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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

leave your bias at the door

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Stirring the Po

08-21-2005 18:43:54




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From people really in the know about old machines, I'd like to hear in no particular order a list of 5 of the best tractors made. This rookie has no place in this chat, but it might get the ball rolling by sticking my neck out. Here goes:
IH B414
Case 400
John Deere 720
Fordson Power Major
Massey Harris 44 - 6cyl

Just a humble opinion




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P K Ouellet

08-23-2005 16:33:11




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
How about the one that you have just bought and are certain that the price you paid for it makes it the best (until it breaks down). Too many factors to consider to define "best". All of those already mentioned have their good and bad points. Use them for what they were designed for, maintain them and in general don't abuse them and they all should have a "best" characteristic.
My know it all submission:
JD 4020
Oliver 1850
Ford 5000
Farmall M
MF 135

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Rod F.

08-22-2005 18:58:10




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
The Ford thousand series. The 4000 in particular. Their design stood for a generation, and it's still tough, efficient and reliable. Their later descendants merly added more features and ergonomics. There's more than 5 models to the thousand series, so I guess that's all I need to say..... but I'm not biased..... noooo


Rod



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Ron White

08-22-2005 16:55:06




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Just another humble opinion, but I've got mine in order
JD 4020 - JD 720 - Farmall M - Farmall 656 - Oliver 1850. Of course the Ford 5000 gets an honorable mention.



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Too Far Gone

08-22-2005 12:14:46




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
JD 4020 IH 560 IH 1066 JD 4440 Oliver 1850



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RYAN BLAND

08-22-2005 08:30:39




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
WELL THEN LETS SEE-----

JD 4020 DIESEL----- HAVE TWO AND WOULD NEVER SELL
MM 5 STAR----- THE BEST MM
MM U----- -----THE REAL TRACTOR, FOR REAL FARMERS
FARMALL M----- THE NEXT BEST THING
MM Z ----- ---- GOOD FOR THE WIFE

THATS MY OPINION AND I"M STICKING TO IT



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Scott in NNY

08-22-2005 06:54:41




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
As a young active dairy farmer I'd have to say it has to be the 4020. No other old tractor gets as much work done for the money. Ive sat on a lot of old dogs and there is no comparison how you feel after getting out of the seat after several hours.For the top 5 IMHO JD 4020 Ford 7000 JD 730 Jd 3020 Ford 5000

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Farmallman

08-22-2005 06:22:48




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Um.....
John Deere R
Farmall M
John Deere 820/830
Ford N series
Farmall H



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Galen

08-22-2005 06:00:03




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Ford N series
Farmall H
Farmall M
CaseIH Magnum
JD 4020
*NOTE* NO YUPPIE TRACTORS WERE INCLUDED IN THIS LIST - ONLY REAL MACHINES.



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JDknut

08-22-2005 04:04:22




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Best tractors ever: 35-40 HP range: the Massey 135, 50 HP range the Massey 165,
55 HP-Deere 2510 65-70 HP range the Ford 5000
80-90 HP range the Oliver 1850
90-100 HP, the IH 806-856 Best tractor of all time, the Deere 4440.



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Bernhard

08-22-2005 00:43:33




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
everything from Deutz until the DX series
Güldner G 75
Hanomag Brillant 601
everything from Schlüter
MF 35



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Hugh MacKay

08-21-2005 21:54:57




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Stiring the Pot: According to the hundreds of thousands of farmers that bought them it must start off with Ford N series followed by Farmall H. Those are the two highest production tractors ever. For placing 3, 4 and 5 I'd have to do a bit of reading. This however may not be fair as production runs of models have shortened considerably since the 1950s, 5 years is a long run today.

My own personal opinion would be Farmall 656D, Super A, M-F 35 0r 135, Oliver 77 and Deere 730.

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Christos

08-21-2005 21:42:08




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Ok, I'm a rookie (of sorts) and here is what I think the 5 best tractors of all time based on reliablity, parts avaliablity, and ease of repair.

Massey-Ferguson 135 Gas (with the Perkins engine in it.) and Diesel
John Deere 4020 ... Fourty years later and still trucking it
Farmall M
Fergie To-30
Ford N series - Why the above two? Parts are cheap and these tractors helped revolutionize agriculture with the incorporation of the 3-point hitch and subsequent improvements on the draft control, furthering the farmer's dream - "Less is More!"

