Bruce Witte Auctioneer

J.G. Cochran Auctioneers

<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1692" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121.jpeg" alt="Highly modified red Empire tractor" width="1080" height="1080" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121.jpeg 1080w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" />
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">See the details on this unique Empire 88!</a></h2>
Back in July, I featured a pretty unique tractor rescued from a bone yard in Sioux City and turned into a hearse! It began life as a Thieman tractor, and Harold Boquist, a tractor collector from Nebraska, turned it into a hearse. (<a href="https://tractorzoom.com/blog/thieman-tractor?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">You can read about that tractor here.</a>)
When I talked to Harold about the Thieman, I remembered him telling me that he also had another oddball tractor that he would sell later this year. It is an Empire 88, and he said that it is likely the most customized one on the planet.
This week, that tractor showed up on Tractor Zoom, and I knew I had to write about it. This truly is one of the nicest Empires on the planet, and it&#8217;s definitely the most unique!
<h2>The Cliff Notes version of Empire Tractors and their history&#8230;</h2>
<a href="https://tractorzoom.com/blog/empire-tractor?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">I&#8217;ve written about Empires before</a>. They were fairly run-of-the-mill light duty farm tractors built in the mid-late 40s. Empire built the frames in-house, and used surplus Jeep motors and drivelines to make &#8217;em go. Upon completion, they sold them back to the US government under the Marshall Plan. The US government sent these little 40-horse tractors all over the place to help with WWII reconstruction!
<figure id="attachment_1688" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1688" style="width: 962px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1688 size-full" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy.jpg" alt="empire tractor badge" width="962" height="671" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy.jpg 962w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy-300x209.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy-768x536.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 962px) 100vw, 962px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1688" class="wp-caption-text">The badge of an empire-builder!</figcaption></figure>
Ultimately, their downfall came when the Argentinian government suddenly declared them unfit for farming. Oddly enough, Time magazine printed a story right about the same time that claimed that the tractors were junk as well. Within months, the company was bankrupt. The remainder of the tractors sold here in North America for about $700 apiece.
I&#8217;m not one to put on the tinfoil hat very often, but the timing sure seems suspect on this deal. I sort of feel like maybe somebody who was pretty well-connected had beef with Frank Cohen (the guy who started the company) and organized this.
But that&#8217;s not really what this story is about. This story is about what Harold did to this tractor when he restored it&#8230;and why.
<figure id="attachment_1691" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1691" style="width: 980px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1691 size-full" title="empire 88 tractor at auction" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11.jpg" alt="Empire 88 tractor" width="980" height="777" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11.jpg 980w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11-300x238.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11-768x609.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1691" class="wp-caption-text">This is what an Empire looks like in normal form (without the blade). What Harold did with it is truly remarkable! (Click the photo to see the listing!)</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Making an Empire fit for a King and a Queen</h2>
Harold and his wife Wilma are in the tractor hobby together. Always have been. They&#8217;ve really enjoyed putting their unique collection of tractors on display over the years. From the Nebraska State Fair to tractor rides all over the midwest, they&#8217;ve had a blast making new friends and using their tractors!
With this one, though, the restoration was a little different. Wilma needs a scooter to get around comfortably. On a tractor ride, space is at a premium, so Harold found a unique solution to let let both of them ride along, and carry the scooter too! &#8220;If I ride, she rides,&#8221; Harold told me on the phone today!
<h4>The Cab</h4>
The Empire 88 never came with a cab, so Harold solved that problem first. He was at a sale in Iowa when he stumbled upon this cab in the photo below. It was rough, but it was exactly what he wanted.
<figure id="attachment_1690" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1690" style="width: 918px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:/https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1690 size-full" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2.jpg" alt="tokheim tractor cab laying on the ground" width="918" height="525" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2.jpg 918w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2-300x172.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2-768x439.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 918px) 100vw, 918px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1690" class="wp-caption-text">This tractor cab came from a rather unlikely source&#8230;a gas pump manufacturer!</figcaption></figure>
The cab was built by Tokheim Tank &amp; Pump Co. out of Fort Wayne, IN. Their main business was gas pumps and tanks and such. However, they did also make a line of all-steel cabs for a few tractors like the Farmall H, M, and Cockshutt 40.
