Where to start/Help with vintage tractors

[thinkxingu]

So,
I was at the Hopkinton fair yesterday, and there was a display of vintage tractors, which got me thinking about picking one up for a project/toy. Any information on where to buy, what to look for, etc. would be great.

What I'd be looking for is something like in this pic--a small one for around the yard use--and how to figure out models to consider.

Thanks,

S

 

[LLigetfa]

...thinking about picking one up for a project/toy.
..looking for is something like in this pic--a small one...

I'm pretty sure what is in the pic is actually a scale model and that you are looking for the full sized version.

 

[oldspark]

http://www.tractorhouse.com/default.asp?GUID=9ffd83231d414f78955a6df14adebd76
http://www.mytractorforum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune;=-1&f=83

 

[lowroadacres]

We used to own the full sized version of the Farmall A. A mechanic friend built and installed a three point hitch on it which we used for pallet forks and for skidding out logs. That little unit is only rated for 16 HP at the drawbar and 18 at the pulley but wow could it lug wood out of the bush. It was incredibly nimble for it's vintage and the offset "culti-vision" steering and seat arrangement made for an interesting setup.

An acquaintance bought it from us stripped off the three point hitch, restored it and used it in parades for a few years. Now that this friend is heating with wood and running a market garden they are kicking themselves for not keeping the hitch.

If we were to get a second tractor the A would be a front runner for the bush work we do. A small trailer behind this little tractor would be a great hauler.

And it would look good in parades

 

[thinkxingu]

Ha Ha LL, I thought that was obvious! OK, so I'll begin at those sites and look for info on the Farmall A.

S

 

[oldspark]

Another great site for finding out any thing you want to know.
http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/

 

[LLigetfa]

The old Ford tractors are very popular around here. Several people on my road have them.

 

[Wallyworld]

The old Ford tractors are very popular around here. Several people on my road have them.

I have a old Ford, pretty simple machines compared to new stuff. Lots of parts that are easily available. I can get ignition parts , Clutch, engine parts etc. at my local NAPA. Lots of repro parts online, complete engines, body parts. I use it for plowing snow, hauling wood, rototilling, moving gravel or dirt

 

[ANeat]

My Dad has a Super A and loves it (Similar to the one in the OP) , He got the tractor, plow, cultivators, belly mower, for probably 1/4 of what a "new" tractor alone costs

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I see lots of As and Ms around here. I don't know if that is because they were more popular or they were for sale when the families needed a tractor.

Matt

 

[Thrash44047]

Old Ford 8N 9N 2N NAA would be my suggestion. I would stay away from the farmalls, not cause they are bad tractors, they just need to have 3pt hitches fabed up for them and thats a pain. I own a farm all and wish I had bought a Ford. But you have to look at what you want to do with it. The Culitvision is a neat set up.

 

[dirttracker]

IMO if you are thinking of getting an old Ford spend the extra $ and time searching to get one of the 600 or 800 series tractors. I have a 52 8N and most times wish I had something more powerful. From what I have seen the 600 and 800 Fords don't sell for much more than the N series, but they have an OHV engine and live hydraulics. You can even get them with live PTO on some of the models. I use my 8N for plowing snow and for loader work. Unfortunately the gearing on the 8N and it's lack of power does not suit a loader tractor. On the good side the N series Fords are easy and cheap when it comes to parts, there are plenty of places on the net and you can find almost anything you need.

I have never used a Farmall A, I have a Super M which has been a good tractor for me. I know this is larger than what you are looking for, I use mine for feeding round bales and doing all of the "heavy" work I have here. If I had a wider snow blade I would have it on the SM and quit using the Ford, when the snow gets wet and more than 10 inches deep the 8N has trouble keeping up. I've found Farmall parts are more expensive, but the local IH dealer has been able to get everything I've needed.

BTW, when you pick one make sure it fits in your garage. I have to remove the muffler and duck to get the SM in the garage for service. I store it in a pole barn so this is only a minor inconvenience, but a few inches taller and it would not fit in my garage at all.

 

[benjamin]

IMO if you are thinking of getting an old Ford spend the extra $ and time searching to get one of the 600 or 800 series tractors.

+1 Once you start comparing it to newer but just as obsolete tractors (from a production agriculture point of view), you'll see that you get a lot better reliablility and safety from a bigger tractor without much more cost if any. Those little tractors can kill you just as fast as a bigger one.

 

[Kenster]

I have a 1952 Ford 8N. It is perfect for handling everything I need it to do on my twelve acres. It has plenty of power. I've used it run a two bottom plow to turn over several acres for planting. I regularly brush hog a seven acre meadow, pull a finish mower to mow about 2.5 acres around the house. Use a boom pole to move heavy items and pull logs out of the woods. I have a dirt/pond scoop that I use to help tend the road, move dirt and gravel around, dig flower beds, etc. And it easily handles a box blade or back blade for smoothing driveways, leveling ground, or plowing snow. Implements are fairly cheap and easily available, new and used.

