THE love affair with restoring old tractors continues for Chapman Valley farmer Marshall Gould.
With 10 years under his belt, his on-farm 'museum' comprises 14 fully restored vintage models with "five or six to be done up".
And he has his focus firmly set on exhibiting six of his 'fleet' at the annual Lights on the Hill vintage machinery field day at Brunswick on Saturday, April 18.
Organised by the Vintage Tractor & Machinery Association of WA (Trachmach), this year's theme centres on the 100th anniversary of Mack trucks.
Mr Gould doesn't have a Mack but his exhibition will be loaded on a Iveco-powered B-train for the Lights trip.
"It will include a John Deere row crop high clearance RS1010 and a Chamberlain Super 70 and several other early model John Deere tractors,'' Mr Gould said.
The Model D has special significance for Marshall as it was the first tractor on the farm, though his Model D is a different tractor.
"The original one on the farm got sold to a local Geraldton collector and was shedded for a number of years before it came up for sale again," he said.
"I was a losing bidder at $10,000 and it went to a collector at Swan Hill.
"I've subsequently tried to chase it down but the guy who bought it, sold it again and we've lost contact, even though I've got the message out I'm looking for it.
"It's got the year 1947 stenciled under the left mudguard, the year dad bought it and I've got the serial number so I'll know it when it turns up."
To compensate himself for the loss, Mr Gould bought another Model D last year from Whiteman Park, paying $8000.
His interest in restoring and collecting tractors has always been in his DNA, nurtured as a young child with a fascination of tractors.
"I also did some contract harvesting in the eighties and I always loved looking at the way machines worked," he said.
"And, of course, the history behind the machines."
In 2010 he started on a new journey restoring a Massey 65 which his dad bought as the farm's second tractor.
"I remember going to Toowoomba in Queensland to buy a John Deere 830 and ended up with a 730 as well," Mr Gould said.
Another achievement is restoring the John Deere 10 series of tractors built between 1960 and 1965 - the 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010 and 5010.
Each model in his collection has been restored from scratch with parts sourced from wreckers, e-bay, the network of collectors and using the welder to make them again.
"Most tractors I buy have been unshedded and they come with holes in the chassis, rust in the bonnets, seized cylinders from water running down the exhaust pipe, water mixed with oil in the gearbox, etc," Mr Gould said.
"I strip them down, sand blast everything then apply a two-pack paint, sourcing as original as I can to the manufacturer's colours."
His plea to farmers who still have 'old girls' parked behind sheds or under trees is to "look after them".
"I find it sad to see so many machines neglected but I guess is you haven't got a passion for it, why would you look after them?" Mr Gould said.
When the job's done, the fun starts, including taking them for a spin around the farm and exhibiting them at country shows, including the annual Chapman Valley show.
"I encourage everybody to get along to the Lights event," he said.