Ford 601 Series

[CJC12]

Hello,

First off I'm glad I stumbled across this great website. It is full of valuable information and from what I've read the forums are excellent!

We recently purchased a property that in my opinion needs a tractor.

It is only about 3 acres but I would like something with an FEL as well as a backhoe (or at least one that would accept a backhoe implement) for digging and taking out some (well, quite a few actually) little stumps. Additionally, I would eventually like to get a bush hog for weed abatement on some investment properties I have (.5-10ac).

The property just purchased has a water runoff ditch through the side of it that will need from my calculations somewhere around 3000 cubic yards of fill. This will be an ongoing project...

You're probably thinking with 3000yds of fill that needs to be moved around I'm going to need something big. I know it's not going to get this done overnight but I'm just going to make it a long-term project.

From what I've read a compact with say 35-40hp should be ok. What do you think?

I'm not ready to plop down 15-20 grand for a new tractor so I'd like to buy something used. Granted, I don't see many used compacts out there. Maybe this is a good sign!

In the meantime while I'm trying to find the tractor that would fit my needs, I'd like to get something cheap just to get me started in this whole tractor scene.

I found an old Ford 601 in the local classifieds. The owner says there is a bucket in the front and a box scraper in the rear.

From the pictures of the Ford series from that era I can't quite see how an FEL would be attached and operated. I'd love to show you a picture but the owner doesn't have one and before I drive 3hrs to look at it I'd like to know a little more about it. Does anybody know if this was an actual implement or if it must have been some kind of add-on?

I've read that the older Ford farm tractors have a pretty good reputation as far as reliability. Is this true with the 601 series? What should I expect as far as power output? How much does it weigh? Are parts tough to find?

Any information about this tractor would be useful. Like I said earlier, this is will be sort of a "starter" tractor, but I'd still like it to be pretty useful and proficient (at least for moving dirt).

By the way, the owner is asking $4500 for it and says it's had "average" use. Does this sound high or low?

Thanks in advance for everything guys!

Best Regards,
Carter

 

[Charlie_in_TX]

First, watch fill in ditchs. If you flood your neighbor, you are at fault. In most states you can't change the natural flow of water.

The old Fords are not good with a FEL. You really need MFWD or a BIG tractor. I don't know of a sub-frame mounted hoe but there is alot I don't know about. I would not get a 3pt hoe.

A little advice. Hire out the heavy work (or get a rental). Buy a tractor for long term use. You can rent a Case 450 dozer for a week and do far more dirt work than most tractors. In many areas, a dozer and operator can be had for what it would cost an inexperianced operater on rented equipment.

Your 3 acres can be mowed with a good riding mower after the dirt work is done, although I would recomend a 20hp small frame CUT.

 

[Charlie_in_TX]

O, welcome to the sight and tell us were you are from.

 

[RonR]

Welcome to the site!

I used to own an 801 Ford with an aftermarket loader. DuAl was the name IIRC. It used a front mounted hydraulic pump to operate the loader, which had both up/down and curl. That setup is probably ok to operate the loader--it didn't use the tractor hydraulics at all.

But as others have said, no way can you do serious dirt work with a 601 (or 801). It works ok for moving loose dirt, but can't dig..............

A 601 would do a great job pulling a bush hog...............

Best wishes,
ron

 

[frank_f15]

Welcome to the forum /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif and now the bad news, for what you want to do the old FELS on that era machine were not suited for working dirt very well ( i know from experience) not really sure about that tractor or which fel is on it , but most would not curl past flat, nor did they have any down pressure. Also not sure you could put a BH on it. my idea would be to get a more modern CUT minus BH ( unless $$ is no object) then either hire the Bh work out or rent one when you are ready for it.

 

[Donnyj]

I used to have a 641 Ford. I think the 641 was a newer model than the 601. Same tractor from what I understand. I used a Massey Ferguson 1051 bush hog mower and it worked great. I also had a loader on the front with a front crank mounted pto pump. Loader was fast and strong, but not suited for heavy dirt work. The frame of the loader was always cracking. The tractor was not suited for a loader as well. The front end was to light for heavy work. The tractor was great for bush hogging and using a box grader. Good power out of the tractor. Just was not suited well for heavy loader work. Also with the loader on the front the tractor was very light on the rear. I had tires full of fluid and weights on the rear. Still not very stable. I had to put the mower on the back to feel comfortable when using the loader. My suggestion, stay away if you plan on using the loader alot. Mowing and grading the tractor will do fine. A loader on the front in my opinion makes the tractor dangerous, especially with no ROPS protection. Hope this helps and welcome aboard!!

 

[RonR]

Another thing: If the 601 doesn't have power steering that works, having a load on the front makes it almost impossible to steer. You will curse every hour you drive it with something in the bucket.....

Ron

 

[Keith_B_]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I used to have a 641 Ford. I think the 641 was a newer model than the 601. Same tractor from what I understand. I used a Massey Ferguson 1051 bush hog mower and it worked great. I also had a loader on the front with a front crank mounted pto pump. Loader was fast and strong, but not suited for heavy dirt work. The frame of the loader was always cracking. The tractor was not suited for a loader as well. The front end was to light for heavy work. The tractor was great for bush hogging and using a box grader. Good power out of the tractor. Just was not suited well for heavy loader work. Also with the loader on the front the tractor was very light on the rear. I had tires full of fluid and weights on the rear. Still not very stable. I had to put the mower on the back to feel comfortable when using the loader. My suggestion, stay away if you plan on using the loader alot. Mowing and grading the tractor will do fine. A loader on the front in my opinion makes the tractor dangerous, especially with no ROPS protection. Hope this helps and welcome aboard!! )</font>

The 601 is the series, and the 641 is a particular tractor model within the series. The middle number was used to indicate how the tractor was equipped coming out of the factory. The 601 was available with different transmissions, like the four speed or the five speed stack shift, and with different types of PTOs, tranny or independent. Some even came with no 3PH and no PTO and were basically tow tractors.

 

[SteveM]

You have heard it already, but move on. This is not a good idea....going from no tractor experience to an antique is a tough leap, and most people end up frustrated or worse. The advice to hire out excavation is excellent, very few people really need a backhoe all the time, and it is a very expensive pce of equipment.

Good luck

 

[Donnyj]

Thanks for the info on the model designation.