In case anybody was curious why I don't have any of the Johnny Poppers listed, its because I don't consider them in my humble opinion that 'revolutionary'. Before the introduction of the Three Point Hitch they were in a perfunctory manner simular to every other manufactured tractor - Bare Back, PTO, limited hydraulic systems, etc. So, I apologize in advance - perhaps it will be me that sticks his neck out too far....

Just a young farmer's humble opinon and nothing more, Christos

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Jimmy King

08-21-2005 21:41:09




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
You said the best not the most popular
IH C and M
JD B and A
MM U



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Herkimer Neely

08-21-2005 21:36:27




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Bonner-Arbauch Uni-Wheel Model B, Dorkleman 45/20, Tinnerman-Blake Multi-Tasker, Nixon Five Wheel Mechanical Mule, Barkley Plainsmaster 50.



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Fawn Fonzi

08-22-2005 04:24:41




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Herkimer Neely, 08-21-2005 21:36:27  
How could you have left out the Yankelbaum-Finster Flatulator equipped with the Tri-Polar Oscillator? To say nothing of the Essex Tri-Directional.



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old

08-21-2005 21:14:20




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Well lets see, The Olivers 70,77,88 and the supers of them Oliver was first or secnond with true live power. JD A and Bs
Ford Ns 2, 9, 8



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fixerupper

08-21-2005 20:28:58




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
M and 4020. Never have owned either one of them but they must be good because a ton of them are still hanging around. Other models are heavy in certain locales but these two dudes are all over the place.



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paul

08-21-2005 19:44:21




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Ford N series.

IHC H & M tractors.

JD 4020.

Each one did something big for agriculture, hit a market at the right time, were different. Hit the right balance of what was needed at the time.

--->Paul



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aFORDable

08-21-2005 19:39:44




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
5000 Ford
4020 JD
M Farmall
WD45 Allis
801 Ford



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cdmn

08-21-2005 19:31:13




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Henry Ford said, "You can't tell much about a machine until it is old. Then you can see what it has done and how it did it. It's like an old man". Well, I think "best" has to be a combination of current "worth" and quantity of survival. By this definition, Henry's own Model F wouldn't be included anymore. If "old" goes to 1975, then the Ford 2000, 3000, 4000 would be right up there.
Small tractors have the most current demand. Ford 9N 2N 8N and later versions
Allis B-C-CA
Farmall H
Case VAC
John Deere B

Now if you were to base it on value of service to the original farmer, Ones that he'd keep till he quit farming, I'd nominate these:

John Deere R diesel
Farmall Super MTA
Massey Harris Ferguson 444 Diesel
Minneapolis Moline Z
Oliver 77

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Joe (Wa)

08-21-2005 19:15:38




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Ah....you guys just don't know nuttin atall about tractors. The best ever built with no bias and in no particular order:

Case 300
Case 300
Case 300
Case 300
Case 300

Joe



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Joe in MN

08-22-2005 12:33:18




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Joe (Wa), 08-21-2005 19:15:38  
Joe my friend, your brain washed..... ..



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Joe (Wa)

08-22-2005 14:04:05




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Joe in MN, 08-22-2005 12:33:18  
WHAT brain..... ...????

Joe



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Stirring the Pot

08-21-2005 19:25:58




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Joe (Wa), 08-21-2005 19:15:38  
I should have included that ownership forms a bit of a bias... It's just an all-encompassing list, from historical significance, hp to torque, reliability, parts availability, fun to work with, utility features and so on.



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Nebraska Cowman

08-21-2005 19:08:22




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
Farmall M 1st hands down
others would be in no order John Deere 4020
Ford 9N 8N
Ferguson 20 or 30
Allis Chalmers WD45
Lots of others will be mentioned too I'm sure. Hard to ascribe historical signifiance in proper order and many manufacturers made important contributions. Our hats go off to those early pioneers of the tractoring industry.



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Tim Shultz

08-21-2005 19:04:14




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Stirring the Pot, 08-21-2005 18:43:54  
got it wrong! lol
A.C 185
A.C 190
case 611B
cock-shut 570
J.D 4020
never drivin a 4020 but they look the coolest...



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Tim Shultz

08-21-2005 19:14:43




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Tim Shultz, 08-21-2005 19:04:14  
I must add that the Cock shut 570 is one of the slickest tractors ever made! if you ever get a chance to drive one you will fall in love, I know I did! otherwise the 185 I think is the best, for easy driving.... the high-low range is just in the right spot!
Tim Shultz



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supermpuller

08-22-2005 11:28:14




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 Re: leave your bias at the door in reply to Tim Shultz, 08-21-2005 19:14:43  
IH, M. JD 4020, Oliver 88, AC WD, IH 856.



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