Wednesday, November 30, 2011

BUYING PARTS ON THE INTERNET!

Everyone today wants to buy on the Internet and we also are able to sell you parts online 24/7 .
I had a customer in here last Friday that had bought a BD 154 cylinder head from me and he went online to purchase an engine kit for the same tractor. I could have sold him a kit with an oil pump for around $500 to $550 and he found it cheaper online. However, the company he was buying it from was in England and the parts were priced in English Pounds not US dollars! Well the engine oil pump is wrong and will not fit his tractor and the freight to send it back is more than the part. His credit card bill was for a little over $800.00 due to converting from English Pounds to US dollars. So an extra 300 dollars and still does not have all the parts to fix his engine and it will cost him about another$145.00 to finish the job.
Just saying, Know who you are buying your parts from!!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Jefferson, South Carolina, USA

Sunday, November 20, 2011

15 Years

This morning I realized that the Expo Farm Show in Moultrie GA marked my 15th anniversary of being self employed. I had 3 parts tractors in stock and 1 building that I did repair work in and a desire of being able to walk to work every day. I do not miss having to drive to work!!!
15 years and we are still here thanks to hundreds of customers and friends in the USA and a couple of other countries.
Thanks for the business!!
Looking for 15 more!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Not only here for a good time Here for a long time!!!!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I'm not Tractor Pulling Today!!

Yesterday, I got the trailer loaded and ready to go. I was anticipating leaving about 7:30 am this morning to go to the tractor pull in St Matthews. This morning I cranked the truck up about 8 am and it ran about 5 minutes and cut off. It would not crank back up!!! It has a N14 Cummins engine in it with a computer on it . I flipped the hood up and started looking and the bulb in the water reservoir was not green so I took the cap off and sure enough it was a little low on fluid so I put 2-1/2 gallons of antifreeze in it and then it cranked just like it normally has before. This was the first time this has happened and I wondered "Where did the water go?" I let the truck run and heat up. The longer it ran, the hotter it got and the water was running out of the left hand side of the radiator. At 170 degrees it looked like a spigot. I decided to stay home. I guess it is good I caught it here instead of somewhere on the road with a to hot engine or worse and a towing bill. The radiator has plastic ends on it. I think the plastic part has split open.

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Tractor Pulling will have to wait to another day!

Friday, September 9, 2011

The reason I have no hair!!

I ordered a pto sleeve to adapt a 1-1/8 in diameter PTO shaft to a 1-3/8 in yoke on a cutter. The customer gave me the measurement of the shaft and the measurement of the yoke and I ordered the right part to make it work. Today, he comes in and he tells me the exact opposite of the first description. The shaft is 1-3/8 in diameter and the yoke is 1-1/8 in . Now it is a $35.00 part instead of an $8.00 part. And I have freight on the wrong part and freight to send it back or my money is tied up in stocking it. This is the reason I ask questions to be sure I get the right part because it costs to much to correct errors. 15 years ago it would cost $8-$10 to get a part in and send it back. Today, It cost $9.50 to get it here and it will cost the same amount to send it back. As a Customer you should know what you want and when I ask a question know the answer DO NOT GUESS the answer. If you do not understand what I am asking. Ask me to explain it. I will be glad to take the time bcause I want you to get the right part the first time!!!!
Happy customers are good for business!!!!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Doing the best I can on your information!!!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

CUSTOMERS

This morning I had a customer and his wife pull up on a motorcycle pulling a trailer. A nice motorcycle and matching trailer. He comes in and asks if I have a Ford 3600 drag link and I look it up and have a new one on the shelf. He said he saw the sign out on the highway and made a u turn and got the right part for his tractor. He put the drag link in the trailer and continued on home. The weather today is rainy from the remnants of the Lee storm so every half hour or so it rains anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. They had another 130 miles to go to get home. It was the first motorcycle with a trailer behind it that I have ever had pull in front of the front door!!


Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Just when you think you have seen it all!!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Yesterdays Bumper Sticker

Politicians should dress like Nascar drivers, then the public would know who the corporate sponsors are!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Air Conditioning!!

Late yesterday our AC unit died and went to where dead AC units go when they pass. I don't where it went but I know it is cooler than it is here !!!!!! It is 95 on the outside and several degrees warmer in here. Tony, the AC reviver just drove up and is out looking at the dead unit. I hope he can work his magic and revive the cool air machine!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, It ain't hot as Hell here, but I can see the gates from here and they are open!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Corn Harvest!

Yesterday after work I harvested out corn crop. It was sweet corn out of the garden. We planted 32 hills of corn and harvested 29 ears. Pretty good for a garden spot that was 8 ft by 12 ft and also has potatoes, beans, tomatoes,cucumbers and sunflowers. I shucked it, silked it and boiled it a little and Linda bagged it for the freezer. Next year maybe a little bigger garden.
Linda cooked some of the corn for supper and it was really good!!!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, I need a tractor to plow the garden!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

JD 2010

I had a JD 2010 customer looking for power steering parts. He told me he had a JD 2010 Row Crop tractor above sn 29001 . He then gave me a cast number off the main housing of the part containing the part he needed to find. I looked in the JD parts book and the number he gave me does not exist in the JD system. I asked questions to determine what he had and when I asked for a serial number so I could determine which tractor style he had----- wait for it-------- his tractor did not have a serial plate on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I asked him how do you know it is a Row Crop. His reply was "My Neighbor told me it was!!!!!!


Folks if you do not know what it is do not take your neighbors word for it. He knows less than you do!!!!! and if the truth is told he is a blooming idiot!!!!!


If he had said at the start of the conversation that he had a JD 2010 and did not have a serial number then I cold have asked the questions to determine what he had. Because thats my job and I know what to ask. I asked if he had a number on the piston and he called me back in 10 minutes and he had a row crop but it was before serial number 29000 . The before and after piston numbers are different because JD changed them. I have found the right piston and will be getting it shipped in the morning.


Remember your neighbor is guessing. You know a lot more than he does.





Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Please don't make my job harder than it has to be!!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Yesterday's Rain

It rained 3.8 inches of rain late yesterday. From 4:15 to 5 pm it rained about 3 of those inches and the rest came before midnight. Lots of thunder and lightning!!!!
We had only had about 1/2 in of rain in the last 40 or so days and it was extremely dry most of the corn here had burnt up from a lack of water.
Hopefully the rest of the year will be better.

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Thankful for the rain!!

Friday, June 24, 2011

JD 4650 Side Screen



I had a customer call me looking for a set of JD 4650 Side Screens RE12881 and Re12882. I looked them up and I have a supplier and I was shocked at the price. I was expecting $125 to $160 each and they were $415.00 new each from an aftermarket supplier. I did not think my customer would buy them. However, his had been stolen off the tractor and they are needed to keep trash out of the radiator. Here is a picture of one of them. The new price from JD is $702.00 each so I saved him $287.00 each for a total of $574.00. Looks good don't it!!!! The next time you need parts call me, I can save you money!!


Eric Benton Southeast Tractor Parts, Saving you money Today Tomorrow and the next Day!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Tractor Pulling of a different sort!!!!!



Yesterday, I raked hay for my Dad instead of going to a tractor pull. I know that is kind of odd for me, but he did not have any other help and I figured I could handle the rake. It took him about 30 minutes to tell me what to do and what not to do. This is something I have done in my past, just not in a recent past!!! Maybe 30 years or so ago!! This rake is a wheel type rake. It has 10 wheels (5 on each side) that rake about 30 ft of hay into one winrow. The last rake I ran was a PTO powered 3 point hitch rake pulled by a Ford 8N and it raked about a nine foot swath one way and then you turned around and raked another nine ft swath back up against the first swath and created one windrow. The wheel style creates a winrow with only one pass through the field. The teeth on the wheel touch the ground and the wheels are turned by the resistance created by the teeth dragging on the ground. I have a video I took while driving the tractor that might show this better than I can describe it. So no tractor pulling today but lots of tractor driving. My pulling tractor still has a flat tire and I hope to have it fixed this week in time for the next pull. Best of all I did not hook the fence with the hay forks on the tractor and I did not hook a hay bale with the rake . So I finished the day with everything still working and no damages.
Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts. A different day but a good day!!!



