Thoughts on a B Farmall

Looking for the good, bad, and indifferent on a B Farmall. Looking for a small tractor to work in my good sized garden (100x200 ft) and maybe work in the woods a little. I have 16 acres about a third is open the rest woods. I was actually looking for something along the lines of a 1650 cub cadet when I came across this B for about the same money. Also what were the common failures(if any) on a B. The tractor is in winter storage until the end of march so I have a month to decide if its something I want. Any and all thoughts appreciated thanks SodBuster
 
As others have indicated something like a Super A or its descendants may be better suited for
garden use. The minimum rear wheel track width of the B is 66" which puts the overall width at
well over 6 feet. However, most implements suited to its modest power level will be narrower than
this so you won't be covering your wheel tracks. The Super A and later models will also have a
hydraulic lift system which drastically increases the usefulness of the tractor. With either the
optional single-point Fast Hitch or an aftermarket 3-point hitch you could buy and/or make all
kinds of attachments for use around your acreage.
 
Great tractor. I own one. But life is short and the work is hard that you want to do and something with hydraulics would be nicer for the job. Fast hitch if you don't mind hunting for implements and paying dear for them...far superior to 3 pt in my opinion. OR...a 3 pt hitch with all the cheap implements laying around auction sales. I use my B to move wagons for the most part. It is a tank and pulls heavy stuff well.
 
i have a 41 b. has a woods 59 belly mower under it, and i have a pto hydraulic pump on it. prince 22gpm to run a log splitter. with the narrow front its a nimble mowing machine. i have a 2-12 little genius plow and the b pulls it in 1st gear no problem. i did load the rear tires with calcium chloride and water ballast, makes it quite a working lil stinker. if the price is right, and its a good runner with decent tires it would not be a bad tractor. except for normal maintenance i have had no problems with it. with the wide hind end its pretty stable on hills.
 
I was actually looking at a couple of As but they were a fair drive away and they wanted alot for them. I might end up buying two tractors eventually. One for the garden and one for everything else. Right now though Im just looking for something for in the garden. Still doing homework. Lack of a three point does not bother me as i have found two different designs of 3pt that hook into a standard 2 inch receiver hitch. One uses a electric-hydraulic pump like a snow plow the other uses a simple 12volt winch. The latter one ive watched videos of it standing up to a 7foot back blade behind a full sized SUV. Like i said hydraulics are easy enough to rig up. If nothing else i will just run a pto pump like whats on an old school farm hand loader. So far this is what ive concluded pros: simple, cheap, nimble, cons: no factory hydraulics or rear lift(3pt or other) wide wheel track for the horse power. Thanks guys keep the comments coming. Sod Buster
 
Be aware that most of the older tractors, including the Farmall B, have 6V electrical systems so
unless it was (or will be) converted to 12V you won't be able to run the electric pump or winch
that you referred to. 12V conversions are fairly straightforward so don't let that be a show
stopper, though.
 
I don't know much about B's but for a
garden it's hard to beat a cub. In
my.opinion if.yoy want a cub for the garden
I would go ahead and buy a super a or
numbered series. More ponies and weight. I
love my cub and wouldn't trade it for
anything but sometimes would be nice to
have more ponies.
 
Unless it comes with all the implements, it is going to be pretty worthless in the garden. B implements are hard to find, and have lots of parts that often get lost so even the ones you find probably won't be complete.
 
Frankly, a Cub is pretty ideal for a "garden", but too small for any serious field work.....and tractor for tractor, all things being even, like
condition of tractor and it's tires, I'd give twice as much for a Super C or half again as much for a C over a B or BN.
 
There are a very few Farmall Bs with live hydraulic. J have a 47 B that came with C block and has live hydraulic pump.
a152421.jpg
 
Sodbuster, welcome to YT.

The B is a good tractor and you could make it work, but for your needs you could do better with one set up "straight out of the box".

I confess that I'm biased because I have one (er, just made that 2), but I'd say the Super A (100, 130, 140) is just about ideal for you. The #93 single bottom plow, 144T cultivators, seeder, and for winter snow moving, the #60 front blade make it nearly the perfect "antique" small farm tractor. There are lots more attachments such as a belly mower, #22A mid mount sickle mower, disk hillers, etc., etc. They are small enough to snake through a woodlot easily, and I've used a set of 3pt bale forks with a 4x4x2'H box to haul out over 3/4 face cord of wood at a time. It's even run a hay baler.

It won't run a roto-tiller as it doesn't go slow enough, but for an "18hp" tractor, it's a l'il beast.

Or if you can't find a SA for a reasonable price, look at a Cub. Both are more than adequate for a 100x200 garden, or even one 4x that size. And IH made a few hundred thousand of the SA and Cub. Parts are readily available, and even attachments don't seem to be too hard to find.

I know a lot of folks who look at "N" Fords as "ideal", but the more I've used fords, and the more I've used the old Farmalls, the less impressed I am with the fords and the more with Farmalls.

My opinion only, and YMMV.
 
Thanks guys and thanks for the pic. I will go look at the b when it comes out of storage. I seen your recommendations for an A 100 etc but is out of the question as they are way over priced around here.
 
SodBuster87, welcome to the boards. For the size of garden you stated, a Farmall Cub would be just the ticket. Where are you located? I have a 1949 cub that I just rescued, and I don't need 2 (already have one).
 
(quoted from post at 17:31:16 02/25/17) SodBuster87, welcome to the boards. For the size of garden you stated, a Farmall Cub would be just the ticket. Where are you located? I have a 1949 cub that I just rescued, and I don't need 2 (already have one).
north central Minn.
 
Nothing against cubs, a's, and b's, but for the price they go for around my area, you can
buy an H for the same amount of money, or even less. Therefor, I don't have anything
smaller than an H. Might be more than ya need for the garden. But hey, for the same amount
of money, ya might as well have the extra horses. Let some one else pay the extra money
they seem to go for, for that cute little tractor.
 

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