Top Three Vintage Tractors

[RobertN]

I would have to vote for the Farmall "Letter Series", A, B, C, H, and M. Especially the C, H, and M.

And the Allis B.

I think the Ford N series became so well known because of the standardized 3pt. Although, seems the IH hitch was not bad, at least from what I have read.

I do not know how the Fords sold so well early, given the tranny gearing. My Dad has a beat up 9N. To get PTO speed, that tractor is FLYING even in 1st gear.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. fords have pretty darn tall gears on the 3 and 4 spd trannies. gets better on the 5 spd.. but still not awesome even on the 6 speed. 8 speed is great.. and the 10 spd gear selections are ok.. but the trans scares me.

DP models are fine.. and in many cases depending on what you are doing the aux trans are ok.. again.. depending on what you are doing. underdrive and max rpm's give you pto speed and ground speed in a different power band for the engine .. etc.. for example..

soundguy

 

[deereman75]

#1 the first tractor

#2 fordson

#3 farmall

 

[BoFuller]

1) Farmall H

2) Allis Chalmers WD45

3) Fordson

I wish I still had my Dad's Farmall F-14!

 

[Joel888]

In no particular order...Waterloo Boy...the tractor that put Deere in the tractor business....JD 720 held the record for a long time in best fuel economy at the Nebraska test...JD 4020 the tractor of that era and to some degree still today all others are compared to.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I do not know how the Fords sold so well early, given the tranny gearing. My Dad has a beat up 9N. To get PTO speed, that tractor is FLYING even in 1st gear.

They were cheap.....They were simple.....Ford already had a vast dealer network in place (w/ existing auto/truck dealers) and the timing was right. And that hitch.....Harry Fergusons 3-point hitch had everything to do with the success of the Ford N series. Ford might not have even built his tractor had the hitch not been made available. And the 9N/2N/8N would have came and went in relative obscurity had it not had that hitch.

By the late 30's, even the small farms of the southeast were mechanizing. The N replaced many a mule and/or horse. The vast majority of new N's sold to first time tractor buyers back in the day. (My father was one of those!)

 

[Soundguy]

i agree.. without that hitch.. 9n may not have been.. or it it had been.. wouldn't have done what it did.. IE.. if it was drawbar only.. it would have been an 'also ran' in the history books.

very much a goot timing issue with the correct people involved.

soundguy

 

[Michael a h]

allis chamlers model B all the way

 

[pjbci]

The farmalls, The 8n, and the fergusons. I gotta pick another though, the JD 4020 has got to be the handiest tractor to have around on a cattle farm, even compared to todays tractors.

 

[Hollow]

Ford N series - They were reliable and easy enough for anyone to use. One could make the point that they single handedly made horse drawn equipment obsolete.

Ford 3000 - Made a diesel engine and live PTO's the norm for small tractors.

Cat Crawlers - Where would we be without dozers?