Due to a massive 50% return rate for incompatible parts, ITP has reluctantly discontinued all parts support for c0mpact tractors. All sections of the website in reference to Japane$e tractors has been deleted. We have never handled parts for Chine$e tractors, and the Japane$e ones have been thorns in our side since we started dealing with them, so they are history, and we're relieved not to have any more frustrating and expensive messes that incorrect specifications by suppliers have caused.

We will continue to make Fiat tractors and Long/UTB tractorsour main focus. We do not ever endorse buying a Japane$e or especially a Chine$e tractor, due to their major parts availability issues. If you are looking for a utility tractor, buy a Fiat or a Long. If you want a smaller tractor, a Long 260-C, 310, 310-C, or 360-C will be FAR tougher, and much more reliable, and we keep almost all necessary parts on the shelf for them. Don't add to your headaches like we added to ours!

One of the things we're trying to do at ITP is make the more complicated parts of the website as much like your parts book as we can. That format is evident over the entire transmission section of the website. It makes going through your parts book and the website much less confusing and frustrating. Just look up what you need in your parts book, look it up on the website, choose the number referring to the same item in the exploded view image, and add to cart. It really takes the guesswork out of selecting the parts you need for your tractor.

That format applies to the latest addition to ITP: the differential lock control section. Like the recently added PTO control section, it appears much like it does in your parts book, and, as such, really makes a parts book redundant to the point of being un-necessary.

We've also improved the nav box throughout the entire rear end section. All inter-related sections are available in one click from where you are. We get complimented on this format a lot, and, as such, are encouraged to improve it.

We're trying to make it easier and easier to grab what you need and go! ITP: your one stop grab and go shop for your Fiat or Long tractor!

One enquiry we've not been able to service here at ITP has been the rear mount (or) "loader pump" for OliverCockshutt, White, Allis Chalmers, Minneapolis Moline, or Hesston tractors.

That has gone on for year after frustrating year, but we have finally found a supplier for a replacement pump, so now we're happy to say we've got them.

Yes, we now have a replacement for the "loader pump" on your tractor. It's been a long time coming, but the wait is finally over.

This is just the replacement pump--and it looks a little different from the original--but not a kit to retrofit tractors without this system. That is something we still have on the drawing board. Yeah, for any tractor that has a loader but doesn't have this setup, it's the cat's meow, man. If you want awesome loader performance, the rear mount "loader pump" setup is the way to go. It turns your tractor into a self-propelled hydraulic pump bank. Your power steering pump is independent, your regular hydraulic pump is independent, and the new loader pump is independent.

An example of the value of this is if you wanted to handle round bales or logs with a grapple fork on your loader. There is no 'sharing' or priority selection when you steer to make a turn; the power steering system is self contained with it's own pump and fluid supply. The original hydraulic pump is independent, and runs the grapple via the remote valve. The loader pump is independent, and runs the loader through the loader's valve bank. You can lift, turn, and squeeze, all at the same time, depending on how good you are with your hands!

The regular pump on your tractor delivers about 5¾ - 6½ gallons per minute. The loader pump delivers over 12, so it's a dramatic improvement. The cycle times are cut in half.

Being that we haven't had the loader pumps, much less loader pump kits, what we've done for years to help owners frustrated with slow loader cycle times, is to sell a 42 litre/minute (sorry for the metric) pump for the engine, to replace the 21.6-24.5 l/m pump the tractor came with new, resulting in an increase from almost 75% to almost 100% in cycle times. A speed increase like this makes a tractor seem like a totally different one, making it respond with much more authority when you pull a loader or remote lever. A slow loader is a frustrating thing, especially in repetitive work like manure handling. Sitting at the spreader with your foot on the floor revving the engine to get the loader up to dumping height before you can move over the spreader is hard on the patience. The rest of the tractor works great/the loader? Not so terrific. Upgrade to a high volume pump, and the loader is easily up to dumping height before you get to the spreader. Loader cycle times are cut in half, and crowd to dump tractor cycles are reduced by about a third by not having to wait for slow loader cycles at the spreader. The bucket crowds at the pile with much more authority, too.

High volume pumps are great for log splitters, too, greatly reducing their cycle times as well, or in any hydraulic motor work.

So, for the time being, until we are able to put together a retrofit rear mount loader pump kit, you can email us for a high volume pump for the engine end of your tractor, or buy a replacement loader pump for your existing, but tired one, and get the kind of loader performance you've always wanted!

ITP: your enthusiastic source for parts support for your efficient and precision-built Fiat tractor.

Ever since the beginning of ITP, special orders have been a problem. A special order meant a bare minimum wait of 6 weeks, often 8, and up to 10. It was unavoidable. Nobody likes having their tractor down for that long, but when parts aren't available sooner, there just isn't any choice. We dread having to tell someone it's going to be x number of weeks until we can get their part in.

Well, hopefully those days are over--we've set up a new way to take the sting out of special order waiting times--we are now implementing monthly air freight of special orders from overseas! This is big. It'll drop your special order time down from a maximum of 10 weeks, to a maximum of 4 weeks, and down from a minimum of 6 weeks, to a minimum of a week. It will just depend on when you put your special order in.

Ok, that was the good news, now the bad news--you have to pay for the service. Sorry. It isn't cheap to have parts flown in from the other side of the world, so we can't absorb it ourselves, especially since the special orders are for YOU, and we wouldn't be getting them otherwise. We wouldn't be doing this except to expedite orders for you. The prices will be variable. For instance, small packet air freight over here is a minimum of about $95.00. That's just for an 11x15 inch cellophane pouch with 2 or 3 pounds of parts in it. It can get a lot worse, up to hundreds of dollars. A few hundred dollars maybe wouldn't seem so bad in the middle of haying when a tractor's down, though, given the other much less desirable option of waiting it out for 6-10 weeks.

The best part about this is that the more people put in a special order, the cheaper it gets per person, as we will devide the cost up among you. Now, if only two people put in an order, and one guy just orders a special washer, and the other orders a rear axle housing, it's not going to be split 50/50, because that wouldn't be fair. A fair split will be made at all times, the final decision being up to us. If duty or brokerage charges are levied, the charges will be passed on to the customer(s) as well, but this isn't so likely, unless the orders are fairly large.

If this service really takes off, and lots of special orders keep coming in every month, then maybe we will be able to begin to absorb the cost ourselves, or at least reduce the cost for you, the customer. This is only an experiment at this time. It may become regular practice, and it may not, depending on it's reception. It's all up to you.

We expect this service will be used most by bigger or newer Fiat or Hesston owners, as we have most everything shown on ITP in stock for the smaller, older tractors. Of course, we can run out of stock on practically anything, given the way we find sales of slower moving inventory seems to go in spurts. Predominantly, though, it will be parts for newer or larger tractors that will be special order items.

Well, we just thought we'd let you know, and see what you think. We hope you like the idea, but for your sake you don't have to use it!

It's been a while since any new entries have been made to ITP, but it's been a busy, busy spring.

Today, we've added a few gaskets, to the gasket section, namely trans body gaskets, shifter cover gaskets, and PTO shift cover gaskets. These parts being compatable with other parts on the website, they've been added to the 6 speed section, 8 speed section, and the shifter parts section, to make it faster and easier for you to grab the gaskets you need to finish up a job.

We've added a section today, namely the PTO Control section, although it is relatively minor in size and importance. There isn't much to go wrong with this section of the tractor, and seldom does. The only real reason for it's inclusion is for the #6 engagement pad or tang, and the #11 spring. The rest of it seldomly ever needs replacing, but we're going to have the parts in stock--just in case.

New Product Bulletin: Genuine Zenith Carburators for TEA20 tractors! Nope, they're not cheap, but they are the genunine article, and brand spankin' new. These carbs fit the TED (distillate/kerosene) tractors as well. They'll sure finish off that restoration in high style!

Keep your eye on ITP!

Every once in a while, someone comes into your life that changes you and/or your life forever.

Now, that said, some come into your life and make ruination of it, and others come into your life and enrich it. My friend Bets was one of the latter.

We met on some online dating site. We didn't hit it off as a potential couple, but we sure did hit it off as fast friends.

Bets was from just south of the Twin Cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. Like myself, she was a farmer during the daytime, and a paper carrier at night. I delivered mostly rural subscriptions, and she delivered urban dealers (stores).

Bets knew hardship. She lived it every day. She'd been married, and had four children to an abusive husband. His abuse escalated to the point that she had to move out of their farmhouse into a tiny trailer on their dairy farm with her children. He decided he didn't want to farm anymore, and, to make Bets give up on the place, he sabotaged as much as he could before he left. The house was in devastation. Two of their tractors were left so bad the only option for them was the scrap dealer. The barn cleaner was destroyed, so the manure had to be taken out by hand. Bets didn't give up.

She stayed there, resisting the pressure to go with her husband. A divorce followed, and he gave her the children and the farm and it's maxed mortgage, and walked away.

Struggling to raise her children and run the farm, Bets bought a double-wide, and had it moved onto the farm. It was nice, and she moved in with her family of four. There seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, but it didn't last. Their new home caught fire and burnt up two years later. Now without the financial means to do it again, she reluctantly let the kids move to town on their own, as they were teenagers. In the meantime, a cow had tackled her in the barn, and caused internal injuries. After surgery, Bets found she could no longer bend down to clean udders and attach milkers. The dairy herd had to go. This was a crisis beyond the others she had already endured, as the dairy herd was the only steady income she had, but she no longer could manage it.

The farm still had a mortgage. Her banker told her she could never pay for it, and urged her to sell out. Bets didn't give up.

She took a nighttime job delivering newspapers to stores in town. She had several newspapers to deliver. It certainly wasn't great pay, and it certainly wasn't great hours, but it was a steady income, so she stuck with it.

At home, she switched operations to sheep, and miniature horses, as she could handle both. The milkroom no longer required with the dairy cows gone, she renovated it into a modestly appointed apartment, and moved in. She had no other choice given her income and financial limitations if she was going to keep the farm. Most people would have thrown in the towel at the thought of having to live in part of their barn just to keep the farm, but not Bets. She wasn't a quitter. It just wasn't in her vocabulary. Bets didn't give up.

She was left with a John Deere 4020, and an Allis Chalmers 175 with a good loader, and a New Holland 479 Haybine, and a rake and round baler I forget the makes and models of. She sold off a small piece of land she didn't need, and built a large pole shed for her equipment with the money.  Winters are harsh in the north of the Midwest, and Bets had a very long driveway with a bridge over a creek, and curves, so she eventually bought a new snowblower, which also went into the shed. Without someone to show her how to use it, she left it two years before she dared try it, afraid of damaging it if she did something wrong. Everybody knows the feeling of something unfamiliar sometimes being daunting, and seeming like rocket science or brain surgery. After we met online, I coached her through hooking it up to her 4020 and operating it. She was thrilled at how much better she could keep her driveway with it over the loader and bucket, and, once she was on to it, she thoroughly enjoyed sending the snow gracefully arching away in a white, feathery plume, to land flat and almost invisible on the snow in the field, and not come back to haunt her with drifts. The 4020 had lots of power to do the job, and a big snowstorm lost a lot of it's menace to her after that.

On the route, Bets ran a big Ford 4x4, because, like all paper carriers, she had to get out, no matter what the weather. Once on the road, and then into town, things weren't nearly so bad. She also had a big old 1 ton van, which she used in better weather. It and the truck were tough old workhorses, and could take the beating running a stop and go paper route dishes out in plenty. With the snowblower, the driveway was so much better she now could run a conversion van she'd picked up on the cheap. It was a major help to her, as all her bundles of paper were inside, and she could do most of her work 'indoors', sheltered from the worst of the weather. It was warmer than the 1 ton, and more comfortable, and easier to get in and out of than either of the old workhorses. It wasn't as tough, so she had to baby it, but it was easier on her injures, so the tradeoff was worthwhile.

Every morning, after we got home, Bets and I would email each other, and discuss how our runs went. Mine was usually a little more eventful than hers, because it was 100 miles of backroads running. A breakdown usually meant either one darn long hike home in the wee hours, or sticking it out for hours until people were starting to move around. A breakdown for Bets was usually in town, and not so big of a deal--but still a pain, as a breakdown is only the beginning of a carrier's trouble; you still have to finish your route, no matter what.

I'll be direct about this next part: newspapers are crooked. They are cheap, sleazy, underhanded and untrustworthy. The lower down the line you are from them, the doubly-lower they treat you. They are notorious for ripping off anyone in their distribution system whatever way they can. That goes double for carriers. Bets sure had her share. She had one supervisor that treated her well, but the rest treated her like rubbish. Working for several papers, she had to keep an eye on all of them and their shifty ways of continually trying to rip her off. While my emails to her were mostly about my backroads adventures, her's were more about the sleaze in the circulation department of the papers she worked for (her runs themselves, being in town, were fairly routine). This is not to say I wasn't ripped off on my run--nearly all carriers are, and for what they promised me for pay when I started, the paper I worked for owed me about $22600 when I left; they don't rip you off just a little. I get a kick out of news agencies 'holier than thou' attitude; they are the crookedest people you could ever work for. They are hypocrites of the highest order, and Bets knew the reality of it first hand and well. You had to be the type of person Bets was to withstand the treatment you get as a low end employee of a newspaper.

Sometimes Bets would have a mechanical issue she wasn't sure she could handle or not. She'd describe it to me in detail, and I'd tell her if she could manage it on her own or whether it might be a good idea to get professional help with it. If she could, I'd guide her through it, and if she couldn't, she fortunately had a mechanic in town she could trust, and he'd take care of it at a reasonable cost for her. Thank the Lord for good guys!

I'd guide her by email through maintenance and repairs of her trucks, tractors and equipment. Like the thing with the snowblower, although Bets was actually far more capable than she realized and gave herself credit for, she'd been knocked down and trampled, literally and figuratively, so many times she'd lost her self confidence. As determined as she was, the erosion of belief in one's self becomes an extra obstacle from within. It's an insidious process that plays itself out in a lot of good people, and Bets wasn't immune to it.

If she had a problem, her email would start out, "Oh, Danno", and then she'd lay it on me. I'd help her through it the best I could. Whatever it was--the papers, something on the farm, relationship problems, whatever--I tried to help. Some things I was better qualified to advise on, and some things I really wasn't at all, but Bets trusted me and respected my input, so I did my best to be of use to her.

Bets had relationship problems. One guy I wanted her to throw in jail. He got mad at her one day, and, waving the running grinder around he was pointing at her, he accidently cut her hand right to the bone! (I don't CARE if it was an accident--you don't make gestures at anyone with a running power tool! I can't believe such a thing even needs to be said, but the likes of that guy proves it necessary.) After that, he should have been overcome with guilt, but he wasn't--he wouldn't even drive her to the hospital! She had to roughly bandage it, and drive herself. I was wild, furious. That was WAY over the top. He only came around when he needed money, and never paid her back, the deadbeat bum, and I always just detested his preying on her lonliness, but that was the last straw. I told her she needed to get rid of him, once and for all, because she deserved better. She conceeded she knew she did, too, but it was so hard being alone. She turned him down for money shortly after, and he hardly ever showed up again. No surprise there. 

