad.

 

All the coolers, tractors, attachments, tents, sleeping gear loaded?  They better be because we got to get on the road...no more time to waste!

I texted dad and asked him, “Can you believe that your garden tractor is on its way to PA for a Wheel Horse Show?”  His Response...

 

“ No that never came to mind. It just was necessary to cut the lawn and plow, work up, and cultivate the garden. Never thought that the old Horse would become a legend!”

Well said Dad!

Looks like a beastly worker to me!

@19richie66 recognize that hat on Caleb? I’m not sure if that will leave his head this weekend except maybe if I can threaten him to take a shower...

[19richie66 17,500]

Can’t wait to meet the young man!

[Coulter Caleb 532]

Can't wait to meet you too @19richie66 so excited I can barely keep on my seat   Faster,Jim,faster!!!

BTW--We have a smaaall present for you 

[19richie66 17,500]

Was nice meeting you. Glad I got a chance to hang out with you and your dad.

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Had a great day today with Caleb, Jim, Dan, and many new face to face acquaintances.  It was great to meet so many of my friends in person that I have “known” via the forum for several years now.  

Caleb got the opportunity to drive Skittles for awhile today—thanks Richie, he really enjoyed it.

Caleb also helped Stevebo on cleaning up a pair of old fenders.

 

Finally Caleb has some seat time balancing the teeter totter!  Lots of fun stuff at the BS today.  Can’t wait for tomorrow

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Tomorrow was an interesting day...we were excited looking forward to the arrival of Caleb’s new 854.  It was raining off and on when we woke up but the morning was pretty decent weatherwise.  We had fun parting the 656 (documented elsewhere), trading more cards, and shopping for stuff we needed.  

 

Dan and I spent time late morning walking around checking out some of the cool rides...

some wildly unusual 

 

some more traditional 

The best was hooking up with friends like Jeff @WVHillbilly520H for the first time in person.  

Watching the parade was cool and here Aldon is waiting in line to tell us about his tractor.

 

We ended the night with a “cruising to the REALLY oldies” time lapping the inner circle of the campground in the rain.  It was a blast seeing, hearing, and driving the vintage  machines splashing through the big puddles all around the circle! I even pulled out Dad’s 875 out and took a couple laps. @Coulter Caleb drove until they told him it was time to be done!

 

Another great day at the Big Show

[p38js 401]

Peacemakerjack here are a few pictures of Caleb on Skittles enjoy and have a safe trip home

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

 

Thanks for taking those for us.  Caleb had a great time driving Skittles as mentioned above and Richie being willing to let him really made it special.  Your pictures captured the moment for him!!!

 Thanks 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Our final day at the Show started with a big rain in the morning which wasn’t particularly good for viewing tractors but it gave a good block of time to sit and visit with folks.  It was great for me to have a couple of relaxing days to be able to make some new friends and to build some existing friendships.  

 

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up. @AMC RULES did some horse trading with Caleb and we came home with a nice cultivator for Comanche.  

Thank you Craig and Mrs Rules for your investment (in so many ways) into Caleb over the couple of days at the Show.

It was fun getting to meet @giddyap and see his fine work on that cool little ‘61 suburban.

 

We ended up leaving the show grounds around 2:30pm.  It was a LONG TREK back home but we had an uneventful trip and arrived back at Jim’s around 4:15 am! We were glad to safely make it with all our gear.  Caleb and I arrived home at 5, grabbed a couple hours of shut eye, then got up with the rest of the family and headed into church for a special Blue and White Sunday honoring our local police officers. 

The kids of the church wrote thank you cards for the officers and Caleb took part in that as well as the flag parade.

 

After church, we got changed hooked the trailer to the truck and headed out to Jim’s.  My dad went with us so that he could see Jim’s tractors which he really enjoyed.

Then we stopped by A&W where we celebrated Zach’s 5th birthday.  He was excited to get some more legos and a new baseball glove among other things.

 

It still amazes me that these two tractors are only separated by one model year.  I like both of them for a variety of reasons but the guys response for the redesign of the 1965 line were amazing!  1964 was an ode to the past, 1965 models were a definite look to the future!

Caleb took a couple of laps around the yard when we got back home and immediately wanted to begin working on his Comanche.  I’ll let him tell you about that in his thread...

 

As I sit reflecting on this show, the people are the main thing that come to mind. Yes, I really enjoyed seeing the many cool tractors and attachments there at The BS.  But it was the friends and the families that stuck out to me the most.  This picture of @dells68 and Emory kinda capture what I’m trying to say...

“a father, a son, and a machine”. Many memories were made this weekend by youngsters that won’t be soon forgotten.

 

Another chapter closes for the 875–can’t wait to see the next...

