Big Collection Of Deeres Still Works On Farm

Big Collection Of Deeres Still Works On Farm TRACTORS Collectors 28-1-20 Don Dufner, Buxton, North Dakota, likes to use the right tractor for the job. That's the first reason he has so many tractors. Of course, the second reason is that he likes to collect them. "I use many of the tractors in my collection to farm with," he says. "Last year, I used 30 or so of them." His newest tractor is a 1974 model 7520 that he repowered with a 6-cylinder diesel. It's one of his field tractors. The oldest is a 1914 Waterloo Boy, which is fired up only on special occasions. "I always try to use a tractor that will be loaded about 95 percent so it's not overtaxed, but not running at half throttle or less," he says. In addition to tractors, Dufner has one of the biggest collections of self-propelled Deere combines anywhere and he also uses them. He has a couple of 106 models, one with a platform head, and one with a two-row corn head, that he used last fall for harvest. He also has a couple of 55's with soybean heads on them. And the collection also includes a model 96 pull-type he bought new and then used for a number of years. While his collection includes a lot of working tractors, he has some that get used less than others. "I have the first 820 and the first model 50 the company made," he says. "And I have the last potato tractor they made." Dufner says his collection started in the mid-1950's when, after graduating from high school, he bought an old Deere B for $35. "Everything that could have been wrong with it was, and I had to completely overhaul it. After I rebuilt it, I hired a guy to run it on the farm. We farmed with it for several years," he says. Dufner is known for putting tractors together to make four- and six-wheel drive power units. His first attempt was three Deere B's. He made the pages of FARM SHOW several years ago when he put three 830 gasoline tractors together to make one 6-wheel drive. He's now using a dual tractor he made by putting an 830 together with a 7520. Dufner won't say how many machines are in his collection, but notes that he's still adding to it when he has the time. "I enjoy the work of restoring the tractors, but I'm too busy farming to spend a lot of time trading," he says. "Of the ones I use, I keep them tuned up and in good shape, but they're not quite as nice as the ones that don't get used." Everything is shedded, whether it's worth a lot or only a little. "I do all my own repair and maintenance, and I don't like fixing or repainting because of carelessness," he says. Besides looking for additions to his collection, Dufner occasionally has tractors for sale. And he has a good supply of new and used parts for Deere tractors and combines. "I'd go to a dealer to buy a part and end up buying his inventory, just in case I needed another one," he says. "Now I have quite a collection of parts for sale." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Dufner, RR1, Box 124, Buxton, N. Dak. 58218 (ph 701 942-3102).

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