Bets got a new boyfriend, and I got a new girlfriend. I had misgivings about her new boyfriend, and she had misgivings about my new girlfriend. She was right, and I was wrong, in both ways of looking at it. She went on to get married, and I went on to be humiliated. At long last, Bets was happy. Her kids loved their new 'Dad', and he loved them. He moved in with Bets into their cozy little milkroom apartment, and things finally seemed to be going right for her. He was handy, and she didn't need me as much. Her future looked rosy. My parts business was picking up, and, my confidence restored once more, I was chasing women. Although we'd conversed with and confided in each other daily for years, we now both had lives that veered away from what they were, so Bets and I lost touch. We only emailed once in a blue moon, whereas before it was every morning, and then maybe once or twice again during the day if there was something big going on, like a repair of her Haybine. She made me feel needed and appreciated. Not many people ever made me feel that way, but Bets did. She knew how to make you feel worthwhile. It wasn't the same not talking to her, but I was so busy...

One day, the eldest of her children, Christie, emailed me. Things weren't so good over in Superior. Bets had leukemia. She was coping as well as she could, but it was a hard battle. Chrissie asked me to email her Mom more often, because my constant fumblings added a little comic relief to her life. I tried, but I was so busy... In December, 2005, after getting home from my girlfriend's place late one night, I routinely checked my computer before bed only to receive the most shattering email of my life: Bets had succumbed to the leukemia. The news hit me like a vicious kick in the stomach. If you've ever said or thought, "If I died, it wouldn't make any difference; the world wouldn't skip a beat...", you're wrong: my world momentarily came to a screeching halt at the news. I just thought Bets would always be there. She survived everything else; a wonky blood count shouldn't be such a big deal for her. Her dying from it? Unimaginable. Yet here it was. I could never talk to Bets again.  I instantly felt a hollowness that was never there before; something died within me. My best friend was gone. The world shifted and heaved. I shakily eased myself down into my chair, and the tears welled up in my eyes. The old adage, 'you don't know what you've got til it's gone' resounded in my ears. My life was enriched by her, and now she was gone. My heart ached. I felt hollow, empty. And bereaved.

Bets had such a hard life. This heavily condensed relation of it doesn't begin to tell you how difficult it was, and the number and severity of the trials and tribulations she faced. I believe fervently in God, but I won't for one second pretend to you that I understand His mysteries. I don't. Why Bets had to have it so hard for so long, and then find happiness for so short a time, only to be overcome with such an awful disease as leukemia is beyond me. It doesn't seem fair at all. I don't understand it. The only consolation in all of it is that Bets did find happiness, if only for a short time. And that's what I have to take solace in.

Everyone comes into your life for a reason. I'm no genius at figuring out what those reasons are, but Bets made me feel smart and industrious and worthwhile (my self confidence was very low when we met). I helped her realise how much better a person she was than she thought, also. I'm not sure, but we both had someone we could trust with our worries, and we bolstered each other's self esteem and sense of worth. There aren't many better reasons than that. And, let me tell you, you will MISS someone like that when they are gone. And I do.

Be good to each other, and appreciate each other, and realise how important each person is in your life, and hope they do the same, because one day, one of the two of you won't be there any more. I think that is part of the multitude of reasons we were given the Golden Rule--so we won't have regrets that we otherwise might have when the time comes; consider the Golden Rule 'regret insurance' that always pays off. 

Christie still sends me a Christmas card every year. It means the world to me.

Rest in peace, Bets. You've earned it.

I just watched my favorite preacher, Pastor Mark Hughes, on Church of the Rock, and his message was about the need for Christianity in the world today. Not just ministers and missionaries and counselors, but Christian politicians, Christian university professors, and on down the line to plumbers, and other mainstream laborers. It's our job as Christians to be brave about it, and go forth into the world and spread the Word of God.

Well, as a mere tractor parts internet retailer, it's my job to do what I do in a Christian manner. I try. I may not always succeed, but I try. The Lord says not to be ashamed of Him, or He will be ashamed of us in front of His Father. I surely don't want that! Not in a million years. I fall a long shot short of the glory of anything, much less God Himself, so I have to try to be brave about my faith in what I do.

How can I be a Christian tractor parts seller? It's easy--I have a website that a lot of people visit, with a weblog, so I occaisionally sneak in a little jab for my Good Shepherd. I put a Christian link at the top and the bottom of my links page. I often give a wish for God's blessings to my customers; anything to keep their eye on the prize, and to help, in my own little way, to spread the Word.

You can do the same, whether you be a surgeon, and pray with your patients before an operation (hint: if you don't already know this, it HELPS!), or a mechanic, and give your customers an invoice with 'Jesus loves you' on it, or a florist, and you just bid your clients, "God Bless" on their way out. Remember, sometimes all it takes is sowing a little seed, and God makes a mighty oak grow out of it. You may never know whose life you might dramatically change with the tiniest little nudge in the right direction. This is part of your commitment to God where He gives you a talent (a denomination of money in Biblical times), and you are expected to collect INTEREST with it. Don't bury your faith and salvation in the sand, because, in the Lord's parable about this, He called the servant that did this 'wicked'. It is our duty to SPREAD the Word of God like sowing wheat seed on the ground, and don't worry about the rest--the Lord is coming back to reap what we have sown! His angels are also coming to gather and throw the weeds (the un-Godly and unrepentant) into the furnace (guess what and where that is).

