Does anyone else here mess with old tractors?

Last summer a friend needed help picking up a parts tractor.  He just bought it for a few parts and was going to junk the rest.  Now it's my problem because I fell in love with it.  It's a 52 Farmall Cub, the engine was frozen because it had sat with water in a couple cylinders.  I got it the engine free, but burned up the starter in the process.  I think I just got the starter hot and a solder joint came apart.  Hopefully tomorrow I can have the starter fixed and back together.  Then I can fix the next problem I find.  I can't explain it, but this has been one of my favorite projects so far.  

I have a couple old 8Ns.  I have done what absolutely needs done to them over the past few years to keep them running.  On one of them, I really need to do a fairly major overhaul (rebuild lift pump, etc) but I'm not super excited about that.  

That old Cub looks like a fun one.  They're definitely neat to work on, old tractors, because they're old, durable, easy to work on, etc.  

Here's one of mine in action:

Rebuilding the starter on the coffee table.  

I have a couple international 300 utilities. They are fun to work on. Now that the weather is warming up I can work on the outside easier.

I haven't yet but I sure want to.  Those 8Ns are sexy. I like how they look low like the sports car of the tractor world.

x3 for I don't, but I wish I did.

Yep, we have a '53 or so ford 8n, bought it from a retire Boeing engineer so it has electronic ignition and LED headlights. But it has a hole in the exhaust manifold and, more expensively, both lift cylinders for the loader are beyond rebuilding. So I "get" to price out and buy a couple of those, but it's worth it. It's an amazingly competent antique.

In reply to Stampie :

Minneapolis Moline made an art deco tractor in the 30s that's beautiful as far as tractors go.

My boss brought a 40's Farmall A to work that had been sitting for years. Rebuilt the magneto and refreshed the original carb, changed some of the fluids and the thing typically fires on the first throw of the crank handle (no starter or electrics on it). Lots of fun.

ClemSparks said:

I have a couple old 8Ns.  I have done what absolutely needs done to them over the past few years to keep them running.  On one of them, I really need to do a fairly major overhaul (rebuild lift pump, etc) but I'm not super excited about that.  

That old Cub looks like a fun one.  They're definitely neat to work on, old tractors, because they're old, durable, easy to work on, etc.  

 

Here's one of mine in action:

My brother just bought a Ferguson 35 which is the cousin to an 8n.

ShawnG said:

In reply to Stampie :

Minneapolis Moline made an art deco tractor in the 30s that's beautiful as far as tractors go.

Olivers are cool too!

I used to. I have had a hand in rebuilding 4 of them. Two 1940s era John Deere Model H, a 1940s era John Deere Model B, and an Internation Cub from the 50s. We use to haul them all over the southeast to shows and pulls. That was 15 years ago. I wish I had taken more pictures back then. 

I also have a couple of antique engines I used to haul to shows. They are mostly collecting dust under the workbench in my shop at this point.

One is a 1928 McCormick Deering 1-1/2 Hp. This engine used to drive a water pump to fill the water tank at a plantation house on Edisto Island. It is throttle governed. My father rescued it from a scrap pile back in the late 50s. We used to run it when I was a kid. I acquired it from him when we started hauling the tractors to the shows. 

The other is a 3 hp Nelson Brothers Jumbo from the late 19 teens to early 1920s. It used to drive the backup water pump to fill the water tank for the town of Summerville SC. It is a true hit and miss. I bought it from an old guy that used to work for the town. He rescued it out of the back of a warehouse in the 70s. 

We love Cubs.  My Grandfather had one. In the 70s and 80s my Dad supplemented his income fixing and selling them.  Here's my son on our early 50s Cub.  He learned to operate a manual on it.  It's small and slow so I allowed him to drive it up and down the driveway at our farm until he figured it out.  He's 6'2" now, but can still fold up enough to fit on it.

Our only other tractor is a '66 MF 135.

Both are still used as tractors, though really the Cub lacks the power to run the Woods belly mower up the hills.

They are super fun. This is my second tractor. I have a loader on it, just not in this picture. 

There was tons of attachments for the Cubs. They had front mounted planters and cultivators which would be super handy for small food plots. With the way the seat is off to the side you can see really well for cultivation, way better than with bigger tractor. Does yours have the one point fast hitch?

Between me and dad, we have dozens ranging from 1923 up to present day.  He loves restoring tractors, so he got me hooked.

Fords:  8Ns, a 9N, 601 Workmaster, 901, 1700
JDs: G, H, various mid size
Masseys:  Two 135s and a 150
New Holland:  Boomer 42
IH:  Super C and an M.

I'm always amazed at how those old things run.  All of Dad's are still in-use farm tractors.  The G gets a plow, the 8N has a brush hog, the 1700 and Boomer 42 have buckets and backhoes, the Masseys have finish mowers.  

If any of you haven't ever heard a old JD puttin johnnie run, you need to.  A two cylinder 413 ci engine that idles at 180 rpm and redlines at 1100?  Fun.

Massey Ferguson Super 97 is on my bucket list to own one day.  

If you are ever in the Richmond, VA area, a must stop is the Keystone Tractor and Truck Museum right off I-95 in Petersburg VA, where the tractor above is located.  

Hang in to half-way on the video below for the start-up!

My grandfather had Farmall M-series, if I could find one in good shape, I'd put it to use as a second tractor.

The IHC 966 is a favourite too:

I've also got a soft spot for Ford N-series.

Now that we've moved to the prairies, I've been keeping an eye out for an old steam traction engine of some sort. I think it would be fun to tinker with.

JD 730 Diesel is on my bucket list.  I'd even take a 70.

In reply to gearheadmb :

It does not at the moment.  If I can ever get it running, I would like to find some implements for it.  

If you get a chance to attend an antique tractor pull, I highly recommend taking it.

Some of the contrasts in how the pulling is done are extreme-- the Olivers are revving high (relatively speaking) and getting the pull done done at speed, while the Poppin' Johnnys just seem to run at the same speed, just above a walk, no matter what the weight.  
 

With the JD two cylinder diesels, about the only way you can tell how much they are pulling is by how much they are smoking!  The pony start models also create a fair bit of dissonance when they use a high revving 4 cylinder motor to start the big two cylinder.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

JD 730 Diesel is on my bucket list.  I'd even take a 70.

Dad has a 720 diesel that he has owned since the early 90s. It's never been restored and gets used all the time. It's fun to operate.

This thread is timely.  Myself and my buddy just spent the last 2 weeks rehabbing the 8N that's been in my family since new. All new wiring harness, 12v conversion, transmission fluid, fuel tank repair, fixed the headlights, oil change, steering links, wheel bearings, and some other stuff.  It is now back in action, and the snowmageddon never showed up.  Oh well.

Here's Nelly Bell. I don't think I could do without her around here. She's a '71  gas,8sp with power steering.