Kid, we were using the 835 just the other day to plow snow. My dad bought it new back in the early 1980's, probably the last new tractor to ever set foot on our farm!
I've spent a lot of hours in the 835 and an 875, good old tractors for sure.
Jim, I don't even want to ask how you tip a tractor over while picking rock. Leave it to a hired man to find out....grin
Our old mixer tractor was the little brother to that 756. It's a 656 Hydro(gas) with a Year-Round cab on it. Drafty little sonuvabitch when it's 30 below but it beats no cab at all!
Custom cutter smoked the transmission a few years ago and we put some money into getting it fixed so I imagine we'll never trade that one in. Good little tractor for being 45-50 years old but it was all it could do to pull a full mixer wagon around. Just doesn't have the power or torque especially if it's in the snow or soft ground.
Originally Posted by tomk
Am most curious to see if the electronic dependent tractors of today stand the same test of time, or maybe with the amount of work they can accomplish a short lifespan is payback enough. A dog certainly does more for you than any turtle.
Tom, I certainly hope they last.
We buy tractors with the intent of keeping them for 20 years or longer. Hell, you get something that works and is trustworthy and it's kinda hard to see trading off for some newer stuff that is way more money and might not be as good as what you had...
My dad bought a little 6430 a couple weeks and we semi-retired the IH 656. The 6430 is a nice tractor but it's electrical to the max compared to the old IH. So far so good but give it another 5-10 years to really find out.
I know the MFWD is gonna be real nice here shortly when the frost goes out. That and I know my dad love the cab and heater...
Some of the barns in the country here were built by Germans after WW1.
Lots of grain bins too.
Not sure how they got over here....or were maybe already here in POW camps?
Few things are cooler than a great old barn.. I put up a bunch of hay in a barn back in IN that had been built in the 1840’s or 50’s.. It was still in great shape, has metal on most of the exterior now, but the huge old hand hewn beams inside it were a sight to behold. Pretty sure they were american chestnut.
Spent a lot of hours in the hot sun on one of these when I was a teen.
1940 Ford 9N
I lived on the seat of one of those in my childhood. Not my favorite tractor. I don't really consider it a tractor. Maybe a lawn tractor. I broke a lot of 8N parts. Axles (front and back), transmission gears, differentials, heads and more that I don't remember. Had it apart so many times I could do it in my sleep. It had a crack in the cylinder wall one time. The old man sent me and my little brother out to take it apart. We went from complete 8N to a bare block in 30 minutes. The old man was quite proud of that! Little POS didn't like to start when it was 30 below either.
This is my favorite tractor pulling down a dead walnut tree. It's a 1952 Massey-Harris 33.
It was my Dad's. He didn't buy it new, but he sold it new. He was the Massey-Harris factory rep in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin in the early 50's. He lost his job as a result of the Massey-Harris and Ferguson merger. Dad borrowed the money to start farming from the man that owned this 33 and we used to rent it in spring and fall to help with planting and harvest. Dad bought it when the original owner retired. When Dad died, whatever my brother didn't want(he farms in Michigan and likes those green machines) was auctioned. My brother didn't want that old junk 33! Mom said the auctioneer estimated she would get $250 for it so I took it. It was a bright spot in my childhood when we were to poor to afford a real tractor.
You might notice the bright yellow rims. The old ones rusted out from the chloride leaking out of the valve stems so I had to replace those. It is interesting that the original wheels are John-Deere wheels. They have JD stamped on them. It has a nearly new engine. The worst problem with it is all the transmission seals leak. I replaced the axle seals when I replaced the rims. It needs a tune up too.
one side of the family was AC, the other side Farmall and IH. Grew up on a WD45. First job in a machine shop was turning Farmall flywheels. Uncle worked at JD Moline works. Who remembers when 4020's were considered big field tractors
I remember when the 4020 was a good sized field tractor. Put quite a few hours on 4010’s with the 4020 sleeve/piston rebuild.
That was when the shift was on to the big/new JD -4440 & 4630. Also logged a pile of hours on a 660 IH - anyone remember these ?
And of course this was when the 4WD tractor was getting going
When I was a youngster Farmall M's and Massey- Harris 44's were big tractors. I don't remember which Johnny Poppers were the big tractors. Four bottom plows were big plows! I remember when the neighbors got an Farmall 706. Man, that was space age stuff there!
Where I grew up in western Minnesota you could tell the Germans from the Norwegians by the color of their machinery. The Norwegians bought John Deeres and the Germans bought Farmalls. My old man used to complain that the Norwegians were to cheap to buy four spark plugs for tune ups on four cylinder tractors. There was a smattering of Allis-Chalmers, Case, Oliver and even a few Cockshutt around too.
tomk, I have to agree the Masseys are good looking tractors. I think those seals are to far gone. The axle seals were crumbling. I just need to get in there and replace them.
Well, its a cheap maybe, anyway...:) They looked great, ran great, and were beautifully engineered by guys who also wrenched. Hard not to like.
Am getting a fair flow out of the weep hole of the 65, but the trans is overfilled some--here's to hoping!
Grinning about what you said regarding color. Listening to two old boys talk over a restoration job, it was: "I sold red, he sold green and he was yellow".
Steiger ST280 with the stupid 3406 Cat Versatile 875 That I just bought for a construction project 990 David Brown WD9 Farmall not currently running Four dozers Dealing on a 9030 Bidirectional as I type Grew up on old IH tractors. 986, 806, 856, 706, H's & M's
I'll take the Steiger over the 875 (same hp) any day but I've smoked way too many pistons in that Cat engine.
Grin...yeah, thanks for the encouragement, Marc. I think I have one tractor too many already.
I would rather have the diesel, but no practical reason comes to mind. Have never seen one. I guess from what I see on the net, there are more diesel 65s in the UK than gas jobs.
Daughter is in Loveland, maybe she will take a drive and check it out...:)
I have a 400 farmall I have had for about eighteen years.I have close to ten miles on it,parked by at my sawmill and only drive it when I move the mill. I just use the pto for the mill .Dabble