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- COCKSHUTT CRAZY
- Red & Rare
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Later, he'd work 17 years on-and-off for a Cockshutt dealership in Sioux Falls.
I knew those tractors inside and out," he said. "And I had a little shop where I was kept pretty busy by the neighbors and friends. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I've learned a lot working on tractors over the years."
Don's son helps with the restoration projects, and his wife does the detail work. His most obstinate project was a Golden Eagle.
"It's a challenge to find parts. I always like to have two tractors of the same model, so I can use one for parts," he said. "Cockshutt's different: It's no challenge to restore John Deere or International tractors ... those parts are all easily available."
He relies upon a network of friends. Contacts like those led him to the prizes in his collection: a Golden Arrow (just 150 were made) and a 540, also made in small numbers. He's gone as far as Oklahoma, the Ozarks and the Canadian border. He's discovered tractors in a grove of trees, and picked up a trail in casual conversations. What he hasn't done? Bought at auction.
"They're just too expensive at auctions," he said.
Economy was always the Cockshutt's claim to fame, he said.
"We just never spent any money on them," he said. "They really gave you good service. They just never had a good dealer organization."
Don's not quite a purist. His collection includes an Avery A, an Allis Chalmers, and a Co-op B2 made in Shelbyville, Ind., in '41, just before the federal government ordered the factory to cease production of tractors, and start building tanks for the war effort. And he even has a few more Cockshutts tucked away, awaiting restoration. Now that his collection of all models is complete, he's looking at some of the model variations.