Jed has a long history with wrenches & farming. He grew up working on his Grandfather's farm near Chapin, where his current business and farm are still based today.	Grandpa Allen & grandkids, 1986, Jed age 8
In 1993, a combination of the purchase of a 1951 Chevy pickup and a power-mechanics class sparked his mechanical interest when he was a freshman at SCMT High School in Sheffield. He overhauled a neighbor's Honda ATC 3-wheeler in the spring of 1993, and soon after was flooded with customer's Hondas, very popular machines in the area at the time. Offical business began when he acquired his retail tax-permit in January 1994, operating under the name "J.W. Allen Small Engine Service." Most of his free time in his high-school years was not spent chasing girls, but repairing ATVs and snowmobiles. "Me and all my buddies had old, klunker snowmobiles, and we made fun of the 'Indy Posse' crowd." Jed explains, "We called ourselves 'Jalopies,' hence 'Jed's Jalopy Joint.'" The name apparently stuck.	Jed & his '51 Chevy, 1996
After graduating SCMT in 1996, he was accepted at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa, where he successfully completed two years in their "Ag Power Technology" program, which included areas of study such as diesel engines, hydraulics, electronics, power-trains and transmissions. Jed and his Hawkeye classmate, Shane, together won first place at a John Deere sponsored National PAS Ag Mechanics Contest (click here) near Norfolk, Virginia in the spring of 1998. They were believed to be the first students from a non-Deere affiliated school to win in the history of the contest. Upon graduation from Hawkeye, Jed wished to continue and expand his repair business. However he was quickly out-growing his small dirt-floor, tin-shed shop he had been working out of since 1993. In the summer of 1998, he remodeled an old corn-crib/farrowing house on his Grandfather's farm, to be large enough for tractor repair. This is still the current business location.	The newly relocated Jalopy Joint, 1999, swamped with snowmobiles!
Between 1998 and 2001, the transition was made from small engine repair to large scale tractor and combine repair. In summer of 2004, Jed worked "out west" with a father/son custom-harvesting operation,Weber Harvesting (click here),from Riverton, Wyoming. They followed the wheat and barley harvest starting in southern Oklahoma in May and ending in Wyoming in September. In 2007 Jed purchased a Case-IH 2188 combine and worked again with the Webers on the wheat harvest. 2008 brought the addition of a grain truck & grain cart to the harvesting business. Since Jed's first minute in an Axial-Flow combine seat in 1993, he has cut nearly 40,000 acres behind the reins of Red combines. Today, nearly all of Jed's service & harvesting business revolves Axial-Flow Case/IH combines.	Jed's summer 2008 team-up with Weber Harvesting -
To Jed its all about Customer Service. Whether a late night service call or harvesting your soybeans before the big storm, Jed will do what he can to help you succeed. Jed took a group of customers to East Moline in 2004 to tour the IH harvester works before it closed. "It was sad to see such history being closed down, but it also is exciting to see things streamlined now in Grand Island." referring to Case's move of the 2388 production. "From a 1440 to a 2588, IH & Case combines are a true dynasty." Coming from an independent farmer, custom harvester, and technician who makes a living revolving around these machines, that really says something. What does the future hold? With the "parts barn" that opened in 2007, remodeling and added inventory will continue. Jed's parts inventory rivals that of some dealers. For 2009 Jed plans on heading south with his harvest crew again in May, with stops in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, & Montana before returning home in August. What else does Jed have to say? "I enjoy doing what I can to help family farms and independant farmers improve their bottom line. I like helping people succeed!" Jed also says thanks for taking time to read about us and thanks for your past, present, and future business!!	The Jalopy Joint tours the East Moline IH Combine Works, February 2004