letter series value

I have seen various letter series restored farmalls listed on e-bay for : say 5 or 6 thousand dollars for a restored super c I was just wondering if anyone is aware of these tractors bringing this much fully restored properly ? I properly restored a farmall "A" several years ago, Complete engine rebuild, All sheet metal repaired or replaced, New rims , New tires, New generator, Starter, Wiring , Gauges, All seals and gaskets, And proffesional paint job. It was only in need of a good grille to finish. I had roughly 5,000.00 invested and hundreds of my own labor hours involved. Shortly after finishing it I became in need of some money quick. After extensive advertising It only brought 2,800.00 And I had to delivery it 400 miles each way for free or included in the price per say. When I see these letter series for sale on e-bay etc they never seem to sell , When you know that the guy is probably selling it just for what he has in parts cost. It's like getting a tractor restored labor free ? Just wondering if you guys think we will ever be able to get our money back out of them someday ? Since selling my "a" I am now working on a super "C" Many questions posted here and always good answers, Thanks for your help !

photo at http://s543.photobucket.com/albums/gg469/amirgon0424/

1002100167.jpg

Well Jonathan, I don`t doubt for a second that to fully restore a SA or SC will cost in the 4K to 5K range.Tires aren`t cheap,professional paint jobs, sheet metal etc, etc. I don`t restore tractors on the notion that I`ll get rich off them someday. I do it more because I like to work on old tractors and it`s very therapeutic to me .I don`t go hog wild replacing parts if they really don`t need replacing and the more you can do for yourself the better too.I wouldn`t count on selling too many SA`s or SC`s for $5000 even though I know if it`s a good restoration job, the guy`s probably got that much in it.They are both fairly common tractors that collectors won`t go very hard after and this is coming from a guy that has 3 SC`s and loves `em! The only tractors I`m seeing appreciate in value seem to be the rarer ones ,although that in itself doesn`t guarantee high values either. On the flip side,they made quite a few SMTA`s and they seem to bring a pretty good price in good condition.I guess what I`m saying is do it cause you like it, not to get rich!

Very old, or very rare low production tractors can sell for much more than the going rate for repair and refitting. Some John Deere tractors (for no good reason except the name seems to build a following despite being no better or worse than many many others) are an exception to this.
The only real advantage to a restored tractor of common high production ancestry is the good feeling from driving it in a parade, or using it for work.
30 to 40 year old tractors fill the work ethic far better than those with no live PTO etc. It is just not a money making deal for common tractors like Ms Hs and Cs. JimN

Slick. David.........

One of the biggest reasons I won't restore anyone else's tractor is I don't like working for nothing. I do my own as a labor of love because they all have "meaning", and they will never leave.

when you restore the old tractors its easy to replace all parts that dont look like new. One thing to keep in mine is what that tractor is going to do for the rest of its life? Probably go to threshings, parade, maybe plow day here and there but really is it going to need all the new parts to do that or are some of them going to hold up just fine. Its deffently not going back to the field everyday like they did when they were new. Now we all would like to have the perfectly restored tractor but whats reality ? JD do bring more but they also kept better records to know how many of each model were made and with what options, so this also make the collectivity higher on some models. And jd is like harley davidson, prob not the best but has the name.

Whats the purpose of the picture to show all the wrong things as that is a repainted one and not restored.

Might not please the Farmall God but close enough for me.

I don't worry about having more invested in a tractor than it is worth, especially if it has sedimentary value. However, It buggs me alot to lose money in the stockmarket or worse yet paying taxes to bail out big banks and the auto industries.