Old Tractor by Boot Hill Deer Club

[Trailhead00]

I went out for a small trip yesterday after work just to drive around and get some fresh air. I ended up taking the road that leads to Dave Amato's house and Boot Hill Deer Club. The old tractor that rests there has always interested me so this time I stopped to take a look.

It is parked right by the road and I only stuck to the tractor because I did not want to trespass, even though I saw no such signs.

Old machinery has always fascinated me and I spoke of another old tractor in another thread. I knew the other one I spoke of was a Fordson so I wanted to figure out the make and model of this tractor. It seems to fascinate me to try and figure out how old something like that is and then to imagine the last time it was operated and so on.

I noticed the markings IH almost immediately so I assumed the manufacturer was International Harvester. I discovered some other numbers as well but was not sure what they meant. I snapped some pics and took off for home.

After reading up on old tractors all night via the internet I narrowed the Boot Hill tractor down to a McCormick-Deering 10-20 or 15-30. McCormick-Deering was owned by International Harvester and was very popular. While they never sold as well as the Fordson the McCormick-Deering's were supposedly of better quality.

Well today after work I had to go back to take another look at the tractor. I determined the way to tell the difference between the 10-20 and 15-30 was by measuring the wheels and also the width. After doing so I discovered the Boot Hill tractor looks to be a McCormick-Deering 10-20, not a 15-30 which was a larger model.

Here are some facts on the 10-20.

Produced from 1923-1939.
Drawbar: 10 Horsepower
Belt: 20 Horsepower (hence 10-20)
Fuel: kerosene
Cylinders: 4
Displacement: 283.7 ci
Rated RPMs: 1000
Weight: 3700lbs
Total Production: 219,092

I could not locate a VIN number or a tag of any kind so I am not sure what year it is from. That is my next chore.

The tractor is missing a lot of parts and is in rough shape but it is very interesting none the less. I will get some pics up as soon as I can. I am currently having some computer issues.

I wanted to make it clear that I never touched the tractor. I am not sure who, if anyone, owns it. Simply walking around it was more than enough for me.

 

[LARGO]

Fantastic tractor!
Sitting here on my computer desk is a frame with two angles of it.
One is in my gallery. It has fascinated me from the first time I saw it. My dad has 3 John Deere and an Allis Chalmer, two 1960's Jacobsens, one we still push snow with and has had many others. I too love an old machine especially a working one. Boy howdy, I'm no thief but that bugger tempts me. I would be in trouble if I had a rollback 'cause that puppy might come home with me. I got up on it for fun before. I too like to walk around it but I didn't see any harm in touching it. It's cool to see the workings in the motor as the head is exposed.
It looks like a machine that could really dig into some nasty terrain. A lot of those old models started on gasoline but ran on Kerosene. Isn't it amazing such sizeable engine displacement and low horsepower. Must have a huge Bore and Stroke and enough torque to pull a house down with the right gearing and chugging away at low RPM.
I have oft wanted to catch someone there to give me a little history but there is never anyone there and I don't really know any Boot Hill fellers.
Thanks for the background on it. Fascinating.
Here's a so-so Pic



g.

 

[MarkBNJ]

Great detective work, Trailhead. I've driven by that thing a few times and marvelled at the rear drivers. I bet that piece of equipment developed some serious torque.

 

[Trailhead00]

Thank you for the pic Largo. It's amazing that a motor of that size, 283.7 cubic inches or 4.6 liters, only made 20 horsepower! How about a 4.25 inch bore and a whopping 5.00 inch stroke! That makes for some torque and a low stressed motor that would probably run forever.

I would like the chance to speak to someone at the Boot Hill Deer Club about it. Maybe they have some more info on it? I would really like to find out exactly how old it is. They did make this particular model for a long time.

Not sure what it is but I find old tractors way cool. My grandfather was still using his old Oliver, Farmall and Massey Furgusons for the longest time. He didn't get rid of anything.

 

[Teegate]

Nice work Trailhead! The men from the club are there often on Sunday nights at various times of the year. Maybe not this time of year because I hear many of them are farmers from Hammonton. A busy time of year for them now.

Rednek told us about a wheel of a tractor at Wescoat Bogs not far from there. It may be much older.

Guy

 

[TractorFan1407]

Hello there, I need help, I am putting together a website dedicated to tractor videos, to date I have gathered 365 different farming tractor brands and I hope to document every tractor make and model ever made. I am especially looking for videos and pictures of rare antique tractors, such as Graham Bradley, Fairbanks Morse or Massey Ferguson. If you think you can help, drop me a line at admin (at) youtractor.com. Any content you provide will remain your property and you will be credited with it.

I look forward to hearing from you

Patrick Malloney
http://www.YouTractor.com

 

[Kevinhooa]

Tractor

What a great looking piece of machinery. Cool find trailhead00! Interesting facts. I've driven a few different types of tractors before, but that one looks like it's got the most character.

Kevin