Rust getting bad all over my Kubota

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I'm not saying that a tractor cant last 40+ years. all I'm saying is i don't think a modern (new) tractor can.
I'm 64 and I've been hearing this all of my life. What was made long ago is better than what's made now.:laughing::laughing:
Actually most stuff is now history except for the few that were stored in attics, barns, warehouses or in a garage or home and never got used or was babied. I search for the Vintage "stuff" from my youth (50s and 60s) that was made so much better than now and it is rare and hard to find. If it was so great and better, we'd still have a bunch of it.
The older tractors (and cars) were built to last. Heck, i tried to get some replacement parts for my 1996 JD 870 before i sold it...the parts were no longer made. I can still buy MODEL A parts...but not a 14 yo tractor parts.

Stuff built today are disposable....no doubt about it.

Love this cars theory. My first car was a 1935 Dodge, smoked like a freight train. Heavy metal but sure it's a pile of rust today unless someone stored it in a garage and quit driving it every day. Since then I've bought around another 140 cars/trucks and they get better every year in my opinion. I've had Corvettes and the bottom line, they were just Chevrolets, nothing magic about them except their beauty. Most old cars are GONE GONE GONE because they only last so long with use. In the 50s & 60s a car with 50,000 miles was a high mileage car and most people wanted to trade it before the thing fell apart (I love the old cars but truth is truth) and 100,000 was almost unheard of. Also how far were most of those cars driven in a year when people remember the one the teacher drove for 20 years? 2 or 3 miles a day! Nostalgia is great guys and I love the memories (good ones) of the 50s and 60s but again where is all that great well made to last forever stuff?
Will the currently made tractors last as long as the tractors of old? No one knows but are the tractors of old better than the tractors of today, no way. Heavier metal, simpler operating but that doesn't make them last longer or perform better.
To end my story I remember in the 50s and 60s how the older guys would talk about the great ????? that they had when they were kids and how cheap made they are now.:laughing:

 

[George the Beagle]

JohnThomas: Well said. I'm in your age group, and concur.

 

[Gizmo2]

Our JD2320 is in NO way built better than our older 1988 JD650. Would I want the 650 back?,,,No Way! The 2320 has waaay more stuff on it to make my life way better and easier. In retrospect, a $14.K tractor of yesteryears is basically a $26K tractor today. It's all about the cost of ownership, IF you really need a tractor. If you really don't need a tractor this is where the disposable issue comes into play and the money you shelled out for the tractor became/was disposable that day not years later.

Paid $14.5k for my JD650 in 1988 and sold it for $10.5K in 2008. Could not get parts, rusted (in spots), used and old. Thats $200.00 per year to own. That to me was a pretty darn good deal as I really used the 650 tractor.

 

[TripleR]

JohnThomas: Well said. I'm in your age group, and concur.

Agree, John and I are the same age. He said it better than I, so I will leave it at that.

We do have some 50+ year old tractors that my brothers keep running; they like and use them, I just like them.

 

[Soundguy]

of the 50s and 60s but again where is all that great well made to last forever stuff

just looking at the arie I live in, for non comercial work like roadside mowing, etc.. but rather looking at private work , including farms.. it's all tractors from the 50's thru the 80's doingthe work.

I don't think it's far off to say that I know more people working with old iron than with new iron.

both have their place.

I don't think any of the new iron will last as long as the old iron.. mainly because 40% of the new iron is plastic and fiberglass..

soundguy

 

[crazyal]

How come when people talk about "old" anything they almost always remember the great and forget the bad? How many old tractors are a pile of rust behind the barn? What percentage of them made it 40 or 50 years?

Just yesterday this late 70s Kubota B7100 was posted on the local Craigs list. I wonder how many people looked at it new and said it will never last 30 years? Looks like it has a lot of years left in it to me. I keep thinking about calling on it, it's only about 20 miles from here but I really don't have any use for it.

 

[TripleR]

The barns around here are full of old tractors that no one uses anymore. We have two old IH units in our barn that just sit there while John Deere 7000 and 8000 Series tractors are out in the fields. They will run, but according to the owners are not dependable and can't be made dependable enough to depend on them. They are there as backup tractors I suppose, but it has been years since I saw one in the field.

I love old tractors, but would not depend on them to get the crops in and I don't know anyone who does. The only time I see an old tractor running is bush hogging or running a baler of some part time farmer. Of course, that is just in my area.

 

[RobertN]

I do not think you will find 60 year old tractors, in 2071 like you do now. you can still get over the counter parts for old Farmall's Ford's ect.

The core of the tractor may last, but all the electronic gadgets still work? Will you able to get the glow plug timer relay when your 2011 Kubota, NH, or JD will not start in 2071?

The Farmall-A I had, was 60 years old when I got it. It popped a governer spring. Off the shelf from Case/IH... It only had one wire, for the kill switch. Most of the mechanicals could be fixed, welded, or remachined. Hard to do that for 60 year old electronics that have not been made for 40 years.....

I think you will find the same cars/pickups. Sure, folks have restored Model-A and Model-T Fords, 57 Chevies, '68 Hemi Cuda's. But they are simple.

In 2071, will you be able to repair the fuel injection or electronics on a 2011 Challenger, Mustang, or Camaro?

A lot of those rusty tractors behind barns will start up with a couple hours work. My Farmall-A had come out of a falling down shed, needed a head gasket, pan gasket, and a set of rings. try that on a 2011 Kubota/NH/JD/Mahindra/Yanmar/Iseki ect 60 years from now.

It would be cool if it does happen; there is a cottage industry around restoring old iron now. Look at the Farmall-Cubs, JD-LA, Ford N.

How come when people talk about "old" anything they almost always remember the great and forget the bad? How many old tractors are a pile of rust behind the barn? What percentage of them made it 40 or 50 years?

Just yesterday this late 70s Kubota B7100 was posted on the local Craigs list. I wonder how many people looked at it new and said it will never last 30 years? Looks like it has a lot of years left in it to me. I keep thinking about calling on it, it's only about 20 miles from here but I really don't have any use for it.

 

[Soundguy]

I do not think you will find 60 year old tractors, in 2071 like you do now. you can still get over the counter parts for old Farmall's Ford's ect. .

you might find some 120 year old ones though..

 

[crazyal]

I don't think I'll be around in 2071 to find out. However if you look at countries like Cuba that can't run down to their local AutoZone to get the part they need for their 1950 Chevy you'll find that they have no problems finding solutions.

Most of the old tractors I see are ones owned by people who use them for the occasional log pulling or road repair. They may sit for months (if not years) between uses. I have a friend with an old McCormick that he always parks facing down hill because the starter and alternator are shot. I've seen him start it with the hand starter but swear each time. This tractor would have been scrap long ago for most people but because it didn't cost much and he doesn't really need a tractor it's still around. I have no doubt that in 60 years there will still be a number of 2010 models still around.