Farmall A cast centers

Hi
I am restoring a farmall A and I have on rear center that is cast and the other is steel!! Does any body now why this is??? I would not think this is factory? Any help is great Thanks Chris

Probably is factory. And there is a reason for it.

If it's set up as intended, you should find the steel center on the left and the cast on the right.

The A is offset, and the center of gravity is to the left of the center between the two wheels. On the right (or wrong, as the case may be) kind of ground (going across a sidehill that rises to your right) this can make the tractor tippy to the left. A lot of those As (and Cubs) were sold to mow roads and ditches, and that sidehill scenario would be pretty common if you picture them travelling with the left wheel in the ditch bottom while mowing the far side.

The additional weight of the driver to the right of center wouldn't necessarily offset the center of gravity enought to cure any issues. So . . . the solution was to lighten up the left side with the steel wheel, and to add a cast wheel to the right, both of which serve to move the center of gravity to the right.

I couldn't back it up with any solid documentation, but from reading different sources, I think the solution evolved in something like the folowing fashion. Early on, the tractors would have been built with both wheels the same, either cast or steel. As folks started finding them a little tippy in the situation I described, an early solution was to buy an extra wheel weight for the right side. Somewhere along the line, folks with steel wheels figured out that a cast wheel was heavier than the combination of a steel wheel and a single weight, so opted for the cast wheel on the right. Enough so that folks started ordering them with steel on the left and iron on the right.

So, your A is not cobbled up. MANY of them were shipped just that way.

yes it is factory, to keep the tractor balanced due to the offset.

I picked up a '49 Super "A" about 6 mo's ago , and I had to ask too. It sure looks wrong !!

The parts book only gives this option, cast centre on right and steel centre on left. I understand that the prototype and very early production had steel centres on both sides but that quickly changed. The two spoke steering wheel seen in early advertising disappeared as well.

A cast wheel on the left side was an option. and the ones that replied are right. It helps to keep the tractor from tipping over.

Cast wheel on right and steel wheel on left was standard on A and Super A in order to balance the offset tractor.

Harold H

(quoted from post at 16:06:30 12/19/10) The parts book only gives this option, cast centre on right and steel centre on left. I understand that the prototype and very early production had steel centres on both sides but that quickly changed. The two spoke steering wheel seen in early advertising disappeared as well.

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Athol is correct. I have an early A (serial # 1474) with a 2 spoke steering wheel (somewhat flimsy-I can see why they went to 3 spokes)and both rear centers are steel , but it has weights on both sides. It also has the earlier swinging drawbar and mechanical mag shut off cable (not the electrical switch).

Quoting my '51 Super-A owner's manuel:
"Caution: Do not attempt to put the right (cast iron) wheel on the left side."

Thank you Mark for the comments on the very early Farmall A. The first used a push-down tab on the magneto to stop the engine, later replaced by a Bowden cable operated tab so that it could be shut off by the driver. This was later replaced by a wire to a magneto switch near the driver.
Some very early photographs indicate the radiator shutter control sticking out of the bottom of the left-hand side of the radiator grill. About as useful as the Allis Chalmers B radiator shutter crank at the front of the tractor.