They Collect And Restore Rare Garden Tractors
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It’s small and not that impressive in design as lawn tractors go, but Randy Hess and his father, Ray Hess, proudly collect and restore Fimaco garden tractors. It’s part of their local history as the tractors were manufactured nearby in Lancaster, Penn., in the 1950s by a division of Fidelity Electric Company.
Literature promoting the Fimaco when it was introduced in 1954 cites it as “215 pounds of power! It reverses! It pulls up to 10 times its own weight! It’s the ideal lawn tractor you’ve always wanted!”
At just 52 1/2 in. long, 27 in. wide and 34 in. tall, it was small compared to other tractors at the time and very basic, Randy says.
In 2002, when he was 11, he helped his dad restore the first one in their collection. Now, they have several of them, as well as two Mity-Mule tractors, slightly revised versions of the Fimaco after the company was purchased in 1957.
“Me and my little sister played with it a lot,” Hess recalls of the first tractor. The Hess family continues to ride and work with tractors in their collection on their Willow Street, Penn., property. They use them to haul carts and pull gang mowers, one of the many accessories Fimaco used with its tractors.
Hess, an auto technician, and his dad have the skills to fix up the 2 1/2 hp., 4-cycle Briggs and Stratton air-cooled engine, though finding the right ignition coil can be a challenge.
“They are very simple, just a chain drive, similar to a pedal tractor and an angle iron frame. All the seats are 13-5 hole tractor seats,” Hess says.
The arched hood and mesh grill are “odd” he notes, making the hood look like a mailbox. A toolbox came standard on back of the mower. While it seems like a good idea, the lid can’t be fully opened without hitting the seat, so the toolboxes got pretty dented.
Hess does the body work and painting. Based on paint on the better preserved tractors, Regal red and Hazard yellow are the closest matches he could find.
Despite the Fimaco tractor’s flaws and simplicity, the Hesses are proud to have what is believed to be the largest collection of them. It fits in with the several other oddball lawn and garden tractors they collect and restore.
The Hess family uses some of the tractors in their yard, have some displayed inside, and take a few to area shows and fairs. During 2020 they restored eight tractors including a Fimaco tractor.
Hess invites anyone with information or questions about Fimaco or Mity-Mule tractors to contact him by phone.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Randy Hess (ph 717 940 8368).
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They Collect And Restore Rare Garden Tractors TRACTORS Collectors It’s small and not that impressive in design as lawn tractors go but Randy Hess and his father Ray Hess proudly collect and restore Fimaco garden tractors It’s part of their local history as the tractors were manufactured nearby in Lancaster Penn in the 1950s by a division of Fidelity Electric Company Literature promoting the Fimaco when it was introduced in 1954 cites it as “215 pounds of power! It reverses! It pulls up to 10 times its own weight! It’s the ideal lawn tractor you’ve always wanted!” At just 52 1/2 in long 27 in wide and 34 in tall it was small compared to other tractors at the time and very basic Randy says In 2002 when he was 11 he helped his dad restore the first one in their collection Now they have several of them as well as two Mity-Mule tractors slightly revised versions of the Fimaco after the company was purchased in 1957 “Me and my little sister played with it a lot ” Hess recalls of the first tractor The Hess family continues to ride and work with tractors in their collection on their Willow Street Penn property They use them to haul carts and pull gang mowers one of the many accessories Fimaco used with its tractors Hess an auto technician and his dad have the skills to fix up the 2 1/2 hp 4-cycle Briggs and Stratton air-cooled engine though finding the right ignition coil can be a challenge “They are very simple just a chain drive similar to a pedal tractor and an angle iron frame All the seats are 13-5 hole tractor seats ” Hess says The arched hood and mesh grill are “odd” he notes making the hood look like a mailbox A toolbox came standard on back of the mower While it seems like a good idea the lid can’t be fully opened without hitting the seat so the toolboxes got pretty dented Hess does the body work and painting Based on paint on the better preserved tractors Regal red and Hazard yellow are the closest matches he could find Despite the Fimaco tractor’s flaws and simplicity the Hesses are proud to have what is believed to be the largest collection of them It fits in with the several other oddball lawn and garden tractors they collect and restore The Hess family uses some of the tractors in their yard have some displayed inside and take a few to area shows and fairs During 2020 they restored eight tractors including a Fimaco tractor Hess invites anyone with information or questions about Fimaco or Mity-Mule tractors to contact him by phone Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Randy Hess ph 717 940 8368
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