Saturday, May 14, 2011

Perfect Tire



Last Tuesday night I had to deliver parts to a customer in Hartsville. As I was driving out I saw this perfectly flat tire on my Farmall Super MTA. I had not unloaded it yet. Today is Saturday and I have still not unloaded it. I hope it will pump up and stay up long enough for me to unload it. Some days are more perfect than others!!


Eric Benton, soon to be a tire repairman,

Southeast Tractor parts

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Perfect Pull!!!

Last Saturday I went to the tractor pull in Saluda SC put on by the Palmetto Tractor Club. They had a good turn out of tractors and pullers. The 6000, 6500 & 7000 Super Stock class had 8 to 12 tractors in them. Normally, there are only 3 to 6 tractors in these classes. I signed up to pull early and I was the first puller in each class. In the 6000 lb class I pulled 266 ft, 2nd place pulled 227 ft. In the 6500 lb class I pulled 293.2 ft 2nd place pulled 272 ft and 3rd place was 255.43 ft. In the 7000 lb class I pulled 292.55 ft, 2nd place was 270.89, 3rd place was 269.93.
I got 3 first place finishes. My tires hooked perfectly, my weights could not have been placed on the tractor any better, I could not have picked a better place on the track. Each pull was perfect. I have been beaten by both of the 2nd and 3rd place winners and Saturday they could not get close to me. It was a real good day!!!!


Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts,Perfect Day, Perfect Pulling, Perfect Parts for You!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Corban Crook Benefit Tractor Pull

I went to the benefit pull Saturday before I went to the reunion. I figured I would only have time for 1 pull before I would have to leave. I was the first puller in the 7900 pound class. I pulled about 150 ft and stood it up and spun out. They called me back to change the gear in the sled. I backed up and moved 140 pounds to the front end and re pulled. I went 183 ft and some inches. I thought to my self as I backed up and they unhooked me" This pull ain't going to get me to first place maybe third." DRH pulled next and he went 180 ft and some inches. I thought to my self " This is interesting I'm not normally ahead of him" . DY pulled third and he is normally my competition for this class and he made it 167 ft. I was a happy camper I got first place in front of a record crowd. There were probably 500 to 600 people there. It was the biggest crowd I have ever seen in Pageland. People really turned out to make the benefit a success!!! ................................Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts

Hail, Lots of Hail

Last Saturday night I went to my High School Class Reunion. About 2 hours into the get together it started raining and storming. Lots of rain, lots of lightening, lots of thunder and then lots of Hail, Big Hail, the size of golf balls and it covered the ground 3 to 4 inches deep. I did not think alot about it damaging the pickup. I bet every vehicle in the parking lot was damaged. It looked like someone had been out there with a small ball peen hammer beating up the hood and the top and the sides of the truck. So now I have a one of a kind dimpled truck. Hope it makes it worth more!!! Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Anyone want a special one of a kind truck!!!

Metts Video

Kenny, The Richland Creek Fall Festival video was done by Alan Metts of Metts Video and Photography. His phone number is 864-980-2178. His address is 278 Ridge Spring Rd, Saluda,SC,29138 This is one of the best video's I have seen done of a tractor pull. Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Finishing Up!

I finished installing the other rear tire on Linda's tractor last night and I also got all the bolts tightened properly. I could not get the alternator to kick in and charge so I decided to drive it around and let the engine run and warm up. After about 30 minutes of driving the alternator went to working like it is supposed to.

