Sean Not John: Change the Brakes on the 300

We owned a Farmall 300 tractor on the ranch. The 300 was produced by Farmall from 1954 - 1956 and was the follow-up model to the Farmall H (which we also owned). The 300 is the first tractor that I remember driving by myself.

this is what I remember our 300 looking like
(we did not have an exhaust flap but used a tin can to cover the exhaust)

In the summer of 1979, I was 11 years old. This was the first summer after Kelly graduated from high school. One day, Dad took me to town with him to buy parts. We purchased new brake pads for the 300. After we got back home, Dad told me that he wanted me to change the brakes on the tractor.

We pulled the 300 up in front of the Old Garage. Dad showed me the brake housing on the side of the 300 (see this video tutorial for how to change the brakes on a 300). He told me to lay the bolts out on the ground in the order that I removed them so that I could remember how to put everything back together. Then he left.

I changed the brakes all by myself.

I never knew if Dad removed the brake drum later to confirm that I had completed everything correctly. As I prepared to write this story, I found the video linked above that shows how to change the brakes on a 300 (even though the tractor in the video is an H). As shown, changing the brakes is a relatively simple and straight forward process.

Most importantly, what I remember from this experience is the pride I felt at being trusted by Dad with the task. This is the first large equipment repair that I remember doing all by myself with no observation by Dad. Even though I had never changed brakes before, I was able to complete the task by watching what I was doing and then putting everything back together in reverse order from how I took it apart.

I am grateful that Dad entrusted me with this experience and taught me that I could accomplish tasks by "figuring it out."