There were hundreds of thousands of these machines built and a good percentage of them are still working today. They are easy to work on and you can get parts right off the shelf at Tractor Supply or the New-Holland dealers. And of course, on the internet. You can get a worker in good mechanical shape, though it might not be pretty, for $1000 or so and it will probably include an old brush hog. One in excellent shape can be had most places for $3000 or so.

For a small place with light needs, an 8N is as much tractor as you need. No reason to buy more tractor than you need. If you decide on an 8N, get one built between mid 1950 and 1952 with a side mount distributor. You can read all about them on "Yesterdays Tractors."

http://ytforums.ytmag.com/viewforum...&start=0&sid=9f9bc4683a8c3e610e1efac0adf17d35

 

[greebas]

I'll give a plug for the farmall's. If I was in your shoes I would look for a farmall 100, 130 or 140, all of which are basically the same tractor as the model A ( your toy picture) but are newer generation tractors with upgrades( increase hp, better hydraulics, etc.). I've got a 1957 130 that I use to plow , disc and cultivate my garden, as well as haul wood and otherwise just play around. My 130 has a 1-point or what is also known as a fast hitch. While this type of hitch is antiquated and rather hard to find implements for, I personally prefer this set-up over a 3 point hitch. The big advantage is that you don't need to get off the tractor when hooking up implements.

Another plus for these model farmalls is that they are offset tractrors, meaning the seat is to the side of the gas tank and the rest of the frame. The nice advantage of this is that when you are cultivating you have a very clear view of where your plants are.

Good Luck in your search.

 

[fishingpol]

I know that it may be a few months away, but Goudreault Farms in Plaistow, N.H. has an antique tractor field plow day in the spring. I've be taking wife and kids for the past two years. There are plenty of classic tractors with owners that love to talk about them. They even let you stand out on the edge of the field for an up close watch, and I'm talking within a few feet of them. People make a day of it. God, I love New Hampshire, even if only for that reason. If you have one of these events in Massachusetts, they would have the whole field roped off from spectators. "Yes son, that little speck down there in the field is an old tractor. Now be quiet and sign the liability waiver."

Jon

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Howdy Thinkxingu

First get started by how much land do you have and is it flat or hilly? Then what do you want to do with it. That will get you going with the size and power tractor you want. I have two farmall cubs a 100 and two 130's a 21hp kubota backhoe and loader, 90hp kubota w loader massy 265 and some other big equ. They each have there own place and jobs to do.

The A is a nice tractor but very limited without hydrolics and I would be looking for a Super A at least. One good thing if you have roads and trails to take care of is the front snowplow will mount under the tractor for a grader blade. Besides no 3pt hitch the other bad thing about it is most of the weight of the tractor is on the left side so you don't want to drive side hill with the left side of the tractor to the down side of the hill and you have to get on and off of the right side of the tractor. But my 130 is one of my favorite tractors to run.

This is my 130 I have at the farm. I put way oversized rear tires on it but it will still pull!

For more about farmall tractors goto http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/index.php One other thing with them is you can get a lot of implements that won't work on newer tractors like cultivators and grader blades where you can see what you are doing without looking back.



Hi Greebas

Agrisupply does sell some new 1pt implements http://www.agrisupply.com/farm-machinery-implements/c/2000000/c2c/ln/ Also at farmall cub someone made a adapter that hooks into the fast hitch that you can hook 3pt implements into it looks pretty simple and I want to make one for mine.

Billy

 

[oldspark]

Neat tractor Billy, a hot rod sorta, where did you get the rims for the bigger tires?

 

[Thrash44047]

IMO if you are thinking of getting an old Ford spend the extra $ and time searching to get one of the 600 or 800 series tractors. I have a 52 8N and most times wish I had something more powerful. From what I have seen the 600 and 800 Fords don't sell for much more than the N series, but they have an OHV engine and live hydraulics. You can even get them with live PTO on some of the models. I use my 8N for plowing snow and for loader work. Unfortunately the gearing on the 8N and it's lack of power does not suit a loader tractor. On the good side the N series Fords are easy and cheap when it comes to parts, there are plenty of places on the net and you can find almost anything you need.

I have never used a Farmall A, I have a Super M which has been a good tractor for me. I know this is larger than what you are looking for, I use mine for feeding round bales and doing all of the "heavy" work I have here. If I had a wider snow blade I would have it on the SM and quit using the Ford, when the snow gets wet and more than 10 inches deep the 8N has trouble keeping up. I've found Farmall parts are more expensive, but the local IH dealer has been able to get everything I've needed.