There are those of you who may think this is a bunch of rubbish, and it has no place on a commercial tractor parts website, and you aren't 'gonna buy from someone like that'; well, you can keep your money, because the Lord will recompense in kind for faith, and for rejection.

Please understand I'm not attempting to offend anyone, no matter how it might seem, because we are not to offend; I am just standing my ground that I have the right to spread the Word on my own little stake of internet property. Even if I won't be financially recompensed for my boldness, I'd far rather be financially poor for it here on earth, than rejected in Heaven in turn for my own rejection of the Word of God. Think about that. Dwell on it, and BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. You know, deep in your heart, mind, and soul there's more to this life than the face value of it, and you don't want to be cast off in the hereafter any more than I do.

If you're a Christian, be bold in the Word, and spread the seed of the Word through your occupation and contact with your colleagues and clientelle, and if you're not, then, please at least think about it. The world and nothing in it is an accident; the bogus, bandied-about result of a 'big bang', and neither are you; you were CREATED BY GOD, and all you have to do is open the door to your heart if you hear Him knocking, and He will for sure enter into you, and change your life for the better. Then it'll your turn to feel the reward of spreading the Good News.

I was always told that I wouldn't know what trouble was until I started my own business. I didn't listen. That was then, but this is now, and I'm listening, but it's too late for advice...

I've always said ITP is on the wrong side of the border. Having this business in Canada is a complete pain in the neck. The VAST majority of ITP's cutomers are in the US, therefore the vast majority of our sales cross the border. The border south of us is only a narrow channel of water as narrow as 100 feet, but it might as well be the distance to the moon. ITP belongs in the US, but moving across the border is next to impossible for law abiding people with no terrorist tendencies. There is one reasonably fast way to cross the border with a business, and that is a Venture VISA, but to be approved for one, the applicant has to put up one million dollars for investing in the US in business. Once the business ends, you have to go back home, likely without your million dollars. Now, if I had a million dollars to spare, the last thing I'd be looking to do is risk it in a new venture in another country. While I'd love to live in the US (I bleed red, white, and blue), if I had a million bucks, I'd probably just build a nice new house and retire in relative comfort.

The reason for desiring to relocate to the US is simply this: to avoid all the cross border brokerage hassle, and the way it is foisted upon my customers. All orders over $200.00US are subject to, but not necessarily will, receive a brokerage bill. These bills can be from $55.00 to $81.00US. People have bought up to $750.00US+ and not received a bill, and people have bought as low as $201.50US and got them. I don't think they are fair, or even right. We're supposed to have 'free trade', and are neighboring countries, with land connection along much of the border. Why brokerage is needed is beyond me, but it seems like a money grab and nothing else.

There are many other ways reloctating ITP to the US would be beneficial for ITP AND it's customers:

• lower shipping rates
• faster delivery times
• less documentation
• returns made much more simple
• possibility of a walk-in business for customers within reasonable driving distance
• lower phone bills
• the loss of cross-border internet shopping anxiety for some customers
• etc...

I've talked to an immigration lawyer. He told me it's a long, hard, obscenely expensive, trying road to move to the US to run a business. I suppose if I was some foreigner that never intended to do anything but mooch off of the working man, I wouldn't have much trouble at all in relocating! And, when it comes to government beaurocrasy, I always end up eating... well, let's say some VERY stale bread.

As it stands, the major headache brokerage money grab remains in place, and probably will for a long time to come. ITP apologizes for the added expense our valued customers have incurred due to money grubbers getting in between us from time to time.

A common misconception of people today is that miracles are things of the past that they only happened in Jesus's time on earth. That is just plain wrong. God is at work in the world today just as much as He ever was. People are being healed of their afflictions today just as they were during the Lord's ministry on earth. It is only of the devil that Christianity in general, and news of miracles in particular, are subdued. Well, some news agencies have the courage and the conviction to report news of miracles. Here is a big one: a man raised from the dead in Florida by prayer!. This is a real, documented miracle, mister. (Use your 'back' button to return here)

God tells us to be specific in our prayers of need to Him. If you've got health issues, financial worries, relationship problems, or concerns about your place with God, PRAY to Him! Just pray. It doesn't have to follow any formula, it just has to be genuine, from the heart. Ask for what you need. Don't ask just once and think that it'll either be answered or it won't--KEEP asking. Pray for others while you're at it. Pray for their needs as fervently as you pray for your own. Prayer is your direct communication line with God. You may not hear direct answers from Him, but rest assured He hears you.

It is best to pray when you're alone. Turn off any distractions and just start revealing your trials and tribulations to Him. He'll hear. He's got the best hearing in the universe--He CREATED hearing! Don't make a big show of praying in front of others. The Lord even said it is better to pray in a closet where nobody can see you, so the act of prayer is genuine, and not for impression upon others. (Likewise about charity--don't let anyone else know what you gave to charity, because then it becomes more for show and image than it is for genuine, self-less good will.) If you need a start, just say, "Lord, please help me", and the rest will follow. If you're male, remember to take off your cap or hat in reverence to Him while you pray.

