ford 800 for hobby farm?

found an 800 local wit loader.. guy wants $2300.

I need a tractor for orchard/hobby farm tilling, mowing, and snow removal. need live PTO and 3 point

is 800 suitable? see http://duluth.craigslist.org/atq/1622328807.html

thx in advance for any hemp or suggestions.

They were a decent old tractor. Had the split clutch live PTO I believe. Push the clutch half way to stop the tractor,all the way to stop the PTO.

I don't have any hemp, I'm sorry to say. Can't help you there.

As far as the tractor goes, there are several different models in the 800 series. Only the 860 has live PTO, if you really need it. If the tractor has a five speed transmission, it could be either an 850 or an 860. If if doesn't have a five speed, it doesn't have live PTO.

2300 bucks is remarkably cheap for a running 800 with a loader. Which is to say this one probably isn't running. The statement "NEEDS POINTS" pretty much confirms that it isn't running. Seriously, if the guy is too cheap to spend five bucks on a set of points, you can be pretty sure it has some serious problems. But check it out; if it will actually run it might be an OK tractor for the money.

Which model is it??? If it has a 4 speed no live PTO but live hyds and that would make it an 840, If it has a 5 speed but the single stage clutch then it is an 850 but still no live PTO. If it has the 2 stage clutch that makes it an 860 and that has live PTO

The 8xx series Ford tractors are one of the very best early small utility tractors and very powerful for their size.

That said, the front axle design is not well suited for loader work and the early 8x0 models do not have power steering, a feature that you will soon regret not having with a loader.

The transmission/live PTO issue has already been addressed by others.

It is not possible to determine from the pictures which 8x0 model (transmission/live PTO?)tractor this is.

Dean

Ive run into this when looking at tractors.Owner wants 2 grand but wont put a 40 buck battery.Watch out.

When you say 'hobby farm' make sure you consider what you want the hobby to be. Farming or working on the equipment. If you want farming to be the hobby, choosing 40-50 year old equipment may not be the best choice. It will break, at the worst possible time, and be missing a number of features that newer tractors offer (slower speeds, independent PTOs, four wheel drive, foot throttles, decent hydraulics, etc).

Unfortunately, new ones are expensive, which is why I bought a '66 Ford 3000 for my farm.

Like some others wrote, only a few of the "hundred series" Fords had live PTO. They were the X61's, with special 5 speed transmissions and dual stage clutches, and the Select-o-speed models. If the tractor has a 4 speed transmission, it probably does not have live PTO (with very rare aftermarket exceptions, which I have never personally witnessed). If the tractor has the Select-o-speed (SOS), be very careful, as they often are not working right and are expensive to get worked on, with parts a real problem. An SOS tractor is usually worth much less than a similar 4 or 5 speed tractor, with the 5 speed with live PTO probably the most desirable. I know people with SOS tractors who love them, but I would steer clear unless all ratios work perfectly AND it is cheap. A gas engine is probably less trouble to keep running right, and is definitely a LOT less expensive to rebuild, if that is what you ever have to do.

All loaders are not created equal. A "trip loader", which has a manual latch that dumps the bucket, is not worth nearly as much as one that hydraulically tips the bucket. This is partly because a trip bucket can only dump very suddenly, while the hydraulic dump can be controlled much better. On the other hand, a hydraulic dump has a bunch more places for hydraulic oil to leak and can cost a lot to fix if you need to rebuild all the cylinders and control valves. Loaders are often treated badly and get broken. Look for cracks or repaired areas, which can occur almost anywhere on the loader. A loader that uses a hydraulic pump in front of the tractor engine will operate much faster than one that uses the regular tractor hydraulic pump due to smaller capacity. But again, with the front pumps, there are more places to leak and to need to fix. Also, some loaders are built a lot better than others.

It is important that the 3 point hitch work properly. It should go up and down smoothly when the lever by the right side of the seat is operated, and this test should be with some weight on the lift arms. If it doesn't work, it can be the tractor hydraulic pump or a leak somewhere in the system. If the seller cannot get it to work, you will be spending some time and money on it.

There are lots of things to look for: tires cost a lot to replace, leaks of various fluids can get expensive to fix, and the engine should start good cold, it should not overheat while working, steering should be reasonably tight but not too hard to operate and the general condition should look at least OK. I would rather look at a tractor that has not been really cleaned up and painted. New paint can hide a lot of problems.

As to the question about an 8xx being suitable for a hobby farm, I would say yes, but only if you are capable of and willing to do some work on it fairly often. Like cars and trucks of that era, these old tractors REQUIRE lubrication, cleaning, adjustments occasionally and general tinkering to keep them working reasonably well. It also might be a question of how much ground you have and what you will want the tractor to help you do. An 8xx probably has plenty of power to handle a 2 or 3 bottom moldboard plow in most soils, and it will operate a medium sized brush hog just fine (be sure to use an Over Running Coupler). I think you would be disappointed trying to run a rotary tiller with any of them, other than possibly with an SOS machine. Running a small hay baler is possible without live PTO, but it is lots handier to have that feature. Snow plowing works OK with a heavy rear blade and the loader bucket, but you almost have to have real tractor chains, or else my experience is that you get stuck very easily.

If you only have an acre or so, I think you might find an 8xx to be a little large for your needs. But for an acreage that is larger, they are really handy tools. I find that most of the tasks I ask my tractors to do involve the loaders, so I would not be very interested in having a tractor that didn't have one.

$2300 doesn't sound like it would be too much money, at least around here, for a decent running tractor that has an operational 3 point system and a good loader. If the tires don't look too good, they are easy to replace, but are expensive. I would want it to drive well in all gears and the brakes to work OK.

Condition is everything. That tractor could be a great buy, or it could end up being a huge headache and money pit. Hope this helps. Good luck!

ford 800 series was a great tractor and i now many guys that with a little elbow grease and a few grand have a very handy tractor despite its age. but 2300 is very cheap so i doubt its running and porobably needs more work than just points. and for your hobby farm it depends on how big your farm and what your wanting to do. if it were me id look for a thousand series ford or an IH 574 or a later model 656 or a 706 and often you can find good massey ferguson tractors like the 165 or 180. but id pass on the 800 series