By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

LEBANON, Ind. — While most car enthusiasts are familiar with the Porsche name, it is with respect to their automobiles. For Buren Spaulding, the brand refers to his tractor.

At this year’s Farm World Expo, Buren – a member of the Boone County Antique Tractor and Machinery Club – showed his 1957 Porsche diesel Super that he found in southern Indiana.

“I went down and bought it. It was in weeds higher than my head,” Buren shared. “It was in pretty sad shape and the motor was stuck.”

Too, the fenders were folded up and Buren had to unfold them once he got the tractor home. “I’ve had it for about 15 years now,” he added. The tractor is produced by the same German company that builds Porsche cars.

“They made these from 1957 to 1964, mine is a 1957,” he explained.

For more details about these tractors, the website www.porschetractors.com has a bit of history. According to it, Porsche’s interest in the manufacture of tractors began in 1934 and continued until the early 1960s. It was in 1934 that Porsche took the dive and designed and produced three petrol engine test vehicles.

“Dr. F. Porsche produced three prototype tractors in 1934, all equipped with petrol engines,” according to the website. “The Porsche diesel engine with its unique air-cooled feature was not quite ready for production. Through various tests, this led to a fully developed air-cooled diesel engine with a power range from 14 hp to 55 hp.

“By the early 1950s Prof. Dr. F. Porsche had designed 4 basic models: 1-cylinder; 2-cylinder; 3-cylinder; and 4-cylinder – all having individual and interchangeable cylinders and heads. Prof. Dr. F. Porsche also had a 4-wheel-drive tractor on the drawing board as early as 1946.”

In 1957, the year Buren’s tractor was assembled, it would have been developed at a factory in Friedrichshafen-Manzell, which was once the Donier/Zepplin factory. The website estimates that about 11,000 Porsche tractor models were built and sold in Germany, with approximately 6,000 exported.

As far as Buren knows, there are around 2,000 Porsche diesel Supers in the United States. Besides the 3-cylinder air-cooled engine, Buren said later models also had a three-point hitch.
Though missing this hitch, his model did have one, and his little Porsche also has coiled springs on the front that would allow 38-inch tires to be mounted on the back.

“It has a speedometer that shows 60 kilometers. I ran it up to 45 kilometers. It is dangerous to go faster than that,” Buren said. “The front end starts bouncing.

These tractors were initially built for more use than just plowing the fields. They were meant to be a transportation vehicle for the farmer, as well. “In Germany, they would ride these to the store on weekends,” he said. “Ads show a grocery cart and a seat for two.”
Buren lived on a farm as a kid and before retirement, worked as a pipe fitter for GM, so his interest in things that move is twofold. “I worked at the plant for 36 years at night and did landscaping in the day,” he added.

The pretty Porsche is not Buren’s only tractor; he also owns an 8N Ford that he said his son Daryl surprised him by restoring. “My boy took my Ford 8N and put in a Funk 6-cylinder,” he said. “He took it and restored it.

“When I left for Florida it was black and blue and when I returned, it was red and gray.” Buren was surprised and pleased with his little Ford’s renovation.

Also at the show was Buren’s 1951 Moline tractor, which came originally from Kansas.

“This is called a Wheatland,” he said. “I’ve had it for about four years.” The Moline runs on LP. Buren didn’t have any gas in the tank, but he improvised with a tank for a grill. “I thought this would be fun.

“Over the years I had 20 or so tractors. Now I have six left. When I moved (to Lebanon), I had two antique Fordsons. At one time I had 14 antique trucks; now I have two left.”

One of those trucks is a 1926 Chevy. “I built the cab and bed. The cab originally was a storm buggy cab with lines for horses. I’ve had this one since 1970,” he said.

Tractors and trucks – Buren has it all. The Porsche provided a little extra rarity to those tractor models set up at the Expo, offering visitors a little bit of Europe in Lebanon.