Rare 1939 Farmall Highwheeler Tractor

Rare 1939 Farmall Highwheeler Tractor TRACTORS Antiques 20-4-22 Gerald Wheatley recently sent FARM SHOW a photo of this unusual tractor - a 1939 Farmall F-20 "Highwheeler" equipped with 8-ft. high rear wheels. It sits along the highway in front of his farm equipment business near Massena, Iowa. "People stop to take photos of it all the time. It's one of only eight that was ever built," says Wheatley. "A friend of mine, Willard Kee of Niobrara, Neb., al-ready had two of these tractors and he located this one for me. It had been used around the Brunswick, Neb., area right up until the 1960's. "The tractor was made during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930's. It was used to pull three 36-in. wide grain drills - one belly-mounted and two rear-mounted - in standing corn in the late summer or fall. The farmer drilled winter wheat, rye, or vetch between the rows to keep soil from blowing over the winter. The tall rear wheels allowed the tractor to go through tall corn without damaging it. After harvest the standing stalks could be shredded, and the following year the wheat, rye, or vetch could be harvested, or it could be plowed under in the spring as green fertilizer. "The tractor's rear steel wheels have 10-in. wide tire tread bolted onto them. The spokes are heavy-duty angle irons welded to a steel plate at the center of the wheel. The single front caster wheel is about 1 1/2 ft. high. We plan to repaint the tractor and show it in parades and at other events around our area." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gerald L. Wheatley, Rt. 2, Box 151, Massena, Iowa 50853 (ph 712 779-3418).

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