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Older tractors.

D

DeltaRed

Well-known Member
Does anybody still buy older tractors to farm with? Seems all averybody wants to do these days is "build" a puller or to restore.Just saw where someone bought a super nice 806 and is already talking of turning it into a puller.Another guy is buying a 856 to "restore"Am I the only guy out there still useing(and enjoying) those old tractors?Or maybe I the only guy still stupid enough to try to still farm full time......
 
I use mine for all kinds of stuff, most of which the 4-wheeler could PROBABLY do better!!!

The reason I bought these old tractors was a plan, this plan is that when I turn 18 and buy a place of my own, I will have ALL of the equipment that I need to start farming. Almost everyone I talk to, even my parents, say that you can't farm with old equipment, it just doesn't pan out. All I have to say is B S... :)

Long story short, MY tractors are for ME to use, and that I do! Bryce
 
Its all how you want to do it! I will say in are area and ground some of the newer implements will make you money! It doesnt matter what the horse looks like pulling it! One for example is the corn planter! Its a big key to a good crop! I will say that for sure! I love my old iron to!
 
In my part of the country the small farmer is just about extinct. About every farmer now farms from 5000 to 20000 acres
 
In response to you and some of the others below.
Newer tractors sure are nice ! Nice cabs, better hydraulics for loader and such. But sure are expensive $$$$$$ and long term reliability who knows ? but sure to cost a lot more to buy and keep fixed.

Now there are several BTO with BIG fancy new stuff around me. Several old timers still using the older units like yours. And then there are the Amish still farming with horses ! So you can make it with any of them. Just takes more money to do more ground faster but in the end the total profits might not be that much different. I seem to recall someone did a study to compare the Amish to the BTO and the Amish were not doing too bad. Wish I had an idea who did that study and where I heard about it ?
 
The local (West Phoenix, Az) BTO has several 3010, 3020, 4010 and 4020's JD's going, and after that I loose track of them, though they also have plenty of BIG NEW tractors too.

As brake down prone as the IHC 806 was that my grandpa had, no wonder there passing to the hands of restores and pullers- Grandpa was just a "hobby farmer" who did "custom farming" for 1-5 acre horse properties (by the time he got the 806 in the late 90's, mostly just planting winter pasture)-Every single time he tried to use that thing, it broke down, requiring another 30 mile trip to the nearest CNH dealer, who usually didn't have the part anyhow.

That said I think there may still be a few 806 or 706's and newer stuff that are used by the local BTO's, but not many.

P.S. I like all colors of tractors (Dad currently only uses AC WD45's, a CA and a 3010 JD for his needs on two acres of pasture, but has two IHC's as someday projects), but not the 806, Grandpa was an IHC mechanic. I'm probably not fair as the 806 he got probably was worn out and maybe a lemon to begin with, but after that scrap heap, I want nothing to do with another 806!
 
Back in 1950, my dad was looking at buying a car. Salesman said, "look at all the improvements!"

To which dad replied, "Changes, yes, improvements - we"ll wait and see."

Some of the old equipment was pretty good in it"s day, and still can get the job done. Especially if you"re not pushing everything to capacity or further. New machinery is very expensive, and if you can get it done with less overhead...
 
No,I think you're being practical,I'm the same way,make a living with older equipment,(trucks)just maintain it well.I hate payments.JMHO.
 
Still at it with a 4020, 4430 and a 4440, plus a 7720 II combine. They'll handle everything I got going just as well as brand new equipment at a substantially lower cost. Plan is to finish my days in the field with what I have. Only really new stuff is a sprayer and corn planter. still using 20+ year old JD750 drill for beans.
 
Everything I purchase is used for something &
not to just look at.. A whole fleet of older
deeres & one like your Old A will be used as
a wagon hauler, or a buzz saw power or on a
manure spreader / hay rake or fire wood hauler.
I may spend 3 years on one befor I start using
it, but it will be used. If I can"t use it some
one else will own it...
 
