Best Tractor That You Have or Had?

   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #11  
Hands down, my 1951 Ford 8n.

It was my dad's, but I have to agree 1000%. My dad replaced the skinny front wheels with wider rims and ran basically car tires on it. On the rear end, he hung a square steel box about 16x16x24 full of concrete. Loaded tires. He welded up a harness from the rear axles to just in front of the steps, up to just below the hood, then forward alongside the hood and across the front. The harness had a hydraulic tank and pump hung on down in front of the grill. The pump ran straight off the crankshaft pull. The pushbeams went parallel to the harness to the front end, then down to the bucket. The entire harness and pushbeams were 3x5 inch tube, about 1/2" thick walls. I guess this was supposed to be F20 Farmall tractor frame, but I don't know. The bucket was probably 5 1/2 feet wide, but could be stripped down to a dozen tines made of model T car axle, ground into points, mounted about 4 inches apart. The push beams would go straight up and put the bucket at about 11 feet high.

If you could pile all the dirt, rock, silage, snow, hay, and everything else that old beast scooped, I bet you'd fill the better part of a cubic mile. :laughing: It didn't matter what the job or how big, we'd always "get the Ford" to help finish it off.

Winter of 68-69, we had 12 feet of heavy wet snow. 3 days of school in January. He scooped every day. The local contractors ran their bulldozers 24/7 for about 3 months to keep roads open. Pulled a D8 Cat in to push the snow piles across from our driveway out into the field since the road ditch was full. They were put there by the Ford, but when he hit the snow with that Cat, it stopped dead in its tracks. He ended up carving off the pile about a foot at a time.
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #12  
I have to say that I love them all! :D

Of course, the three that I have now are "favorites." But some of the ones that I've had in the past have a special place too.

I grew up on this farm. I started running tractors at a very young age. The first tractors that I drove were a Farmall Super A and a JD "B."

Case 580 Super E 4x4 TLB. It would push like a bulldozer. My first 4wd tractor. (it would not be my last)
Case 450C dozer. Great little dozer.
JD 4020. My first big farm tractor. I was amazed by the size and raw power.
NH 7610S 4x4. Replaced the 4020. My first big farm tractor with a FEL. Wow, what did I do without it?
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #13  
A few stand out over the years !

Ford TW20
NH 8340
JD 3650
Ford 7710
MF 390Turbo
MF 2685
Versatile 895
Fiat F130 winner
Valtra 8350
NH TM120 "classic"...(stardard trans)
JCB 1135 fastrac
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #15  
Massey Ferguson GC2400.
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #16  
Ford 8N follow by B7100HST w/FEL.
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #17  
Obviously the one I have now. I loved our old Ford 841 and wish we still had it, but it can't compare to the newer models. There is nostalgia and reality.
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #18  
Far all 806 was such a major jump over the tractors we had been using, seemed like I could do more in a day than I could get done in a week. Then again I get in our JD 7730 with air ride seat, quiet cab, power everything, and MFWD, and wonder how we survived.
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #19  
My best lawn mower was a Simplicity with a floating mower deck. Left nice patterns in the grass.

I liked my Ford 2N, but am looking forward to using my Kubota B2620 that I just bought recently. I've only cleared snow with it so far, and not much of that this year.
 
   / Best Tractor That You Have or Had? #20  
L model Gravely...Prefer 2 wheels over 4.
 
 
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