Reynolds displaying restored tractor at Forth Worth Stock Show and Rodeo

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  • Austin Reynolds with the tractor in August, before he began the restoration project.
    Austin Reynolds with the tractor in August, before he began the restoration project.
  • Austin Reynolds showed his restored 1952 McCormick Farmall M tractor at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo this weekend.
    Austin Reynolds showed his restored 1952 McCormick Farmall M tractor at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo this weekend.
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This weekend, Ira High School freshman Austin Reynolds will be at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo to display a project he has worked on for about five months.
Reynolds bought a 1952 McCormick Farmall M tractor in August with $500 of his own money. His goal was to restore it as a project for Ira’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) agriculture mechanics program and present it at stock shows in 2016.
Austin’s father, Vance Reynolds, said that to his knowledge, this is the first tractor restoration project done by an FFA member in Scurry County.
Austin said he became interested in the agriculture mechanics program when Ira agriculture teacher Leo Sellers told him about it.
“I just like rebuilding things,” Reynolds said. “It’s challenging, you’ve got to make sure the engine and all the parts are clean, but it’s been fun.”
Reynolds started taking the tractor apart in August, when the fall semester began. Reynolds’ mother, Wendy, said she has been impressed with her son’s work ethic throughout the past five months.
“He has worked so hard,” Wendy said. “When other boys were going to football camp in August, he was out there working on the tractor.”
Reynolds said some parts of the project were difficult, especially painting the tractor. However, he said he has enjoyed the overall experience, and likes the bond it has helped create with friends and family.
“It’s fun to do it with my family,” Reynolds said. “It helps bond friendships and it’s fun to do what we love.”
With help from sponsors, Reynolds has put about $8,000 into the completed project. The tires for the tractor, which cost more than $1,000 as a set, were donated to Reynolds by Titan International Tire Company when company officials learned that the tires would be used for FFA purposes.
Reynolds and his family drove to Fort Worth this week for the stock show.
The tractors were scheduled to be judged Friday, though the results will not be known until Sunday. Reynolds has to make an oral presentation about the tractor and conduct a driving test to show how the gears work.
Reynolds also wrote a 40-page report chronicling each component of the tractor, as well as saved invoices for each part which was bought.
“He’s getting all kinds of experience with this,” Wendy Reynolds said. “He’s getting financial, business and computer experience.”
In addition to showing it inFort Worth, Reynolds plans to show it at stock shows in San Antonio, San Angelo and Houston.
As for his goals when it comes to showing his tractor at competitions, Reynolds is thinking about the future.
“It’s something that will bring good experience,” Reynolds said. “I hope that this and other FFA things I do will help me earn scholarships and eventually lead to a job.”