International Harvester Comparisons

[Tidetravel]

Hi there! My husband and I just bought a 20 acre property. We will be moving our horses there in a few months and also want to try our hand at the homestead thing.

We are looking for a tractor for our new farm. We will generally be using it to brush hog the fields, move round hay bales and plow/scrape snow (western NY winters.)

There are two older (1960s) tractors that we are looking at that are approximately equal in price ($3300-$4000.) All else being equal (assuming they both start and drive) is one better suited for the job than another? Is there any particular advantage/disadvantage to either (known issues, hard to get parts, etc?)

#1 - International Harvester 2424 - comes with bucket
#2 - International Harvester 606 - comes with bucket and forks

Thank you for your help!

 

[1Mech]

Parts should be available for either one with a little digging.
Check out this website for a more detailed comparison of the two.
The 2424 is listed as an industrial tractor.

TractorData.com - International Harvester farm tractors sorted by model

www.tractordata.com

 

[Torvy]

Is one of you mechanically inclined?

 

[lilranch2001]

The good thing about those tractors are, they are both easily worked on if you have a little bit of ability and no computers

 

[Torvy]

The good thing about those tractors are, they are both easily worked on if you have a little bit of ability and no computers

Pretty sure if you are mechanically inclined and have a computer they are still easy to work on. Why do you even care about their computer status? You join some FBI computer status task force?

I apologize ma'am. We're not well.

 

[Tidetravel]

Is one of you mechanically inclined?

My husband can do more than basic maintenance on cars but we don't know anything about tractors specifically. We figure that the older tractors are probably easier to work on if necessary than newer ones

 

[lilranch2001]

My husband can do more than basic maintenance on cars but we don't know anything about tractors specifically. We figure that the older tractors are probably easier to work on if necessary than newer ones

You are quite right, ma’am, and ignore the previous posts. He’s jacked up on some sugar and chocolate stuff.

 

[Torvy]

Very true. There are some good folks out here that can help with mechanical questions.

My dad had a IH dealership when I was a kid...you're looking at some a bit older than those.

 

[Tidetravel]

Very true. There are some good folks out here that can help with mechanical questions.

My dad had a IH dealership when I was a kid...you're looking at some a bit older than those.

I will keep that in mind when mechanical issues arise!

 

[Torvy]

You are quite right, ma’am, and ignore the previous posts. He’s jacked up on some sugar and chocolate stuff.

Nope, I have munchausen by proxy and my wife's been drinking.

 

[lilranch2001]

Nope, I have munchausen by proxy and my wife's been drinking.

I think you’ve been watching too much Dr House

 

[Torvy]

I think you’ve been watching too much Dr House

True story. My mom would start acting drunk about the time the cork came out of the wine bottle. She rarely had more than a glass on any given day. She still pretty spry at 91.

 

[lilranch2001]

True story. My mom would start acting drunk about the time the cork came out of the wine bottle. She rarely had more than a glass on any given day. She still pretty spry at 91.

Ooooo

My mom would be drunk after her first glass of wine…

But she really didn’t drink very often, but when she did, she’d feel it

 

[Torvy]

Dang it. Wrong thread again. Bless my heart.

Apologies again.

 

[ericm979]

1960s vehicles can be pretty beat up and need a lot of work. Many can be hard to find parts for. Compact tractors did not start getting electronic engine controls until 2015 or so. Newer ones are more likely to have useful features like four wheel assist, power steering and hydrostatic transmissions. And vital safety features like ROPS (roll bars) and seat belts. The seat belt is to keep you from slipping off the seat in a roll over and getting crushed by the ROPS that otherwise would have saved you.

Four wheel assist is very useful if you have hills as its the only way that there's any braking on the front wheels.

Round bales can get pretty heavy. You want both the loader capacity to lift them and the tractor weight to move them safely. Always lower the loader as far as possible especially when moving a heavy load. You see videos of people driving with the loader high up so they can see under it. That raises thee center of gravity way high which makes it easy to tip over if a wheel goes into a dip or you turn too fast. Learn to look around the load instead of under it.

 

[CliffordK]

What type of a hitch do the tractors have?

That era of tractor likely came new with a "2 Point Hitch". A unique slide in/out connection. But it has been obsolete for at least 50 years.

If you have all the 2 point implements, they can work well, although a little bit frustrating to slide in and out. However, if you need modern implements then you'll either need to convert to 3 point, or get a 2 point to 3 point adapter.

Oh, I see a 3pt on the white one. I can't tell on the yellow one.

 

[CliffordK]

The other thing to keep in mind. Most of that vintage of tractors were 2 wheel drive (which both of those appear to be).

Kubota started introducing 4x4 tractors shortly after that, and then everyone went to 4x4.

You can do a lot with 2 wheel drive. We plowed our front pasture with an old 2 bottom plow... twice, then that was plenty!!! I vaguely think we got the old International stuck in the middle of the field once too.

4 wheel drive is very nice if you're dealing with mud. Also hills. And perhaps snow too.

 

[Tidetravel]

1960s vehicles can be pretty beat up and need a lot of work. Many can be hard to find parts for. Compact tractors did not start getting electronic engine controls until 2015 or so. Newer ones are more likely to have useful features like four wheel assist, power steering and hydrostatic transmissions. And vital safety features like ROPS (roll bars) and seat belts. The seat belt is to keep you from slipping off the seat in a roll over and getting crushed by the ROPS that otherwise would have saved you.

Four wheel assist is very useful if you have hills as its the only way that there's any braking on the front wheels.

Round bales can get pretty heavy. You want both the loader capacity to lift them and the tractor weight to move them safely. Always lower the loader as far as possible especially when moving a heavy load. You see videos of people driving with the loader high up so they can see under it. That raises thee center of gravity way high which makes it easy to tip over if a wheel goes into a dip or you turn too fast. Learn to look around the load instead of under it.

Thank you for the information. I'm familiar with driving heavy equipment (tractors/skid steers/etc.) It's more the mechanical part that I'm not familiar with

 

[Tidetravel]

What type of a hitch do the tractors have?

That era of tractor likely came new with a "2 Point Hitch". A unique slide in/out connection. But it has been obsolete for at least 50 years.

If you have all the 2 point implements, they can work well, although a little bit frustrating to slide in and out. However, if you need modern implements then you'll either need to convert to 3 point, or get a 2 point to 3 point adapter.

Oh, I see a 3pt on the white one. I can't tell on the yellow one.

They're both 3 point hitches. Thanks!

 

[dieselscout80]

What type of a hitch do the tractors have?

That era of tractor likely came new with a "2 Point Hitch". A unique slide in/out connection. But it has been obsolete for at least 50 years.

If you have all the 2 point implements, they can work well, although a little bit frustrating to slide in and out. However, if you need modern implements then you'll either need to convert to 3 point, or get a 2 point to 3 point adapter.

Oh, I see a 3pt on the white one. I can't tell on the yellow one.

The IH 2424 is the same basic tractor as the AG version the IH 424 and it’s got a 3 point hitch.

I like my IH 424 and parts are pretty much still available. However I do think my TC45 is a MUCH better loader tractor due to the hydrostatic transmission and being four wheel drive.

Tractor data‘s website has specs for both of them.

Side note a paint job can mask the true condition of a tractor.

Being up north the tire chains will be used in the winter for sure.