I spent yesterday morning getting a Farmall H out of a couple year slumber. Had to flush the gas and take the carb apart and clean. Cool little carb. Got it running but it had no power. Found the #1 plug wire was shot and probably 50 years old. Scavenged another and it ran beautifully. At only 25 horsepower losing one cylinder is a big hit!
Here’s a picture of an Allis Chalmers CA that I found on Tractor House. Now, I’m definitely a little crazy, but every time I’m around one of these old tractors, especially in the barn where they sit, I love the smell!! I guess it’s the old grease...and maybe it just reminds me of working on the farm with those that are long gone. But I love the smell of an old tractor!!
I spent lots of hours in my father-in-law's Oliver OC-4. I'd love to have a 2-cylinder John Deere, but I have no idea what I would do with it.
One of the coolest machines I ever worked on was an old Hart-Parr. The driver sat off the rear, there was an engineering deck where you could grease the open rockers and pushrods. We tried to get it running, but the block had a huge crack in it and the back plate was missing a chunk. The farmer had thrown a rod with it and then fixed it enough to work but couldn't seal it up. He put a tin sheet over the hole which only slowed down the leak. We broke it loose and got the crankcase all properly shimmed up to work. The killer issue was we couldn't get the oiler unseized, and we couldn't find a replacement, so we couldn't keep it lubricated enough so it wouldn't blow up again. I'm sure the farmer had the same issue back in 1920 which is why he abandoned it.
We used to have a 1066 with an 8' bushhog. That thing was real fun. But when we sold the acreage, it didn't have a use so it was sold too. I have some Gravely tractors now. Here are a couple the walk behinds and my four wheel 8128 I'm working on. Bought it at an auction for cheap. It is missing some stuff but we are slowly getting it back in shape to run.
Always loved to hear the neighboring farms John Deeres go past, you always new they were coming and going - no secretly slipping by
As long as lived on our farm, from birth to age 22, we always owned Ford tractors except for a '40's International "M" my dad purchased and traded on an 860 Ford. Those Fords were great. His first new tractor was a 1951 8N Ford + Dearborn front end loader. Owned that tractor until 1990 .
Here was mine . Photo taken around 1957. My dad spent his career working for IH so I am partial to them. I'd like to restore an old one, but have no room to keep it.
Kinda partial to the BIG stuff. My moms father , B.C. Patten owned Patten Tractor & equipment co which was midwest sales and service for Caterpillar tractors. This is me and my dad excavating the backyard with a brand new demo ca.1964. My old man actually "taught" me how to drive this one. Patten Tractor had an open house at the new shop at Route 83 and Lake street in Elmhurst that year and got the drivers seat lessons on all the new models including a D8 with hydraulics (!) on the front. I wonder why I turned out weird! The other pic is B.C. and my dad... I inherited the Pattens' good look genes LOL! ws
I grew up using an Oliver Super 55 (still have a 550 on my mom's farm) and John Deere 50. The two were both mid-fifties models but the Oliver was light years ahead of the Deere. I loved the Super 55 -- powerful enough for its small size, and unlike the JD50 it would not beat you to death. The JD 50 had the row crop front wheels that would rip right out of your hand (never put your thumbs around the steering wheel spokes), a hand clutch (meaning you alway had to take one hand off the wheel as you are trying to start or stop the tractor) and a seat that had no suspension but had sidebars that you needed to hold on to if the front end came off the ground ;-0 However, the hydraulics and PTO were the Olivers weak point -- not bad but not anywhere as powerful or tough as the Deere.
Wanted to through something else in about the Oliver HG cleat-track We still have the original bill of sale and much more interesting the letter from the government allowing the Oliver to be bought for agricultural use as it was bought new during the war ( it was bought in late 1943)
This little hot rod came in the shop the other day, I thought it was pretty cool. We don't have full skirted fenders around here, guess it's more of an orchard thing. We had Steigers, Versatiles, and New Hollands on the farm. I always lusted after a Big Bud, they were so cool when I was a kid, and made in Montana! Just a little too large for lawn ornament duty..........
How about a 1952 Farmall super M with a full tilt Stage 2 455. We installed one of my spare engines in my buddies pull tractor. The tractor was coverted to Buick power in the early 70s to a 430 Buick out of a wrecked 67 Electra by a local farmer needed more power for pulling hay wagons up or local hills, lots of great stories by local farmers of this thing as a working tractor. It did pull at some of the local fairs doing really well. It was rediscovered by my buddy about 15 years ago abandoned behind a old garage left for scrap locals said it was junked and lost to time years ago. I survived some how still running no air filter and water pipes for ehxuast manifolds. Well some friends of mine directed him to talk to me for advice on performance upgrades. We did many upgrades to the old 430 aluminum intake, custom made upsweep headers, cams. fully ported heads , oiling mods, lots of baby steps to preserve the orginal Farmall transmission . Fast foward to today 6500 rpm 464 stage 2 with S/E heads and all the good stuff and a switch pitch 400 going into the orginal Farmall transmissions. It is now the tractor to beat laying waste to 460 Ford strokers and 8500 rpm chevies and big inch mopars. This could be a many page epic of the transformation , we can't belive it does what it does its a real crowd pleaser a tractor sleeper thats pulling with class. We pull 5500,6000.6500.7000 weight classes. My 69 Wildcat street racer has become a rolling test bed for the modications performed on the tractor. Lots of great times With these guys . Who is Kenne-Bell Buick anyway as they walk away being beat. Doing the best we can up in N/central PA.
We.’ve got a 1963 Fordson Super Dexta, a 1964 Dexta Diesel (both bought new), a Farmall Cub, several John Deere and Internationals, and an early Cub Cadet(also bought new). The Farmall has been restored, the Cub Cadet and Dextas are next. Btw, anyone know where I can lay my hands on an injector pump (or 2) for a 3 cylinder Perkins diesel at a reasonable price?
Hugger, My uncle has a tractor like yours plus another of the same era with a turbo. They have been restored a few years ago and they use them for going around doing tractor pulls. Plus they also use them on the farm, they were mowing hay with them the other day. Me, myself, I have a Ford 8N tractor with a few Dearborn attachments. Got it from my grandpa after he passed. He started farming back in the day with an 8N
i dont have any close up ones of it at work here but this is just two quick ones i can find. This is my 63 Allis Chalmers D17 Series III. Painted in Allis Orange with a good mix of grease and Oil. Never complains when you beat it and always pulls through the tough jobs singing its wonderful low rpm melody.
