I agree with all the advice so far, and have a little to add.
First, don't rush out and buy the first one ya see. Shopping is half of the fun! I've been poking around for a good 30 series Case for awhile now. Why? My grandparents had 3. They had several other tractors over the years but they always talked about them in stories. Are they any better than any others; Probably not. I still like em though!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
I also recommend obtaining a copy of nearly any of Roger Welsch's books on tractors. Gives a bit of philosphy and a neophyte's point of view. Darn funny too!!
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( And if you want my personal recommendation of a challenge, look up CLETRAC. They are old crawler tractors and make very nice toys.
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HAD ONE of those on the farm when i was a youngster, ran acroos one 2 years back, tried to justify buying it, but i got the LOOK from the bride /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif but u are right they were a very nice machine.
Funny you mentioned Roger Welsch's books, I was cleaning out some boxes and found copies of two of them and gave them to a guy at work who just finished working on a Ford 8N. Both of his books are worth reading before buying an old tractor to restore just because his stories inject humor into mundane the often frustrating task of playing with old tractors. He had 2 books that I know of. One is Old Tractors and the Men who Love Them. I can't remember the name of the other one, and I had it in my hand today . . . must be an age thing?
Another good book is Restoring an Old Tractor, or something similar to that title. It shows a picture of a Farmall A with a mid-mount mower deck on the front cover, and goes through a real world restoration of Ford 8N.
RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
Lets see.. theres:
Old tractos and the men who love them
Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles...Norwegian Torque Wrench Techniques and Other Fine Points of Tractor Restoration...
Everything I know about women I learned from my tractor
OWNER OPERATORS MANUAL FOR THE MODEL DA DAZIST ALLIS
OLD TRACTORS NEVER DIE
Love, Sex, and Tractors: The Eternal Triangle
YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN OLD TRACTOR NUT WHEN....
I like the AC-G, mostly because it is so ugly and funky and odd, that it is cool /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif That lanky frame, and the motor out back, it's just so, well, I don't know but it is /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif