Top Three Vintage Tractors

[Egon]

In my opinion there really is no three most important tractors

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[jusalooking]

ok i will put my tought into this, As a owner of a repair shop i have rebuilt a few n tractors and a few bota,s , the n is just a simple motor ( i don,t even have to look in the book nomore for spec,s ), on the other hand on a kubota, they make things diffacult, as in them little springs on the injection pumps, or timing the pumps with them shims, or the main bearing ***. yes they are good motors, i have 2 myself, but you have to keep up with it, you can,t let stuff go like a bunch of farmers tend to do, and i can rebuilt the n,s cheaper, as far as 50 yrs from now, i won,t be here to see and if i am i will be drooling in my soup, i will take both while i am alive thu

 

[Egon]

you can,t let stuff go like a bunch of farmers tend to do

Do the Farmers who stay in business really do this?:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Soundguy]

i think part of the rugged comment also must focus on design.

IE.. machines with easy to replace wear parts tend to be repaired more often.

take a block with liner you can peel out and pop in when compression gets low. ie.. rings, new liners, and a hand valve lap.

that's 'yer back yard' type stuff.

contrast that with blocks that need to go to a machine shop to be bored out, then have liners installed etc. ( i'm not just compairing old to new.. but any to any ).

a machine that is not easy to repair won't be repaired as often or as well many times.

how many diesels do we see adicted to start fluid due to low compression because someone won't strip the block and send it in for an overbore and sleave job.. etc..

i much prefer machines that have been made easy to repair

in that reguard, the N has a few faults of it's on re the cam clearances in the block.

soundguy

I agree that parts may become a problem in the future.

But when you talk about how simple and easy to rebuild an older tractor is, well it was hight tech stuff in the day. You see what technology has done in the last 50-60 years, imagine how low-tech our current tractors may seem in 50-60 years:confused2:

Wether or not my L3400 is still around in 50 years is yet to be determined.

The point I am making is that it will probabally be for numerous reasons mentioned, like parts avalibility, limited production, etc. But certainly NOT because it isn't built as rugged or "built to last". It is built every bit as heavy-duty and rugged as an 8n. And somethings are even MORE rugged. But wether or not myself or future owners are willing to keep it running for 50 years will depend on things like you mention. Parts, willingness, equipment, etc. But again, not because it isnt built to last.

 

[Soundguy]

Do the Farmers who stay in business really do this?:thumbsup::thumbsup:

i have evidence parked in my barn that lotsa people simply don't maintain equipment.. run if for a 3-4 decades then sell it to me to restore..

I love it when I get machines and can read the dates on the filters and can see 10 nad 20 year old filters..

soundguy

 

[jusalooking]

Do the Farmers who stay in business really do this?:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Yes, i have had to use a crowbar to get airfilters out of skidsteers, it would surpise you how many wheel bearings i have replaced front and rear from late model 100 plus horsepower tractors from lack of grease, Grease is the cheapest thing you can use on a tractor

 

[Mace Canute]

Do the Farmers who stay in business really do this?:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Yes, they sure do. As a group, I think they are the worst for maintaining equipment considering they are the owners of it. We tend to expect that someone who doesn't own the equipment has a "don't give a s**t" attitude about maintenance so it's a bit amazing (and not in a good way) when owners exhibit the same attitude. Likewise on the amazing part when it comes to lubes in general. They'll scrimp to save pennies on a tube of grease or liter of oil that will be used on equipment worth a hundred thousand dollars and up. Go figure.

