Personally I think your both right. If the tractor suits your needs and your happy with it, your both winners. Everyone has their own wants, needs and desires. Personally after owning the Dexta I would have a hard time going back to red if I needed another tractor this size. I like Ford tractors as much as anyone and the 850 does the job whenever I ask it to no matter how cold it is outside. But after spending time on the the Fordson it has become my all time favorite.
Using a 600 for winter wood hauling detail
- Thread starter Jim L
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Jim L
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Cvans,my Dad had quite a few tractors during the years he farmed (from the 40s to late 90s). I remember him talking about a dexta he had. He said in high gear that tractor would fly lol. I don't remember the size of it,but would think it was close to a 600 or a little bigger. What horsepower /series would that be? jim
Your right about high gear. I love it. Once called the lumberyard 6 miles away and asked to rent their 3 point tiller. I got there so fast that the owner figured I must have been a short distance away when I called. On the way over there a guy in a large JD FWD saw me coming and figured he better pull out in front so he wouldn't get stuck behind me. I ended up slowing down because I was faster then him 
I have larger tires on the rear so that speeds things up also. I wish I could remember to take the GPS with me on the road sometime.
Mine is a 61 and is the 32hp. version so your 600 series is a good comparison. Live hydraulics, PTO, and has the high and low range. Not power steering but is so well engineered that at full throttle in road gear it is comfortable to steer with the palm of my hand resting on the center of the steering wheel. The diesel engine was designed and cast by Ford but machined and assembled by Perkins. It is extremely fuel efficient and dependable as many are still in use in europe today. On the down side the original seats were a disaster. It was like having your tail bone bolted to the transom.
I was actually looking for a compact utility tractor when I ran across a posting about these. The best $2,700 I ever spent. It will be the last tractor I get rid of. I will say this though, your 600 series would be a serious contender if I hadn't been looking for a diesel.
I have larger tires on the rear so that speeds things up also. I wish I could remember to take the GPS with me on the road sometime.Mine is a 61 and is the 32hp. version so your 600 series is a good comparison. Live hydraulics, PTO, and has the high and low range. Not power steering but is so well engineered that at full throttle in road gear it is comfortable to steer with the palm of my hand resting on the center of the steering wheel. The diesel engine was designed and cast by Ford but machined and assembled by Perkins. It is extremely fuel efficient and dependable as many are still in use in europe today. On the down side the original seats were a disaster. It was like having your tail bone bolted to the transom.
I was actually looking for a compact utility tractor when I ran across a posting about these. The best $2,700 I ever spent. It will be the last tractor I get rid of. I will say this though, your 600 series would be a serious contender if I hadn't been looking for a diesel.
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Jim L
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I was generally brought up on a '60 861 Diesel ford,but Dad had a couple MFs (135,245) during the late sixties through the 80s. Both with perkins diesels and I have high regard for those engines. The 861 is why I got the 660. Missed the 5 sp. Your Dexta sounds like a great tractor .
I can tell you right now that you have way way more experience with ford tractors than I do. I've only been around them for about ten years. They weren't held in high esteem by a lot of farmers around here and was told they were called "Pig Tractors". So I just steered clear of them. I have to admit that it was a big mistake and would have to say for their time they were ahead of their competition in many areas. What's the old saying. "so late so smart". I have had 2 cyl. JD's and Allis Chalmers. Wouldn't trade the Fords for any of them. How in the world could Henry Ford sell so many tractors if they were that bad but I have to admit that you don't see many of them in these parts.
Thanks for the compliment. It didn't look like that when I brought it home. It was a sound tractor but someone had tried to move the barn with the front cowl. Spent three days just straightening that out. And the paint is another disappointment. TSC and now they sell a different brand. The gloss went flat in two months. The tractor it's self needed nothing but a rear tire. I hope I feel as good about it in another ten years.
Did you do the work on yours? Who's paint did you use? From your Avatar it looks really nice and still shows well.
Thanks for the compliment. It didn't look like that when I brought it home. It was a sound tractor but someone had tried to move the barn with the front cowl. Spent three days just straightening that out. And the paint is another disappointment. TSC and now they sell a different brand. The gloss went flat in two months. The tractor it's self needed nothing but a rear tire. I hope I feel as good about it in another ten years.
Did you do the work on yours? Who's paint did you use? From your Avatar it looks really nice and still shows well.
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Jim L
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I had the same problem with TSC paint on a JD two row corn planter my dad bought years back to plant garden patch corn with.Wet dull and the green turned blue which would be a plus for a tractor ,but not a corn planer.,Had to say that LOL.. Thanks for the complement on my tractor. When I got it ,it had been painted blue once by someone who took pains with it and then the next time by a drunk with a paint brush. Mine wasn't a pig tractor,it was a DOG tractor LOL.. I stripped it down to the original red and bare metal with a wire brush on a drill and used NH Dealer red/gray paint on it so I could easily keep it touched up.It's fairly durable ,but I have to touch the red up about once every two or three years from wear and tear.