No, I only use older equipment. Granted, my older equipment is now from the 1970's and early 80's but that is all I use. Originally when I was only doing hay and had my kids to help me I saw no reason to use anything newer than the 1950's. More acres and adding tillage, planting and spraying to the chores I am using the 30-40 year old equipment with a cab, monitors etc. It just makes sense and the cost is not that much more. I guess the deciding factor is how many acres. I'm not going to go out on 100 acres with a Farmall Cub and a check row planter and try to grow corn.
 
Kind of a perspective thing. My 7110 Magnum is close to 25 yrs old and 9000hrs.

My 806 is in its work cloths and gets used all summer and fall on the farm. I have my grandpas R Moline that he bought new. I have a hard time finding anything for it to do.

Its sad because that tractor is in good original shape, and I think its going to heck faster because the lack of use. I have good intentions to drag out my 640 rake and rake hay with it, but when the hours in a day get short, I always grab the 806 and the much bigger V rake.

I used to cut hay with the 806, but then went to a bigger discbine. More acres and bigger equipment make it harder to find a lot to do with the smaller tractors. My baler even needs three remotes.

Tractor pulling isn"t my thing, but I will admit, I look at that 806 and sometimes think about how good it would look with new rubber and nice paint. Same thing with the Moline. I guess any of it beats sitting in a bar all day buying booze and pull tabs. BW
 
All of our tractors are JDs from the 40's or 50's except the Ford 2810. They all have their "assigned" farm duties except Earl.

Uncle Earl is a nicely spruced up 1939 JD B handstart on original (not cut-off) round spokes. Earl's duty is to carry the colors on Memorial Day, July 4th, Veterans Day, etc. All the other tractors are used for farming purposes related to growing hay.

All of our implements are a few decades old, too.
 
I have a Farmall 300 and a Massey 35 that do all the work that gets done around here. This includes snow plowing, skidding logs to the sawmill, firewood and about 30 acres of hay along with bush hogging and other incidental jobs. They save a lot of time and effort over doing things by hand, but I don't need bigger or newer tractors for the size of work I am doing.
Zach
 
My "new" tractor is an Oliver 1955 4WD I bought in 1973. My "old" tractor is a 1946 Oliver 60. Between myself and my sons, we have 4 others scattered out in between. All of them are working tractors and all of them are in their work clothes. The only "restoration" they get is an ocassional can of spray paint to cover up the rust. They are all "pullers". Meaning they pull whatever we hook behind them. Well, actually, I suppse the dozer should be called a "pusher". (smile)
 
I guess when I think about it, all of mine are 'old' now. My 6400 is the newest, and its close to 20. The 4240 is close to 30, the 2520 I bought new in 1970 is now 44, and my 806 has to be close to 50. Guess I'm old, too.......Oh, yeah, my B was born the same year as I was- 1948!!!!
 
(quoted from post at 08:00:03 03/31/14) Does anybody still buy older tractors to farm with? Seems all averybody wants to do these days is "build" a puller or to restore.Just saw where someone bought a super nice 806 and is already talking of turning it into a puller.Another guy is buying a 856 to "restore"Am I the only guy out there still useing(and enjoying) those old tractors?Or maybe I the only guy still stupid enough to try to still farm full time......
Click to expand...

My workhorses are all around 40 to 45 years old and still making me money. they might not be as comfy as a nice modern cab tractor, but they will out perform most as far as hp and economy....and they are all paid for!

Finally bought a 'newer' one last fall...only 30 years old.
 
I think the key to farming with old stuff is to have backups and parts on hand for everything, so you can be up and running again quickly when the inevitable breakdowns occur. Be a real hound dog on maintenance, but also be ready for problems. Probably have a couple extra tractors that you don't even intend to use, as spares.

I helped in wheat harvest for a friend in eastern Washington in 1995. They had Harris combines- 4 of them- used 3, one in reserve. Not Massey Harris, just plain Harris, built in California in '50's and 60's. Good rigs, 20 foot headers, they had been using them for over 30 years. Friend's dad was "retired" from active farming, but he was a crack mechanic and did the repairs in the shop.