When all the evils of this world threaten to mire you in their grip, just pray. Pray every day. Pray for your salvation and deliverance from whatever problems you are struggling with. Remember: even if the ENTIRE WORLD seems against you, the Lord isn't if you call out to Him. He is your advocate before Almighty God, and will be there on your behalf before Him.

Remember the saying, "Prayer can move mountains"? It's not a mere adage--it comes right from the Bible:  The Power of Prayer (bottom half of page). Use your 'back' button to return here.

So, when you're down, and feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, remember to pray. You'll be at your most earnest and honest with God at that time. You're not dead, like the man in Florida, and prayer (by another on his part) worked for him! Pray whether you're having trouble or not. Any time. Just pray. It'll get to be a habit. You'll find yourself doing it without any conscious thought. And you will find solice in it, because the One who loves you more than anyone else is the Very One Who is listening.

To help make things easier for you rebuilding the clutch control section of your Fiat or Long tractor, we've added two pages to that area of the website.

We've kept the original release parts pictorial page, but have now added 6 & 9 speed, and 8 & 12 speed traction, and 8 & 12 speed PTO catalog-style pages. These pages are meant to make referencing parts easier, as they will look much like your parts book. Just compare pics in your parts books and the appropriate page, select your part(s), add to cart, and go. That simple.

Hopefully these three new pages will make your shopping experience easier on your user friendly ITP.

ITP's main focus is to help you maintain your imported Fiat or Long tractor. We have practically all service parts in stock.

Further to helping you on servicability of your tractor, we have restorative parts. This especially revolves around sheet metal parts such as grilles, hoods, and fenders as these get banged up and sometimes discarded over the years. However, restoration parts can also include such things as instrument panels or gauges, and switches and wiring harnesses, and fender lights to renew the electrical system of your tractor. It's important to protect a good paint job with gaskets to keep solvents such as engine oil, transmission fluid, and antifreeze from your cooling system where they belong. Likewise with replacing old radiators, radiator hoses, and fan belts, and leaky old fuel tanks. New air cleaner seals, plastic air precleaners and rubber air cleaner hoses, will not do much to protect a paint job, but they sure WILL protect a rebuilt engine, and look nice under the hood, also.

A good looking tractor isn't all that great if it is loose and sloppy in operation. Tightening up the front end with new tie rods and steering arms, and spindle bushings, and the steering gearbox with new bearings and bushings, and refreshing the brakes with new bands and adjusters, or discs and balls and springs, can make a tractor HANDLE like new, not just look like it. To make it FEEL like new, new control knobs for the gear shifter(s), throttle, and PTO will go a LONG way towards that end, along with new throttle linkages. Making your tractor SOUND like new usually only requires a new muffler, but sometimes a new exhaust manifold or elbow will be required. The cost for exhaust parts is small, but the immediate improvement is big.

Of course, tractors used in muddy conditions or in barnyards will usually have rusty rims or wheels, and replacing them, along with a snazzy new set of tires, will brighten up and set off a restoration like nothing else.

We don't sell paint, but it's easy to have mixed up at any auto parts store with the proper code. We do handle some decals, and maker's badges, and many other restoration parts.

Take a look at THIS and see if it doesn't make you wanna do the same:

This is from our friend, Stewart, in Scotland. It's a Fiat 450, or, for us North Americans, an Oliver or Cockshutt 1250-A or 1255. Is that gonna be a beaut or what? Wait til he gets the sheet metal back on!

We are here to make your restoration of your tractor an easy, one-stop shopping experience, and help you to improve your results dramatically with parts that just plain aren't available anywhere else. And, we love old tractors, too, or we wouldn't be doing this, so we want to SEE your results. We want to see your tractor in it's 'before', 'during', and 'after' stages! It gives us a feeling of satisfaction to see what we're helping you to accomplish. Your pride and satisfaction with your finished restoration is OUR pride and satisfaction, too!

The Louisville Kentucky Farm Show is to agriculture what the Grammys or the Oscars are to show business. It's a pig iron and technology extravaganza. Man, would I ever love to be able to go there some time.

Every year, the Louisville Farm Show releases a toy tractor commemorating the show. They become real collector's items. Many farm shows do this, and they select a different tractor each year, and have someone like Ertl, or Scale Models produce the tractor. Usually there is something a little different about it, such as a show location and date cast into the body, or a show decal. I don't really like show issue tractors with a bunch of writing cast into them, but I don't mind decals as much.

Anyway, my eyes sure popped when I saw this year's Louisville Farm Show commemorative toy--it's an Oliver 1355 Utility!

Izzat cool er whut?

