Farmall A

I may need a new bigger mower. I saw on Craigs List a Famall A with belly mower advertised. Would this be a good mower tractor vs say a newer Deere/Cub Cadet? What would be the drawbacks? I have to admit it would be much "cooler" to have an old Farmall than some modern lawn mower. It would be used to mow about 1.5 acres of grass including around a pond.

How does the lift system work? I think these don't have 3 points? I was thinking of how I could use it to push snow, as well.

I must admit I don't have a lot of equipment to work on these for custom fabricating - welder, torch, etc.

The key is how much maintenance you want and are able to do. I've got a shiny little Green Weenie in the shed with a mower deck and a snowthrower. Haven't had to do much with it except oil changes, belt replacements and keeping it washed and the air filter clean. That's apart from a thorough cleaning of the "implements" after each season, along with a coat of paint to touch up any dings.

My real tractors on the other hand, rquire a little more maintenance, savvy and TLC. If you're up for that, then by all means go for it. If it's an A, mow CLOCKWISE around the pond. The ground on the bank can tend to be soft and, with the offset of the A, the left side of it sinking out from under you could tip you over faster than the other way.

First thing is,that Farmall A doesn't have "live power" so when you push the clutch in,the mower is going to stop. Then,it doesn't have power steering,so it's not going to handle well. Better think twice about it if you like any convienience at all.

Yup. I left those out, and forgot to mention, too, getting the exhaust stack under any trees that might be out in the yard.

Being cool can have its drawbacks.

When my Cub Cadet wore out I went looking for another, and the price was twice what I paid for the one in the picture this Super A would turn just as short as the Cub Cadet climb the hills just as well, and it was 35 years old when I got it. Fixed the steering, and it worked very well. I got it in 1985, and bought the mower,Woods L59 new. I moved to a smaller place, but the Super A is still mowing twice what I mowed, WITH THE ORIGIONAL BELT. Notice the exhaust for those low hanging limbs.

That's a nice looking tractor.

When you say fix the steering, what does that mean? Did you change the ratio, so it turned easier or did you add some sort of power steering?

The pond does not have much of a slope on the bank, so that wouldn't be too big a problem with tipping.

The live pto issue would be a pain.

I had not thought about the trees.

I love working on stuff and thought it might be a nice project for me and my kids to work on.

Thank you all for your responses.

All Farmall A tractors have a poor design problem with the steering. The vertical shaft in the steering box has a square end that the steering arm clamps to.The steering arm is the piece that sticks out the front of the tractor and the tie rod ends attach to that. There are two types of tie rod ends, automotive style, and the earlier ball and socket style. A Farmall A probably has the ball and socket. International once made a kit to change from the square end shaft to the tapered end shaft used on some super A and the 100 and newer tractors of the style.On the Super A in the picture,I changed the shaft and the steering arm to the tapered shaft which eliminates all the slop on that part of the steering, Inside the steering box is a sector gear with a key. The key and sometimes the keyway wears and adds more slop to the steering. There are also bearings that wear, lots of things in there to wear. I also fixed an A with the square shaft by putting shims between the shaft and the steering arm, it was still working fine when I sold the tractor. Check the parts listing at to see what the inside of that steering box looks like. With an acre and a half, I would get the A and add the Woods Mower to it The lack of Independent PTO won't matter after you get underway, but you will have to be careful when stopping, because the inertia in the blades tend to push the tractor after you push in the clutch. If you get the tractor the steering and the brakes will be the things to look at, BOTH are repairable.
Farmall Parts