1995 was the year it came crashing down for the Harris's. Lost a final drive in one, raddle rake in another, numerous breaks of fatigued metal had to be welded, and on and on and on. One machine soon turned into a parts rig, and Grandpa (and the rest of us) were burning the midnight oil in the shop, trying to keep them going. We were down to 2 running by the end of the season, and the season was probably 2 weeks longer than it should have been, because of down time. By the next year, the Harris's were gone (to another farmer in the county who also used Harris's), and they had an IH 16xx (1660, I think, but not sure). Really a nice machine to operate, and eliminated 2 hired men. Progress, I guess. . .
 
My newest is an 82. The bulk of them that I use right along are from the 60s,one from the 50s.
 
There is "older" and there is "worn out".
If old and simple was always better. Airlines would still be flying 707"s and DC8"s. comercial trucking company fleets would be all pre - emission rigs. Folks would be driving 57 Chev"s daily to work.
 
Bryce, you can do it. Just have to farm smart instead of hard. If you use a 4020 ya don't load the thing up with a 5 btm plow and clod buster and put a turbo on it too. Nice little 4-16 and no turbo and it will last. Limited tillage and rotate wheat / hay / soybeans. All easy on the equipment. Corn is just a high labor crop and harvest puts you into bad weather and mud and leaves you with tore up fields and a mess of stalks to deal with. Helps to think "lazy" . One can save a lot of $$$ and grief sitting at the kitchen table thinking and planning the "lazy" (read effecient) way of doing things as apposed to thinking you have to be "out there" busting your butt every daylight hour. My Dad learned real quick how to farm 500 acres "alone" after the last of us four boys left the farm. Biggest tractors were two 830 CK Case,s. I would help him plant sometimes but that was it. Can be done.
 
My newest tractor is 29 years old, and combine is 30. I put the most hours per year on a 1972 Oliver 1655. I think for a smaller farm like mine, a well maintained 30 or 40 year old tractor is a lot of bang for your buck.
Josh
 
Why anybody buys a new tractor is beyond me. You have to be a certified electrical genius to work on them and price wise how would a normal person ever pay for the thing. I paid about sixty seven hundred for my biggest tractor back in 89. That wouldn't even buy tires for a new one today.
 
I would bet there is a relationship between the cost of equipment and the number of acres farmed per person.

How many acres did you farm then?
 
Sometimes it makes more sense to buy new.
I bought 3 new pickups over a period of 15 years because my CPA told me I needed the tax deductions.
She explained it like this:
I could drive an old pickup and pay more in taxes or drive a new pickup and pay less in taxes.
Then the economy tanked and work dried up so now I pay less in taxes and drive a beat up old (2006) pickup.
 
I have a '99 Buick Park Avenue, and its a great car. Rented a new Chevy Cruze last week in Arizona, and I sure don't want one of those. We also went to dinner with my son in law's parents. He has a Buick about a year newer than mine, and he said the same thing- "I love this car. I dread the day it gives out, because I won't be able to replace it."

Just heard today that the feds are now going to mandate rear-view cameras. Where does it all end? Seems like there is a growing segment of us geezers that are saying "Enough of the zooty new stuff, already. Just give me a car where I understand the features, and that some Podunk mechanic has at least a possibility of fixing, if it goes sideways."

Driving '57 Chevys to work? Works for me. . .
 
Many trucks on the road are Glider kits. New cab chassis with pre pollution drive train. Noticed a fertilizer company with 40 new trucks just sitting 4 or 5 years ago. , I had to ask, Simpler mechanics ,less electrical to foul-up around fertilizer.
 
I'm 22 and all of my equipment is pre 1960's. My corn planter is the newest piece and its a jd 1240, made right around 1960. I use a 44 Farmall H and 53 Super M, and a 39 9N. A dearborn 2 bottom plow and a 2 bottom and 3 bottom IH number 8. My disc is an old wheel disc and my potato digger is a horse drawn one. So yeah, some of us still do it the old fashion way hahaha. I call it the frugal way at least.
 
I have had different Farmall tractors over the years and an 806 was one of the best, and have farmed with 11 assorted J Deeres also.
 
my newest tractor is a 5288. I use several 56, 66 and a 1086 for field work. 656 hydros for feeding, and push up feed with a farmall 200. I"m a full time dairyman. no desire or expectation to get a new electronic nightmare.
 
