Benutzer:Chief tin cloud/Custom Manufacturing Corporation

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Die Custom Manufacturing Corporation war ein US-amerikanischer Traktorenhersteller. Der Markenname war Custom; das Unternehmen produzierte jedoch auch für andere Marken und vertrieb Fremdprodukte unter dem eigenen Label.

Custom Manufacturing Corporation wurde 1944 in Shelbyville (Indiana) von C.F. Brown, Edwin Ashley und Dan Ileininge, ehemaligen Mitabeitern der National Farm Machinery Co-Operative, gegründet.

In der Regel wurden seitengesteuerte Sechszylindermotoren und Getriebe von Chrysler verwendet. Der Vertrieb erfolgte über das Händlernetz des Nutzfahrzeugherstellers Diamond T, doch scheinen in ländlichen Regionen auch Chrysler-Vertretungen Zugang gehabt zu haben.

• Harry A. Lowther Company

Lowther

Custom Manufacturing built several models of tractors in the post-World War II period using Chrysler engines and transmissions. Assembly took place in Indiana.

1950 bis 1952 war das Unternehmen im Besitz der Harry A. Lowther Company.

is listed as the manufacturer of Custom Tractors from 1950 until is was sold in 1952, and moved to Hustisford, Wisconsin, in 1952. Production continued in Hustisford until 1954. The company's assets were sold to a Mexican firm. Custom tractors produced tractors under the Montgonery Wards, Lehr Big Boy, and, in Canada, the Rockol and Regal brands. 

http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/tractor-brands/custom/custom-tractors.html

A rose by any other name

Custom began as a partnership in 1944, launched by three members of the National Farm Machinery Co-Operative: C.F. Brown, Edwin Ashley and Dan Ileininger. Operating out of Shelbyville, they marketed their tractors under the Custom name through the Diamond T Truck Co.

Custom also manufactured tractors for Lehr Equipment Sales Dunham-Lehr Equipment Company Lehr 30 (Cockshutt 30), Richmond, Ind. (later sold as Lehr Big Boys); Regal Motors, Brampton, Ontario, Canada (sold as Regal Customs); and Rock Oil Co., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (sold as Rockols).

In 1950, Custom Mfg. Corp. was sold to Harry A. Lowther Co., Joliet, Ill. Lowther marketed tractors under the Custom name and also sold them to Montgomery Ward & Co. for resale as Wards tractors. In 1952, the company was sold and relocated to Butler, Ind. In October of that year, rights to the Custom name were sold to Custom Tractor Mfg. Co., headed by George Pusch, Hustisford, Wis. Production of Custom tractors in the U.S. ended by 1954. Lehr Big Boy

After joining Custom Club International, a collector organization, Charles learned about the breadth of the Custom line. First on his list was the Lehr Big Boy. He found two in Aberdeen, S.D., and during the trip to pick those up, found another in nearby Redfield. "That one was really a basket case," he recalls. "The motor was the correct motor and wasn't stuck, which surprised me. It had a 2-speed rear end, a 1937 Ford automobile front end, an altered steering shaft and no tires."

Charles heard his Big Boy had earlier been converted into a loader tractor, which required rigging the Ford front end onto the tractor so it had the correct pedestal. He used parts from several Lehr Big Boys to fix that. "That's what you do in this business when you want to get something fixed with original parts," he says. "You buy another tractor to make one out of two." In the case of the Lehr Big Boy, Charles bought three to make two.

Rockol

Of the four tractors in the Custom family, the Rockol was the hardest for Charles to find. "I had two or three of each of the others before I ran across a Rockol," he says. A recent Custom show drew 24 Shelbyville tractors, but only four Rockols - the most Charles had ever seen.

Charles finally found a pair of Rockols in a Bridgeport, Neb., salvage yard. "The owner of the yard would take tractors they wanted in Canada up on a semi," he says, "and haul other tractors back to his salvage yard." From one, many

After Charles found his favorite tractor in the series (his father's 1950 Model C) and got it restored, he turned to the other tractors in the Custom line. "Whenever I read about one for sale, I'd go to the auction and take a look, and usually ended up buying them," he says. "I just fell in love with Custom tractors. They are more streamlined than a lot of tractors of the era. Everything is under the hood except the muffler."

Like other antique tractors, many of the Customs Charles finds have been modified. "I bought a Custom C that had been painted International red, but I just left it that way," he says. "When it's sitting side-by-side with a Custom, somebody that knows the colors a little bit would be able to spot it right away, but mostly you can't even notice it." He even found a Custom Model B painted John Deere green. That one's made it to Charles' shop three times but still hasn't been restored. "I always end up buying another one that looks like it will be quicker to restore," he says, "so I pull the green one out and work on the other one."

Today Charles' collection numbers 16 Shelbyville tractors: four Custom Bs, a Custom 98, five Custom Cs, two Wards HRs, two Lehr Big Boy Model Bs and two Model 77 Rockols. All are restored and/or drivable. He also has a Simpson Jumbo, which has more than a passing resemblance to the Custom models.

Charles' entire extended family helps drive the red tractors in show parades. "Daughters, sons, grandchildren, in-laws," he says. "Five generations have ridden on my tractors." Family ties wind through his hobby. "Of course, my dad's Custom C is my favorite because there's a lot of history there." But he also likes the Custom 98 - and the Wards - and the Rockol. "I guess if you get them all fixed up and working good," he says, "you like them all." FC

For more information on Custom tractors and Custom Club International, contact Charles Haecherl, (507) 744-2447; e-mail: haecherlfarm@hotmail.com.

Bill Vossler is a freelance writer and author of several books on antique farm tractors and toys. Contact him by e-mail: bvossler@juno.com.

Modelle (Auswahl)

• Custom Model A
• Custom Model B (ab 1947); schmale Spur vorn
• Custom Model C (ab ca. 1950); breite Spur vorn
• Custom Model 98

Badge- Engineered

Custom tractors produced tractors under the

• Montgonery Ward
• Lehr Big Boy
• Rockol (Kanada)
• Regal (Kanada)

Literatur

• G. N. Georgano (Hrsg.), G. Marshall Naul: Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles. MBI Motor Books International, Osceola WI 1979, ISBN 0-87341-024-6. (englisch)
• Albert Mroz: Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1996, ISBN 0-87341-368-7. (englisch)
• Walter M. P. McCall: Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Iconografix, Hudson WI 2009, ISBN 978-1-58388-252-8. (englisch)
• Fred Crismon: Fire Engines. (= Crestline series). MBI Motor Books International, Osceola WI 1997, ISBN 0-7603-0381-9. (englisch)

Weblinks

• Bill Vossler, farmcollector.com: A rose by any other name. Custom (Tractors) Fit Englisch; abgerufen am 19. Mai 2015)

• yesterdaystractors.com: Registry / Custom (englisch) (abgerufen am 19. Mai 2015)