Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Well, after 20 years I finally brought home my dad's/family 155.

This tractor was purchased by him sometime in 1983 at the suggestion by my grandfather (his father in law) at an auction that it would be a great machine to have around. Someone spent a lot of money building a loader and frame for it, where I'm told it spent its previous life pushing manure out of chicken barns. Dad used it to mow and to build a rock retaining wall at our first home, but somewhere along the line it stopped running. As kids it was fun to sit and pretend drive in the garage.

Fast forward to 1994 and my brothers and I convinced dad to get it running again. My first experience with repairing/rebuilding an engine (I was about 12 yrs old). We also did a budget (and by by "we" I mean my brothers and I) paint job. Funny cause even back then I told dad it's the wrong colour, but he said "it's what the dealer said was right!"

In 2002 we sold our home and a lot of stuff got sent to my grandfather's, with the intention that it was only temporary until a place with a garage could be found, but that never happened. And so this 155 sat outside under a tarp for the past 20 years until this past weekend.

My mom and her sister and brother are settling my grandfather's estate, and unfortunately it's not going well. It's been a bit of an ordeal getting this machine back, but glad to have it! Like other things in life it got forgotten about, but I always wanted to bring it home and give it a much needed restoration (the right way!) and bring it back to it's former glory (minus the loader)

Right before it was parked my grandfather put 1 new tire on the front and pulled the battery. Wished we drained the gas tank but at least it was covered (although there is quite a bit of pitting, but that's only the hood). Engine turns no problem, decent compression.

So, I have no idea when I'll get to this tractor, but it's now safely stored in my garage until then. Hopefully it won't take another 10 years like when I was a kid, but I'm excited for the project with my kids when that time comes.

I'll post some more photos when I get the chance. Very happy to have this machine back!

And as a bonus, I came across some old family photos at my mom's on the weekend (day after hauling the 155 home). That's me in the red toque with my brother and grandfather plowing with my cousin on the plow(!) the farm where we grew up. Circa 1985-87. My grandfather had many, many tractors of all colours during his life. He loved his IH's the best, but this 730 was around for a long time too. No idea where it is now, but I'd love to find out!

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Great piece of history for your family and I'm very glad you were able to get it! Love those pictures!

Cool pics Chad, bet they bring back some good memories. Always enjoyed being around the farm when I was a kid. My grandfather built a seat that slipped on the seat bracket and sat on top of the 3pt arms on his 8n, we could ride on. Good times.
Keep us updated on the restore, should be a fun project.
Tim

Thanks guys. @Harry I'm not sure when I'll get around to it, but as things progress I'll be sure to post!

I did take this front wheel off to determine the state of the rim. It's pretty bad at the outermost lip, but where it makes a bead and the rest should be okay. Had a heck of a time removing the original Firestone tire, but managed to get it off. I'll run a wire wheel around to see what exactly I'm up against. You may notice how much abuse the front axle suffered, looks to me like the spindle broke and the rim wore through, but there's no witness marks on the rim. Maybe done before we got it. The other side is fine. Can't imagine how long you'd have to drive around to do that, if that's what has happened! I do remember breaking spindles and dad fabricating up some new ones. I will be replacing the front axle, spindles and all linkages.

The 2 original rear tires are holding air with no cracks, other front is good too. And those rims are all in great shape.

This tractor will never do loader or mowing work again. Poor thing has suffered enough!

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A few pics of the deck. It's pretty pitted, but no holes. We'll see how it cleans up.

And the loader. All the hoses are rotted, and bucket cylinder is very rough. Just did a quick Google search and found this:

Very interesting, had no idea!

http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/20 ... 583023.jpg[/IMG]

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Very interesting story and pictures Chad.


Noel

It is either a 1967 or 1968 model tractor and still has Old Ab and headlights in tact. With a loader on the tractor it is a wonder that those items haven't been knocked off. All of my tractors are missing Old Ab so you have hit a home run on with this one.

@Chad Thanks for the photos and taking us down memory lane.

Spike

Never heard of that loader . Kool , neat pic.s and story .

Dave

I saw that tag in the first pics so I figured it was factory built. It needs some work but it appears to be in pretty good shape. If you don't plan on using it for another project I would think it would sell easy and raise a little cash to put into the restore.
Tim

Thanks guys. I love seeing the old photos too, I can remember those times even though I was a youngster. Riding on tractors with grandpa was my favourite thing as a kid, lots of happy memories for sure

Yes @Spike188 it's a survivor for sure. All the other tin work is intact and not bent either, I know that the front side side panels are often missing. The cooling rad looks good too. The fan is all cracked and broken, but I have an extra in a box of parts from my 444 purchase last year that I'm hoping will fit. PTO Clutch engages no problem still, which was surprising.
I can't make out the id tag behind the loader frame (but I know Case didn't keep track of serial numbers during those years when they built this model). The original owner's manual is around somewhere at grandpa's I'm sure , and if I recall there were some handwritten notes in it. Maybe it has year purchased written down.

Yes @Timj that will most likely be the plan. Last year I sold my Toro/Wheel Horse 520h, and the thought of adapting this loader for that machine crossed my mind. Those tractors are capable of having a loader (manual makes mention of such) as the front axles, spindles etc. are pretty beefy. Not quite as substantial as the 6xx series though. Aside from the front cylinder it is in good shape. There is a big plate that supports the frame on the front that is missing. Will have a look in the barns when I am there next, but to make up a new one wouldn't be too difficult.

I know there are lots of other photos of this tractor in other old photo albums, many with me operating it . As I come across them I'll add to this thread!

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Funny, just had a look again at that Kuchyt link and the first photo shows the same model loader on what appears to be another 155. And, from what I can make out from the serial number, my loader was built 2 units before that one on the internet. Wonder how many they made for garden tractors? Definitely well constructed.

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