Any of y'all familiar with OLD Deeres?

[Niner]

Any of y\'all familiar with OLD Deeres?

I'm going to look at a 1951 M on Friday...unless it is gone by then.

It sounds almost too good to be true. I am looking for a "small" tractor for grading my gravel driveway, doing some bush hogging, and putting in an occasional food plot for the deers. I have been looking at some of the compact Jap tractors, but would really rather have an old Deere.... I think.

I talked to the seller on the phone and he says he needs to sell it. Says he has rebuilt the carb and it "runs like a top", and he has been using it some this summer to bush hog around his place. He told me that one fellow came out to look at it, and that guy told the seller this M has a burnt valve. The seller says it sounds ok to him, and said he didn't know if the guy was just trying to work the (already good) price down further. This fellow says that he doesn't know much about the M type motor, as he has always used the “opposed” motors in his bigger tractors.

He also says the tractor has no rust, and decent (though faded) paint. I am not looking for a show tractor, but one that I will use.
So, can you gents give me any "gotchas" to beware of when I look at this unit? The asking price is <$2000 with bush hog.

 

[Green_in_MI]

Re: Any of y\'all familiar with OLD Deeres?

Try this site for old Deere info

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/

 

[beenthere]

Re: Any of y\'all familiar with OLD Deeres?

I would be real suspicious of a seller saying he doesn't know much about what he is selling, as he is could be trying to cover up something that is wrong. Be sure to check the tractor out. "Runs like a top" could mean a lot of different things.

There were a number of different models of the M. Not sure just how many, but it would be worth looking at. It likely is a collector, which may only be of interest if you want to sell it in the future. Look for a serial number (if the tag is missing I wouldn't put much money into it). It is a 6volt system, if it hasn't been converted to 12volts through the years. I had a newer ('58) version of the M (a 420Utility) and liked it, but it had more value ($5900) to someone else than to me. I wanted power steering and diesel. I had the engine overhauled (found cracked block and head) and the cost was $3700. I could not find new tires to replace the old. It had the original rubber on the rear when I sold it in '99. They were cracked but didn't leak air.

The M has upright cylinders (2) as opposed to the 'horizontal' cylinders in the bigger Deere of that era. The rpm's were higher than the horizontal models and likely around 20 - 25 hp. Before buying I would suggest getting a compression check to see if the engine is tired. The engine is probably pretty good yet if you can start it moving in the highest gear without nursing it along with the clutch. That was the most noticeable thing after I had mine overhauled, was how easy it would move in road gear as compared to before the overhaul.
They are well built tractors, and handle a bush hog easily ( I would recommend an over-running clutch be added to the PTO if it doesn't have one already).

 

[Thomas]

Re: Any of y\'all familiar with OLD Deeres?

See if you can operate the M w/the bush hog to give you some idea how it handles..check to see how tight the steering system is..check the motor area for oil leaks also transmission..test the brakes..do a couple of start ups and shut downs..notice how much play in the clutch when engaging..notice what kind of work M was doing on the land..for these check points could help you out so you won't be nickle and dime to death in repairs.

$2.000.oo for a JD M or MT in fair condition seem fair..in my area.

 

[s1120]

Re: Any of y\'all familiar with OLD Deeres?

<font color=red>carb and it "runs like a top", </font color=red>

OK, I may be wrong, but dosn't a top spin for a bit, then fall down???/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif I think I would rather have one run like a rock, at least it dose not fall over./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Any of y\'all familiar with OLD Deeres?

I don't know much about the M, but I do know of a great community of antique tractor lovers. Go to www.atis.net and check out links. There are several mailing lists you can subscribe to and some very knowledgeable people reside there. I used to subscribe for several years and enjoyed it tremendously, but a new job gave me less time and I couldn't handle the e-mail volume.