Keystone Antique Tractor Museum - Colonial Heights, VA

[DEEPNHOCK]

On the way back south on I-95 yesterday, I saw a nicely painted building that I had not paid any attention to before.
It had a nice sign on it saying.... KEYSTONE ANTIQUE TRACTOR MUSEUM
(In reality, it is Keystone Tractor Works)
Whipped off the interstate and drove over...
What a superb museum!
Brand new. Only opened last week. 65,000 square feet.
They had a cruise in last Friday, an antique car show on Saturday...
I wandered around for better than an couple hours...soaking it all in.
Met the owner Keith Jones, we talked all about his building and it's modernization (I loved his fluorescent lights), and about Allis Chalmers tractors.....
He introduced me to 'Bones', his main mechanical guru.
Bones took me on a behind the scenes tour and we went out back and looked at some of their awesome pulling tractors.
Here's a link....
http://www.keystonetractorworks.com/
To keep the Studebaker in this post, he also owns a nice '57 Golden Hawk that is in the back room with the trucks in his collection.
I asked him if The Studebaker Club could meet over at his place, and he said "Sure, call us up!"
Nice guy. Superb museum.
There are HUNDREDS of tractors on there...ALL RESTORED!
If you are south of Richmond, VA... This is a must stop kind of place....Really.
Jeff

[Milaca]

Now this is a tractor!

And here's the pride of South Bend, an Oliver Super 99 with GM supercharged diesel power:

Very nice collection of tractors.

[bob40]

Want to buy a tractor? Here is a link to a auction with 700 for sale! Even has a couple Studebaker cars.

http://www.faheysales.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Bussert-11-x-17-WEB1.pdf

[Chris_Dresbach]

I like olivers, but I could never understand why the Super 99 was powered by a GM diesel when Studebaker was literally around the corner.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Because, I suppose, Studebaker never built their own diesel engine.
Heck, Studebaker only made three engines after WWII.

I like olivers, but I could never understand why the Super 99 was powered by a GM diesel when Studebaker was literally around the corner.

[BobPalma]

I like olivers, but I could never understand why the Super 99 was powered by a GM diesel when Studebaker was literally around the corner.

That's because Oliver tractors were not built in South Bend, Chris. They were built in Charles City, Iowa, IIRC. (Subject to correction as to city by a tractor enthusiast!) BP

[mbstude]

Even Studebaker trucks used GM Diesel engines. You should know that Chris, considering your next door neighbor is Jim Maxey!

[Milaca]

That's because Oliver tractors were not built in South Bend, Chris. They were built in Charles City, Iowa, IIRC. (Subject to correction as to city by a tractor enthusiast!) BP

I read somewhere a while back that the 99's were built in the South Bend factory whereas the other rubber tired tractors (88, 77, 66, 55, etc.) were built in the Hart Parr plant in Charles City Iowa (Oliver Cletrac crawlers were built in the Cleveland Ohio factory). Somebody please correct me if i am wrong. As for the GM diesel, I think Oliver quit offering them by the time that Studebaker began offering them in trucks.

[(S)]

Studebaker Tractor? (pull)

It was getting dark, the clouds that formed earlier started to sprinkle, then the sprinkle turned to rain. The rookie sat ready, running the motions through his head.

"1st gear is here, 2nd is right there." The clutch releases like this" "Watch the flagger, he controls a safe pull and can see and hear everything you can not' "check the guages, don't burn it up, watch the tach, don't over-rev it"

He is motioned to get hooked up, drives on out and backs up to the sled. He is directed to take up the slack. The flag is red, hands off the wheel, brake on. The green flag is dropped, the clutch is eased out. Nothing happens. the truck digs a hole. "quick, drop it in 1st before the momentum is lost and the red flag comes out"

The truck finds 1st, and begins to roll. The 6500 pounds in tow starts to come on quick.

The video is poor too, but arent we all? After the pull, we were told we did very well. Other trucks that pull on a regular basis, barely pull half the distance they normally do. Matter of fact, only 1 other truck near our weight class pulled 131 feet and he had 4 wheel drive. Most hopped up chevy 4x4s did less than 100 feet.

http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/hotwheels63r2/?action=view&current=Tractorpull.mp4

[Chris_Dresbach]

Your right, I forgot that Jims diesel is a GM diesel!99

I am also a tractor guy with three restored JD tractors, Oliver Super 99s were indeed built in South Bend. I know, my grandpa was on that assembly line.

[DEEPNHOCK]

If you have a few minutes to spare......
Here are some pic's....
(Some are duplicates (with and w/o flash)...
Jeff

http://rides.webshots.com/album/578744201UZykPK?start=0

[JBOYLE]

Agreat collectiuon. I really admire someone with the determination and passion to amass a collection like that.

Okay, a secret confession...this coming from a guy who likes esoteric stuff, I call look at obscure cars and airplanes all day long.
After the first 30-40 tractors ( aside from the obvious difference through the decades as they developed) they all begin to look alike...

[Still Runnin]

JBOYLE ... that's funny what you said that "After 30 - 40 tractors they all begin to look alike" because when I first came on board to do website work for KTW aka Keystone Tractor Works I thought the same thing while photographing over 100 of their tractors. HA!

I am a car person, not a tractor person, but I have to say since I was sort of forced to learn about the tractors I soon came to know the difference and found them very interesting. But going back to that fact that I am a car person I was really excited to see that the owner, Keith Jones, also has a spot in his heart for old cars and a bigger passion for Vintage road trucks, and boy are they ever awesome! He now has about 25 road trucks in the museum, also restored like the tractors.

His car collection is small in comparison to the tractors, but he surprises us often with a new toy of some sort of old tin to be added to the floor, and they ALL run. It is as DEEPNKOCK said a great stop if you're traveling on I-95.

DEEPNHOCK thanks for mentioning the museum to the folks here on the forum, the museum is new and sure could use the word to get around. This past weekend the VA STATE HOG Rally came thru, I had some vintage H-D and Indian motorcycles on display for the HOG visitors. There's 70,000 sq ft of kool stuff to look at there. Come this October will mark their 1 year Anniversary.