1943 Farmall A new tractor owner I dont know anything yet

Tiver43809

New User
Hello
I am a new to tractors, I bought 7 acres in Tennessee to retire. I am building a house and an out building so we are using only a couple of the acres. I just bought a 1943 Farmall A tractor, I had my father in law go look at it for me he said it fired right up is a good tractor. I thought through my reading that a Farmall A had a 3 point hitch in the back but it was just a manual lift. I thought wrong. By the pictures of the tractor I can see a PTO but then I get lost of what I am looking at. What kind of bush hog do I have to buy for this tractor. My father in law has one for his Ford 8n and says it will not work on my tractor. I will have more questions after this weekend as I am driving down to work on the house and I was hoping to bush hog the rest of my property. Sorry the question is so vague, I don't know enough to even ask the right question yet. [/img]
 
You need a pull type brush hog. It will have it own set of wheels and a way to set how high it will sit by hand. Your A does not have hyds so you have to have one with a hand lift setting. I would say 5 foot max and that might be pushing it
 
Don't get me wrong on what I'm saying I like farmalls and all things international. BUT sell the farmall A and buy you an 8 N Ford. It has a three point hitch (no manual lifting) and the PTO is in the center of tractor and not offset like the Farmall A. and will handle a 5 foot bushhog as long as blades are kept sharp and mow regular. I know what I'm saying because I have a Farmall Super A. Pembroke
 
I bush hog with the rear wheel running on the ground, the rear of the hog hiked up in the air to shoot cuttings out the back, and the tractor only lifts the front half of the hog. Works great.
 
I would think about the best thing you could do is put a belly mower under it and mow with that. Since the PTO is so high it will be hard to hook any modern trailing mower up to it. I have a super A with an L306 woods under it. I really enjoy mowing with that tractor but you had better stay on top of grass mowing cause it takes a lot of power to run a 6 foot deck. Woods also makes 59" mowers and a 42" mower for under them but they are really not meant to work as a rough cut rotary mower in tall growth.
 
They didnt build any As in 43 and that model never had 3 pt. You can get a trailer bush hog that doesent need a hy system.
 
You could look into a trail / pull behing rough cut mower like a Swisher that has its own engine no need for PTO hookup could use it behind other vehicles, or the belly mt mower is good, I have a Woods L59 on my "B" and use it a lot but as posted its a finish / lawn mower not a rough cut /bush mower.
GB in MN
 

I've never seen a Bush hog pulled by an A. Isn't an A a little small for a Bush hog? It's a 16 HP motor and the 8N is about 30. I think if the grass was taller than golf course height it'd bog down the A.
 
What are you mowing weeds ect or grass and how do you want it to look when done. Do you want it to become a lawn. Maybe a sickle mower could be used and it would be like a hayfield.
 
8N does not have 30 HP. My dad had an H with 25 on the drawbar, a couple more HP on the PTO and made the 8N we had look silly. I don't know 8N's HP. Whether an A (18 HP) will pull a bushhog depends the amount/height of the grass and weeds. It needs to be rather small. But, the 5 foot mower underneath my SA does pretty good in 2nd gear.
 
I would get to know my neighbors, you might get some knowledge from them and help too. Then get an H and a 5 foot pull behind
 

I was quoting tractor data on the 30 horses, then the fine print said closer to 23hp. Our neighbor had one and other than mowing and going to check cows when it was muddy that thing was about useless. It was WAY too light for serious work. Some kids went in a ditch one time and he got his 8n to pull them out..all he did was spin his tires. Dad had me harness a pair of MULES and we pulled them out no problem. Their tires didn't spin...lol.
 
So it sounds like I just bought a big riding lawnmower. Guess I should of went here BEFORE I bought a tractor. LOL
 
You didn't even buy that. What you have right now is basically good for pulling a cart or wagon around the property.

Don't beat yourself up too much about this. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. Now you know that you need to look for more than just a tractor-shaped object.

A's are tough to find complete implements and attachments for. Every implement/attachment is specific to the A, and has many parts that have gotten lost over the years.

Yeah, just stick a Woods mower on it... Now FIND a good, complete, used Woods mower with all the pieces to attach it to the tractor. New ones can still be bought, but they are very costly, much more than you paid for the tractor.
 
Used belly mowers can be found for less than $500.00 I just looked on CL here in NMN there are at least 10 for sale as little as $150.00 to $900.00 the last I checked with a local dealer a new Woods L59 was less than $2300.00
By the way a "A" Farmall is a lot more than a garden tractor perhaps the poster was thinking of a IH Cub, when the "A"'s & "B"'s where new they were used for farming my Dad started farming in 1948 with a "B" as his main and only tractor.
They are a very handy and capable small tractor and yes they do look like a tractor and are a tractor.
GB in MN
 
I should know a little more this weekend when I see it. Of course you all know already what I am talking about. I hope in a while I will be able to help newbies when they get started too.
 

