Change of heart

BBQChef

Member
Earlier this year I purchased a 1959 Ford 641. It was, and is, a little rough around the edges, but all in all a solid tractor.

I have to admit that I was never a fan of these little tractors. Dad had an old Case dc4 with the wide front and we had to crank it by hand to start off the front. Loved that old Case. To me, that was a tractor. Then Dad bought an old JD that had been painted real pretty, but needed a lot of work to get it to run.

Anyway, I was used to those slightly larger tractors and so, when I started my search for one over a year ago I was on the look out for an old Case dc4 just like Dads.

Those that have them seem to be keeping them, hard to find one for sale, and when one is listed, it doesn't last long.

I also had a budget of about 2k to spend. I started seeing these old Fords for sale, but most were out of my price range. And, knowing what happened to Dad with the JD, I was leery about all the ones I saw that had been freshly painted. I wasn't looking for a pretty tractor, I needed one that would be able to plow up about 3-5 acres, brush hog, and most importantly move some snow. I am planning a move to the U.P. in the next year if all goes well, and my little cub cadet lawn mower with a blade won't cut it up there.

I finally came across the tractor I now own. Knew nothing about it. It ran. It was red, well dirt red from being outside. And it had a FEL with a small forked bucket and a back scraper blade. Paid just a touch more (2500 for all) than I was wanting to spend, but after looking at the prices of FEL's I pulled the trigger and bought it.

I have since, as some of you know, have had some little issues with it. Exhaust, starter, transmission, carburetor, and a few issues I haven't tackled yet like the non working left brake, one headlight out, non working gauges...

Now, one might think that for a person who wasn't all that fond of these "little" tractors, that these issues would reinforce those feelings and he would get rid of it. I can honestly say that the thought has never crossed my mind.

In fact I am finding just the opposite. I am really liking this tractor. Not sure if it is because of the ease of working on it, or how simple it all is, just the necessities and nothing more to complicate it. Maybe because of the time and work I have invested it really is feeling like it is fast becoming "My" tractor. You all know what I mean by that I am sure.

Maybe it is all the nice and helpful people that are here on this board that never seem to tire of answering questions, never seem to get exasperated with us novices, and you all always reply and have an answer. To that I say, Thank You.

Maybe it is everything all wrapped up together that has really changed my feelings about these Ford tractors. Even with the problems I have faced and still have to face in fixing it, I like this tractor more and more each day.
 
Nice story. I have a similar experience with my
old Ford loader. When I bought it, I had no
experience with farm tractors and had some
problems that made me wonder if I had made a
mistake buying it. But after getting past that
and finding how much work I could do with it I
really got to like it even with it's faults. I
always enjoy hearing that old 4 cylinder motor
fire up. So, best of luck to you and your old
Ford. Good tractors! -Will
 
Great Story. Go with your heart and mind. Glad to hear you like that Ford. Except storage space or $, no reason not to find that Case.
 
Nice post.
I grew up on an Allis B and a Case DC3 with the non adjustable WF.
They were great old machines for what we did with them.
But when I think that that old DC was about the same HP as your 641 - which is so much more nimble and easier to use. Now add the 3 point to the Ford which the Case never had and well, there's just no comparing the two.
 
Yeah, I really wanted a 3-point, and Dad's had the Eagle Claw. Same concept but only case implements would work.

I noticed the horsepower thing when I was researching the Fords and comparing them to the old Case's. Have to admit that I was surprised by the numbers. The DC4 went through and pulled stuff that I didn't think it should be able to but it never even acted like it was hooked up to anything.

Here's a story I will share about that:

We were cutting wood out in the woods with a friend of mine and his dad. We loaded up the manure spreader with a good load and they were using an old pickup box turned into a trailer to haul theirs. Their tractor was some homemade job that looked more like a small dune buggy and it had a V8 car engine, but the tranny was geared like a regular tractor and it was 4WD.

Anyway, we were both loaded with wood and were going to head out while both Dads stayed and continued to cut. My friend got hung up somehow and I went back to pull him out. Turns out his box trailer, which still had the truck axle, hit a tree stump with the diff and couldn't budge it. I pulled him off with no problem and thought we were good to go.

Due to the snow on the ground and thawing temps, he sat there and spun. So I told him I would just pull him out to the road and then unhook. I started going and after a few seconds I looked back to see him waving his arms and yelling to stop.

The stump incident had damages the fork where the drive shaft would hook onto and it wouldn't turn, so the trailer wheels were locked up. He tried to stop me, when he noticed the trailer sliding, by standing on his brakes locking up all four of his tires. That old case never even hiccupped, just yawned and kept going, I had no idea anything was wrong. Pulling a manure spreader full of wood, his tractor and trailer with all 6 wheels locked up and sliding. Never would have thought it was even possible to do that, but I was only about 14 at the time too.

Some other time I will tell you how I bent the starter crank on the front...LOL
 
Yeah, those DCs were brutes.
Ours would never start on the 6V battery but it had a mag so we always hand cranked it. I was just about 14 myself and could always start it with the crank.
Ignition off, choke out, give it a few turns with the crank. Then choke off, get one cylinder close to the top of the stroke, turn the ignition on and give the crank a good hard pull from underneath and feel it roar to life. Then run back and feather the choke a bit while it warmed up.
 
It looks like that machine would be a good puller
with the tire size and weight.
a181031.jpg

1949 DC4 Case tractor 1300 Yoder Colorado
 

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