Buying Advice 1959 Fordson Dexta and a Ford 950

[Bill Brasky]

Hey everyone. I've just started to shop for a tractor in the $4000 range (or less preferably) and wanted to get some advice or opinions on a couple tractors I found for sale.

We have 5 acres and will be using it for mowing, scraping, and making berms/ditches for our flood irrigation. We would love to have a bucket but I don't think that's going to be in the cards at this price range. A live PTO is preferred so I don't drive up a tree or through a fence.

The first is a Ford 950, 5 spd manual, 4 cyl gas, row crop model, wide front end with power steering. It does not have a live PTO which is not my preference. I know the owners and I trust them 100% which is a plus. $3,500

The other is a 1959 Fordson Dexta, diesel. Live PTO, manual steering, hi and low range gear box which is nice. I haven't seen this in person yet but it looks clean. The owner mentioned that the only issue is currently has is sometimes it doesn't want to go into the desired gear almost as if it's in two gears at once, and wants to stall out. Are transmission issues common with these? I'm having trouble finding info on these Fordsons.

Thank you for any input!

 

[gary49]

My Super Dexta occasionally has this problem. It is due to wear of the little levers under the plate the shift levers come out of. It will indeed be in two gears at once. It's easy to straighten out if you just remove the 4 bolts holding the plate down and realign the sliding mechanism in there. It doesn't happen if I'm deliberate in my shifting and don't try to rush things. The Dexta's a tough little tractor, very economical to run, and should have good power. Downside besides the lack of power steering is the parts may not be easy to find.

 

[windy acers]

i am a 20 year owner of three dextas they are very similar to massey Ferguson 130. The diesel engine is a huge plus. The super dexta was made around 1964 and it has a slightlly larger bore and 5 or 10 horse power. the bigest improvement you can do on them is install a massey starter and make sure the glow system in the filter intake is working. The stock starter is way to slow. many parts are interchangeable from the ford 600 and 800. clutch, wheels. massey lift pump ect. IT IS A ROCK SOLID TRACTOR. any questions e-mail me for a phone #. fredsfarm@twc.com all parts are available including starter up grade and advice at yesterdays tractors.com go to ford parts page and hit more and dexta will be there. this is a very popular tractor over seas especially in england.