Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Ever drive a Farmall M?

I don't know how many miles I logged on an M pulling a 300 gallon 8-row sprayer, calibrated to 4th gear, throttle wfo.

I spent many hours raking and tedding hay with a M and H.

Wasn't any IH or JD where I grew up. Strickly Ford with a Massey throwed in for good measure, when I was a young chap. By the time I got in highschool, you saw a few Cases and Longs. It's hilly country, so there were no tricycle front ends.

Had to cross the river and get in the flat country to see the bigger tractors. That's where you saw the tricycle front ends, also.

Speaking of tricycle front ends,they were hell when you hit a ground hog hole on the edge of a hay field. Could not see them in the tall grass and flipped around 90 degrees . Hell on the wrist.

Those clamp on spinner knobs for tractor steering wheels broke a few fingers according to my dad. He wouldn't use them.

We called them Suicide knobs. My brother broke his fingers on one discking a newly plowed field. Almost broke his wrist

Yup. Only took once or twice of almost having your thumbs broke, before you learned not to grasp the wheel with your thumbs inside. To this day, I still hold all steering wheels (my truck, cars, SxS etc.) with my thumbs on the outside.

Oh yea, get to the end of the row, hit the turn break,and spin the steering wheel and go back into the next row give it hell

My late friend had an M on his farm at Gettysburg, along with a little Ford. When the M got stuck, he’d yank it out with the Ford.

I have an M and an H. Was pulling a Bush Hog with the M through last year, but tires and radiator are leaking, oiling system is “total loss” and it has to be jump started once a new battery discharges a couple times. Nothing other than the oil use problem couldn’t be fixed fairly easily and it still pulls like a tank, but I’m getting too old to wrestle it around and am feeling like I’m pushing my luck safety-wise with the old tricycle front and aging metal. Reading today about the 14-year-old boy in a neighboring (OH) county who was killed when he ran a Farmall M off the road is telling me to get rid of the things.

Spent a lot of time in my youth on an old M bush hogging for my uncle. He warned not to kill it any time during the day. He said "hell no don't kill it, you might have to overhaul to get it back running". When he junked one it was sure enough junk.

Grampa had a H that I got to drive when I was 6 or 7. I've got a 49 cub and a 58 Minneapolis Moline 445 military that i use to plow snow and pull logs for firewood.

Grew up on a farm, where we had Farmall H, M, and MD (diesel) tractors. Logged many an hour on those!

M, H and Super C.

Worked some calves for a client, he's the third generation of that family I've worked for. Grandpa's H and Super M are parked behind the machine shed, Dad's 806 and 1206 are in front and still used. The son has MX200 and MX 230 that do the heavy work now. A short history of their farm

Spent many hours on a Super M and F-20. F-20 started on gasoline and ran on kerosene after manifold warmed up.

Used to have thrashing bees around our parts, have driven a farmall, ferguson, massy Harris, fordson major, a few Allis Chalmers, those big John Deers with the one cyl the size of a honey pail. Puk Puk Puk!! I swear ya could shut them off for lunch & the fly wheel would still be turning when ya went back out!! Fun times, never thought I'd miss them but........ GWPGUY. 🐾👣🐾👣🇨🇦

Dad called it distillate...our 1945 M had the little tank for gas for starting, but Dad ran it on gas exclusively....could pull 3 16s on gas in 4th.

WEll....not an M but drove an H with a PAULSON loader for years. Used manly in the woods and to move snow.
Was a narrow front with no power steering so was thought to keep your thumbs on the outside of the wheel......Amen to that!

Darrel Wick