Moving Grandpa's Gibson

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

When I was in my mid teens my grandparents had the family farm a few miles form where I lived, plus also had a house in St. Anns, Mo., which at that time was a middle class community in St. Louis. They would spend quite a bit of time at both places, and one day Grandpa called from St. Anns and said they were going to stay there for a few months and wanted Dad and I to take his Gibson tractor to a neighbors just across the highway from his place so no one would steal it. It was in pretty good shape at that time, but here is what it looked like the last time I saw it a few years ago.


Dad and I drove over there, and the first thing we found was a flat front tire. We got out our old faithful IH spark plug tire pump, and tried airing up the tire, but it would not hold air, and closer inspection showed it was split, so we decided to drive it across the road flat. As you may have noticed, at sometime the original tiller steering had been replaced with a steering wheel and gear assembly from something. and with the flat tire I immediately twisted the spokes off of the steering wheel. So I got the vice grips out of our toolbox and put them on the shaft, and started out using them to steer with. That drive train uses a v belt system for a clutch that if adjusted correctly has an over center arrangement that snaps in to hold the belts tight, but it was out of adjustment, so I was having to hold the clutch up with my left foot. So I am steering with the vice grips in my left hand and my left foot hooked over the clutch , when the throttle cable breaks. Now I am going down the road using my right hand to hold the governor open, my left foot hooked over the clutch to keep it moving, my left hnad holding the vice grips to steer, and my right foot hooked under the frame to hold ME on. And Grandpa was worried about someone stealing it.

[Bob McCarty]

John, I think we would all like to a video of the "reenactment". A picture of the Gibson on a trailer doesn't give the proper visual.

Bob

[Bezirk]

John, what happened to the Gibson, hopefully someone restored it ? And yes I vote with Bob for reenactment !

Berlin

[Donegal Cub]

John,
He should have been wishing someone would steal it. You must have been a bit of a contortionist in your youth to be able to affect all those tasks at the same time. And they say women can multi - task better than men. You have disproved that old wives tale
Bernard,
Donegal Cub.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Here is how it looked when I went after it.



Grandpa had plenty of room for it inside, but it always sat outside. I was a step grandkid to Grandma, and after Grandpa passed she wanted nothing to do with me or the other grandson from Grandpa's first marriage, so it sat there with some of her biological grandkids claiming they wanted it, but they never came and got it. Over the years, Grandma passed and Uncle Harry and Aunt Marry bought the farm and all that was on it. After Uncle harry died I helped Aunt Mary with different things around the place as she needed and one day she asked if I wanted the Gibson, which I did. The picture I posted was on the trailer coming to my place. I started on it, and got the engine freed up, and was looking into the rest of it, but it looked like an almost hopeless task due to the years of setting outside and neglect. I talked to my older cousin who had also been outlawed, and he said he would like try it and I took it to him. A year later he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and after he passed it came back to me. I took another look at it and after thinking it over I contacted a friend who he and his brother collect Gibsons. I told them they could have it with the condition it not be scrapped. I would like to see it restored, but if it was not reasonable, they could use it for parts, just not to scrap it. they agreed, and so far as I know, it is helping keep other tractors running.