I had just spent the most money I’d ever spent at an auction and I was now the proud new owner of a 1963 Massey Ferguson Super 90WR tractor.
The words of the old-timer who approached me barely a minute after the auctioneer shouted, “sold to buyer number 54,” hit me like a punch to the gut.
“Terrible tractor,” he told me, looking me straight in the eye without a hint of emotion. “Terrible starting tractor.”
I felt like a kid who just got heck from the principal. I felt like I’d just walked out on a stage to deliver a speech to 1,000 people, except I had forgotten to write one.
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My heart rate soared to rival that of a hummingbird and, though it was a cool and rainy day, I suddenly felt uncomfortably warm.
“What have I just done?” I thought to myself.
As if that wasn’t enough, the old-timer felt compelled to go on to tell me how this particular tractor had a habit of shedding its front wheels.
I had spent months researching tractors in anticipation of a purchase such as this. My 1942 Ford 2N is a wonderful little workhorse, and it has cleared our 100 metre driveway of snow more times than I can count. But I need something larger, with a front-end loader, to handle round bales for our horses.
I scoured the web, I bought ag equipment magazines, I tracked auction results on-line and I read the Western Producer’s used tractor classified ad listings way more than a (former) city kid ever imagined he would.
After digesting all that, I thought this Massey was the tractor for me. Suddenly I wasn’t so sure.
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before a number of other auction-goers stopped by to congratulate me on my purchase.
A couple of fellows arrived late, having
travelled several hours from their home near Glaslyn, Sask., with the intention of buying this same machine. They had six of them, they told me, and they’re one of the best starting tractors around.
She may not be the prettiest tractor out there, but she’s all mine – perfectly functioning front wheels and all.
