Eufaula High School’s FFA “tractor team” is giving this year’s Chevron Delo Tractor Restoration Competition the old college try before they head off to college.
Eufaula FFA students have participated in the competition for three years. But this year all six students participating are seniors and, what FFA sponsor Buster Padgett calls, “veteran tractor team members.”
The participating students – Zack Padgett, Jackson Harris, Allyssa Milner, Chad Hamm, LeeAnn Potts and Scott Bonner – painstakingly restored a 1968 Massey Ferguson 175 diesel tractor between June 2 and Aug. 24 after approximately 940 hours of work, says Padgett. The tractor was donated to the project by the Gus Tompkins farming family of Bullock County and had been in a state of disrepair for a long time.
Padgett praises the students for their effort.
“The students obviously take a lot of pride in this competition and being part of the legacy of this chapter's participation in (the) competition,” Padgett stated in a recent email. “This is an active bunch of students and summer is normally time for a break from school. But all the team members are seniors and veteran team members.
“So the weekends and every day after school, work hours became the standard for them to accomplish their goal of a restored tractor. There was nothing more important to them than ‘tractor team’ and I certainly admired their efforts.”
The students completely disassembled and rebuilt the tractor’s engine and replaced worn parts in the transmission.
“The complete hydraulic system was rebuilt,” stated Padgett. “The original hood was restored but all other parts of the outward appearance (grill, bumper, fenders, lights, seat, instrument panel, gauges, steering wheel, rims, tires and paint) were salvaged from scrap yards, donated or purchased new.”
Team member Scott Bonner says this is his group’s third year to participate in the competition.
“This tractor had a lot of new challenges to overcome – and things to learn. We are all seniors, so this is our last year to compete, and I think this is the best year yet,” he said.
“This being the last tractor that we will restore as a team we wanted to make sure that it was the best one yet,” explained team member LeeAnn Potts. “In the end, all of the long days and the countless hours we spent working on the tractor were all worth it when we heard the engine crank for the first time.”
Last year, the team’s 1948 Farmall H tractor finished third in the national judging for the competition and the team placed first in the competition’s national video portion.
This year, the team is hoping to place first in both portions of the competition. Padgett urges FFA supporters to visit chevron.demandstrategies.com/delotrc to vote for Eufaula High School’s tractor restoration video. Voting ends Oct. 20.
“I can’t express enough my appreciation for the support this community provides for the Eufaula High FFA program. I hope that everyone will continue to show their support for these students by voting daily on their video. Believe me, this bunch of kids enjoys the tradition and desire to leave a legacy that will make their hometown community proud,” stated Padgett.
Padgett explains that if the team is chosen next week as a finalist, the students will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. for final judging at the FFA National Convention.
First place prize for the video portion of the competition is an iPod for each team member. The tractor competition has a grand prize of $5,000, $2,500 for second and $1,500 for third.
The tractor competition is sponsored by Delo Lubricants.
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