Reviving history one gear at a time 

Top Photo credit: Dan Crist poses with his father, D.A. Crist, next a 1918 Twin City. (Courtesy photo.)

Dan Crist, of Quinter, Kansas, was only 11 years old when he started collecting antique machinery. He was so much younger than his fellow collectors that they gave him the nickname, “the kid.”

In the mid-1960s he was captivated by the stories of yesteryear told by his grandfather and uncle, and they inspired a lifelong enthusiasm for history and antique restoration that is still in full force today. His first piece of equipment was a Model T Ford car that his uncle had bought and lost interest in restoring. Crist made it his first project, took it apart and rebuilt the engine.  

The antique itch caught Crist in a hurry, and, after saving up some money, he soon purchased two McCormick-Deering 15-30 tractors with steel wheels from neighbors for about $20 each. Next, he bought a 1929 John Deere Model D with steel wheels from another neighbor for $20. 

 In 1967, Crist attended an auction in Scott City, Kansas, and bought a Rumely Oil Pull—a kerosene tractor made by Advanced-Rumely Company. The tractor was $200, but Crist did not have the funds, so his grandfather loaned him the money, and his father helped him transport it home. 

Apart from his interests in antique machinery, Crist was a lifelong farmer. He grew corn and sorghum with center pivot and flood irrigation practices along with dryland wheat and managed a 600-head feedlot before retiring in 2011. When he was not in the field, Crist was busy buying antiques and working on custom restoration projects for himself and his customers. Crist specializes in pre-1925 tractor restoration—a rare skillset. 

The oldest running tractor in Kansas 

Crist estimates he owns about 80 tractors of different sizes and brands. About 60 of those tractors were made pre-1925. He owns tractors made by every company from Aultman-Taylor to Nichols and Shepherd to Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co. 

“I have way too much now. It’s kind of like having a disease, but I have gotten pickier about what I buy,” Crist said. “Every once in a while, something will come up, and I’ve still got to have it.”  

Although he does not like to pick favorites, three tractors sort themselves to the top of his collection due to their rarity. The first is a 1908 International Harvester 20 horsepower with a one-cylinder engine and an 8-inch bore. Crist said this tractor has two large flywheels and is water-cooled. 

Crist bought this tractor in Missouri in the mid-1990s. It was not running at the time, but after some tinkering, he had it fired up and puffing smoke. After Crist cranked up the engine, this tractor became the oldest running gasoline tractor in Kansas. According to Crist, it could be the oldest running gas tractor in the Midwest. He said there are only six or seven of these tractors in existence with known models in Canada, Washington, Illinois and Pennsylvania.  

Unlike some of the other, more challenging, projects Crist takes on, the 1908 International Harvester was in good condition when he purchased it, and it was relatively easy to get it running. 

“Most of the stuff I work on either comes out of the river or is in really rough shape, so this was really nice to have one that didn’t take much effort,” Crist said. “It’s even got a lot of the original paint still on it.” 

A collection to envy 

Another notable piece in Crist’s collection is a 1910 Twin City Minneapolis-Moline 30-60 horsepower tractor with a four-cylinder engine. This tractor is unique because it is No. 3 of five prototypes. Crist said the other four prototypes have been lost to history, and no one knows what became of them.   

“I wanted one of those ever since I was 11 years old,” Crist said. “My granddad and his cousin used to talk about them back in the old days. His cousin actually ran a 30-60 Oil Pull to grade the roads.” 

Crist also owns a 1918 Twin City 60-90 horsepower tractor, which is one of the largest antique tractors available. This tractor has a six-cylinder engine and was completely restored by Crist. He said many tractors were put in rivers in the 1930s to keep bridges from washing way. This tractor was a river tractor that Crist brought up from the depths like buried treasure and restored back to life.  

“The International, the 30-60 Rumely Oil Pull and the Twin City are probably my favorites,” Crist said. 

Crist also has 12 Rumely Oil Pull tractors from the largest to smallest models, and half of them are running. He said the reason they were called oil pull tractors was because when manufactures stopped making steam engines, most of the tractors were fueled by gasoline, which was expensive.  

“It was 10 or 12 cents a gallon, and kerosene was 8 cents a gallon,” Crist said. “They wanted to run their tractors on kerosene to save money, and they used to call kerosene coal oil—thus the oil pull tractor. The engine was actually oil-cooled instead of water-cooled, and so it could run hotter and burn kerosene for fuel.”  

Crist said oil pulls were popular until the company was closed in 1929 with the stock market crash and the Great Depression. He estimates there are about 1,000 or 1,500 of these tractors all over the world.  

 Crist is a member of the Tri-State Antique Engine and Threshers Association and is looking forward to the club featuring Rumely Oil Pull tractors at the 72nd Annual Thresher Show July 31 to Aug. 2, 2025, in Bird City, Kansas. 

Reviving the past 

Crist decided to slow down on outside restoration jobs when he turned 70 years old last year and focus on his own projects that have been waiting. Crist is like the Dr. Frankenstein of tractors. He can take parts and pieces of a 100-year-old piece of machinery and breathe life back into the engine with time, experience and tenacity. 

“I need to clone myself so I have somebody to help me work on this stuff,” Crist said. “There is no one locally that knows how to restore this equipment.” 

Not only does Crist piece tractors together and get them running again, but he also deals in early tractor parts. If the part cannot be found, he will make a mold so a new one can be made at a foundry. Crist will take a worn-out part from a piece of equipment he is restoring and use it to make a wooden pattern with the use of a router mill and a large lathe.  

Once he has a pattern, he sends it off to a foundry to have a metal casting made for a replacement part. Crist said foundries are becoming a thing of the past, but there are still a few in operation. He often uses a foundry in Pennsylvania owned by the Amish. He said gears are the most common parts he has cast. 

“These old tractors all had open gears, and they weren’t enclosed in oil or anything back then,” Crist said. “They would grease them, but dirt would get in there, and they just wear out.” 

One thing is for sure. Crist loves a challenge, and the task he recently added to his bucket list is almost impossible. Crist became interested in a tractor called the Colby Plow Boy, which was built in Colby, Kansas. There are no known models of this tractor in existence, only three photographs.  

Crist and his friend are challenging themselves to rebuild this piece of Kansas history with only the photographs as guidance and a computer to generate the dimensions of each part and reproduce it. Crist hopes to one day bring this vanished tractor back to life in the third dimension for all to see. 

Investing in the future 

Crist is always looking for opportunities to share his knowledge and experience with others. He enjoys mentoring young people who are interested in collecting, attending tractor shows, running his equipment for spectators and teaching others about the history of his collection. 

“It makes you feel pretty good to get the younger people involved and share it with them,” Crist said. “In my opinion, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do with a collection. A lot of guys want to start a museum with their collection. To me, museums don’t work with this old stuff because unless you can see it actually running and working, a lot people don’t even know what it is. My philosophy is to just sell it to someone else when you’re done with it, and let some other guys play with it.” 

Crist said in the past, the price of antique tractors has made it difficult for young collectors to get started. Fortunately, prices have become more reasonable in recent years.  

“My advice is to find a tractor that you can afford, that you really like, and if it’s your first one, don’t buy a piece of junk,” Crist said. “Buy something that’s running, because if you buy a piece of scrap, you’re going to get discouraged trying to fix it. Later, when you get some experience, you can buy old two-cylinder John Deere tractors or something that you can fix up.” 

Crist sees restored machinery as investments that only become more valuable with time. 

“If you fix up an old tractor, it’s going to maintain its value,” he said. “If you want to sell it down the road and get your money back, you can.”  

Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].