Don't sweat it. You can find an older 4ft pull type that will work just fine behind that A. most likely it's been rebuilt and could have been upgraded to a 123 or higher compression. While I'm sure they exist, I don't know any that I've personally seen that haven't been rebuilt. Regardless you can certainly add hydraulics and a 3pt, but you could likely buy a whole tractor with the hydraulics already on it for almost the same price as the parts would cost (close to 1000 if everything is brand new). I've seen a number of H's and M's with hydraulics under 2k.

All that aside, you can use your A to plow, disc, plant, broadcast, fertilize, grade and many other things. Just understand what it is and what it isn't. You PTO is about the same height as the PTO on an M (not sure on an H, never owned one) but it is off set. Really not a huge deal but you might get some binding turning to the left. Also the A is very light (relatively), so you're limited on how much you can pull when it comes to remove shrubs, briars, trees, etc..
 
I agree. I've got my grandfather's (and great uncle's previous to him) B. we used it for all that and more. The B does have a wider stance, but other then that they are essentially the same tractor.

One attachment I've always liked on the A's is the belly sickle bar. Personally I like sickle bars over bushhogs for general field work.

Once you get some pics, post them up!
 
Yes the 8N is light--also the 2nd and 3rd gear are too fast, without weights they spin the wheels, something about that letter series do not do, including all letter series and then some. My dad bought the first B in his home county, people were surprised what that tractor would pull.
 

Go see a BushHog dealer. I pull a BushHog Squaler SQ 72 "Squealer" for 20 years with no problems behind my 140. They also made a SQ 60 and a SQ 48. These are beefy hogs, not finish mowers. If a 140 can pull a 72-inch, I would think an A could pull a 60 or 48 inch. They made them in fast-hitch and trailer. You need a trailer-type.

Something like this five-footer:

a21161.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 18:35:56 08/31/16)
Don't sweat it. You can find an older 4ft pull type that will work just fine behind that A. most likely it's been rebuilt and could have been upgraded to a 123 or higher compression. While I'm sure they exist, I don't know any that I've personally seen that haven't been rebuilt. Regardless you can certainly add hydraulics and a 3pt, but you could likely buy a whole tractor with the hydraulics already on it for almost the same price as the parts would cost (close to 1000 if everything is brand new). I've seen a number of H's and M's with hydraulics under 2k.

All that aside, you can use your A to plow, disc, plant, broadcast, fertilize, grade and many other things. Just understand what it is and what it isn't. You PTO is about the same height as the PTO on an M (not sure on an H, never owned one) [b:548b20b077]but it is off set. Really not a huge deal but you might get some binding turning to the left.[/b:548b20b077] Also the A is very light (relatively), so you're limited on how much you can pull when it comes to remove shrubs, briars, trees, etc..

No problem. Just set the mower in line behind the PTO using leftward holes in the drawbar. Gives it more pulling power as more to the heavy side of the tractor and that way you can more easily cut close to things on your left side. Been doing this for 20 years on my 140.
 
Sorry it has been so long for me to post again. I finally was able to see the tractor. I love it, perfect size for my needs. Runs and starts great. I need to fix steering, not sure if it is the fan gear or the gear from steering shaft yet. I found a bush hog for it and just need to pick it up. Thanks for all the replies and ideas on the offsetting of the bush hog. It came with a plow and 2 tines of the cultivator. I will keep looking and pick up more things as I can. :D
 
I looked up the serial number, the guy that sold it to me was incorrect in saying it was a 43 it is a 47. They only built 100 in 43, I bet they were just left over parts from 42. LOL
 
(quoted from post at 19:57:47 10/03/16) I looked up the serial number, the guy that sold it to me was incorrect in saying it was a 43 it is a 47. They only built 100 in 43, I bet they were just left over parts from 42. LOL

'Post some pictures. If it is a 47 in fact it is possible that it has the provision to add a hydraulic pump. The Super A started in 1947 and that was the beginning of hydraulic lift. Some of the A models had the place to install a pump as they were in the middle of the transition period. Pretty tough to find one like that and it would add alot to the capability and value of your tractor.

POST PICTURES! WE WANT TO SEE :lol:
 
(quoted from post at 22:38:43 10/03/16) Considering I am in tech support that was funny.
41071.jpg
41072.jpg

What does the tag say that is about 8 inches under the magneto on the side of the block. It should be a [number, number, letter] That would indicate what year the block was cast and would at least tell you the approx. year of the engine.

Looks like someone gave it a decent spray can paint job and some homemade decaling. Not sure why some people don't spring for the $25 decal set that looks original.
 
i learned to drive on a 46 farmall A pulling a 5' Corsicana mower when i was 8 years old. the A never looked back. i am currently restoring/rebuilding/replacing a 5' Corsicana mower to pull behind a Super C and a M.

i have cut bottom land grass/weeds taller than the tractor; I had to cut 1/2 width of the mower but the A pulled thru the mess.

not taking nothing away from the Ford, but if you intend to work a garden, mow, and general farm chores, stay farmall.

bass
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top