Allis Chalmers Paint Color Formulas
JEFFERSON — A Jefferson man’s added than seven-year activity of adulation led to the ability of a constant dream, as able-bodied as civic acceptance and a banknote prize.
An aged tractor adequate by Daniel Contenza, of Lenox New Lyme Road, took additional abode in the Yenkin-Majestic Acrylic Corp.’s civic Tractor Apology Contest, applique Contenza a $1,000 award.
Contenza is a self-proclaimed “city boy” — a Cleveland displace who consistently longed for the quiet, bizarre accouterment of country life, including a acumen to accept his own tractor. He’d never ridden a tractor and said he knew abutting to annihilation about them, yet he acquainted fatigued to the assignment machines as a attribute of the self-made rural life.
But again Contenza met and affiliated his wife, Christine, bought a added than 200-year-old Jefferson breadth home and had three daughters. Contenza, who works at KMI Printing in Chardon, said he had to put bills, “life’s circumstances” and ancestors afore his claimed quest. Eventually, he adored up abundant to get the brawl rolling.
After years of analytic and talking with bounded farmers about their rigs, Contenza acclimatized on “the” tractor — a Persian orange 1958 Allis Chalmers CA archetypal he bought on eBay for about $2,000. Contenza said he admired its architecture sensibilities — the Chevrolet-esque fins gave it a awakening affection he calls “spacenautical.”
While hunting for the appropriate acrylic hue at an old auto genitalia store, Contenza said he came beyond an anachronous swatch advertisement from Yenkin-Majestic Acrylic Corp., which aloof so happened to still backpack the aboriginal “General Lee”—orange blush of his Allis Chalmers CA.
During seven years’ account of cafeteria break at assignment — and abounding “stolen” black hours — Contenza refit, active and repainted his affection project. About every distinct basic on the tractor bare to be cleaned, anchored or replaced.
“The accomplished affair was a journey. I knew about engines, I knew how to assignment on engines, but not abundant to booty afar a accomplished tractor,” said Contenza, who was built-in to a mechanically absorbed ancestor who accomplished him that annihilation can be anchored with abundant diaphoresis and blood.
“Even if the attempt may leave you with bedraggled and aching knuckles, in the end, it will be able-bodied account the fight,” Contenza wrote in a adventure documenting the project.
By journey’s end, he said he became an expert. The carburetor was bankrupt and rebuilt; an overcapped torque tube was remounted to the engine; and all the caster bearings, anchor pads, gaskets and seals were pulled and replaced. He additionally said he formed on the bankrupt manifold, rear arbor balderdash gears, a fan belt pulley, the absolute electrical arrangement and more.
“There was not one allotment of this tractor that was not touched, taken off, cleaned, adjusted, anchored and corrective by me,” Contenza wrote.
Because Contenza was application Yenkin-Majestic’s “Majic” aerosol acrylic can band to recolor anniversary nut and bolt, he was able to access his Allis Chalmers CA into the company’s civic Tractor Apology Contest.
The winners were appear Jan. 5. Contenza’s second-place access came with a $1,000 banknote award-winning — about bisected the amount of his tractor. Another Ohioan, John Cole of Sterling, took the top atom and landed a $2,000 award.
“We attending for the better transformation from afore to afterwards — how able-bodied they maintained the tractor archetypal and the all-embracing actualization of the final restoration,” said Kathy Streng, VP of sales and business for Yenkin-Majestic, which has been in business for about a century.
“(The challenge is) aloof to get bodies ... to accept some fun with it on amusing media,” she said. “We accept a abundant afterward for it.”
Contenza’s dream was assuredly accomplished as his CA agent was adored with a “roar.”
“What a blessed moment,” Contenza wrote. “I could absolutely say, ‘in the end, it was able-bodied account the fight.’ ”
