To Andy Motteberg concerning F-12 Tractors

Andy,
Regardless of what someone may have told you the F-12 and F-14(the big one) was as next to worthless as anything ever built. A bicycle and a rope would pull about as much. They were unscrupulously sold to poor souls during the depression who thought a tractor was a tractor. They were cheap, but they would have been high if they were free. Have you ever tried to farm with one? By contrast the F-20 was a great tractor. I was not a drug store cowboy but a man who farmed a thousand acres.

I think you are completely wrong. Balancing on a bicycle trying to go through farm dirt, while pulling a rope attached to a plow would be next to impossible! And that's using a modern mountain bike built for dirt! I can't imagine even trying on a bicycle they build back in the 30's! That would be crazy!!

Fact: The F-12/F-14 were and are better at farming than a bicycle.

I sure do wish Kim hadnt let you back in! I thought you had learned your lesson, but evidentally not.

Tom,The F12 and 14 were an excellent tractor in there day,for what they were designed for,and the cost was affordable,I have 2 of them I just play with,and I would love to be able to use them on a small scale.Technology must start some where,and IH built a very strong reputation with row crop farming.I spent a lot of hours on a SC farmall mowing,and raking hay as a kid and theres very little difference between the C and F12-14.To each his own

jimmy

Tom, With respect, what possible positive value does this information provide. Every tractor ever made (including home made doodlebugs) were better than a #2 spade and a bag of seed on a strap over your shoulder. There are examples of less than desirable elements on every tractor ever made because they are all compromises. Too big for the barn, too small for the baler, too weak for the loader. We run what we can afford, and some of that was pretty modest in the years between the 1st and 2nd World Wars. If you worked 1000 acres, you might not have even considered a F-12. I would have possibly as a third tractor for pulling wagons and lot use. As times get tougher as we find the depth of the scams that have driven the world into financial grief, positive things to add to the conversations on the Forum are important. Jim

They are NOT worthless pieces of junk like you say. You are COMPLETELY WRONG. A bicycle and rope would not even come close to beating a F-12 or F-14, but I bet the bike and rope could easily beat you. My Dad and Grandpa farmed with F-12s and they did a good job. Right now we are fixing up two F-12s. They were slow, but a road gear or over drive could be added if you wanted speed. My Dad's F-12 goes 7MPH because it has a faster transmission than the regular F-12. (option). Faster speed was an option. I agree with John M, Kim should shut you down since all you seem to do here is pick on people and say mean things about people's tractors.

(quoted from post at 15:31:00 06/21/09) They are NOT worthless pieces of junk like you say. You are COMPLETELY WRONG. A bicycle and rope would not even come close to beating a F-12 or F-14, but I bet the bike and rope could easily beat you. My Dad and Grandpa farmed with F-12s and they did a good job. Right now we are fixing up two F-12s. They were slow, but a road gear or over drive could be added if you wanted speed. My Dad's F-12 goes 7MPH because it has a faster transmission than the regular F-12. (option). Faster speed was an option. I agree with John M, Kim should shut you down since all you seem to do here is pick on people and say mean things about people's tractors.

Click to expand...

both of my grandfathers had f-12s, they were there first tractors after using horses,only complant i ever heard was they didnt start good when hot.they were happy with them,they didnt go back to the horses.

For anyone that didn't get it, I was just being sarcastic for the troll.

She did once! Shouldve never let him back in IMO.

I grew up on a 73 acre farm in NW NJ in the 40"s and 50"s, we only had a 1937 F 12 which I hated as a kid because all I wanted was a Farmall H, but I did all the mowing and raking and hauling a manure spreader and various small farm jobs with it, they were also good for cultivating, the main problem with it was the fuel pump, I later figured out that they had a brass layered fuel filter at the top which would clog quite often. According to the 150 years of International Harvester book that I have, they only used 2 quarts of gas pr hour, try that with todays tractors. I still have bad memories of that tractor, but now I have a beautifully restored 1951 Farmall H in my garage. The F 12 was far from useless.
Tom

If they were so worthless, why didn't people buy other tractors or go back to horses. Why did families use them on there farms for 20+ years. If they were that bad why do people still own them. I don't think they are nearly as bad as your tarnished history on this board of just ripping on people, getting kicked off and then begging back to the moderators.

