rScotty
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2001
- Messages
- 8,292
- Location
- Rural mountains - Colorado
- Tractor
- Kubota M59, JD530, JD310SG. Restoring Yanmar YM165D
Sounds like the OP knows mechanical things. So do I. And I going to say go with whichever one has a good power steering and a good 3pt lift. A lot of older converted tractors didn't have power steering because they weren't really made for a loader. They were also front end heavy. So get the one with a good power steering, and good 3pt lift... and if both do, get a good PTO.
Also, in something that old, a diesel would have to be in excellent shape or else I would very much prefer a gasser. That era of industrial gasoline engines were as good as diesels, and carbs and spark are easy to diagnose & repair ....plus any old gasser does start much easier than an old diesel in the cold.
We did much the same thing with a 1950's JD 2 cylinder and a trip bucket loader. It did the job and we thought it was wonderful. A lot of that was simply not having money and not knowing any better.
In fact, we still have it and it still works.... but nobody wants it. And nobody cares to use it.
We now have a Kubota TLB and wish we had bought it decades earlier... but of course we couldn't.
Keep in mind that even a 20 hp compact 4wd from the 1980s will get more actual work done... and with a whole lot less of your own effort. So after the IH, keep your eyes open.
rScotty
Also, in something that old, a diesel would have to be in excellent shape or else I would very much prefer a gasser. That era of industrial gasoline engines were as good as diesels, and carbs and spark are easy to diagnose & repair ....plus any old gasser does start much easier than an old diesel in the cold.
We did much the same thing with a 1950's JD 2 cylinder and a trip bucket loader. It did the job and we thought it was wonderful. A lot of that was simply not having money and not knowing any better.
In fact, we still have it and it still works.... but nobody wants it. And nobody cares to use it.
We now have a Kubota TLB and wish we had bought it decades earlier... but of course we couldn't.
Keep in mind that even a 20 hp compact 4wd from the 1980s will get more actual work done... and with a whole lot less of your own effort. So after the IH, keep your eyes open.
rScotty