As mentioned on my
original home page of www.tractorparts.com I am a junkman, a label worn with pride, who
aspires to be a grimy man. To understand the Grimy Man reference I have to refer you
to one of my favorite articles from my old Alma Mater. The Grimy Man is a real
person we all know. Smelling of diesel, gasoline, or being covered with grime does not
make you a Grimy Man. The Grimy Man is described in an article by John
H. Lienhard of the University of Houston. I am learning every day, so I guess that
makes me a wannabe or maybe there are different levels of enlightenment and we are all
merely on the path of achieving the unachievable. Another professor at the U of H ,
Dr. Fred Proff, also left me with words that have served me well when dealing with both
animate and inanimate objects: "Wisdom is the ability to NOT jump to
conclusions" Whether these words originated with Dr. Proff or not I don't know,
but he did his job well in passing them along. Keep them in mind when working on
your equipment. (or reading the papers, watching your televised imitation of news,
or listening to any professional "authority".) With all my education and
experience, all I have learned is that I have a lot more to learn. I still jump to
conclusions more often than I like. That usually wastes both time and money.
Avoid that!
Time and money
They are why I put these databases together over the last many years. It has taken a
lot of time to create and organize them. The work continues. Of course all the
manufacturers names belong to them, I am not associated with any, and they are just
reference points to help identify the part numbers and lead you in the right direction
when looking for your parts. While I have been parting equipment out for over 3
decades, I can not help everyone with all of their needs but I can help give you, the
aspiring Grimy Man, enough information so that you can save both time and money in your
search for parts and assistance. So take your time, search for alternatives, don't
replace what can be repaired or rebuilt. If you get in a hurry, you will pay a
premium, both in lost time and wasted money. Take care in comparing and evaluating
any part you receive or order from anyone, yep, even me, as even when the utmost of care
is taken, parts get miss-stocked and put into incorrect boxes, or a simple typo, changing
a number, can throw things off. We've taken a lot of care and pride in creating
these databases but I am sure, out of the millions of entries made, that errors must have
occurred. If you find any errors, be sure and let me know. If you have any
additional data to contribute, feel free to send information to me. (Please
do!!) A Wabco and an Oil Filter searchable database are currently being worked on
and will be added. You can also expect to see a large selection of equipment
specifications. My friend Nez at www.theunapologeticmexican.org will be taking over the graphics
and design of the web pages. Nez will get things better organized, and allow me to
add additional data, publish your stories, and hopefully increase our awareness of not
only our equipment but of each other.
The history of the Grimy Man probably predates the wheel when our ancestors began shaping
basic tools. The development of toys
was very similar. We've advanced in technology with ever more sophisticated tools,
at times turning them into toys, just as our predecessors did. A very good example
is the video below, from the 1930's.
And we share this tendency with many of our neighbors, other Grimy Men. Tractor
shows, tractor races, and the mere pride in taking care of our equipment, whether
restoring tractors for show or for survival, the Grimy Man surfaces in many. While
we may have language barriers, and most of you viewing the following video will not know
the words, you can still fill in the blanks. You know these men. They are
your neighbors, though distant. You will probably recognize some of these
participants even though you have not met them personally. The video was supplied by
the good folks at "English Russia" where
indeed "something cool happens daily on 1/6th of the earths surface." You
can also see a pictorial record of the history of Russian crawler production and
design and agricultural tractor
development in our picture albums.
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