After 3 years in the vault, I finally got the chance to edit and upload some clips and pictures from the summer of 2019 through spring of 2020, when I had first began the long-awaited John Deere 60 restoration. My grandfather was still alive when I first tore it apart that summer, and sadly the last time he got to see the tractor in person was when I had only removed the sheet metal, but now I'm proud to be able to finish the restoration in his memory. This video shows some of our early attempts to break the engine loose after it had been sitting with water in the block for at least 30 years. I knew it wasn't going to be easy (and to this day, we still haven't gotten there).

I removed the sheet metal to get a better look at the tractor chassis and to see what we were up against. From a young age I can only remember the tractor sitting in weeds that were taller than it, so this was the first chance I had to look at the tractor in-depth and actually start turning wrenches on it. The grill and nosecone were already loose due to a few broken and rusted bolts , and I was quick to remove the steering shaft and hood since the steering shaft had been severely bent when we pulled it out of the field back in 2013. I also removed the spark plugs and filled the cylinders, crankcase, and transmission with a mixture of PB Blaster and diesel fuel (I know there are other, better combinations out there but this was the quickest and easiest for me at the time). This (in theory) helped to keep any moisture from getting inside the engine or transmission, at least until I got it inside. Later that summer, we pulled the tractor out of the weeds and moved it out to the stone driveway in the open yard so I could have more space to work on it.

That following winter (shortly after my grandfather passed away), I bought a pair of used 11-38 tires on rims to replace the 13.6x38 tires on calcium-rotted rims that were still on the tractor from the time it last ran. We finally got around to installing the replacement tires and rims on the tractor that following spring, after having to torch some of the old clamping bolts off (and a little too much hammering on the clamps). This helped make the tractor easier to roll around, especially when it came time to try breaking the engine loose.

That's where we ran into trouble, and I began noticing how much of a project I was in for. The clutch was stuck disengaged from sitting so long, and the transmission shift forks and rails were rusted fast, so jamming it into gear to tow it around the yard was only asking for further damage. We tried rocking the crankshaft back and forth via a large homemade spanner wrench that we bolted to the flywheel, but even after trying to turn the wrench with the bucket of the loader tractor, it still would not budge. That's when I decided we would be better off waiting until I could get the tractor under a roof and actually get the engine torn apart - it was going to have to happen, anyway.

So while we didn't accomplish much in this video, you will at least see some of the early steps we took that led us to where we are today (to be discussed in an upcoming video soon).