Which Older Tractor - A Few Options I've Found

[Turbys_1700]

Excellent advise here as always. I have a 1720 NH with FEL that I find indefensible around the house. Last summer I wanted a good used tractor to mainly bush hog with. Found a two owner 4610 SU with 2900 hours that runs like a top. Got it for your budget of 5K. I had cash in hand and was lucky. There are deals out there you just need to be patient. After I bought my 4610 a friend of mine told me his father sold his 4000 Ford with FEL for 3K. Tractor had been rebuilt and was in very good shape. Said his father didn't need it and parked it out in the front yard. Sold it in two days. Missed out on that one. It was a steal. Still can't believe he sold it that low.
The Massey is the best of the lot you are looking at IMHO.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Excellent advise here as always. I have a 1720 NH with FEL that I find very useful around the house. Last summer I wanted a good used tractor to mainly bush hog with. Found a two owner Ford 4610 SU with 2900 hours that runs like a top. Got it for your budget of 5K. I had cash in hand and was lucky. There are deals out there you just need to be patient. After I bought my 4610 a friend of mine told me his father sold his 4000 Ford with FEL for 3K. Tractor had been rebuilt and was in very good shape. Said his father didn't need it and parked it out in the front yard. Sold it in two days. Missed out on that one. It was a steal. Still can't believe he sold it that low. The Massey is the best of the lot you are looking at IMHO.

 

[whizdbiz2]

I do not understand WHY anybody would want any of those 8N , 9N ,2N , ABSOLUTELY worthless . Henry and Harry made tons of money on the produce 1000 a day philosophy . 3 PT Will not lift unless PTO running ,too light to do any real work , aka draft control . Draftomatic was mearly cheater fora tractor that could not plow .But he could produce AND SELL .

As someone already said, these tractors are 70 yr. old technology, but useless they are not, maybe just a bit less useful than more modern ones. Tens of thousands of farms made good use of these machines over the past many decades. For what they can do I don't think they can't be beat on the value. Why spend thousands for a tractor to stay hooked to a manure spreader needing frequent unloading when $1,500 to $2,000 will get you a good running N that will do the job, or the same for mowing a few acres of pasture or fallow ground a couple of times a year. The proof of the success (maybe even the genius) of the design is the number still in use on farms large and small, professional and hobby, all over the country. I believe that ol' Henry, if not created, popularized the utility tractor on the farm. It did take some time for Ford to modernize that design and other makers improved on it and enlarged it, but you see the DNA of the Ns in every utility tractor.