Trio of Vintage Minneapolis Moline Tractors ~ Park Days Vintage Tractor Pull

I feel as though I should grab one of my pitchforks and start singing, "Green Acres is the place for me..."  My son and now hubby's obsession with pulling vintage Minneapolis Molines has reached a high, and I fear is going to go higher.  As you all know, my son purchased a Minni Z that started this antique tractor hobby rolling.  Then my hubby found a Minneapolis U that worked on LP that has some serious pulling power.  That is when I felt the need to step in and remind the two of them that these tractors make for some large yard ornaments.  But they were happy with their two Minnis and assured me that their dreams of two pullers were complete.  Now here is a game reminiscent of Sesame Street ... look at the pic below, how many Minneapolis Molines do you see??  I know... I think that they must have found a way to multiply, since heaven knows, my two guys assured me that their world was complete with their two golden nuggets!!

Apparently all is well in their world NOW that they have the three tractors, or so they pleaded their case to me.  Since the other tractors were pullers, my son evidently needed a regular tractor to pull his carts and do the small plowing and grating on our empty lots.  Hmmmm.  Are you all buying into this line? ;)  So, here are the two caught in action when they brought home the gas driven Minneapolis U. 

As we were driving behind this tractor coming home, I could not help but wonder where I had lost control of this situation. ;)   I was so thrilled when my hubby freed up space in my back yard by selling his extra bucket truck from the tree business.    And I know how driven he can be about a competition of any kind, so I have to keep him in check, or I'll lose my whole back yard to this new found passion.  There is a thread of truth albeit a very thin thread of truth to their argument, so... I caved and welcomed it home to become part of a trio.  At least my hubby's parents are thrilled, since something in the Minni Z runs on the frequency of their cable and knocks out their TV interception whenever my son drives it past their house! LOL

On the tractor pull front:  We had Park Days here in our small town, and our volunteer fire department hosted a vintage tractor and truck pull.  Here is my son hooking up with his Minni Z.  Until there is a larger trailer purchased, this pull and the one in a neighboring town will be the only two pulls for the Z this year.

The little Minni Z pulled its way to a  First Place win in the 5250 pound antique farm and two - Second Place wins in the 4500 and 5000 pound antique farm.  In one pull, he came in second by 7 inches!  It was an exciting day of pulling for the Z in front of the hometown crowd.  Very respectable finishes for the little tractor.

Then it was time to bring out the big bad U.   It won First Place in the 7000 and 7500 pound classes.  I know my son would like to give it a paint restoration, but money has to be saved up for that first.  I always quote one of his fellow pullers that always tells my son, "A fancy paint job won't make it pull any farther!"  ;)

One more pull and their tractor pulling fun is over for the year.  My son and hubby were sitting last night in the living room.  I overheard something about my son locating another  Minni Z and possibly making a modified tractor.  Aaaaagh!  I reminded my hubby that they already have two pullers.  Then he told me how it would be a great project for him and our son to be able to build a custom puller.  He also started listing a few things that they were willing to sell in order to work on the project.  Another words, setting me up for a trade off.   Well... I suppose there are worse things that the two of them could be up to!! ;)