Restoration videos central to family's tractor repair business

If a picture is actually worth a thousand words, how much is a video worth? A video can be worth quite a lot.

Since the introduction of YouTube in 2005, car owners have undoubtedly saved thousands of dollars by doing simple repairs themselves as demonstrated on a YouTube video. I probably saved $100 myself by watching a YouTube video on how to replace the cruise control buttons on a 2000 Ford Ranger.

Fortunately, tractor restorers also have access to restoration videos if you know where to look.

J&D Productions Inc. (farmtractorrepair.com), based in Metamora, Michigan, has offered tractor repair and restoration videos since the days of VCR tapes. The company, owned and operated by Dan and Jennifer Gingell and their daughter, Rachel Gingell, offers a wide range of tractor repair DVDs for Allis-Chalmers, Farmall, IH, Case, Ford, John Deere, Massey Ferguson, Minneapolis-Moline, Oliver, and Cockshutt. Topics include engine rebuild, tune-up, hydraulic repair, brake repair, torque-amplifier repair, how to paint a tractor, and more.

Family affair

“My parents started producing tractor repair videos as far back as 1995,” says Rachel, who now narrates many of the newer videos. “My dad had several folks calling him for advice on tractor
repair, and my mom had the idea to record him demonstrating the repairs to eliminate some of the redundant phone calls.” Her parents owned a tractor dealership before dropping the franchise to focus on their e-commerce business and repair videos.

“One video led to the next until they had 32 titles,” she says. “The earliest titles have been reproduced since the original version, but the later titles are still in production and offered for purchase today as digital download or DVD format on our website, Amazon, and several other retailers, including Yesterday’s Tractor Co.”

In addition to the videos for sale on their website, the Gingells also have a YouTube channel, on which they post a variety of videos on tractor repair and introductions of certain models. Those can be accessed from the company website under “YouTube Videos” and on their YouTube channel, where they have more than 85,000 subscribers.

“We cover different topics between the DVDs and the YouTube videos,” Rachel adds. The instructors vary and demonstrate repairs indifferent ways. Rachel’s father, grandfather, and other mechanics appear on the DVDs while Rachel alone or with her dad are featured on the YouTube videos.

Troubleshooting tips

“In every case, we try to include troubleshooting help in our tutorials,” Rachel says. “Rather than simply say, ‘This is how you repair the hydraulics,’ we want to show our customers why they need to repair certain parts of their tractor. Using hydraulics as an example, some tractors may need only the
pump repaired, only the top lid, or only the draft control components, etc. Troubleshooting saves the customer time, frustration, and money when they are able to accurately diagnose the problem. Our desire is to help mechanically inclined tractor owners repair their own tractor.”

Other YouTube how-to videos

Any search for “tractor repair” or “antique tractor restoration” on YouTube will yield a number of brand-specific and general repair and maintenance videos. For example, YouTube channel Barn Find Restorations lists videos on such things as “Farmall A rear end seal/gasket replacement” and “John Deere B wheel removal.”

Another YouTube channel under the name Daniel Whitlow (@danielfarmchannel) provides a number of tutorials on John Deere restoration, alongside videos of hay harvest and log splitting. For even more tutorials on John Deere restoration, follow the Restoration Guy (youtube.com/@restorationguy1868). Yet another channel, using the title Official Welding and Farming Archive, provides a number of tips on tools.

Other websites, such as steinertractor.com provide repair tips and help you order the correct parts with videos such as, “How to Measure a Tractor Rim” and “Ordering Engine Parts.” If your interest is in garden tractors, you’ll find walk-around and repair videos from isavetractors.com under “resources” or on YouTube at youtube.com/@isavetractors.

With YouTube channels, advertising often appears ahead of the actual tutorial. During your search, you’ll also find plenty of time-lapse videos that show a complete tractor or engine rebuild in about five minutes. While they don’t normally detail any steps in particular, you may still find them informative and helpful, if not entertaining.

Classic Tractor Fever videos

One source for repair and restoration videos that’s not affiliated with YouTube is Classic Tractor Fever, where you can watch “In the Shop” segments from RFD-TV shows. Basic access is free, but for $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year, you can have premium access to the entire Classic Tractor Fever library.

No matter what you’re working on, there’s a good chance you can find a video tutorial on the topic. That video may lead you to discover your limitations.

As Rachel explains, “People will sometimes watch a video and say, ‘That’s more work than I am able to do,’ and take their tractor to a repair facility. Those are the kind of customers a repair shop wants to have — a customer who is aware of how much work is involved in the project. They’re more willing to pay the bill and understand what the hired mechanic is referring to when explaining what work has been performed on the customer’s tractor. So, the videos are truly a win-win for everyone!”