By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

AMES, Iowa — On Aug. 13 at the Minneapolis-Moline banquet in Platte City, Mo., a recently restored 1946 MM ZTU tractor will be auctioned off. The tractor was restored by members of the Iowa State University Antique Tractor Club.

The restoration job took approximately 1,000 hours; it was found in complete disrepair on a farm near Stanhope.

“The Minneapolis-Moline ZTU is the second row crop (tractor) that Minneapolis-Moline came out with,” said club member and collector Dan Shima of Eldridge, Iowa. “The ZTU was built from 1937 to 1948.”

The Minneapolis-Moline Collectors Assoc. (MMCA) awarded the ISU club $1,000 after it won the Minneapolis-Moline Collectors Iowa (MMCI) Preservation Grant. The winning application stated: “It is (our) goal to preserve and appreciate antique farm equipment of all makes. Our club, which is comprised of 25 members from multiple states, including Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, etc., has acquired a 1946 ZTU as a project for the 2010-11 school year.

“We as a club will restore this tractor using correct parts to make this tractor as original as possible. The club feels that by bringing this tractor back to life, we can increase the knowledge of MM tractors not only to the members of the club, but to the university and public as well.”

After applications were reviewed, University Club President Brad Grandgeorge was notified of the grant award. Besides advancing the grant funds, members from the MMCA also supplied many of the parts they needed to get it looking good and running again.

The MMCA website at www.minneapolismolinecollectors.org shares: “The MMCI Preservation Grant was established to encourage the preservation and documentation of Minneapolis-Moline and predecessor companies so historical information is not lost to future generations by the passing of time.
“The purpose is to especially encourage and educate the younger generation, but it is not limited by any age. Examples of projects: restoration of tractors, implements, oral histories, company history, displays, etc.”
The MMCI show runs Aug. 11-14 at the Platte County Fairgrounds in Tracy, Mo. The show kicks off with an open house at Alan and Linda Goodwin’s that Thursday and a tractor drive that Friday. For details about the show and parade, check out the show website at http://plattecountysteamandgasshow.com

For additional information, call Alan Goodwin at 816-858-5826.