"Be Careful, You'll Have More Into It Than It's Worth"

[ctlguy]

I bought a 9N to restore with this great plan to use it for parade duty as advertisement for my company. Knowing my wife she'd use it to brush hog our property as well. I have more money invested in new parts then the entire tractor will be worth when its finished. The parts are all still sitting in my shop...right now the tractor is yard art.

One would think that I'd know myself better by now.

That's funny, should have asked your wife. I am sure she would have gladly told you (as mine does) what was going to happen

[RDrancher]

That's funny, should have asked your wife. I am sure she would have gladly told you (as mine does) what was going to happen

So, since she was the one that told me I needed a hobby besides work and to "Go get it!" I can blame her? Perfect!

[Guesseral]

I bought my ford 841 so I could restore it and have a larger tractor than a Jubilee to use, but half way through the process I found a new tractor that was priced where I couldn't pass it up. The 841 is now complete and the motor blew up on the NAA it also had a crack in the block that I had patched up with JB weld several years be for that never leaked so ther was no reason to rebuild a sub standand block. I bought a rebuild short block and then restored the rest of the tractor (well almost done). Both of these tractors now sit in the garage side by each and they really look nice, but I just don't use either one of them unless I want to pull a wagon of firewood once and a while. For whan I have into them I just couldn't sell them with taking a loss, but I had fun doing it. So I think next year they are going to go to the fairs as antique tractors there now I have a use for them!

[brin]

I always look only at replacement cost ...I know my tractors and I know what it would cost to replace them with new tractors....to be fair it would have to be new replacement since I know my tractors and how they've been maintained...so if I had a major problem...I would know that once I fixed it and spent the $$$$ I would have the same dependable tractor I had before....If I bought used to replace my tractor ....I would not have a real picture of how the tractor had been treated unless I just blindly believed the previous owner..

[Guesseral]

I bought my ford 841 so I could restore it and have a larger tractor than a Jubilee to use, but half way through the process I found a new tractor that was priced where I couldn't pass it up. The 841 is now complete, and the motor blew up on the NAA, it had a crack in the block that I had patched up with JB weld several years before that had never leaked but there was no reason to rebuild a sub standand block. I bought a rebuild short block and then restored the rest of the tractor (well almost done). Both of these tractors now sit in the garage side by each and they really look nice, but I just don't use either one of them unless I want to pull a wagon of firewood once and a while. For what I have into them I just couldn't sell them without taking a loss, but I had fun doing it. So I think next year they are going to go to the fairs as antique tractors there now I have a use for them!

[john_bud]

the term "into it" is fairly misleading. A moderate sized 50ish hp tractor from the 60's or 70's that costs $4-8000 will suck down 2.5-4 gal per hour. Figure 200 hours per year and you're looking at 500 to 800 gallons. At $4 per gallon... how long until you have more "into it" just in fuel costs than the replacement cost of the machine?



Personally, I'd rather spend the time to fix what's wrong and then KNOW that it's going to be reliable for decades to come. Unexpected down time is VERY expensive if you have to actually use the machine.


I rebuilt an old TLB and spent "too much". had to rebuild the engine and pretty much everything else too. (ouch!) I figure that I've got north of $10k in it and could have bought a better one for less$$. But even at that, it's costing less to use per hour than a rental would cost. Especially if you include delivery and pick up charges then factor in the the convenience of being able to use it when ever there is a spare moment.

[Ken]

So, since she was the one that told me I needed a hobby besides work and to "Go get it!" I can blame her? Perfect!

RDrancher Wives also can become a high maintance items also.

Couple of years ago sold my Kubota and when the man arrived with a trailer he unloaded a WD-45 Allis that looked well used.
After payment for the Kubota he started to get in his truck and I mentioned he had forgot the Allis.
He laughed and said he didn't think so.
2 years of on and off work close to be a good running tractor . When I rebuild the engine.
What wasn't worn or broke needed adjustment.
But Painting will cost me more than what I orginally have in it.
ken

[joshuabardwell]

While various items may be valued at certain dollar amounts, in truth, they are really only worth what someone else will pay for them. An example of this is shows like the Anitques Roadshow (sp). Sure, they'll tell you this old steamer trunk is worth $5,000, but they can't necessarily hook you up with a buyer.

I saw that dynamic play out a lot on the show Pawn Stars. The "expert" would come in and say that an item was estimated to go for, let's say $5000 at auction, and the seller would get dollar signs in their eyes. Rick would say, "Well, sure. You put it up for auction and you might get five grand, six months from now, minus the auction house fee, or you might get less than that. Who knows? But I've got two grand in one hundred dollar bills right here." At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how much somebody says something is worth if you can't find a buyer who's actually willing to pay that much.

[Mechanos]

Also depends on what it is and can a comparable replacement be found. In my case I took on a rather beat-on incomplete JD 955 to put back together and use for a worker. I wanted a solid, hard working, MECHANICAL tractor without all the e-BS and computer this and that. Just can't find anything new (or newer) that isn't loaded down with e-BS. The old 955 is all mechanical... rods, levers and linkages.

[john_bud]

Also depends on what it is and can a comparable replacement be found. In my case I took on a rather beat-on incomplete JD 955 to put back together and use for a worker. I wanted a solid, hard working, MECHANICAL tractor without all the e-BS and computer this and that. Just can't find anything new (or newer) that isn't loaded down with e-BS. The old 955 is all mechanical... rods, levers and linkages.

Those are nice, but the old deere 2000, 3000 and 4000 series were even nicer ! But I like properly aged steel!