I'd have liked it to have just a little more detail, such as the headlight lenses painted silver, and their buckets painted black. Maybe that's being too picky, and would add too much to the cost as quality hand painting isn't cheap (and cheap hand painting isn't pretty). Also, they got the 'White' decal in the wrong place, as White put their decals on these tractors directly above the front of the 'Oliver' or 'Cockshutt' or 'Minneapolis Moline' decal, and not at the rear. That part just doesn't look right. I guess the actual tractor Ertl took as the model for the model (huh?) had the decal in the wrong place and they perpetuated the mistake. Naturally, this being a steering model, the front axle looks like, well, a toy, and the steering wheel angle is thrown outta whack by necessity of simplicity in the linkage. I shouldn't be so picky; making a detailed model of something as complex in relief as a farm tractor takes skill and patience and a ton of both. This is still a cool toy for any Oliver or Fiat fan!

It'd be nice if Ertl would make this toy available as, say, an Oliver 1365, or a White 1370, also. Or, a Cockshutt 1355, or 1365, or a Moline G450. If they made any one of these models available as a regular issue, any other similar model could be attained by a suitable paint job and decals. Also, naturally, a Fiat 550, 600, or 640 could be derived from the body casting, or a Hesston 640 (although the fender headlights would have to be shaved, and headlight decals placed in the grille in their place for a Hesston 640).  

Being a four cylinder, making an Oliver or Cockshutt 1250-A, 1255, or 1265; White 1270; MM G350; or Long 350 or 445 would require a little artistic license, as they are only three cylinder tractors. I suppose you COULD cut a single cylinder section out of the hood and engine and rejoin the body, but it would take a very careful cut, and some diligent filling and grinding or sanding to hide the joint. If one went that far, then making an Allis 5040, 5045, or 5050 wouldn't be that much more; just forming the proper grille. Yeah, right... Man, my eyes hurt just thinking about it... but it's a thought...

Materialism and enlightenment makes me think of the old adage, A fool and his money are soon parted.

I went with two buddies to the CN Tower in Toronto. It was a an awesome display and spectacle of industrial and technological might. We were in TEE-O on business, and, everything wrapped up, were now kicking back to enjoy ourselves in the big city. The view was like nothing any of us had ever seen. Well, as cool as the tower was, the food was exactly the un-coolest for farm lads like ourselves. A waiter went by with a bowl of soup. I stopped him and asked what it was. He gave me some overblown bs French name for it. I looked at the bowl of soup, and all it was was water; a little off-colored water, with something green sprinkled on top. Now in amusement, I asked how much it was for this delectable bowl of off-colored water with something green sprinkled on top. "Thirty-nine ninety five, sir", was the eloquent reply. Yeah, rrriight... Sorry, Jack, we're not as dumb as we look...  

I turned to my companions, and said, "This is b.s. We're not payin' a hundred and twenny bucks for three bowl'sa warm water! C'mon, lads--let's go find a steak joint and get a REAL meal!" They whole-heartedly agreed. We took a last look around and headed for the high speed elevator. Once back on the solid earth, far below, we took off in search of somethin' good to eat. Using our infallible countryboy noses, we found a little restaurant that smelled right. We went in, sat down in the deeply upholstered, super-comfortable chairs, enjoyed the company of a lovely hostess, and her impeccable service, and feasted ourselves on three of the most perfect, thickest, juiciest, fantastically flavorful steaks of our lives. They were served along with almost grease-less fried mushrooms, big baked potatoes and a heap of fresh, colorful vegetables. I forget what desert was, but I think it was either chocolate cake or pumpkin pie, and no scanty portions of it, either. We left only 80 bucks lighter and later for all three of us, thoroughly and satisfactorily stuffed to the bursting point with top quality food. It was a meal none of us will ever forget. That's the difference between bs 'enlightenment' and plain ol' common sense.

The above is kinda like the 1.8 million dollar 'Voice of Fire' painting in the Ottawa Museum of Art. It's a painting of three vertical stripes. That's it. Three vertical stripes. I painted three vertical stripes on my bedroom wall when I was a teenager, and ten years before 'VOF'. Nobody was stupid enough to offer me 1.8 million dollars for it. I guess I hadn't run into anyone enlightened enough at the time.

In my collection of farm memorabilia, I've got a 1945 Massey-Harris Farmer's Handy Catalog with a wartime England painting of a tank rumbling up a dirt road beside a Massey-Harris 21 Harvest Brigade combine, working on the other side of a stone fence. It was painted by one of the Group of Seven, A.J Casson. There is depth and plays of light, and the many different textures of the dirt, the dust, the rough, weathered stone fence, and the golden wheat, waving in alternating silk, velvet, and velour ribbons as the wind played over it. Now that was art to me. It took skill and effort, and both in abundance. I'll bet, professional artist though he was, and the quality of the work infinitely greater than VOF, nobody ever offered to pay as much as one percent of the price of those three enlightened stripes, even when the original painting by A.J Casson was over 60 years old.

Yeah, enlightenment is pure stupidity, in all's it's nonsensical glory. The 'artist' that broke out his paint roller to make that garbage may have been a li'l far out thinking he'd accomplished an artistic feat, but he wasn't the FARTHEST out in the scandal--the ones who PAID the money were! It all hearkens back--and even morseo due to the financial scale of it--to that old adage about the fool and his money. Unfortunately, being the Museum of Art, the ones making the purchase were the government, and the money they were squandering was OURS!