True story: About 4 years ago, the farmer who rented a 60 acre field from my buddy stopped in with his IH tractor because he was having charging problems and my buddy is a Journeyman Mechanic with mucho experience working on auto and industrial equipment. It was showing 40 amps charge rate on the meter all the time! My buddy did a bit of looking at it and it became obvious that sometime in the past, somebody had done a bunch of Mickey Mouse wiring on it, really butchered it in fact and there was a bit of loose wiring here and there, some of which would spark whenever it contacted the chassis. My buddy told him he thought the high charging rate was because of battery condition and that he needed to do some repairs to the wiring, especially with the bare wiring that was shorting out occasionally. Farmer's response was more or less that it had been like that for a long time without giving any problems and that was about all he said of it. Once he realized my buddy wasn't about to spend hours working on his equipment for free, he left. My buddy has work of his own he needed to get done and no time to work on his tractor. Fast forward a couple of years...the renter stopped in and was complaining his tractor just burned to the ground! We couldn't be sure but it certainly appeared that his wiring finally caught up to him and caused a spark that did ignite some chaff and got a fire going. His tractor also had quite a bit of spilled diesel on it and some hydraulic leaks that had never been washed off, so it was quite the torch waiting for a match!

 

[Soundguy]

this post says ALOT and i can't agree more.

in general.. at least on the older equipment especially the 'larger' ag stuff from 40 to 100 hp, maintenance usually occurs when something breaks completely. IE.. a sloppy steering arm is fixed when it shears off and needs welding..

or when oil pressre drops to -0- from low oil.. or the lift stops from low oil. that's when it gets maintained.

when the farmers mechanic abilities are exceeded the equipment is then left to set for 20 years because they won't sell it. then eventually I buy it.. and work for months getting it running and looking good again..

soundguy

Yes, they sure do. As a group, I think they are the worst for maintaining equipment considering they are the owners of it. We tend to expect that someone who doesn't own the equipment has a "don't give a s**t" attitude about maintenance so it's a bit amazing (and not in a good way) when owners exhibit the same attitude. Likewise on the amazing part when it comes to lubes in general. They'll scrimp to save pennies on a tube of grease or liter of oil that will be used on equipment worth a hundred thousand dollars and up. Go figure.

True story: About 4 years ago, the farmer who rented a 60 acre field from my buddy stopped in with his IH tractor because he was having charging problems and my buddy is a Journeyman Mechanic with mucho experience working on auto and industrial equipment. It was showing 40 amps charge rate on the meter all the time! My buddy did a bit of looking at it and it became obvious that sometime in the past, somebody had done a bunch of Mickey Mouse wiring on it, really butchered it in fact and there was a bit of loose wiring here and there, some of which would spark whenever it contacted the chassis. My buddy told him he thought the high charging rate was because of battery condition and that he needed to do some repairs to the wiring, especially with the bare wiring that was shorting out occasionally. Farmer's response was more or less that it had been like that for a long time without giving any problems and that was about all he said of it. Once he realized my buddy wasn't about to spend hours working on his equipment for free, he left. My buddy has work of his own he needed to get done and no time to work on his tractor. Fast forward a couple of years...the renter stopped in and was complaining his tractor just burned to the ground! We couldn't be sure but it certainly appeared that his wiring finally caught up to him and caused a spark that did ignite some chaff and got a fire going. His tractor also had quite a bit of spilled diesel on it and some hydraulic leaks that had never been washed off, so it was quite the torch waiting for a match!

 

[Egon]

From my experience growing up on a farm there were only two fellows in the neighbourhood that had run down equipment. They were also not very good or prosperous farmers.

The prosperous ones were mainly prosperous because their equipment was fixed during periods when not needed and usually provided good service when required. Crops were planted and harvested in a timely manner depending on weather conditions.

I do know that our tractors saw regular maintenance as did those of the neighbours.

 

[jusalooking]

I can show you a group of IH tractors that look better than the day they came from the factory, I myself have been there when they are cleaning out there manure pit, they have a 900 to 1200 head feedlot, There is plastic onthe floors inside of the cabs, When they are done everything is washed off and waxed, even the spreaders, Then i can drive 20 miles to another operation and in the driveway is a JD 6410 cab tractor burnt up, They never trade a combine in, they just park them behind a barn with about everything that has rolled in the driveway in the last 40 yrs, weeds 5ft tall, today i bought a 1980 JD 510 round baler that looks like new, it has never been out overnight, washed and waxed yearly, At least they had something left to sell besides scrap