Top Three Vintage Tractors

[milkman636]

i would almost say 9n instead of 8n, since it cme out in 39 and had that new fangled draft sensing 3pt.

soundguy

Ford was also instrumental in making tractors more affordable for the average guy. Because of price and "that new fangled draft sensing 3pt", I'll give my vote to the 9n for the top spot.

 

[Soundguy]

The factory built some serious tractors then, My old 8n still to this day runs the family truck farm, while the JD handles the hay operation. When I am looking at these new compacts I wonder how many will be around.

fewer new ones will last as long as the old ones... that's for sure.

soundguy

 

[LD1]

fewer new ones will last as long as the old ones... that's for sure.

soundguy

A lot of it has to do with how well people take care of them.

It wasnt uncommon 40 years ago for a farmer to tear down and rebuild the engine in his tractor if it needed it.

And keep it painted and touched up, NOT for looks, but to prevent rusting.

These newer tractors in the CUT and SCUT variety are mainly marketed and owned by average homeowners and hobby farms. Never any REAL farmwork. And if one blows a motor in a few years, most people arent going to take the time to rebuild it, rather they will just use that excuse to get a newer tractor.

And even the larger farmers that I know of dont keep equipment as long either. They cycle through it every 10 years or so and upgrade to more modern stuff.

There are so many of them N's around partly because they made so many. But I am sure that quite a few of them got scrapped and melted down and turned into something else as well.

 

[DonWorrell]

I agree the old Ford 8N and 9N were very instrimental in beging modern day farming as was the JD A. As someone said above anything was an improvement over a horse.v But Ii think Allis Chalmbers deserves to be in the top three. I belive the WD-45 was a forerunner in many advancement in the modern day tractor. If they had only caught on to the modern day 3 pt hitch earlier.

Don

 

[Soundguy]

hmm... none of the antiques I have were well cared for untill AFTER i got them.. they were jsut made better to begin with so they survived long enough to get some care down the road..

soundguy

A lot of it has to do with how well people take care of them.

It wasnt uncommon 40 years ago for a farmer to tear down and rebuild the engine in his tractor if it needed it.

And keep it painted and touched up, NOT for looks, but to prevent rusting.

These newer tractors in the CUT and SCUT variety are mainly marketed and owned by average homeowners and hobby farms. Never any REAL farmwork. And if one blows a motor in a few years, most people arent going to take the time to rebuild it, rather they will just use that excuse to get a newer tractor.

And even the larger farmers that I know of dont keep equipment as long either. They cycle through it every 10 years or so and upgrade to more modern stuff.

There are so many of them N's around partly because they made so many. But I am sure that quite a few of them got scrapped and melted down and turned into something else as well.

 

[bdeboer]

I belive the WD-45 was a forerunner in many advancement in the modern day tractor. If they had only caught on to the modern day 3 pt hitch earlier.

Don

Or the Allis Chalmers WC which evolved into the WD then the WD45 then evolved into the D17.

 

[Army grunt]

My vote would be for the 9N. 3 pt. hitch thing
Army grunt.

 

[easyinny]

This is hard one. There are so many great tractors to pick from. My top three.. 1. John Deere 70 Diesel. It took John Deere many years to get back to the great fuel economy this tractor had!! It had lots of power and all the modern things you want on an old tractor.
2. Allis Chalmers WD-45. This was a great tractor also. Had foot and hand clutch. Quick connect system. Move your rear tires in or out with ease.
3. John Deere B. A lot of farmers went right from the horses to the B!! It was affordable and many were made.

 

[LD1]

hmm... none of the antiques I have were well cared for untill AFTER i got them.. they were jsut made better to begin with so they survived long enough to get some care down the road..

soundguy

Well, we just rebuilt dads 8n last year.

I can say for sure that it had been rebuilt at least once before that.

It also shows evidence that the engine threw a rod out the side of the block at some point in the past as well. It was a very good and sound repair whoever did it many moons ago. But the point is people dont make them kind of repairs as often anymore.

It also has a cracked transmission bell housing. As well as it has been repainted at least twice before.

And just comparing it side-by-side with my L3400, there are some things that are built noticabally better on my L3400 vs the 8n. Like all the 3PH stuff is MUCH beefier on the kubota. The castings and axles appear to be just as solid, and the tin is just as thin and prone to rusting through on the old 8n as well.

Yes, tractors of the old days were built quite well and made to last. BUT, I think current tractors are built just as good and would last equally as long if given the chance. If there were over 500,000 L3400's (or any current CUT) made in ~1950, I am sure there would be just as many of them around as there are 8n's today.

The problem is that we currently live in a throw-away soceity. So I doubt they will ever get a chance to prove themselves. But only time will tell.

 

[bdeboer]

This is hard one. There are so many great tractors to pick from. My top three.. 3. John Deere B. A lot of farmers went right from the horses to the B!! It was affordable and many were made.

When my grandpa was alive he used to talk about taking his lunch on the seat of his new B plowing virgin land in northwest Iowa.