O/T How many HAMBers own Vintage Tractors

we had a 9N Ford.....I think it was a 46?

 

Here's my '52 JD A when new and after I restored it about 15 years ago.

 

My 1950 H Farmall. Mostly used for tractor pulls and a show or two. Owned by Grandpa, then Dad, and now me. It worked on same 130 acres for 40 years near Lawrence Kansas.

 

Great question...great resource as mentioned is yesterdaystractor.com. You can browse around and ask the same question on the general forum or go to model specific forums. Old tractors and old trucks seem just fine sharing a portion of my shop with old Indian stuff, old Harley stuff, and some vintage dirt track open wheel stuff and a 1935 Chev coupe.
You will probably quickly get hooked. Nobody can have just ONE tractor. You should decide how much you want to WORK the tractor and how much you just want a cool tractor. For work, should have 3pt. hitch and live PTO. Also, a front end loader is very, very handy but I would highly recommend power steering if you do. Not easy steering with a 302 Jimmy engine hanging from the loader !
I am very partial to Case tractors from the 1950's and 1960's and have five including a 1956 300 round nose WF that is a very interesting art deco design with rare side shields on engine compartment. You really need THREE tractors.....one to keep attached to mower, one with loader and leveling blade on back and a third one just as back up......or for parades or a little stock tractor pulling.
Welcome to another strata of the internal combustion sickness !!

 

I've got my Grandpa's Farmall M he bought new in 39.

 

Here are my 2 - the 8N was sold about 5 years ago for the same amount I paid for it in 1980 - I have owned the Kubota for over 25 years and still get offered what I paid for it. Tractors are Kool and I keep thinking I should paint and flame the Kubota.

 

Actually 9N's 2N's and early 8N's had front distributor. About Mid 1950 after a certain serial number the 8N went side distributor and the gen was moved to the other side. The motor will have a B cast on it on the left side near the starter that is when it was changed. They are a pain that's why I looked for the side dist. version. I need to seal up my cap though when I'm snowblowing!

 

I have a '48 8N that my Dad bought before I was born. Also have a '60's International 140 with a 6 foot belly mower I mow my lawn with. It looks like TomH's A, but is yellow. And a half dozen or so Cub Cadets. Can't have too many.

 

I grew up on a busy dairy farm. Dairies need lots of tractors. Always heavily involved in the maintenance and operation of the equipment. I the last twenty five years, I have operated some very large pieces on grain farms. I have also been heavily involved in high performance tractor pulling. I have continuously dabbled in buying/repairing/selling used farm machinery. Not that any of this makes me smart, but it probably has offered me a bit of experience. IMHO, your best money spent on a tractor that would serve many needs and do so well (and I really don't LIKE this tractor) I would recommend an Allis-Chalmers D-series, such as a D-14 or D-17. Cheap to buy, easy to fix, live PTO, power steering, hydraulic lift, low profile, easy to operate and start, parts are still available. Personally, I prefer Farmalls, but they cost more and many won't have hydraulic lift. Perhaps an IH 560 Utility would be a good choice, but it will cost double the Allis.

You will not get much use out of the JD MT, IMHO.

 

Let me help. FORD 9N came out in 1939. The 2N in 1942. The 8N in 1948. Do you see the FORD logic here? Regards Ron ( have one 2N & one 8N)

 

I regularly use 3 vintage tractors on our small farm doing all kinds of work: 1950 Ford 8N with side distributor, late 40s Farmall M, and 50's Oliver with live PTO and front-end loader. I look up the specs for tuneups etc. at the vintage tractor web site mentioned above, and
do all the maintenance myself. I use the 8N the most, but couldn't get by without the Oliver, with the live hydraulics and front loader. If a tractor hasn't got a 3-point hitch and live hydraulics, it's practically worthless for doing most farm work. Accordingly, my Farmall M rarely get used --- mostly just for pulling--- but it's tough.

 

Just sold it to a friend. 1957 wheel horse garden tractor with mowing attachments and snow blade...ghost

 

1953 Ford NAA "Golden Jubilee",..... Ol' Betsy earns her oats !

This is Her and me last winter shoveling out the driveway.

