Making the old new again

HELENVILLE, Wis. — Breathing new life into an old tractor is one of Rick Heine’s favorite hobbies. Taking it apart, having someone fix up the inside, making it look pretty on the outside, and then putting it back together again is a cycle Heine repeats over and over as he works to restore all the tractors on his farm.

“We like them to look nice in the field,” Heine said. “I don’t like driving ugly tractors.”

The Heine family owns 17 tractors, nine of which are restored, while the rest are waiting to be restored. Heine also has an Allis-Chalmers museum next to his shop.

“I keep buying tractors,” he said. “My sons are into it just as much as I am.”

Heine and his wife, Kim, have five adult children — Tony, Katy, Cody, Tyler and Noah — who make up the farm’s sixth generation, as well as eight grandchildren. The farm has been in Heine’s family since 1854 and was a dairy farm for 171 years. The Heines were milking 52 cows when they decided to retire from dairying.

“I had to sell the cows for my health,” Heine said. “I have back and knee problems, I had heart surgery five times, and I also had a brain tumor. I’m 100% dependent on a pacemaker.”

The registered herd was sold via private sale to four different farms.

“I miss my cows deeply,” Heine said. “I loved my cows. I could not be here when they were loaded up; it was too hard emotionally.”

Heine now raises beef cattle, feeding out about 25 steers per year.

“It’s a lot easier on my body,” he said.

Heine farms 250 acres with help from his sons, who rent another 150 acres on their own.

“I want them to know what goes into it so they can be that next generation down the line,” Heine said. “Legacy is important to me. Once the family tractors go, they’re gone forever.”

Heine’s inspiration to restore began in high school when he worked at a body shop.

“I learned how to paint and how to prep the metal and do it right,” he said. “I was into cars, but I didn’t like how you fixed them, and they rust away. Tractors have steel. You fix them and they last.”

One particular brand has Heine’s heart, therefore many of his tractors are a shade of orange.

“The biggest reason I like Allis-Chalmers is because they were made in Milwaukee,” Heine said. “I like to keep money in our own state’s economy.”

Heine and his wife are charter members of the Allis-Chalmers of Wisconsin Club.

“We’re trying to put a lot of effort into the club so it grows and keeps the hobby alive,” Heine said.

Heine’s favorite tractor is a 1984 Allis-Chalmers 8050. The oldest tractor on the farm is a 1929 Allis-Chalmers U. Heine also owns a few John Deeres and a couple Internationals.

“I have other brands of tractors, but only because they are family tractors; otherwise, they would be orange too,” he said. “I am obsessed with Allis-Chalmers — there’s no other word for it. I like driving them, but I have a love for all tractors. My grandpa drove a John Deere R, so I have to have an R.”

Heine said he especially likes working on the Allis-Chalmers 190s and has four of them.

“I like any of the 100 series,” he said. “They were (the) Allis’ ‘muscle tractor’ when I was growing up. I plowed hundreds of acres with the Allis-Chalmers 180 and a 190.”

Heine and his boys do the external work while Jim Parmley at Jim’s AG Repair LLC in Watertown does the engine and other internal work.

“I’m not into the engine part of it; I like to clean them up and paint them,” Heine said. “When it comes to Allis-Chalmers, I find the parts because I know where to look. I know Allis- Chalmers people across the country.”

Using a spray gun to apply paint, Heine’s friend, John Markl at Visions Auto Body & Paint in Watertown, lets Heine use his paint booth. They use automotive paint except on the frames and engines.

“Anybody can throw paint on, but if you want the paint to last, you have to prep the tractors right, you have to clean them up and run them,” Heine said. “There could be something leaking, and we’ll figure out what’s leaking before we paint the frame and the cab. I want a tractor to be mechanically sound before we paint it so we can use it.”

The restored tractors remain relevant as Heine and his sons farm with all of them. For example, they use one of their restored Allis-Chalmers 6080s for planting corn.

“I probably have 150-200 hours of work in it,” Heine said. “This is a labor of love. It would be a lot easier to go buy one, but I don’t want something someone else restored; I want something I restored.”

In addition to full-size versions, Heine also restores toy tractors and trucks.

“It’s a game to see who can build the best customs,” he said.

A collector since childhood, Heine created an Allis-Chalmers museum next door to his shop, which contains a couple of thousand toy tractors and other memorabilia. Heine said the museum is his favorite spot on the farm.

His museum collection includes nearly every variation of Allis-Chalmers toy tractors. The first tractor Heine ever received — an Allis-Chalmers 190 that was a gift from his grandpa when he was 4 years old — is a prominent piece in the museum. The first toy tractor Heine ever restored, a Massey Ferguson, is also on display.

From an Allis-Chalmers bubble gum machine to belt buckles, coins, pens, lamps and more, Heine’s museum is overflowing with all things Allis, including a refrigerator and a power transformer.

“Allis made everything,” Heine said. “I’m working on getting a house furnace right now. It makes me happy, but I might be a little bit out of control. I can’t help myself.”

Heine’s passion for restoring and collecting keeps him plenty busy in his post-dairy farming days. An Allis G is the next tractor he will be working on.

“I do this because I enjoy it,” he said.