Your an idiot, you must not know anything about old farmall tractors. The f-12's and F-14's were great little tractors. I'd love to challenge you to a pull off. You on a bicycle and me on f12 or f14. Id love to see who wins, maybe we can give andy a call and he can come watch, maybe he would like to bring a few of his tractors out and we can see how you fair against them. What next are you going to start calling the Farmall H garbage?

well put.

I am not prejudiced. The early Unstyled John Deere B was equally notorious. I remember a neighbor in attempting to plow with one had to hook a team of horses in front of it. The team soon became trained to start pulling when the engine would pull down. My Uncle often would take an old man to the field with a harnessed team to pull the F-12 if it stalled hot. This was after repeated magneto and carburetor overhauls.

By contrast, the F-20, Farmall H and M were some of the finest tractors ever built. I have restored my Father's 1950 H which he bought new to show room condition.

An older friend of mine often tells the story of a prosperous farmer who told the Farmall dealer to bring out a new tractor to demonstrate. The dealer brought out an F-12 and the farmer hired my friend to drive it while he observed. He noticed it barely moving and told my friend to "open her up." My friend said "it is wide open already. The farmer then told the dealer to get the worthless thing off his place. As the dealer and F-12 were departing the farmer asked if they had any better tractors back at the dealership. The next day they brought out a new F-20 and the farmer was amazed at what it would do and bought it after the first round.

I don't need any nonsense from parade farmers and tinkerers about the wonderment of the F-12. Farmers kept them during the depression because they didn't have the money to get rid of them.

I ran a F-12 on steel for a neighbor back in 1946-1947. It was a dependable tractor that really took a beating from me, I was a 14 year old kid and I was rough on this tractor...virtually everything I did with it was at wide-open-throttle for all it was worth. Considering everything it took all I gave it and asked for more. Critically speaking I don't believe it was quite as good as it's counterpart from John Deere, the unstyled model B. The B had more gears and a little faster high gear. I liked the seating position on the B much better and it was easier cultivating corn with it, you could see better and the cultivators operated easier. As far as pulling power they were pretty equal, I have to give the nod to the B because I think it did a little better in tough conditions and it was easier to do a good job with it. The F-12 started better, using straight gas in it and the distillate/gas start on the B. If I killed the B I never really knew if I should drain the carburetor of fuel and get the gas to start it or just try to restart it on fuel(distillate). This is an honest evaluation as far as I remember those days. I loved Farmall H's and styled John Deere B's, they were both terrific tractors in their day...easy for a kid to use doing anything...hard to make a choice between them. Guess the H might have had a little more power and a faster road gear...not much difference though. Always felt the Farmall M was a lot more tractor than a John Deere A...never was a G around to compare. Got a souped up G now and love outpulling Farmall M's......So, what more can I say????

Tom. It seems to me the proper way to state it would be, I don't like the F12 or F14 tractors. They didn"t have enough power for me. WE don't all like the same things. Look what would happen if we all liked the same lady. I would say, think before you speak. I farmed with a F 14 when I was young. With my dad that is. No I wasn't crazy about it either. But I don't whine about it when they are someone elses favorite. Bernie Steffen

Tom43 is obviously mentally unbalanced. Just go away, kook.

Tom 43:
Unless you are investing $ in Andy's tractors, what's it to you? You've already expressed your opinion, so why not leave Andy alone and let him enjoy the tractors he likes?
mike

I have to agree. I"ve restored a F-14, and have a lot of fun with it, but I"d hate to rely on it to do much work. My Dad"s Dad had a new F-12 in "35 I think. Wore it out in a year. Bought an F-20, said then he had a tractor.