 

Hey Ghost , my 56 had the deck and snow blade with it when I got it but like a dummy I threw them on the s**** pile and just kept the tractor. Some day it will get the restoration it deserves. Did yours have the original engine in it? Mine has a briggs in it just to get it running. Mike

 

Heck with Tractors! Who collects old Hit and Miss, Gas Engines?

 

I have loved old farm tractors as long as old cars. I presently have a '47 Farmall "M" and a '56 Farmall "400" Diesel. My grandkids love Grandpa's tractors.

 

There is a pretty good size show and swap meet just a couple miles from my house every summer put on by the Ogemaw County Pioneer Power ***n. and they have a big display every year at our county fair,.... some Hit & Miss engines still run some of the oil field pumps up here.

 

My uncle owns a old 8n that I am trying to convince him to drop an old flathead v8 in...

http://www.staufferv8.com/v8conversion.html

The old funk v8 conversion...

 

Not the original engine. Was also a 5 horse briggs. I believe early 60s by the tag on it. But it was a kick to show up at a few local car shows and let kids climb on it. Should have kept it

 

Any for an Old TRACTION Engine

 

(VirgilHilts)Thanks for the information, my 8N is used mostly for bushogging the fields, when I take it into rough areas the axle pivets up and hits the distributor cap, which messes up the cap, points and has even bent the distributor shaft. I ground out the area where it made contact to correct the problem. The old Fords are cool, even if they require a lot of tinkering.

 

we have 21 antique tractors (ford, cletrac, john deere, oliver, farmall) and we also have 3 hit and miss engines

here is a link to our ****
http://thefarmclub.org/members/rolke.html

heading to a hell of a swap meet for more parts and etc friday in portland indiana

 

That is one heck of a collection! I am still looking for me a tractor but I am not in a big rush though I want to take my time and get what I want.

 

My father and I ranch/farm +/- 1000 acres here in Central Texas. We use a John Deere A (styled front end) for raking and fairly light duty work, and the John Deere 60 for running the bailer and larger equipment.

The funny thing though.... is the JD's get used seasonally... our little '52 Ford 8N gets used year round (every other day) and does the dirtiest nastiest chores we can come up with. For your application, you can't do much better than a Ford 8N.

Hell, 3rd world countries are still using the 8N as primariy farm equipment and is considered a novelty item.

The 8N is like the Willys Jeep of the tractor world.

It may not be able to do EVERYTHING... but it's going to try damn hard and isn't going to leave you anywhere. It will do more than it was originally designed for. We've figured this out working it on the farm. It still surprises us...

 

Since lostn51 has done a better job of capturing the attention of tractor folks than me... does anyone reading this thread have an input for my tractor related post?

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=363183

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

I vote for an M series Deere, or a 40 series, or a 420 or 430..Either the standard M or 40, 420, and 430 Utilities...They are all pretty much the same tractor. I'd go for those over a tricyle tractor because they are lower, with wide fronts, so they are more stable, and would be way better for gardening and mowing...I'm a little partial to the M series though (we've got about 40 of 'em..M's, MT's, MI's, MC's, MT wide fronts, MT single fronts, and an experimental MI)

We've got an M we use with a back blade, a bush hog, a small plow, and a sickle mower(for banks) and we use it to move trailers and unstick some stuck stuff...We've got an MT for plowing snow, and a 2010 Crawler with a loader for the heavy lifting.

2 other decent tractors would be an N series Ford, or a Farmall 'A' or Cub(they're a little lighter tractor than the M series Deere, or N series ford)

 

Here My 32' Cat 20 pull'n my container around ... Probably the only 32' I'll be able to afford.. Ha ... love this little dude ...

Also have a 53' TD-6 w/ Hough Loader and a 46' Case VAO...

 

Thought I had posted on this thread but its gone.
Heres my 1929 Allis Chalmers 20-35 Model E

 

I have a Farmall 300, great tractor. The bad thing about it is the tricycle front end and it is to big for my trailer. Except for that it is wonderful.

 

This thread is a little better than the old one!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211890&highlight=tractors