Tractor Choice??

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: N series the best???

Well my own personal preferences lean toward Olivers, if you want to stick with the 3pt hitch, then you are generally looking for Ford or Ferguson pre-1955 and after that time you have a wide range of brands to choose from.

I like the Cletrac crawler tractors from Cleveland Tractor Company, which was eventually purchased by Oliver. They make some mini-bulldozer looking tractors that were used in hilly areas and are very common in the California wine growing regions as well as some areas to the east such as Pennsylvania.

McCormick-Farmalls were pretty nice tractors, as were the Allis-Chalmers units. It is hard to forget about JD, which is the most popular collectable brand.

But there is a lot to be said for IGNORING the 3pt hitch requirement and just playing with the tractors as toys. Take a look at some of the International Cub Cadets from the 50's and 60's. Or some of the older A-C units, they have one with a rear mounted engine. The Oliver Orchard tractors of the 50's were awesome units to behold with their streamline sheet metal. Look at Cockshutt from Canada, they have some nice old units.

To be honest, there are too many to interesting tractors (and tractor brands) to list, and most have changed ownership 10 times and consolidated into fewer brands over time.

As for the 40-something comment . . . that is me too. And my wife won't let me build a pole barn for toys.

 

[Soundguy]

Re: N series the best???

</font><font color="blueclass=small">( Oliver Super 55 was the same size tractor as an 2/9/8N/Jubilee/NAA tractor with roughly the same HP rating. They just had a lot more features.
)</font>

I agree with some of what you are saying.. but it isn't really being presented in a fair light...... A NAA is a larger tractor / weight / size and HP than the 9/2/8N... lumping them together for comparison sake puts a slant on the issue.

The 9/s/8N was a 2 bottom plow machine... had a 4 cylinder 'L' flathead... 26-27 hp at the belt. The NAA was also 4cyl.. but had the red tiger OHV engine, and more HP.. probably closer to 32-33 belt... also pulled a 3 bottom plow. Had weight, and size on the older N's... By the time you hit 1955, you are into the hundred series.. and are into ford machines fairly able to compete with the olivers. Gotta keep the categories seperate when making valid comparisons... lumping 2 plow and 3 plow machines together makeas a difficult comparison.. especailly when doing low/hig comparisons, and cost ratios for features.

I'm not trying to start a color war.. but lets be fair... if tractor x is cheaper than tractor y, and tractor x also has less features than tractor y ( making tractor y more expensive, and with more features ) Then to compair them fairly.. you need to find the value added cost/benefit of those extra features.

As far as cheapest.. I think IH may win there. on their compact market in those early years.... cubs were amazingly inexpensive... ( and smaller.. and had less features ).

Also.. the early ford/fergusion tractors were fairly innovative... and lent to paterns that emerged from other manufacturers down the line.

The 3pt lift with the draft and position control is one of the better tractor improvements this century. Some modern tractors still lack either draft or real position control.

Safety features were also few and far between on early tractors. Fords starter interlock is a feature that other manufacturers didn't pick up until late in the game for some... For instance IH again.. many of the IH tractors didn't have starter interlock... my 66 doesn't..

There is also something to be said about legacy... I think it is pretty safe to assume that parts support for the N series tractor probably rivals or equals any other tractor brand/line of that era. The fact that I can run to napa, or tractor supply, or even a NH dealer, and walk out ( not special order )with quite a few parts in hand tells quite a tale. Not to mention the number of them out there. While most other antique tractors are relegated to garages, and parades, there is a large population of working fords out doing real work.

I know of two olivers in my area.. one is owned as a part of a private collection.. unit is a non-worker.. the other is a worker in a farm area.
I know of at least 10 N series fords not counting mine, that do regular work in the area. If you move to the mid 50's and include the 6XX series.. that number doubles... move to 8xx series, and the number doubles again....

Not knocking the olivers.. I like them.. almost bought a 55 a while back... but it just isn't a fari comparison between an 8n and the oliver 55.. and then to gloat about its many extra features / power, etc.. especially since it was a more expensive tractor. Kinda like comparing a ford ranger base model, and a comfortably equipmed gmc 1500... one is larger and more expensive and has more features....

( I know you aren't beating up the fords... but since we are getting technical... might as well be fair comparisons too )

Soundguy

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: N series the best???

Soundguy, I will also agree with what you are saying, however I tried to do a couple things in some of my earliers posts. One was not to beat up the Fords. Another was to present the fact that the N series is not the end all of great old tractors. . . and while the NAA or 600 is a closer comparison to a Super 55, I believe that your post FURTHER HELPS PROVE MY POINT that the N, while a great innovation in its own right, is not the BEST tractor by simple default.