[Pullstart 62,846]

On 3/29/2018 at 5:28 PM, PeacemakerJack said:

I’m not 100% sure but I think it is about 12-1400 pounds.  I know that the raw roller is close to 1000.  It is a home built (I know—a surprise from the Stertz family!) that has all kinds of heavy materials mixed into the concrete of the roller.  I just can’t remember what those steel plates weigh that Uncle Roger added to the top. 1/2” thick 12” wide by about 40” long...

I figures those plates were actually seat pads, not steel.  Like a chariot ride!

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

You said it Kevin!  Dad’s lawn rides like a pool table top—smooth and glassy.  Mine—not so much!  

[Pullstart 62,846]

On 6/25/2018 at 7:39 AM, PeacemakerJack said:

Our final day at the Show started with a big rain in the morning which wasn’t particularly good for viewing tractors but it gave a good block of time to sit and visit with folks.  It was great for me to have a couple of relaxing days to be able to make some new friends and to build some existing friendships.  

 

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up. @AMC RULES did some horse trading with Caleb and we came home with a nice cultivator for Comanche.  

Thank you Craig and Mrs Rules for your investment (in so many ways) into Caleb over the couple of days at the Show.

It was fun getting to meet @giddyap and see his fine work on that cool little ‘61 suburban.

 

We ended up leaving the show grounds around 2:30pm.  It was a LONG TREK back home but we had an uneventful trip and arrived back at Jim’s around 4:15 am! We were glad to safely make it with all our gear.  Caleb and I arrived home at 5, grabbed a couple hours of shut eye, then got up with the rest of the family and headed into church for a special Blue and White Sunday honoring our local police officers. 

The kids of the church wrote thank you cards for the officers and Caleb took part in that as well as the flag parade.

 

After church, we got changed hooked the trailer to the truck and headed out to Jim’s.  My dad went with us so that he could see Jim’s tractors which he really enjoyed.

Then we stopped by A&W where we celebrated Zach’s 5th birthday.  He was excited to get some more legos and a new baseball glove among other things.

 

It still amazes me that these two tractors are only separated by one model year.  I like both of them for a variety of reasons but the guys response for the redesign of the 1965 line were amazing!  1964 was an ode to the past, 1965 models were a definite look to the future!

Caleb took a couple of laps around the yard when we got back home and immediately wanted to begin working on his Comanche.  I’ll let him tell you about that in his thread...

 

As I sit reflecting on this show, the people are the main thing that come to mind. Yes, I really enjoyed seeing the many cool tractors and attachments there at The BS.  But it was the friends and the families that stuck out to me the most.  This picture of @dells68 and Emory kinda capture what I’m trying to say...

“a father, a son, and a machine”. Many memories were made this weekend by youngsters that won’t be soon forgotten.

 

Another chapter closes for the 875–can’t wait to see the next...

@PeacemakerJack great pictures and you’ve done such a great job telling us your stories!  Thanks Josh for sharing with us 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Wow!!! I forgot about all the cool stuff in this thread Going to the BS with @WHX24 and @Achto was a highlight of 2018.  It was so awesome to get to meet so many of you guys there and get to know you in person.  It still is surreal that the tractor I grew up mowing, blowing, and digging with traveled the country and got to share some stable space with such beautiful machines.  

 

Dad didn’t even run the Iron Horse in 2019 😢 but he now uses Clyde for most of his bull work and the old 875 gets to lounge around the corral.  Apparently, getting it out to play on the other night with the grand kids lit a fire under dad to get some seat time!

 

 He has wanted to widen his drive and straiten out the edges.  So, he decided to dig out the edges cleaning with his old Bolens furrow plow and then fill it back in with rock.

He said it pulled pretty hard since there was a lot of hard packed stone in there but...

That sod bottom cuts and amazingly clean and square furrow.  I know that the plow dogs have to agree with that! 

The Carlisle’s must have given enough bite for this application.  I just wish I could’ve been there to take a video!

It has earned its deserved rest but make no mistake, the Old Iron horse is ready to “throw down” at a moments notice—if needed😉

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by PeacemakerJack

[Pullstart 62,846]

So awesome!  Correct me if I’m wrong, but this transmission has been worked to what should be death, but hasn’t ever been overhauled? It seems like early on, the rear end broke but the hydro unit was fine?

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Correct!  That is what is always curious to me when people say that the sundstrands aren’t good tranny’s.  I’m sure like anything that sometimes they fail due to mechanical breakdown.  I would venture to say most is neglect though.  This one had the fluid/filter changed several times through the years although not to the specs in the manual.  It just plain held up.  I was noticing that when Zach was running around on it Monday night that it doesn’t “growl” at all like his Blackbeard does.  55 year old hydro and still going strong!👍🏻