Tractor Restoration Puts McCloskey Up for Star Award
Published: Friday, June 2, 2023
Cole McCloskey, president of Lewis-Cass FFA, has always been involved in tractor restoration. His grandfather passed along the hobby to his father who passed it to him. So, when it came time to choose his supervised agricultural experience (SAE), it made perfect sense to the Galveston youth to submit his numerous restoration projects as a chance to win the FFA State Star in Agribusiness.
"We don't collect any particular brand. We just go for anything that we don't already have, and anymore we look for foreign tractors. We've got a lot made in Europe," he said.
McCloskey was introduced to the FFA in the eighth grade when he took an agricultural elective and has steadily increased his involvement since then. He has competed in nearly 20 contests, including the National Soils Judging Contest in Oklahoma in May.
As he became more involved in his chapter, he was encouraged to compete for an FFA State Star Award.
Throughout high school, McCloskey has heard a lot of talk about the Star Award. But, because his family members were not as involved in FFA as he was, if at all, he did not fully realize all the work that goes into it was until he filled out the paperwork.
"I was pretty excited to be in the final picking," he said.
As the only finalist, he is elated to see where he can go from here.
"The Star Award is definitely one of the most meaningful awards I've gotten through FFA," he said, regarding his selection as a finalist. He also plans to compete nationally for an agricultural proficiency contest.
"I'm appreciative of the time Mr. Appleton has spent helping me excel in all of my areas and all the time he's spent helping me get the Star application finished. He's helped me through a lot of different contests and awards," McCloskey said.
A lot of work goes into finding and restoring tractors, and, although McCloskey has been around it his entire life, that doesn't make it any easier for the 17-year-old high school senior.
"Besides finding the tractors themselves, it's always a challenge to find the parts to make the tractor complete," he said.
A big aspect of tractor restoration is waiting and researching to find tractors and any missing or broken parts. It can take months to find parts, especially from overseas, and then the wait continues as parts get shipped from around the world.
"Most of these tractor parts are either very rare and hard to find or some parts just don't exist (anymore) at all, so at times we'll have to make our own parts," he said.
Some of the parts he has crafted include a gas tank, tail gate, several sheet metal pieces and more. In a lot of cases, the parts he and his father craft are thin or sheet metal, which requires the ability to meg and/or stick weld.
"Through FFA and this hobby I've been able to pick up a lot of different skills," he said.
Some of these include effective research, communication and relationship building in addition to any metalwork or mechanics he uses to restore the machines. He has also increased his knowledge of the tractor industry monumentally since he began. He can discuss multiple historical aspects of various manufacturers and shows extensive knowledge in the anatomy and function of several different types of tractors. He has also sold a few of the tractors and multiple parts that he has restored.
His favorite tractor restoration project was a 1929 Lanz Bulldog. That brand has already intrigued McCloskey because it starts with a hot bulb engine.
"It's very different than any other tractor over here or even in Germany, where they're from," he said.
He found one in Ohio in November of 2018 and restored it for a John Deere tractor show in Columbus, Ohio (John Deere bought the Lanz Bulldog company in 1956).
"It was a fun time being around all the John Deere guys," he said.
One of his favorite things about the tractor is the way it starts. McCloskey loves to demonstrate the process, using a torch to light the hot bulb and waiting until it glows red, having reached about 1,200 degrees F, to inject the fuel. The bulb then ignites the fuel, starting the engine.
"I've gotten to meet a lot of different people through this hobby," he said.
McCloskey's father started the Tip Wa Antique Tractor and Engine Club, which became a pool of knowledge for McCloskey.
"I'm really appreciative, being around a lot of older guys who are a lot more knowledgeable about certain things and being able to pick up on a lot of the history and information before it's gone," he said.
McCloskey plans to attend an 11-month associate degree program at Ivy Tech known as ASAP. After that, he may transfer to Purdue University or simply enter the workforce to find a career, possibly in soil science or agronomy.
As he looks to the future, McCloskey doesn't plan to stop restoring tractors. In fact, he is already researching tractor brands that he hasn't yet collected.
"I imagine I'll stick to the hobby my whole life," he said.
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