Is there a most "desirable/collectable" for restoration?

[Farmwithjunk]

I wonder if the 435 might not be a good choice for him then if he wants to pull hay rides. I hadn't thought about the people not being able to hear afterwards. But then again he should only be running at an idle so it shouldn't be too loud.

It didn't really start to cackle until it was in a hard pull. I had a mounted cultivator on mine, and while it was just above idle, it was as loud as my MF150 at full throttle.

What might pop up as the FIRST reason a 435 wouldn't be the #1 choice is the fact that they sell for a hefty price nowdays. "average" to rough, maybe $7500. A well done restoration, maybe $10,000 to $12,000. Mint original, over $15,000. I saw one sell at auction 2 years ago for $17000. You can buy a whole barnyard full of B's for that money!

 

[bjcsc]

I personally want to find a nice old spoker D some day to restore.

I second that. The true spokers consistently sell for more money than any other model at auctions...

 

[JSR LLS]

Well, I love my Johnny M and agree that it is a great tractor I disagree that it would have surpassed the N series Fords as the most popular ever with just a 3pt hitch and smoother engine. The M series is light on its nose and getting on and off is a lot of fun where as the N series did a better job of keeping all four wheels on the ground on hilly areas and you could get on and off that tractor easily.

Currently, my M is sitting in the barn hooked to the one bottom plow (I have two one bottom plows till I find someone to buy the other one). I want to paint it up some day and hook up my cultivators and leave it that way for shows and occasional garden duty.

Robert, I see you already have an M, but Rodgers & Son has a real nice one on their lot in Cherry Creek I saw the other day as I passed by. They had it hooked up to something, looked ready to work.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Robert, I see you already have an M, but Rodgers & Son has a real nice one on their lot in Cherry Creek I saw the other day as I passed by. They had it hooked up to something, looked ready to work.

Yeah, they have had that M for a couple years. It has a few implements that go with it. I asked Bob if he wanted to sell just the sickle mower off but they wouldn't seperate the package at the time. That is one thing I would like for mine so that I can use it to maintain around the ponds and ditches.

If I recall their price wasn't too bad for the complete package. They did a nice job painting it up (I didn't look it over up close) and these small tractors do not take up much room.

I did have a second M that I sold last year. I paid $1500 for it not running with a crappy paint job and messed up front axle. It came with cultivators, front blade and a plow. I sold the front blade, front wheel weights and tractor and all I did was add a battery to the tractor as well as a simple tune up. Made around $1k and I still have the cultivator and plow (the plow is going to leave some day) and hopefully I find a nice sickle mower for the M as that tractor is so much fun to operate (I love the long hood designs of the older tractors)

 

[wolc123]

I spent many hours on an M as a kid, much of it cultivating corn. I kind of liked the way that tractor worked as you could keep your head up and line up the row using the ridge on the hood. Cultivating in 3rd gear at wide open throttle, I could nock out the fields real fast. These days, I use a Farmall cub with which I can cultivate a bit closer since you can look right down on the row, but it definitely slows you down (probably would need to anyway with 1/2 the hp) and puts you in a less comfortable operating position. I do a lot less acreage now than in the old days so that aint a real big problem. You are right about the M being tougher to mount and dismount than a Ford N but I never noticed that problem when I was a kid as much as I do now. While it was tougher to mount, it made up for that a bit by having a lot more ground clearance which made it a better cultivating tractor and better in mud holes (of which I have plenty), than a Ford N. My two personal favorite all time tractors would be the 51/52 Ford 8N and the JD M with the 8N coming out on top because of the 3pt hitch. Thankfully, I own both of them and wouldnt part with them even if someone offered me 5 times their value. My 51 8n is the tightest all original N (still has most the factory paint), that I have ever seen, only has 1800 hrs of which 600 are mine and the rest were accumulated by my nieghbor who stored it inside, and did nothing with it but work a 1/2 acre garden each spring for many years. The M was purchased new by my grandad and was the first tractor on our farm, replacing a team of horses back in 1950. I know many folks who regret not having thier first tractor and I am very thankful to still have mine and my grandads.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

My M came with the farm my parents bought in 1987. It was bought new by the previous owner who grew tomatos on this property for ages. It was always kept in the barn and is in great original condition. It even has the original rear tires the side walls have holes rotted thru. I need to replace them but there has been no hurry as I hadn't used that tractor much in the last 6 years for various reasons.

Since I finally brought it back to the farm (it was stored at my grandfathers place when we tore down its old home to put up a new barn and never made it back down till last month) it will start seeing more use hopefully. But with my back the way it is now it is not a tractor I will choose to get on and off multiple times a day. I will either find a sickle mower or put the cultivators on it and leave it like that.

 

[wolc123]

I wish our M was still in that kind of condition but it is pretty well worn, probably because it was the only tractor we had for around 25 years and put in a lot of long hours doing tough work. We would actually run it all day and into the night with the lights at times, stopping only to add gas and change operators. We used a 2x12" plow on it and my dad used that combo this year to work his 1 acre garden. It still runs well, even starts good on 6 volts, and now wears new rear rubber and rims but the steering is getting loose. I would be afraid to guess at how many hours it has accumulated, needing only (2) valve jobs and (1) clutch besides normal maintenence, but it must be well over 10,000. I hope they still make them like they used to and I can get that kind of service out of the new JD 4120 I picked up a few years ago. Time will tell I guess. I will admit that the switch for the first time to 4wd has resulted in almost as much productivity gain as the switch from horses to tractor power because of my muddy ground. Leaving the cultivators on your M will make it easier for you to get on and off (makes a nice step), but will make it tough to load on a trailer for taking to shows (they dont lift very high).

 

[Engine_Tech]

In general, "Waterloo Works" tractors are worth more than "Dubuque Works" tractors. Waterloo tractors have engines with horizontal cylinders and hand clutches, Dubuque tractors have vertical cylinders and a foot clutch.

Waterloo = A, B, D, G, H, R, 50, 60, etc

Dubuque = M, 40, 420, etc.

To me, an "H" would be cool. That was the smallest tractor built at the Waterloo Works.

 

[deere755]

My picks would be a 70 diesel. My uncle had one and when it was cold out you could hook a chain to the tractor and pull start it quicker then you could get the pony motor started.

#2 for me is the 4020 diesel. I can not believe these are collectors all ready but that just shows I am getting older. I still believe this is one of the best tractors ever built by anyone, I guess that shows my age again LOL.