I just finished rebuilding a Farmall M carb for a customer. It had set up for a while and the gas was starting to change and it left a coating on the inside of the carb that had to be scraped out. The fuel passage behind the main jet was clogged with trash and bad fuel. I cleaned the passages and replaced a bad float and now it should run a little better. Good thing I had all of this in stock!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Rebuilding carbs one float at the time!!!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Getting Ready to Tractor Pull

I have been out changing the tire (only got one done tonight) on Linda's tractor. It will be ready for Saturday. I put in a new battery this morning and it cranked right up and ran nicely. One more tire tomorrow night and a little fuel and it will be ready.


Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Sure takes a lotta work to get ready!!!!!

Forts Pond Antique Tractor Pull Mar 26, 2011


I here there are a couple of new pulling tractors that are supposed to show up at the pull in Pelion. Looking forward to see if they hold together!!!!


Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, New pullers for a new year!!!!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Cut Tires & Tractor Pulling

I did a 2nd cut on my tires, I cut the front of the tread to give it a better bite. This past Saturday I tried them out at Pageland. The track was slick on the first pull and proceeded to dry out as the day passed. The second class was 6200 and 200.16 ft and still spun out. however, taking in the condition of the track it was a good pull. The third class I pulled in was 8400 lb and I fell in a hole at 207 ft. I could see the hole coming and could not turn it enough to miss the hole and it stopped me. The last pull of the day was 8900 lb. I pulled it in 3rd gear low range and my speed topped out at 6 mph and dropped to 5.1 going down the track. I won this class with a 211 ft pull. My competition pulled 206 ft. And again I spun out. I have been pulling on different tracks across SC and they are generally 300 ft tracks and more of a sand clay track than pure clay. The track at Pageland is a clay track and it can change rapidly depending on the sun and wind. It is also only 225 ft long and you are loaded from the start. To pull at Pageland I will have to learn all over how to weigh my tractor and which gear to pull in to be effective in a 6 mph class. The other clubs I pull with are 7 mph or no speed limit. This will make for an interesting year!!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Pulling,

Thursday, February 24, 2011

New Tires for Larry


Larry, I found you a new set of pulling tires for that WD45. I think this will solve your traction problems!!! The specifications are on the poster in the picture. They cost $11238.36 each, but I made a deal with him and got 4, 2 for you, 2 for me for $7000.00 each. I paid him so just send your check for 2 of them. It will put you in the winners circle every time this year!!!!! John if you think you need a set I can get them added to the order!!
PS If you want another inch of tread. I can get it added to the tire for another$2000.00 per tire.
Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Pulling, Gotta stop them tractors from spinning!!!!!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Turbochargers




I got this Turbocharger for a Ford 8970 . I can also get turbos for most makes and models.
Eric Benton. Southeast Tractor Parts, More air more power!!!

Tire cutting

This is how you look after cutting a set of tires for pulling!!




Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, I will not cut tires for a living!!!!!!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Looking Forward !!


Thursday Night!!

I am setting here listening to WSOC on the computer while I have catalogs copying in the CD Duplicator. It will copy about 75 discs per hour. I have another 88 discs to go before I finish tonight. I will have about 700 to take to the National Farm Machinery show.
One of the vendors is making a nice JD AR26625 steering wheel for a 3020 and 4020 and other tractors. They also have the black steering wheel cap and a white cap for the 1010 and 2010. The caps are about $36.00 up till now the only new cap I could find was about $65.00. This is a nice OEM quality cap and steering wheel.
I ordered a new Carburetor kit today for the zenith carb used on a lot of different tractors. It has all 3 gaskets in it to fit 3 different carbs. People call us wanting a zenith carb kit and they don't know which one it is and now I can send this one and one of the gaskets will work. It will make my life easier. And it will be priced about the same as a regular kit.
Did any of you see in the paper that Mexico had the worst freeze that they have had in 50 years!! Must be more of the global warming!!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

2 Years

I am at Raleigh for the Southern Farm Show this week. Yesterday was a pretty good day but Today was probably 10 times as many people. I was busy from about 9:30 to almost 4 in the afternoon talking to people about the parts they need.
Tomorrow is the last day of the show and I hope it is a good day!!!
Today makes it 2 years that I have been blogging. Sometimes it is hard to find the time or inspiration to write.
I talked to the guy that puts on the tractor pull in Pelion SC and his first pull this year is the last Saturday in March. I might be ready by then, I still have a set of tires to cut. Also have a little work to do on my tractor.


Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor parts, 2 years and counting!!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Burnt out Headlight!

I went to Mcbee and picked up supper last Saturday night. The Police pulled me over coming home and informed me I had a front headlight burnt out. I did get a "blue driving award" but it was only a warning and not the real deal.
The next day I changed the light bulb out. It took me about 30 minutes and 17 cuts on my right hand ranging from 1\8 in to 1 inch long. My hand looked like it had been through a meat grinder.
The light bulbs are fairly cheap but all the sharp edges are well SHARP EDGES!!!!



Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts,Not a real good bulb changer!!!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Tractor Pulling in the off season!!

Here is a video of tractor pulling in the off season.




Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts,

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Face of Rural America!!!!!

While I was at the NTPDA meeting in Orlando, Florida I set in on a presentation on Social Media by Micheal Libbie from Insight Advertising. His blog is listed on my blog list also. Yesterday, I commented on his blog about how I enjoyed the presentation and had actually brought some ideas home to use in my business, Southeast Tractor Parts. This morning he emailed me some questions about my business and today he featured me and Southeast Tractor on his 1 hour long Webcast. This is like radio except only on the World Wide web. Here is a link to the live webcast. Scroll down just a little and go to the 48 minute mark and listen for my name.
Wow!!!! I answer a few questions and I am on a live webcast!!! Look for my picture!!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Expanding our market!!!! WOW !!!!

Florida Trip

Last week I went to Orlando FL. for the National Tractor Parts Dealer meeting. As usual there were a bunch of vendors set up to advertise their products. They also had 2 speakers, Michael Libbie who gave a presentation on Social Media and Ed Mcmillian who gave a presentation on Fraud and Embezzlement. The speakers by themselves were worth the trip.
I left home last Wednesday morning about 5:30 am and it was 25 degrees here. When I got out of the pickup in Florida it was 76 degrees. It was hot again!!!!
One of the ideas I brought home and I recommend to all of you is used a gel pen when you write a check. The gel ink is supposed to bind to the fiber in the check and cannot be washed off. A crook can take your check and wash the ink off the pay to line and the amount and leave your signature on the check Then they can fill it out payable to whoever and they can write in any amount that they want to. And the check has your signature on it. The gel pen ink is not supposed to wash out. If you use a regular ink pen the ink sits on top of the paper and will wash off with the right solution.

When you come here to buy a parts I will loan you my Gel pen to fill out your check!!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts,

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Snow 1-10-11

I am setting here looking out through the front door of the shop at the snow while drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Looking at what is left over from the snow storm from Monday. We had 8 inches of snow. Mr. Planning Disaster Expert (LM)give yourself a pat on the back. You planned a good one!! I know you will read this and I saw how you artfully curved that band of heavy snow around to include me. Next time push it a little farther south or throw it at Charlotte, again. You should get medals like they do in the army. You could wear them and people would know what you have accomplished. A medal with a little building and and a playground, You could point to it and say "Yep, I closed all the schools in Chesterfield County for 2 days with just one snowfall." A brown truck medal with a white pile of snow on it would mean "Closed UPS for 2 days". A medal with a glass of milk and a loaf of bread would mean "Sold every gallon of milk and every loaf of bread in just 24 hours in Chesterfield County". I think Wal-Mart and Food Lion are going to send you an award for being the number one salesman for the month!!!!
However, Southeast Tractor Parts is still open for business and I sold some parts yesterday and have already had calls today for parts. So you will not get a medal for STP this time.

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, picking at Larry