BTW, when you pick one make sure it fits in your garage. I have to remove the muffler and duck to get the SM in the garage for service. I store it in a pole barn so this is only a minor inconvenience, but a few inches taller and it would not fit in my garage at all.

I have used an 8n to plow 18" of wet heavy snow here in Ohio no problem when the old mans back acting up. The key is the proper chains. Get the double ring chains. I can push 10" of wet snow with my lil cub low boy and turf tires with the double ring chains. It is amazing how much of a difference they make. i am jealous of your Super M.

Oh and Cowboy Billy 1. AWESOME CUBs. 2 where did you get those rear tires from.

 

[Danno77]

I come from a John Deere family. My license plate even says "J DEERE 4" (me+wife+2kids=4). that doesn't mean that i don't like other tractors, but I just thought I'd throw that out there before I say this. There are other tractors out there besides the fords and farmalls mentioned. A good newer JD model A or B (stopped making them in '52) is easy to come by and super easy to work on and get serviced. I like a noisy 2-cylinder, though, so maybe that isn't your thing. My '48 B will start in the coldest of weather and does have hydraulics and a 3pt hitch. I don't think it would have a problem with a snow plow and I know I've towed around a LOT of stuff with it, just slower than a bigger tractor. If i had my choice I'd take an A over a B, but I see Bs everywhere for 3-4,000 AFTER they are restored (not show restorations, more like parade quality) I see unrestored, but running ones for 1,250-2,000. That may be different in different places, but for the midwest that's what I see...

 

[dirttracker]

IMO if you are thinking of getting an old Ford spend the extra $ and time searching to get one of the 600 or 800 series tractors. I have a 52 8N and most times wish I had something more powerful. From what I have seen the 600 and 800 Fords don't sell for much more than the N series, but they have an OHV engine and live hydraulics. You can even get them with live PTO on some of the models. I use my 8N for plowing snow and for loader work. Unfortunately the gearing on the 8N and it's lack of power does not suit a loader tractor. On the good side the N series Fords are easy and cheap when it comes to parts, there are plenty of places on the net and you can find almost anything you need.

I have never used a Farmall A, I have a Super M which has been a good tractor for me. I know this is larger than what you are looking for, I use mine for feeding round bales and doing all of the "heavy" work I have here. If I had a wider snow blade I would have it on the SM and quit using the Ford, when the snow gets wet and more than 10 inches deep the 8N has trouble keeping up. I've found Farmall parts are more expensive, but the local IH dealer has been able to get everything I've needed.

BTW, when you pick one make sure it fits in your garage. I have to remove the muffler and duck to get the SM in the garage for service. I store it in a pole barn so this is only a minor inconvenience, but a few inches taller and it would not fit in my garage at all.

I have used an 8n to plow 18" of wet heavy snow here in Ohio no problem when the old mans back acting up. The key is the proper chains. Get the double ring chains. I can push 10" of wet snow with my lil cub low boy and turf tires with the double ring chains. It is amazing how much of a difference they make. i am jealous of your Super M.

Oh and Cowboy Billy 1. AWESOME CUBs. 2 where did you get those rear tires from.

You are right, chains make a huge difference. I have chains on the 8N and traction is not usually a problem, only power. If I get into much more than 10 inches or so it's slow going. Between my place and my folks I have about a mile of drive to plow. If I have to do it all in 1st gear it takes way too long. First snow of last year we had 15+ inches of wet heavy snow and it was a real PITA. I found I could plow in 3rd with the blade about 5" off the ground and make multiple passes. Since it was the first snow of the year the gravel was not frozen yet and the front blade would dig in and push me around all over the place. For snow plowing I have a front blade mounted to the loader and a back blade.

One of these days I'm going to find a cheap plow for the wood hauler, then I can get out of the weather while I plow.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks OldSpark

When we got the tractor it had it had 11.2x24 tires on it but it gets really muddy at the farm and we wanted bigger tires. We got a deal on the 14.9x24 tires but they were too wide for the stock rims. So I got 15" wide rims from Miller Tire ( millertire.com ) they were blank rims and I had to order bolt lugs for it and weld them in. I think it would have worked out better with 13" wide rims but I'm not changing it now. The tire is a lot taller and I lost some pulling power and its noticeably faster but it floats on the mud. I feel 12.4x24 tires work best on that tractor and they fit the stock rims fine.

Thanks Thrash

Those are a 130 which is the next size up from a cub. I got the tires from Tucker tire off of ebay about four years ago.

Here's my cub

Billy

 

[Thrash44047]

Very Nice. All and all with the tractor issue, Look, look, look find what you like and get it. If you get ANY of the above mentioned tractors w/o issue they will sell for what you paid for them.