He took it home and then made it wider and taller (kind of the opposite of chopping &amp; channeling a hot rod). When finished, he adapted it to fit on the platform of the Empire &#8211; which he had also made wider and longer. &#8220;If it was going to work, it needed to seat both of us,&#8221; he told me, &#8220;so I made it wide enough to put the two of us up there comfortably!&#8221;
<h4>A place to park a scooter!</h4>
The next challenge was to give the Empire 88 a trunk (or a flatbed, I guess), and a ramp so that Wilma could access the cab. The ramp setup unfolds by a winch. Once unfolded, Harold uses a second winch to pull the scooter up onto the platform. The winches both tie in to the tractor&#8217;s electrical system. All in all, it&#8217;s pretty slick!
<figure id="attachment_1689" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1689" style="width: 1064px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1689 size-full" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy.jpg" alt="red empire tractor at auction with a handicapped-accessible ramp on the operator's platform" width="1064" height="792" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy.jpg 1064w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy-300x223.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy-1024x762.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1064px) 100vw, 1064px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1689" class="wp-caption-text">The winch on the right unfolds the ramp. The one on the left pulls the heavy scooter up on to the platform. Neat!</figcaption></figure>
When Harold finished the fabricating, the tractor was treated to a snazzy paint job (which to my eye looks a lot like Massey red and gold, but I&#8217;m not positive of it). It&#8217;s been their parade and tractor-ride tractor ever since!
<h2>What&#8217;s it worth?</h2>
Honestly, I have no idea. We&#8217;ve seen a couple of Empires come through Tractor Zoom over the past few years, but none of them have had this level of restoration or customization. There weren&#8217;t a lot of these tractors sold here in North America after the company went bankrupt in the late 40s, so they are somewhat rare. Of all of them (about 1300), this one is surely the nicest one left. That said, it is customized, and that tends to depreciate the value of rare tractors a little bit. Still, Harold did a terrific job with the workmanship, and it does serve a purpose. It&#8217;ll take a special buyer, but I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if it brings $3-4000.
At the end of the day, Harold built this Empire 88 because he loves his wife, and because the idea of doing a tractor ride without Wilma just didn&#8217;t sound like much fun. What resulted is a very well-built, very unique tractor that solves a challenge faced by more tractor folks than we probably realize. I&#8217;ll just about guarantee that somewhere, one of you reading this column has already thought of a husband and wife who this tractor would be PERFECT for &#8211; and I really hope you&#8217;ll share this article with them!
The antique tractor hobby is lots of fun, and very family-oriented. Still, due to the nature of the design, it&#8217;s not for everybody. People who love tractors but aren&#8217;t able to climb up on to them for one reason or another are sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. This little Empire 88 would fix that challenge for somebody!
Auction Details 
Bidding opens: Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 5PM Central 
Bidding closes: Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 11:29AM Central 
Location: Saint Paul, NE (about 45 minutes or so north of Grand Island) 
Auctioneer: <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneers/sweeney-auction-realty/?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">Sweeney Auction &amp; Realty</a> 
Contact: 308.223.0145
<a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">Tractor Zoom auction listing &amp; a link to place your bid!</a>
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1947 Empire 88: “It’s more fun to do this together…”

<figure id="attachment_788" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-788" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/lot/d1cc620b-30b6-4fb9-a64b-25daa7487158/"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-788 size-full" title="White Field Boss 4-150" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White-4-150-copy.jpg" alt="White 4-150" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White-4-150-copy.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White-4-150-copy-300x225.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White-4-150-copy-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-788" class="wp-caption-text">This 4-150 Field Boss lives just northeast of Madison, WI for now, but goes home to a new owner tomorrow! Maybe that new owner should be you! Click the photo to see the description, more photos, and a link to get in on the bidding!</figcaption></figure>
The story of how White Farm Equipment was born is a long one, and you&#8217;ll get bored hearing it. Suffice it to say that in 1969, WFE was born. At the time, they were still maintaining three different legacy brands underneath their umbrella &#8211; Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline, and Cockshutt. When 1974 rolled around, though, they decided to phase them out and start fresh with White.
WFE knew that it needed to make a big splash on the market in order to establish itself quickly. They saw a hole in the market for sort of an in-between tractor. Something that was a step up from a row-crop but not something real big like a Steiger. What they really wanted to do was create the &#8220;crossover&#8221; of tractors. One that could do it all&#8230;like a Field Boss. ?
