What's your favorite antique tractor?

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?

Live hydraulics means that the PTO does not need to be engaged for the 3pt lift to operate. Ford 2N/8N/9N tractors do not have live hydraulics, so for example if you want to lift a bush hog you will have to have the blades running to do so. Not having live hydraulics is real inconvenient. With live hydraulics you can use the lift as long as the tractor is running, whether the PTO is engaged or not. The Jubilee/NAA has live hydraulics. Did the ones you looked at have a bush hog available to test them out with? If so, try each one and you'll see what I mean. The 54 NAA sounds like a good deal!

 

[W5FL]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?

Interesting...

Massey has a different system in that the clutch has to be out to the first position to have hydraulic power to the 3 point (or anywhere else), but the lever for the PTO engagement allows you to turn the pto on/off. The clutch still has to be to the first position for the pto to engage.

Kubota sure does all of this right, but it sure helps to own a machine for a few years so you know what you DON'T want. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Now I don't have to swing a cement mixer into the grill to remember not to do that. I know not to ever run it out of diesel. I know to check the pto driveshaft to be sure it clears an implement when you raise it the first time and a lot of other things. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[jdfarme]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?

Hey there. I'm up in the upper Northeast. I have run and owned both old Deere and old Farmall all my life. I am also familiar with the little Fords & Fergusons. The fellow with the Kubota suggestion has a good one. But if you insist on old stuff, I think Deere's 420's and 430's from 1958 and '59 would be right up your alley. They are considerably stronger than 8N's, 9N's etc., and have 3-point, live PTO, and live hydraulics unlike stock pre-1954 Farmalls. I use my old Farmalls for heavy drawbar and extremely heavy PTO work, but my 420's are my preference for all other kinds of things. Field and roadside cutterbar mowing, bushhogging, plowing, snow removal, logging, sugaring, road grading, baling, raking, tedding, spreading, cultivating, etc. etc. etc. Endless chores can be done with my 420's. They get around very well on wet ground and in tight spots. They plow and work wet ground that my big red "Super's" bury themselves in. And I really like the live PTO & live hydraulics. I also use either of my 420's on an 18KW generator and for detachable bucket loader, backhoe, and forklift work. They have better fuel economy compared with 4-cylinder tractors of same HP bracket and are very easy to work on. If you can find one that hasn't been abused, you'll have a good candidate. Final drives on these stand up to a lot of hard work, but not to maltreatment. I have always had excellent service from my Supers and my 420's. I could never replace them and they don't owe me a penny.

 

[Thomas]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?..jdfarme

jdfarme.
What part of the northeast are you from for I'm NH, and no Jim... NH in this case doesn't stand for New Holland. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

To be honest I know very little about J.D. 420's & 430's,other than the 420 was made from 1956-1958.and the 430 1958-1960.
Did both models have narrow front ends or could one purchase a wide front end,and what other differents are there?
I know of 3 people who still work 1-320 and 2-330 models J.D. and they are like a mule. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
What the differents between the two models?

You mention you have a Farmall Super and I was wondering what model?

Thats for sure a Farmall will get stuck,and if you spin the tires you will be picking grass,mud etc.. out of your ears and hair. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Take care and be good to yourself. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[jdfarme]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?..jdfarme

I'm western Vt. by Fair Haven. Very familiar with NH. There are several different models of 420's & 430's. Most are wide front. Very few are narrow-front. There is the 420C (crawler), 420H (hi-crop), 420T (tricycle), 420U (utility -has fixed rear axle), 420W (rowcrop utility- has adjustable axles), 420V (special), 420I (industrial - is usually just a bare utility), 420S (standard), and 420 2-row utility. 430's offered same mostly. Most common models are the C, U, S, and W. I prefer the U and W for my work. The 420's and 430's walk circles around the 320's and 330's. They have a bigger bore, larger valves, and better carburation. They are the dad of the "mule's" you mention. Operate them for a day and you will sell a little Ford without thinking twice. I also have a Super M, a Super MD-TA, a Super WD-6, a '28 Regular, and several pieces of construction equipment and trucks with IH UD, SD, and BD power.

 

[Thomas]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?..jdfarme

Thank you for the intersting information. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The J.D. crawlers 420C are very seldom sold and I can understand why, /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif for they are a good all purpose unit.

I have a question on the crawlers maybe you could help.
J.D. made two different models, the MC & 40C.
I'm not sure of the dates but the MC was from 1949 to 1952 and the 40C 1953 to 1955.
My question is whats the different in general ?

Like I stated before I know very little about John Deere,and I have another question.
John Deere I believe 720 also ran of propane is this true?
I'm interested in what model Super M do you have. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Your Super WD-6 is truely a beast and you are fortunate to have one,also Super MD-TA. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Speaking of the Super MD-TA, I never seen one nor W-4 & W-9 but heard about them.
Do you own the narrow or the wide front end?
Comparing your Super M to your Super MD-TA how would you judge the horse power also traction?

I don't mean to bother with all the questions,but I do enjoy older tractors mostly Farmalls. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I've been to Fair Haven about 3 years ago,and I will say Vermont has better agricultural shows than New Hampshire.