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Jim L
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I was poking around this afternoon and found this old pic of the 861 and yours truly taken back in '77-78. A lot younger and a LOT more hair. Thought I'd post it up.
Without a doubt, Ford made my favorite tractor of all time (for the reasons listed on p. 2). I had a few bad experiences with the Jubilees and 600 tractors that came later, and that is what taints my opinion of them. At the same time, I have had nothing but good experiences with IH, JD and Allis tractors of that immediate "post-n" era . I also think that Ford got their act together again with the little 3 and 4 cylinder diesels (2000's, 3000's, and 4000's), but again, I have no like, and have had only bad experiences with their gas tractors of that era (they were always thirsty on fuel and never seemed to have as much power as the diesels). I am not now, and have never been "color-blind" when it comes to tractors, and I continue to run at least one of all those brands listed. I am "country-blind" however, and I will always go as far as possible, to only run tractors that are designed and built in the USA (I am willing to accept a few parts from Mexico or Canada, as at least they are "North American"). The Japanese especially, will have a difficult time getting a tractor on my farm, because of things they did on December 7, 1941, and on the isle of Battan, shortly thereafter.
Back to the wood hauling: that is one of my favorite things to do with my 1951 8n, a job at which it is really good at, due to it's excellent cold starting, and compact size/light weight. Unfortunately, I have not been able to use it much this winter, due to some major surgery and "doctors order" mostly confining me to the house. Last week, we had a "chain gang" with the wife and kids, that did not work too bad, other than one of the girls getting smacked in the face. Certainly the box on the back of the tractor like Jim's works better. Also, I cant run the 8n now because the exhaust manifold is blown and the doctor won't yet let me turn a wrench.
As of this Monday, he started letting me run a tractor as long as I stayed off road. I spent a little time moving snow piles with the JD 4120. That was fun. I figured out a way to do loader work with that "power-reverser" transmission, just as if not more, efficiently than a hydro. I hit the pile in the lowest gear, of the lowest range, then shifting to the highest range (same gear) as I backed out and transported). By this method, I was able to put maximum power into the pile, minimize shifting, and get optimum transport speed. I think this is more efficient than a hydro as that transmission type reduces useable drawbar horsepower by at least 10%.
P.S. Nice Picture, and Nice Hair Jim. I am Jealous because they shaved me bald for my operation.
Back to the wood hauling: that is one of my favorite things to do with my 1951 8n, a job at which it is really good at, due to it's excellent cold starting, and compact size/light weight. Unfortunately, I have not been able to use it much this winter, due to some major surgery and "doctors order" mostly confining me to the house. Last week, we had a "chain gang" with the wife and kids, that did not work too bad, other than one of the girls getting smacked in the face. Certainly the box on the back of the tractor like Jim's works better. Also, I cant run the 8n now because the exhaust manifold is blown and the doctor won't yet let me turn a wrench.
As of this Monday, he started letting me run a tractor as long as I stayed off road. I spent a little time moving snow piles with the JD 4120. That was fun. I figured out a way to do loader work with that "power-reverser" transmission, just as if not more, efficiently than a hydro. I hit the pile in the lowest gear, of the lowest range, then shifting to the highest range (same gear) as I backed out and transported). By this method, I was able to put maximum power into the pile, minimize shifting, and get optimum transport speed. I think this is more efficient than a hydro as that transmission type reduces useable drawbar horsepower by at least 10%.
P.S. Nice Picture, and Nice Hair Jim. I am Jealous because they shaved me bald for my operation.
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Jim L
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Thanks wolc, mother nature and father time gave me a haircut. JD sounds like the ticket.
If you hadn't listed the date of that photo I would have said you went to high school the same years as me (64-68). That kind of hair would have been right in style when I graduated. I couldn't have grown that much hair if I had had three heads.
My 850 developed an engine knock this winter and really had me concerned until I figured out it was the hydraulic pump cavitating (sp?) because of cold thick oil. As soon as I moved one of the controls the noise would go away.
I'm going to have to look and see if there is a screen that needs to be cleaned. Wish that synthetic oil wasn't so expensive as I think that would be the ticket in below 0 temps.
My 850 developed an engine knock this winter and really had me concerned until I figured out it was the hydraulic pump cavitating (sp?) because of cold thick oil. As soon as I moved one of the controls the noise would go away.
I'm going to have to look and see if there is a screen that needs to be cleaned. Wish that synthetic oil wasn't so expensive as I think that would be the ticket in below 0 temps.