In a nutshell, WFE wanted to build a tractor that checked off all of these boxes.
<ul>
<li>4WD traction</li>
<li>Row-crop versatility</li>
<li>Utility-model stability</li>
<li>Articulated maneuverability</li>
<li>Reasonable power</li>
</ul>
If you think about it, that&#8217;s pretty much the same thing that Toyota did when they built the RAV4 in 1995 (sans the hinge in the middle).
Overall, they did a good job of executing on it, too. The White 4-150 Field Boss ticked off nearly every one of those boxes above. Very sleek, stylish and quiet, it sat lower to the ground than its 4WD competitors, turned sharper, and didn&#8217;t lose traction either! Occasionally, you&#8217;ll hear farmers complain that these are lightweight tractors that aren&#8217;t up to the job. No&#8230;that&#8217;s not true. The 4-150 wasn&#8217;t a deep tillage tractor. It was built as a beefed-up rowcrop tractor that would handle a little bit of everything. And at the end of the day, it did the job just fine! Can the 4-180 handle more? Yep, you bet. White built it that way&#8230;on purpose!
Frankly, this particular tractor has aged better than most early Field Bosses. The body panels are nice and straight, there&#8217;s very little rust on the cab, and the best part? 3300 original hours! And, assuming it hasn&#8217;t been beaten like a red-headed stepchild, the 3208 Cat should have some life left in it. It needs new rubber (or will soon), and the seat is torn up a bit, too. But, other than those items, this is a pretty solid example of the Field Boss! It sells on Thursday, September 10 at an auction up near Madison, WI!
Now, that said, these motors are a little finicky. They don&#8217;t all run like the Lustik family&#8217;s Silver Bullet alky superstock pulling tractor. They don&#8217;t like to be lugged down real low, nor do they like real high RPMs for extended periods of time. Some of &#8217;em tend to use quite a bit of oil, too, so make sure you&#8217;ve got plenty of that around. They DO sound pretty darn good with straight pipes, though. There&#8217;s a really good video from a knowledgeable Oliver guy on YouTube out there from a few years ago where he takes his for a drive (after he&#8217;d just bought it). <a href="https://youtu.be/acut-4LGCso" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Watch it here</a>.
Here&#8217;s a little bit of the advertising that WFE put out when they released the 4-150. Interesting stuff!
<figure id="attachment_793" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-793" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-793 size-full" title="Field Boss 4-150 brochure" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure-copy.jpg" alt="White 4 150 Brochure" width="1600" height="1051" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure-copy.jpg 1600w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure-copy-300x197.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure-copy-1024x673.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure-copy-768x504.jpg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure-copy-1536x1009.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-793" class="wp-caption-text">WFE was selling pretty hard against the high-horsepower row-crop competitors here. They took a swipe at a couple of the more popular 4WD options, too.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_796" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-796" style="width: 795px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-796 size-full" title="Field Boss 4-150 Brochure 2" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.4-copy.jpg" alt="Field Boss 4-150 Brochure 2" width="795" height="624" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.4-copy.jpg 795w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.4-copy-300x235.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.4-copy-768x603.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 795px) 100vw, 795px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-796" class="wp-caption-text">Power with a purpose. Good slogan. (Still not sure about using the word &#8216;efficiently&#8217; in the same context as a 3208 Cat, though&#8230;)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_794" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-794" style="width: 1151px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-794 size-full" title="White 4-150 Brochure 4" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.2-copy.jpg" alt="White 4 150 Brochure 4" width="1151" height="1600" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.2-copy.jpg 1151w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.2-copy-216x300.jpg 216w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.2-copy-737x1024.jpg 737w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.2-copy-768x1068.jpg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.2-copy-1105x1536.jpg 1105w" sizes="(max-width: 1151px) 100vw, 1151px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-794" class="wp-caption-text">I thought the tagline at the bottom was pretty interesting.</figcaption></figure>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-795" src="http://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.3-copy.jpg" alt="White 4 150 Brochure.3 Copy" width="632" height="474" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.3-copy.jpg 632w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/White_4_150_brochure.3-copy-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px" />

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