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.
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.