There were a lot of good tractors out there that are still in use today and still workers. Maybe because Oliver was made in the midwest, headquartered about 100 miles from where I live, we have a lot more of them up here, but I see a lot of them working as mowing tractors or pulling in the fields. But I am not trying to push Oliver as the end all either. I just think that the 50's were a time of great innovation and a lot of tractors came out of those years that are interesting, and still useful. The N series make good lawn mowers and light landscapers and are practical because parts are available, but that still does not make them the best.

I am standing by my earlier posts challenging declaration that the N series is the best for land owners with 10 acers or less. They are good, they are not the best. And to say that comparing a '56 Oliver is not a fair comparison to a '54 Ford, might be true, but who said that the arguement should be fair? The proposition was what is best, I think I pointed out why the N is not the best. I think you even pointed out the NAA and 600's are BETTER, so obviously the N is not the best. But that doesn't mean it is historically insignificant, it is probably the most significant advance in modern farm equipment since 1903.

 

[Soundguy]

Re: N series the best???

One point I think we are having a problem with is the generic term 'N'.. N was Henry's tractor section designator... everything from 1939 thru 1954 was generically categorized as an N...Generally we ford owners use N to refer to the 9N, 2N, and the 8N.. it is also common to lump the 53 Jubilee in there, as it is essentially a 54 NAA.. ( all jubilee casting / part numbers start with NAA as part of the part number.. etc.. same with the other N's... most 9n and 2n part numbers start with 9n.. and 8n part numbers start with 8n... ). After that were the hundred series. That is why I don't like comparing 'N's in generaly to a larger tractor... N's make up too big a comparison group..as the 53's and 54's are a much larger tractor.
And I think apples to apples comparison does matter, all things being equal.. you have to have a common frame of reference to have a valid comparison.... you simple can't compair one size class of tractor to another.. then throw up your hands and say 'see these are better'... there are other factors involved.. like price.... those features you mention, came at an extra price.. that changes the value ratio of the tractor in question.. Again.. you can't compair a chineese 4$ flea market watch to a rolex.. and throw up your hands and say.. 'see.. the rolex is better'...... better at what? absorbing your money? If ( IF..) both watches keep acurate time.. then both are equal in work respect.. while one has more value and features.. and price tag... etc. If you compare the price ratio there.. and the one task you are evaluating is say... 'time keeping'.. then the chineese watch performing the task at a price of 4$ as opposed to the rolex watch doing it for hundreds or thousands.. is well... you get the point... it is a 'bad' comparison..

An N is not an all around tractor... for instance.. it is geared way to high to be a good roto-till machine. though a company in austrailia.. 'Howard' made a gear reduction box for it.. but it is rare to find one.

For that fact... NO tractor is a perfect tractor... for instance one big enough for hay.. say 50hp minimum.. isn't great as a small pasture lawn mower... just way too big.

I think you are being a bit to literal in interpreting/chalenging the guys post on the N being the 'best' tractor... obviously the guy has one and is nostalgic about it... I'm sure the comment was made with a bit of twinkle in his eye... after all.. one of the points he made about it was that it was 'cute'... hard to beat that one out and define it on a spec sheet...

The best tractor for a piece of land is going to be one that reasonable adress the users wants and needs connected with the upkeep and maintenance with his land.... ANY tractor may fall into that category if all the pieces fit... Including an N.. or an oliver.. or even a 2 wheeld walk behind tractor... etc.. etc.

I'll leave it at that.. there are better horses to beat.

Soundguy

 

[RobertN]

Re: N series the best???

I would say it is hard to characterize the "N" as the perfect tractor using your list. You just described the Farmall letter series tractor...

1. For cuteness, the Farmall Cub is just cuter than can be. You must count in there though, the JD-L, and AC-G. That Allis "G" is so funky it's just cute as can be!

2. The Farmall letter series was made by bazillions. It is easy to get parts for. A-B-C parts interchange easily. They are everywhere. There's parts at YTmag, from Blaze in New York, on Ebay...

3. The Farmall collectors are pretty avid too. Clubs, sales and auctions. Look at all the Farmall's on Ebay...

4. A lot of older tractors had other hitches, which can be converted to 3pt. Ford/Furgson had that patent on the 3pt. But the other manufactures came up with thier own. If there is hydraulics back there, a 3pt is doable.

The tractor application is more what might decide which tractor is best. All will work to some point as general use tractors.

Having my '41 Farmall-A, and my Dad having a 2N, I would definitely lean towards liking the Farmall better. The 2N is a fine tractor though.