Richard Borgaro said it’s all about the differential for the Cletrac crawler tractors.

Yes, it’s all about the farming machine’s rear end.

Featuring a controlled differential steering system, the Cletrac crawler has a definite advantage over wheel tractors, said Borgaro, an Oregon vintage tractor, and antique machinery collector.

“Both tracks pull all the time,” he said. “It has more power; it’s easier steering. It has more control and it’s safer on the hillsides.”

The Cleveland Tractor, which was shortened to Cletrac, was the featured machine at this year’s California Antique Farm Equipment Show held over the weekend in Tulare. This year marks 100 years since the equipment was first built.

The Cletrac became a trusted work machine for farmers in the 1910s, Borgaro said. The Cletrac could pull an attachment such as a plow or a grader. With an attachment on the front, the Cletrac became a bulldozer.

“They all did something,” Borgaro said.

At the booth Borgaro kept his machine, there were plenty of other Cletrac machines. A lot more Cletracs would still be around if the early grease and lubricants had been better, Borgaro said. The machines needed much maintenance as they were the early models.

Borgaro said he got his Cletrac from a friend, finishing the restoration project. He said there are plenty of challenges to an antique tractor restoration project. Parts need to be found and, other times, built because they are not readily available.

Additionally, repairs must be done by expert hands, including machinists and welders. Borgaro said he was involved throughout the restoring project.

Borgaro said he has had his restored Cletrac for nearly a decade. He drove it during the show’s antique tractor parade. But it’s mostly a show vehicle now.

At the same booth Borgaro kept his machine, Manteca’s Don Freitas walked around and checked the Cletrac 100, a colossal machine that towered over other models.

“This tractor: the size,” Freitas said. “I have never seen another.”

Freitas, who said he has never missed an antique farm show, said he restores Massey Fergusson wheel tractors. He said most collectors he knows decided forJohn Deere tractors.

“I wanted something different,” he said. “We have to preserve everything. We can’t all collect the same.”

While Borgaro is all about Cletrac, Scott Herrero is a Caterpillar guy.

And he wasn’t shy about it.

“If you had a yellow Cat in the farm, you felt different,” he said. “You felt kind of special.”

Frank Portera, who lives in Morgan Hill, is the president of a Silicon Valley chapter of Caterpillar collectors club. He said he is constantly reminded about the juxtaposition between his hobby and the reputation of the area where he lives.

“It used to be a heart’s delight,” he said. “It’s the Silicon Valley now. It’s all gone. It’s all electronics now. We had the most fertile land.”

Geography notwithstanding, the passion for collecting and restoring antique farm equipment is the same, Portera said.

“There are a lot of people who have that nostalgia,” he said. “A lot of people have a connection to farming or construction.”

Portera said he got into collecting antique farm equipment because of that nostalgia.

“You start with one and then you want to have another one,” he said. “It grabs you and it doesn’t let go.”

“Pretty soon, you have a collection,” Herrero said, jokingly.

And that’s just fine with Freitas.

“It’s good we are remembering our heritage,” he said. “Where farming has evolved from.”

The antique show also included food, live entertainment and an auction.

Simultaneously, the Tulare County 4-H Fair was also held at grounds of the International Agri-Center.

Online

www.internationalagricenter.com

Luis Hernandez, [email protected]