Price Check Need Cheap HP

shibaura_4043 · Mar 3, 2016

LD1 said:
For $3k, if it has good tires on it and runs well, and will do what you need, I wouldn't be afraid. If it does break, although alot of work, selling tires and engine and other parts could probably get back most of your money. They all "can" break and be expensive to fix. Would rather break a $3k tractor than a $20k tractor.

I agree and I won't be working it real hard either considering it's rated to pull a larger plow than I have... Maybe it will survive for a resale when I'm through with it

shibaura_4043 · Mar 3, 2016

Soundguy said:
I think the 60-75 hp machines and proper plows would be fine, but who am I to talk someone out of another tractor, especially a big one. 3000$? That's darn cheap. Can't touch a big ford for that usually, but if an 8000 came up, or 9000, 8600, etc, I'd go look. Good luck!

I think my tractors handle my 12' plow pretty well, but a breakdown right before hay season could set me way back. Not to mention if I tear up a clutch or something worse I'm out 2 grand minimum right there. Chances are pretty low that I'll tear up something, I just got to thinking buying cheap hp might be the best option. Heck, might even say me money if the Case doesn't break down on me.

oldnslo · Mar 4, 2016

You must have easy pulling ground. Around here it takes 12 - 15 HP per shank on a chisel plow. What do the old 806 IH's go for in that area? They were tough old machines.

shibaura_4043 · Mar 5, 2016

oldnslo said:
You must have easy pulling ground. Around here it takes 12 - 15 HP per shank on a chisel plow. What do the old 806 IH's go for in that area? They were tough old machines.

I did most the chisel plowing during the wet winter last year I suspect that helped me out a lot.Couldn't tell you what they go for, probably more than 3k though. We're heading to look at the Case right now. Hopefully its worth the trip!

foreman Etexas · Mar 5, 2016

shibaura_4043 said:
I did most the chisel plowing during the wet winter last year I suspect that helped me out a lot.Couldn't tell you what they go for, probably more than 3k though. We're heading to look at the Case right now. Hopefully its worth the trip!

Hope it turns out worth it. That is really cheap HP

farmer2009 · Mar 5, 2016

Sounds like a decent old tractor. I know I'm late but if it doesn't work out also look towards the TW-20&30 Fords. Use to pull a 10 shank chisel with a 20. It needed duals but was a solid tractor. Although I believe you'll find the Case needs duals also.

Keep us posted.

D7E · Mar 5, 2016

You wont get better than a ford 8700,9700,TW or an mf 1135 cheap simple reliable . Case transmissions were touchy and deeres of this ere tend to be overpriced .

Soundguy · Mar 5, 2016

Forgot about that 1135 those are beasts!

shibaura_4043 · Mar 7, 2016

Well I didn't purchase the Case 1270. It's ran great, very little blow by and the powershift seemed to function very well. Unfortunately it had a bad hydraulic leak that looked to be a transmission seal. So the tractor really needed to be split. I really don't have time to split the tractor right now. Plus, the owner told me that he "knew it was getting low when the power steering would get sluggish". This concerned me because that could cause excessive heat in the transmission running the fluid so low, leading to potential damage to the powershift. It was rougher cosmetically than I thought too. Had the hydraulic leak just been a hose or an oring I would have bought it, it ran really nicely. Those old Cases are beastly. I guess the search continues. I'll look up a few of the tractors mentioned previously.

kevin37b · Mar 7, 2016

motownbrowne said:
That's probably somewhere between 15-20k more expensive than what the OP is talking about.

Spend it now or spend it later .

motownbrowne · Mar 7, 2016

kevin37b said:
Spend it now or spend it later .

Not really in this case I don't think. If he gets a cheap tractor (didn't spend it now) and it fails, part it out and get on with life (didn't spend it later either).

Deere made some great tractors in that vintage to be sure, but in many cases you can buy a Ford, New Holland, international, etc for half the price or less. Lots of farms still running these machines.

jenkinsph · Mar 7, 2016

I had a 1370 years ago and it was a good tractor. I have heard the transmissions are not as good as the Deere but I never had problems plowing up and planting over 400 acres with it. One problem with these is using the pto in reverse, that is not recommended as some of the parts can become oil starved. For cheap hp I feel these old Case tractors are a fair deal.

Have you thought about removing a few shanks on the chisel plow to lighten the load on your tractors? You could remove the outside blades from your disc to accomplish this too. That might be the fastest thing to do and would enable you to get in the field today. As long as your tractors are not overloaded they should be fine.

The third option is to hire someone to pull your implements so as to not risk damaging their implements.

shibaura_4043 · Mar 7, 2016

jenkinsph said:
I had a 1370 years ago and it was a good tractor. I have heard the transmissions are not as good as the Deere but I never had problems plowing up and planting over 400 acres with it. One problem with these is using the pto in reverse, that is not recommended as some of the parts can become oil starved. For cheap hp I feel these old Case tractors are a fair deal. Have you thought about removing a few shanks on the chisel plow to lighten the load on your tractors? You could remove the outside blades from your disc to accomplish this too. That might be the fastest thing to do and would enable you to get in the field today. As long as your tractors are not overloaded they should be fine. The third option is to hire someone to pull your implements so as to not risk damaging their implements.

I was already down to 9 shanks but I suppose I could drop to 7shanks. They pull the plows ok just slower than a 130 hp would

. The main reason for buying a workhorse was to avoid any downtime on my hay tractors. Also I have thorny brush to plow up and I figured I could use an old tractor with dry rotted hard tires without worrying about the thorn punctures as much. I have good tires on my tractors and would prefer to prolong the life of them if possible.

RollingsFarms · Mar 7, 2016

Looking on TractorHouse there's a few decent old work horses in the 3000-5000 range. There's a TW 20 for $4000, an old IH 1066 for 4750, and a sweet MF 1100 with 3000 original hours for 4900.

shibaura_4043 · Mar 8, 2016

Thanks rollingsfarms

flusher · Mar 8, 2016

My neighbors have several examples of cheap, old HP that they use to plow their hayfields.

A Steiger Super Wildcat

and an IH 4366 (made by Steiger)

Probably more HP than you want.

I've seen similar beasts go for $7-8K at local auctions.

Just a thought.

Good luck

shibaura_4043 · Mar 8, 2016

flusher said:
My neighbors have several examples of cheap, old HP that they use to plow their hayfields. A Steiger Super Wildcat <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=460121"/> and an IH 4366 (made by Steiger) <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=460122"/> Probably more HP than you want. I've seen similar beasts go for $7-8K at local auctions. Just a thought. Good luck

I have considered a machine like that. A little overkill, but would be awesome to have.

flusher · Mar 8, 2016

Before buying any 100+ HP old iron, I'd be sure I had the shop space and the equipment needed to work on these large beasts when it craps out.

Unless you enjoy doing field repairs on your tractor.

The 1000 sq ft shop I had on my ranch would be just large enough to do repair work on something this large.

The largest tractor I owned was a 2008 Mahindra 5525 (55 hp engine, weight about 6500 lb with FEL and loaded tires). Fortunately I only pulled it into the shop for normal maintenance. But I had a lot of shop equipment for tearing down tractors since my hobby was rebuilding old tractors (under 40 hp engine).

Good luck with whatever you end up with.

Soundguy · Mar 8, 2016

That big Massey would be sweet lots of hp per #

jenkinsph · Mar 8, 2016

An older 4020 might be a good choice too. If you could buy one that needs cosmetic work and fix it up in your spare time you should be able to sell it after the hard work is done and clear your costs. Nice ones seem to command top dollar.