Vintage *play* tractor advice

[aaronrkelly]

I love old things.....on a nice day taking my 1971 Chevy to town makes my day. Ive driven it on 5K mile trips and had a blast.

I love tractors

Maybe Id love an old tractor.

Currently I have all new stuff, tractors, excavator, skid loaders etc.

I *THINK* I want an older tractor to play around with, tractor rides, hay rides etc.

My list of importance (and I admit I know NOTHING about older tractors so I may be way off on some of these)

small (I have a 40x60 building but its full of work equipment, I dont want anything to set outside so it need to be a small older tractor)
common (dont want to be scrounging parts till the ends of the earth)
electric start (dont want anything old enough that doesnt have electric start)

I *THINK* I want a diesel motor.....as all my other stuff is diesel but its not a big deal either way. Tell me more.

Kinda been looking at a Farmall Cub Lo Boy but maybe Im off base.

HELP?

 

[Roadworthy]

The Farmall Cub is indeed a cute little tractor. If you go a bit larger you can look at the Ferguson TE-20 or TO-20. The Ford 8N is highly regarded and parts are plentiful. You just need to shop to see what's available in your area and at what price.

 

[KennyG]

It is unlikely you will find a diesel in a small older tractor. They just didn't build many of those. The Cub is nice as is the Allis Chalmers B or C. They are similar and often available at low cost.

They aren't very powerful or heavy, so you have to be careful what you try to do with them. The Fergusons and Fords are more capable and have 3 point hitches. I grew up in a row crop farming area, so those tractors were considered kind of toys because they wouldn't do the field work most people expected and we thought "real" tractors had 30 to 40 HP. How times have changed.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Friends don't want to spend much on "tractors". So they get the cheapest old thing out there. I look at it and see everything is sloppy, worn out, clapped out and years beyond it's prime.

Funny, because I'm not in favour of your 0% consumer tractor offerings either, but it's certainly the better choice. Sure, the 1972 CASE was a higher quality tractor "THEN". Now now.

 

[LouNY]

I would recommend a 460 or 560 IH/Farmall.
They aren't real big frame wise but do have decent power and can be built up as stong as you desire and have the pocket book for.
Very available and lots of parts available.
They can be found in a diesel model.

 

[aaronrkelly]

It is unlikely you will find a diesel in a small older tractor. They just didn't build many of those. The Cub is nice as is the Allis Chalmers B or C. They are similar and often available at low cost.

They aren't very powerful or heavy, so you have to be careful what you try to do with them. The Fergusons and Fords are more capable and have 3 point hitches. I grew up in a row crop farming area, so those tractors were considered kind of toys because they wouldn't do the field work most people expected and we thought "real" tractors had 30 to 40 HP. How times have changed.

That B is also calling to me.....thanks for the direction, gives me one more tractor to look for.

 

[ProjectKing]

Look at a twin cylinder John Deere like a A, D, BR, AR, or newer like a 530 or 630.

 

[RickB]

When you have found what you are looking for you will know it. Have fun.

 

[Tinhack]

Look at a twin cylinder John Deere like a A, D, BR, AR, or newer like a 530 or 630.

I have a 1956 JD 420-C. The "C" is for Crawler. It's a tracked version of the 420 series. Often called the Johnny Popper, the two cylinder gas engine produces HUGE torque but sadly only about 24-25hp. But, it will push a full blade of dirt! And mine has street cleats--Smooth track pads so as not to tear up roads (or lawns). I keep a big grin on my face every time I climb on that machine. It's set up as a pipe layer but the boom and cables are easily removed if needed. I use it to tend my dirt driveway and clear cactus. Try that with rubber tires.

 

[LouNY]

One of the OP ideas was hay rides,
there is a post in the good morning section about someone giving a hay ride with too small of a tractor.
What ever you get make sure it has enough weight and brakes for what ever you may attempt.
Several of the mentioned examples are too light.

 

[ovrszd]

Yep, gotta define your expectations first.

 

[Ford850]

or... OR.... get 2 tractors!

 

[Tinhack]

One of the OP ideas was hay rides,
there is a post in the good morning section about someone giving a hay ride with too small of a tractor.
What ever you get make sure it has enough weight and brakes for what ever you may attempt.
Several of the mentioned examples are too light.

It doesn't mean it's the tractor's fault. You don't really need to pull 100 people at a time on a hay ride.

 

[LouNY]

It doesn't mean it's the tractor's fault. You don't really need to pull 100 people at a time on a hay ride.

That would be one heck of a wagon,
going to double deck it,
or do like a sheep hauling and triple deck it.

Some of the smaller tractors, the Farmall A's and C's the Alliis C's and the 2n Fords do not have the mass to stop a wagon easily.
Did they do so when used on the farms?
Yes, and some times they had issues and that was quite often with experienced operators.

 

[ovrszd]

Dad bought a new Ford 641 in 1959 when I was 8 yrs old. Fluid loaded rears. I became a talented operator pulling a square hay baler and wagon over hundreds of acres of hilly hay ground. In the Summer 0f 60 we went on vacation to my Uncle's house. He also had a 641 with no fluid. Dad lectured me pretty hard about the difference and to be very careful with this tractor when pulling wagon loads of hay. I figured out pretty quick that there was a huge difference in the stopping ability of these two tractors......

 

[RickB]

It doesn't mean it's the tractor's fault. You don't really need to pull 100 people at a time on a hay ride.

It's a pretty safe bet the driver didn't set out to have a wreck and get someone killed either. A more suitable choice of tractor may well have prevented tragedy. Most tractors discussed here so far would carry similar risks.

 

[TractorGuy]

In my opinion the Ford 801 Powermaster was one of the sexiest early diesels.

Photo stolen off the intreweb.

 

[lennyzx11]

Though I like them and have had 3 through the years, I’d not vote for the Ford 2n 9n. Too light and too high geared in low for creeping with a hay wagon full of people and too light in the butt to stop a loaded trailer.
The 8n had the 4 speed so a little lower geared but still a light tractor.

A farmall H with a tricycle front end comes to mind.
But headroom going through a 8 ft garage door could come with an unexpected surprise!

 

[KennyG]

The discussion of tractor weight brought back a memory. As a kid I sometimes put up hay for a farmer that pulled the hay wagon with a Ford 8N. We had to go through some hills and, with a fully loaded wagon, he would keep it under control going down the hills by cycling the ignition on and off because the brakes wouldn't do the job. I was on top of the hay wagon and it was seriously scary.

 

[corysorndorff]

Take a look at 460 or 560 IH/Farmall.