If you ask Charlie Bortner what his favorite tractor brand is, he’ll admit, without hesitation, that he “bleeds red.” The McCook, Neb., native is currently a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, but his love for Farmall tractors is something that started generations ago.
At the age of 15, Bortner and his father found a 1954 Farmall Super M Torque Amplifier, also known as a Super MTA, buried in a shed. But it wasn’t just any Super MTA, it was his great-great-grandfather’s.
“This tractor was bought brand new by my great-great grandpa in 1954, and I have the original sales receipt for that,” says Bortner. “My dad and I found this thing tucked in the corner of the barn, and we estimated that it hadn’t been started in 30 years by the time I got it.”
With a tractor that had been sitting untouched for at least 30 years, Bortner knew he had his work cut out for him. But he figured it was a restoration project that would take shape years down the road.
“In 2020, my dad and me inherited two of these MTAs,” says Bortner. “One of them was bought by my great-great grandpa, and the other one was bought by my great-grandpa, and we had the intention of someday getting them operational.”
Then, the Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly hit. So, at the age of 16, Bortner seized the opportunity to restore the hidden family heirloom.
“This was my lockdown project. And throughout just learning the mechanics behind this, and getting them operational, it just got me hooked, and now I have antique tractor fever. It’s just so much fun,” he says.
Bortner admits he really didn’t know what he was doing at first. So, he took his time researching everything he needed to know.
“First thing I did I ordered an original service manual and an original parts manual -- just copies of them just to help. And I just started going piece by piece to replace the battery make sure that the starter was good. And by the time I was done with this one, I had replaced the starter, the whole entire wiring harness, and rebuilt the carburetor,” he says.
Bortner spent two months on the tractor, continuing to chip away at the restoration to get the tractor running again. It was a task that brought success, and it gave Bortner something to do during the pandemic, which then became a Covid restoration project he’ll never forget.
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