Anyone who came to the Half Century of Progress show in Rantoul, Ill., earlier this year could tell stories about some of the rare and unusual pieces of antique equipment they saw. One might be about Gary Emsweller of Danville, and his 1954 Massey Harris Navy I-330 tractor.

“This Massey Harris I-330 is the only one known to exist,” Gary said. “I have been chasing it for 10 years.”

Gary read about it in Keith Oltrogge’s Massey Tractor Data Book. “Keith is a huge memorabilia collector from Iowa. He’s got a data book, and on the last page it tells about the I-330, that there were only six made.

“Massey Harris made three different military tractors. The I-244 was made for the Air Force, Navy and Corps of Engineers in 1955 and 1956. Massey made 25 that we know of the I-162, and we know where seven are. They were made for the Army, then this, the I-330, was made for the Navy.”

The I-330 was built in 1954 and has 28-inch tires with a rear end weighing in at a whooping 9,500 pounds. “When I got it, the drawbar was worn in the tongue at a 60-degree angle. It must have sat in one place pulling something to its left,” Gary explained.

“I tracked the tractor to the Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego, California, where it was shipped from Racine, Wisconsin. They have a large railroad spur there that goes through the station. I assume the I-330 was used to pull train cars; however, that is just an assumption on my part. I haven’t spoke to anyone that knows. It is just one concept that makes sense.”

Gary found the I-330 on the “Yesterday’s Tractors” website. “Someone said there was a unique Massey selling in Pennsylvania. I called the auctioneer and asked for a picture. I left a bid for the tractor and didn’t get it.”

He was told the tractor went to a Navy museum in Arizona. This didn’t make much sense to him, but that seemed to be the end of the trail. Then in 2002 or 2003, Larry Weber, a collector from Yuma, Ariz., invited several Massey collectors to come see his museum.

“My wife, Ony, and I went out for the weekend on Saturday. Larry invited us to his bone yard Sunday morning. Someone called my name and I turned around and saw that tractor,” Gary said.

The story he’d heard was partly right – the tractor ended up in a museum, in Arizona. The sad part was that Larry announced to the group he had terminal cancer. After he passed away, Gary and his son, Drew, went to the sale in 2006 and bought the tractor.

“The tractor sat for two years while I collected parts. Then it was two more years before the tractor was totally done and painted.” Gary attributes the beautiful restoration to assistance from friends Dick and Mike Kunz and Larry Abplanalp, all of Greensburg, Ind.

Deciding what paint to use, Gary decided at first to go with Industrial Yellow, then he read an article that talked about the tractor being Battleship Gray, and he went with that. While restoring, he could see the plate with the USN number, but he couldn’t read it. It was through research that he found it.

The tractor is different from other Masseys, with the rear-end axle hubs being unique to the tractor and the PTO shaft running the belt pulley. “The tractor runs on a magneto. The whole system is 24-volt, while most tractors of that vintage were six volt,” Gary shared. “The gas tank fills on the back and only the grill and clam shell fenders are like other Masseys.”

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.