The Yellow Molines of texas
Moeller family loyal to Minneapolis-Moline line
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This 1948 Minneapolis-Moline UTI is one of Michael Moeller’s bargains, bought for just $50 in 2004. Better yet, it only required minor repairs on the radiator, magneto and head. It remains in use on the Moeller farm. (Photos by Michael Moeller except where noted.)
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The story of Michael Moeller's collection of
Minneapolis-Moline tractors is the story of how an entire family
got hooked on one brand. "A Minneapolis-Moline dealership, Bernsen
Farm Equipment, was located 5 miles from Rosebud, Texas, where my
grandfather, Manard Moeller Sr., lived," the 33-year-old CPA says.
"There was another dealer about 15 miles away."
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Manard liked Molines because they were heavily built, quality
tractors, had a lot of torque and quite a bit of power. In 1950, he
bought a Minneapolis-Moline ZA, a tractor with a single front
wheel. "Ever since he bought that Moline," Michael says, "my dad
and brothers and the whole family have been partial to those Moline
tractors, both big and small." Michael and his family have about 30
big Molines in their collection, including some rare models.
"That ZA originally came as a gas tractor, but grandpa converted
it to propane," Michael says. "Over the next 12 years, three more
tractors were bought with factory propane. He never bought a diesel
until it was his only option."
Michael says he's heard northern collectors say propane tractors
in general are scarce, but that's not the case in Texas. "I'd say
anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of the 1950s-era tractors in Texas
were propane," he says, "because propane was easy to get with all
the refineries down here."
The ZA was used for general farm work, including stripping
cotton. In 1972 Michael's grandmother took a picture of the tractor
in the cotton fields. "That was when it was actually used on the
farm," Michael recalls, "long before anybody ever thought of
restoring it." In 1998, Michael's uncle, Lewis Moeller, restored
the ZA, repainted it and converted it back to gas.
Raised on Moline
The family got Michael interested in Molines early. "When I was
3 years old, they gave me the only farm toy I had as a kid, a
Minneapolis-Moline G1000 Mighty Mini Puller tractor," Michael says.
"I still have it, though it's in well-played-with condition." He
used the toy extensively in the dirt, pretending to have a plow and
other implements.
Boyhood visits to tractor pulls also made an influence. "When I
was 7 years old, we'd go to tractor pulls and I was impressed with
what the Molines did," Michael says. "They won a lot."
But then tractor pulling fell off. Michael didn't attend another
pull until 1997, when once again he saw Molines performing well. He
started thinking about getting some of his own to restore. Two
years later, Michael's father, Raymond Moeller, happened on to a
1954 MM UB Diesel (one of the first diesels Moline made) about two
hours from Rosebud. "Grandpa had purchased a UB Special new in
1956, but that was on propane," Michael says, "and finally finding
one with a diesel was a super great discovery."
The seller wanted $250 for the diesel. Michael asked his dad
whether he had written the check, but Raymond said he wasn't sure
Michael wanted the tractor. "About two weeks later we went out
there and bought it," he recalls. "It came in several pieces. We
basically loaded the tractor up on the trailer and the engine in
parts, the head and the block, on back of the pickup and brought it
home."
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