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Found: 1966 Case 190 Forklift By Steve Guider Have you ever seen or heard of a Case-built garden tractor forklift? I had not until three years ago when someone brought this contraption my attention. A while after this discovery, I heard through the grapevine that one was spotted in Florida or Tennessee. I began doing some serious detective work but was never able to pinpoint the exact location of this mysterious machine. I was not convinced that one of these even existed until I met up with a man that sold lawn and garden equipment in Michigan. He had an old Case sales binder that he gave to me. In the binder was information on a Case 190 forklift. I carried the binder with me to a show in Elnora, Indiana and showed it Ed and Neal Mitchell. The more we talked, the more convinced I became that there really was one in existence. They contacted Joe Crain in Tennessee and persuaded him to find out more about where this forklift was located. I didn't know Joe at the time, but I later met him at the Case convention in east Tennessee when I purchased a pair of wheel weights from him. As we stood and talked, he mentioned that his brother had a Case 118 Black Demo that might be of interest to me. The next day he hauled it to the show and I purchased it without hesitation. As we talked, he recalled seeing a Case garden tractor with a forklift in Ocala Florida. The bad news was that it was at least ten years ago and he wasn't sure if it was still there. He thought it was just a garden tractor that someone had cobbled together. I said, "Wait a minute." I then went to my pickup and got the forklift picture from the Case binder. When I showed it to him, he said, "That is it, for sure!" Joe promised he would try to locate it during his next trip to Florida. Several phone calls and ten months later, he found it! It had been sold to a collector in Nokomis, Florida about 150 miles south of Ocala. He got the owner's phone number so I could contact him. The owner was interested in selling, but needed to use it for another three to four months. On the way to the Florida Flywheeler Show in February, we stopped at Nokomis and paid him for it even though I couldn't take it home until later. After a couple of long months, the owner called me. "It's yours! Come and get it." My friend, Rowland Vermaten and I, headed south, again, to Florida. Four days later and 2,180 miles, we had it home. What a find! Without the help of Joe Crain I would have never found it. I was so grateful that I sent him a thank you note and a cash reward. With the information I retrieved from the Case binder, I discovered that it was built by the C.F. Manufacturing Company in Sheffield, Alabama. I called the Sheffield Public Library for help. The librarian found the name of one man that was still alive that helped run the manufacturing plant where the forklift had been built. I contacted him immediately. He told me that they had built them for JI Case and exclusively for the 1966 Case 190. He also said they tried to sell them at machine shows but never sold very many. He recalled that the production number was low and only about 50 were made. These machines retailed for $2,495, which did not include shipping and set up fees. I was disappointed that he did not have any literature or photos. To my knowledge, the one I own may be the only one still in existence. It definitely tops the list of my best finds. When I restored this rare garden tractor, I completely tore it apart, repaired everything, sandblasted, primed and painted it before putting it back together. I also had to replace the sheet metal because the original was in pretty bad shape. I am happy with the way it cleaned up and will be ready to display it at the tractor shows this summer. The first show will be at the JI Case Collector Club Summer Convention at Penfield, Illinois on July 10-13, 2009. LAGC |