I'm tired of talking about people that throw away good ol', plain ol' common sense for 'enlightenment', so here's a li'l art for you to feast your eyes on:

A tractor's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Now that took some skill and effort. Three stripes my butt!

My eyes are good and crossed and blurry now--the 8 speed transimssion section of the website has got it's revamp.

There are now two pages, one dealing with the main shaft and the other dealing with the counter & reverse shaft. The entire section has benefitted from the addition of 25 parts, also; it's now much more complete. Shafts, gears, bearings, bushings, synchronizers, and even right down to washers and snap rings--it's almost all there. (We don't have the washers and snap rings in stock yet, but they are being ordered in!)

The improvement in the layout and appearance should make selecting the right part easier now, with the main and counter shafts and their gear bundles seperated into two seperate, but linked, sections. You can jump back and forth between the two sections with links above or below the blow-up, in it's relative place; ie: main shaft link directly above countershaft pic, and countershaft link directly below main shaft pic. There are also gear bundle graphics to help show the relative section.

Hopefully these improvements to both the 6 speed and 8 speed sections of the transmission part of the website will make surfing for your parts easier to find, with much fewer gaps in the online availability.  

Maybe we'll try the clutch bearing and linkage section next!

The 6 speed section of the website lacked a little detail and didn't quite cover all the bases. A new customer with an Allis Chalmers 5040 politely and courteously pointed this out to me on Friday. I knew about it, but just hadn't got around to it yet. Well, after adding in the PTO system yesterday, I decided to tackle revamping the 6 speed section.

The 6 speed section is now more detailed, and has quite a few parts added from before. It's broken up into two pages now; the Main Shaft page, including the input shaft and vibration damping coupler, and now including 1st & 4th gear, and the Countershaft page, now including the reverse gear countershaft, and synchronizer sleeve gears and main synchro gear. On both pages is a little graphic showing the section being referred to.

That was quite a job.

Unfortunately, now much more pleased with the 6 speed section, the 8 speed section is now nagging at me; it could do with a good updating, also. The mere thought sickens me...

Oh well, everything is worse in the 'thinking about it' stage, and usually isn't so bad once you buckle down to it.  

Holes in the ITP website occur, but often can't be helped. ITP is a work in progress, and the best part about that for you, the customer, is that it gets better and better. Glaring oversights happen, and things that we just haven't got around to. Answering enquiries by phone or email, packing orders, unpacking bulk orders and stocking shelves, tracking sent orders, cleaning, reorganizing, etc., etc., etc...  all take their share of time.

One of the largest time consuming jobs is maintaining the website. Adding parts and pages and sections takes a lot of time. This website has taken THOUSANDS of hours to compile--THOUSANDS. There have been more bleary-eyed 8-12-14-18 hour stretches scripting catalog pages in front of this screen than I ever care to recall.  My eyesight has taken a severe beating from the strain. My knuckles hurt when it's cold or damp. I don't know how computer programmers can do this every single day of their working lives. Ok, I'm not whining here, just making excuses for myself. 

One section of your Fiat or Long tractor that I have been intending to address forever is the PTO system. It has been overlooked for other, more pressing things, for a long, long time. Well, there's a time for everything, and today was the time for that! The PTO section of the tractor has been posted in it's entirety. There are a few things we can't supply yet, but the vast majority of the PTO system is now online, in shopping cart format. Shafts, gears, bearings, seals, snap rings, etc.; it's all there... finally! The entire PTO system is shared between 6 speed and 8 speed tractors in the whole 2, 3, and 4 cylinder range. From the little 24 horsepower 2 cylinder Long 260 up to the 70 horsepower Fiat or Hesston 70-56, the entire PTO section is the same, making prices reasonable through standardization. The only difference throughout the entire tractor range is whether your tractor is equipped with a creeper drive or shuttle drive auxilliary transmission; that makes the length of the input shaft 35MM longer, due to the additional section added to the length of the tractor. Otherwise, everything is the same. Standardization sure makes my job easier! I'd lose my marbles if every tractor used different parts and I had to list them all!

Y'know, speaking of shopping cart format, one of the things on ITP that I'm most proud of is one of the smallest, most overlooked things on it--it's shopping cart logo. ITP's shopping cart is a major part of ITP's look and feel. The website is built around it, really.

ITP's copyrighted shopping cart logo was made from starting a blank image in my imaging software, and copying and pasting a front and rear tractor tire onto it, and then hatching in the lines to make it look like a shopping cart--one tractor-tired mother of a shopping cart. A MAN'S shopping cart. A shopping cart fit for a tractor parts store.  No flowers or vines or ribbons or bows, no, just honkin' big tractor tires on one honkin' big sucker of a pig iron shoppin' cart. This is a shoppin' cart that can handle a loada tractor parts, boy! It ain't fer silk-suited sissies, no sirree--it's for blue jeans and plaid shirt-wearin' MEN. Tim the Toolman Taylor would love this shoppin' cart. So would Hulk Hogan. And Mr. T. And Paul Bunyan and Big Joe Mufferaw. Anyway, it's there for you, big fella, so load it up--it can handle anything you can heave into it--and roll that sucker up to the checkout counter, and we'll get your order out to you ASAP! And thanks!