Farmall restorers

Hey guys, all these old tractors are fun so just enjoy them. I have had a 60 JD for 23 years and have worked it real hard part of the time but not daily. It never fails and pulls like a champ while leaking water and oil everywhere. I don't need a belt and never plan to use one so I care not about belt drive.

I also have a '58 Ford 641, a great little tractor for mowing which is all I ever use it for.

I want a SM because I like them and will put it to work too. As a young whippersnapper I spent many hours daylight to dark on a ranch in Oregon mowing with an M at full throttle in 4th gear.

I may get an AC D17 too, they are great tractors and have that great Power Director live PTO system and 8 speeds.

The JD 60 has a hand clutch and very low gearing which the Ford does not. Each one has something the others do not.

If you have never used a hand clutch in close quarters you have missed out, it beats a foot clutch every time. You can move it inches at a time, very good for hooking up implements.

I would like to have a JD 630 but all JDs have become kind of a cult and are overpriced kind of like '55-'57 Chevys. Just be glad this hasn't happened to Farmalls yet so we can still afford to enjoy them. Same for ACs and Fords, they are still reasonably priced.

The interesting part of all of this as of 2004, I think John Deere has done the best job of marketing everyone else's good ideas. John Deere still does not have the perfect tractor in my opinion. Mainly because they overlooked some good ideas. They should go back to IH 56 series and their own 20 series and see what they missed.

So for all these guys that think they have the perfect tractor, you have a bit to learn.

I remember when I was a kid here in North Arkansas about the only tractors around were Farmalls and Fords, mostly because they were the only dealers here.

In the eastern delta part of the state it seemed that JD had most of the market. Later on around the '70s and on to today JDs became the major brand here in the hills and there are a lot of JD dealers here now. Ford is still very strong and IHC is next but fading. Never had many AC, Case, MF, MM or any of the others.

I think my point here is that brands seem to be concentrated in certain regions of the US. I drove a MM for my Uncle in Eastern Oregon wheat country but it was the only one I ever saw.

It seems to me that the Farmall guys here on this post are kind of defensive when comparing Farmalls to JDs but don't know why. Farmalls are great tractors and there is no rule that says they all have to be perfectly restored barn queens. I would much rather have a good looking good running useful tractor than a perfect barn queen that I was afraid to get dirty.

I also have a bunch of antique big trucks and feel the same way about them, I drive and enjoy all of them even though two of them could easily be show trucks. I haul gravel with the best one.

Old machinery is all about having fun!

Glenn: I concur with your observations. The two-cylinder JDs are almost useless when it comes to belt work. They do alright if the loading is not heavy, but pull 'em down on the belt and they embarrass their owners. I do not want to come across as unkind or color blind here; I'm simply stating what I have observed. The Baker Test Fan our Club plays around with really illustrates this shortcoming in the JD 2-cylinder design.

Case in point: at a local show last year, a chap showed up with a home-built Prony brake driven by way of the tractor's belt pulley. My W-9 registered 50 BHP. A buddy's well-tuned JD 720D garnered only 42 BHP due to the fact that the JD had the belt flopping all over tarnation from its violent, uneven power impulses. You know darned good and well a 720D is up around 57 BHP.

So I ask one and all: how in the heck did Nebraska U. get accurate BHP readings when they were testing the JDs especially the 820?

It's so that they blend in with the grass when they see a Farmall!

I sort of agree with you. Most green ones are nicely restored. The analogy I like to make is that green ones are like Harley motorcycles....more of a sheep mentality. It's the "look at me", "no....look at me" kind of thing. Functionality takes a back seat to style.

I've sort of noticed that the usability of an old tractor is directly proportional to how restred it will be. Take an old JD A or B, or even an L, they are unlikely to be used for much on a farm, so they usually are shiny. Your average H or M is still a viable 4th or 5th tractor on a farm, so they keep their work clothes on.

Some aren't gonna like what I say next, but you look at the advanced designs of the vintage Ford tractors, like the 9N, 8N, Jubilee, 6 and 800 series, and the usefullness of them still today, and you can see what I am talking about. The 100 series of Farmalls are the same. The numbers would indicate there should be lots of them at shows, but they are all still working for a living on hobby farms.

So don't worry about it. Here's my leak free, perfect running BN. Hope it makes you feel better.

Take Care
Steve

I like to fix 'em up and paint 'em up, but not to the point where you knot your knickers from fear of a fly spending a little time on the sheetmetal. I know of a few guys who will not participate in displaying their tractor(s) at our local fair because the tractor over the course of a week gets dust on it! DUST!

I want them looking nice, but I want to use them, too. THAT'S the best part--using them. I love seeing older stuff in good shape still earning their keep. Nothin' better! Our 460 looks good, not great, but good. Over the course of the last two weeks, we've been helping a buddy who does custom baling get some work done by doing the raking for him. Last week, just before sunset, I went looking for my brother and the 460 to see how they were getting along. Driving up the road to this farm, I spied them raking about a half mile away in a valley. The bright sun, autumn colors, green hay field and smart-looking 460 was simply a sight to behold!

Dang nice-lookin' BN you got there!

I am working on my own website about restoring the BN, but because I am not a farmer will not be as exciting as yours, but I am planning on putting a link to your site....any objections?

Take Care
Steve

Along those same lines:

I went into the implement dealer here and was complaining to him that I could not find a 6-row Cyclo 500 planter anywhere. Just don't see 'em around anyplace.

He told me, "Yes, that is because they are all still out on the farms working."

Allan

Bob

scotty

At the antique agricultural machinery museum I help out at, the green tractors sit in the shed waiting to be towed out to their tents by a red tractor. True story.
We use a T6, a 350 Utility, an H, and a 756 to move everything from the steam engines to the little JD L. We use a Farmall A to run the buck saw to make firewood for the steam engines.
Green ones are for looking at, red ones are for work, just the way it is.

Here's the deal.

We don't have to justify that massive outlay of the initial cash investment to our wives like they do. If ya spend that kind of money on an old green tractor, it darned well better end up being just like new! :>)

(Well, most of you guys don't anyway; I'm dumber than most) :>)

Allan