My newest is a 2002 Terex backhoe but I use a 826 IH for baling and feeding, 4630 Ford for mowing and feed wagon and a D19 AC for raking, tedding and hauling hay. I could probably buy newer but I don't put over 300 hours on any one of them except the backhoe. For my size operation it makes no sense to go in debt just to have a fancier rig.
 
We still use "old" equipment on our farm. We are full time farmers/ranchers. Almost all are IH. 1566 for baling and the grain cart and grain vac. 5288 w/loader for feeding and planting (900 cyclo) and running the hydro swing. 806 for grinding feed and dozing snow and running grain auger. Orange Versatile's for the heavy farming. 1680 and a 1688 for combines. Even have a 1206 that gets used a few times a year. Didn't realize it, but that may be our most valuable tractor that we have!!
 
my tractors are 29, 56 and 73 yrs old. i love old tractors, i want a few of the older ones to fix up and use. ideally some day i would like to have a JD with cab maybe a 4240 which would be total over kill for me because we only have 8 workable acres, but what heck. also i would love to have a cab case extend a hoe. again, over kill for what i need, but that's what i want. we have a 99 car and i feel like im riding in style when we take the 03 1ton express van to town to get feed and groceries and what not.
 
Last year dad planted about 100 acres of milo with an M. This year we've upgraded to newer stuff and the planting will be done with a 400!
 
I do nearly all of my tractor work with my '47 Farmall H. I also have a Ford 2600 (~1978) and a 9N to take up the slack.

Frankly, I've seen inside the cab on a modern tractor (both Case IH and New Holland) and I'm not sure I could figure out how to get it to move.
 
Nice lineup of ACs. What number is the "newer" one you pictured? Is it one of the 6000 series? I always thought the last ACs were neat looking.
 
(quoted from post at 20:30:16 03/31/14) Nice lineup of ACs. What number is the "newer" one you pictured? Is it one of the 6000 series? I always thought the last ACs were neat looking.
Click to expand...

It's a 6080. Bought it day before Thanksgiving on Auctiontime for $3400....guess everybody was out buying turkeys!
 
12 years ago we bought a small (95 acre) farm to raise grand kids. I want them to feel the tractors work. If you go on YouTube "antique tractors 2013 0001". you'll see us plowing last spring
 
We have 11 horses on 13 acres pasture. SadieMae is 71 this year.
a152491.jpg
 
I was talking about this with a farmer friend yesterday. $300K tractors, GPS, vertical tillage that's radar guided, etc. No one we personally know has anything newer than maybe 15 years old, most runs up to 35 years old for working tractors on "real" farms. (Guys like me that don't dairy aren't "real" farmers around here.) There just isn't enough money to buy anything new and the fields aren't big enough to use the real big new stuff effectively. The few BTO's have a tough time as it is getting down some roads and across bridges with the big Class type choppers.

There are limits to what people can afford. There are limits to what the dealers can keep up on as far as repairing vs replacing parts until it maybe works. Creature comforts are nice, but what good does A/C do you if you can't afford to fix it? I don't know who the people are that buy this stuff, but they don't live in my world.

I hope one day to have a tractor with a cab. That's high tech for me.
 
i do, i wont buy anything i cant fix myself, so i buy older tractors and trucks, if it doesnt have the latest gadgets i probably dont need it and in 10 years that gadget wont work anyway, old tractors have already proven themselves in the field, if it takes them a little longer to do a job, it takes them a little longer, i remember my grandpa plowing in the spring everyday from can see, to cant see, for 2 weeks, now they want to have it done in one day and be home for dinner , nice, but the old way still gets it done, and the old tractor will be around far longer than the new plastic and computer run models of today
 
I am a young farmer (27) going out on my own for the first time this year- my fleet consists of a '77 1086 IH,'77 2-105 White,1655 Oliver, and a couple of other small massey fergusons, that were leftover from when my Papa farmed. I will be small acreage, and just don't see how it makes money sense to get new equipment just for that. On the other hand, I help my friend farm 1,000+ acres of peanuts, corn, and cotton, his newest and biggest tractor an 8285R JD with a 32' disc. When we are under time constraints it is nice to be able to cover big acres in a hurry.
 
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