Tombrink's blood runs International Red

Back in 1952, Dan Tombrink’s father Joe bought an 80-acre spread along U.S. 2 and started farming. One of his first tractors was an International W-4. Joe bought it brand new in 1949.

“I still have that tractor,” Dan said last week.

Everyone’s blood runs red, but Tombrink’s blood runs extra red. International Red. Over the years, he’s restored more than 20 vintage tractors, nearly all of them International Harvester Farmalls. The trademark color of International is a deep red.

Joe has since passed away, but Dan still runs 43 of the original 80 acres. Restoring tractors has been a passion since he was a young adult. Old tractors can be temperamental and expensive beasts to fix. Fix one problem and another is sure to crop up. But one man’s drudgery is another man’s pleasure.

“It’s the satisfaction you get when you’re done,” he said, “Plus, it gives me a winter project. You’ve got to have something to do.”

While it may be a hobby, Tombrink takes his projects very seriously. Most tractors come to him a few steps removed from being junk. When he’s done, they look like they belong on the showroom floor.

The first order of business when he buys something is just to see if it runs.

“I’ll try to start it up, drive it around a little if I can,” he explained.

But some purchases over the years came from back East, and all he’d seen was a picture of the rig. They may or may not be operational when they arrive at his place. Just getting an engine to turn over is a success in some cases.

Then he goes to work. Engines are rebuilt, transmissions regeared, paint sandblasted down to the metal.

“I pretty much tear them down to the bare frame,” he said.

Most tractors he works on are 50-60 years old, some older than that. His oldest is a 1935 International W-12.

Not all are red, either. International produced a few tractors that were white as promotional rigs. Tombrink has even found reproductions of the original promotional posters to go with them.

One of his more unique tractors is a Case VAH — only about 2,067 were made. The tall tractor was designed for cultivating vegetables. Case merged with International in the mid-1980s.

Despite their age, most parts are fairly easy to find. Old tractors are popular online, and several companies sell parts, including the original manufacturers.

A host of salvage and rebuilt parts are also available. Even stores like NAPA still offer parts. Tougher items to find include original sheet metal, such as fenders and emblems.

Tombrink’s most difficult restoration was an International O-4. The “O” stands for orchard, and the tractor has special fenders and cowlings designed to protect the operator and trees while working in orchards. It took two years to restore, he said.

Today, the O-4 sits in his barn along with several others from that era, looking like it did when first offered for sale in the 1940s. Even the bolts on the engine are shiny and new — not a speck of rust anywhere.

Tombrink has seven or eight other tractors waiting in the wings. This winter, he’s taken a bit of a diversion from Internationals to work on a “tug” once used by the Great Northern Railway and Amtrak to haul luggage around.

Photos from more than 30 years ago show the tug with Great Northern decals on its side. Made by the Clark Company, the tug looks like a small tank. Tombrink just finished rebuilding and re-installing its engine. There’s the floor to finish and other work still to be done.

Another winter afternoon spent in a warm shop with his dog Gypsy. Put another log on the fire. Time to get to work.