Take care and enjoy your toys. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[jdfarme]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?..jdfarme

The dates appear correct. The 40C engine was a bit stronger than the MC, I think 15%. The drivetrain was also improved.
I'm not sure of an LP-gas "720," but there probably was. If you meant an LP "420," yes, there is one. My SM was originally a narrow-front row-crop with a 264 hi-output engine. My SMDTA had an older aftermarket wide-front. It has a power-assist steering unit like on the IH 400's. I swapped front ends with my SM. The SM steers a lot easier with the WF, and the NF on the SMDTA does well with the power-assist. The W-4 is a tiny thing with a hand clutch.
I also may get an OS-4 (an orchard-type without the big shields). The W & WD-9's sit lower than the 6's, but are a little wider and have beefier engines. They became the IH W600's. Traction with the SM is very good, and is a little better than the SMDTA because the "TA" is a little longer, the weight distribution is different. The SM's traction is much better than the SWD-6 who's 30" rubber spins too easily. My SM has pulled loaded Agway lime trucks out of mud holes. That usually surprises the drivers because they had envisioned the neighbor's JD 4020 doing the job. But I will say that JD's old horizontal two-cylinders will about out-pull everything in their weight class. It's because that engine weight sits way back near the rear wheels.

 

[raptor]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?

Since this is an open forum, I'm sure there are several thoughts on the "best", or "someone's favorite" tractor.
With that in mind, I'll share my opinion.

I have always admired the Ford 8N, and Ferguson TO/TOE series tractors, but felt they had short comings that, 'for me' prevented their consideration as a serious work tractor.
The tractor I would ultimately choose, would have all the desireable attributes of an 8N (wide front end, low center of gravity, ease of operation, robust design, parts availability, easy operator maintenance, 3 point implement compatability, and low initial cost) without the short comings (6 volt electrical system, gasoline engine, transmission driven pto and lift, 4 speed transmission). I searched out and bought a Massey Ferguson 35 Deluxe with a 3 cylinder Perkins diesel engine. The tractor has all the bells and whistles I require, and yet is extremely straight forward, and uncluttered. Is it a perfect tractor, no far from it. It has the limitations of 1950's technology, but there is something comfortable, and down home feeling about it, that just 'feels' right. I currently maintain the field line, and small patch of woods on my dad's 55 acres. It has done everything I have asked of it.

Anyway, thanks for letting me share the thoughts. Happy and SAFE tractoring.

Raptor.

 

[sjvalin]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?

Thanks. I like the MF35's, too. It appears it is the direct descendent of the Ferguson TO-20/30/35 line. Another tractor with the same engine and similar specs is the Fordson Dexta. I'm currently looking into picking up one of these.

 

[raptor]

Re: What\'s your favorite antique tractor?

I wanted to look at a Ford Super Dextra, but didn't run across one in my search. I stumbled across the MF35, and it was love at first sight. As soon as the seller started her up, I knew she'd (Nellie) be going home with me. She's a real beauty (at least to me). I'm trying to convince my wife to learn to operate it - maybe it's better I don't. Happy and SAFE tractoring.

Raptor

 

[Anonymous Poster]

8Ntractor?

I grew up with Ms and ford 8Ns and I found them very safe.It might be wise for you to cheack out N completes web site for remanufactured Ford tractors. They are better than new and carry a warranty. As far as live hydraulics I find little use other than loader work. If you plan to use a loader very often; like 5 hours a week or more it might be nice. The hydraulics work on non-live when the clutch is released not when the pto lever is moved. the pto or draft lever raise and lower the 3 point hitch. a big advantage of the ford is that you have a much bigger wheel and better torque at operating speeds.

 

[scruffy]

Re: 8Ntractor?

I personally went against the traditional 'American' made antique tractor, and bought an old Kubota L175 which by the way turned out to really be an L1500 gray, but I won't acknowledge that. It was made somewhere in the late 60's to early 70's from what I can ascertain. Parts are available, price was right, and tractor was in very good shape overall w/only 792 hours on the clock. (w/FEL & BOX BLADE).
It gives me a play toy, and something to spend 'hobby' time with, so far without costing a fortune. I have no use for a new tractor, nor really a tractor at this time!

 

[scruffy]

Re: 8Ntractor?

Just to add a little to the idea of an older Kubota, mine has a class 1 3pt hitch, box blade, FEL, PTO, and has cost me less than 1600 bucks so far (purchase and needed repairs)

 

[PaulB]

Re: 8Ntractor?

scruffy - you better take a look at your left front tire, looks a little low in the picture./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gifSeriously, I have no idea where you got a tractor like that at that price - what a deal.

 

[Bird]

Re: 8Ntractor?

Scruffy, you either got one heck of a bargain, or you've done a lot of work on it yourself; maybe both?/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird

 

[scruffy]

Re: 8Ntractor?

PaulB, yeah I know on that left front, it was flat when I bought the tractor...both front tires are sadly weather checked.
Bird, the tractor I found down the road, sitting in weeds and some brush. Over the course of a year, it never moved, so I stopped to ask if they were interested in selling it. The upshot was...YES! I made a deal on it for $1100.00 with no working reverse gear, turn signal / work lights missing, seat padding long gone, bakelight covering on steering wheel cooked off by sun, but fired right up and ran like a charm. It had a broken hydraulic hose on the FEL, and I spent 300 bucks for parts to fix the tranny, the rest has been odds and ends (lights, steering wheel pad/cover) toplink, by the way I bought a new one, and never got it on before the old one and pins were found. It even came complete with a full set of filters! Still have to replace a headlight lamp yet.
All in all, not a lot of work, but a nice little tractor!

addon: Other than the above, the only thing I've done is wash and wax it. It was garaged kept for all but two years of its life, and then parked out in the hot sun when reverse went out in the tranny. Can't figure out why it wasn't fixed and used, but hey, people can be strange.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by scruffy on 10/16/00 09:51 PM.</FONT></P>