Pics- The Oldest Gleaner SP Combine Still In Use???

For years a friend of mine has known about this 1952 model "R" Gleaner combine..Its still used every year to cut fescue seed...On Monday we were in the area so we went and looked at it..Its got the Ford flat head 6 engine on it..This might be the oldest Gleaner SP combine still in use?? It isnt for sale...

On the way home my friend showed me a 1941 Massey-Harris 101 Super tractor that he said wasnt for sale..As we were getting ready to leave the owner said that he had decided to sell it..The price was fair so on Tuesday afternoon I went and hauled it 46 miles home..Years ago I used to own a 1939 MH 101 Super and had always wanted another one..

There was an A around here that pre-dated the Buda engine. I think it was a Hercules? I can't remember. But I know it wasn't a Ford automotive engine. Was that just in R's?

Awhile back there was an article in the JD Furrow about somebody in Colorado still using a first year production JD 55.

I have a 51R its the 75 one built. It runs and is on loan to a museum in Canada.
Joe

Does it have the same engine as this one?
I did a little research, and found that AC didn't buy Gleaner until 1955, two years after they bought Buda.

and the tractor seems to have the side panels too! i haven't heard of a 101 super, just 101 senior and 101 junior. i hope your 101 turns out better than my friend's 101 senior. it has been such a money pit that even he laughs about it (now- not so much before). his wife is still not amused. lol

Bob,the model A and R Gleaners used the following engines..

1951-1953 Ford 226 Industrial flathead 6 cylinder
1954-1957 Hercules 236 flathead 6 cylinder
1958 and later-Buda 230 OHV 6 cylinder

I have a 1957 A Gleaner with the Hercules..I won it for a little over $100 on ebay..The engine is free and I need to get it running...

It's interesting that it took AC a few years to get the Buda in the Gleaner.
I called the Ford engine automotive because of the downdraft carb. and bottom exhaust. Seems a little unusual for an industrial engine. But then I don't know what it takes to make an engine industrial, other than just calling it that!

Bill,I think my101 Super will be a money pit too..I drained 10 gallons of water out of the rear end and 3 gallons of water from the engine oil pan...I do have a nice 230 Chrysler 6 engine that I bought for $125..Its on a trailer and was powering a welder...

As you said it does have the engine side panels but its missing the side panels under the gas tank..A man in Kansas makes all of these for a small fee..

I'm not a Massey expert but heres how I think it goes on the 101's...

1938-39 Massey 101 Twin Power had a 201 cube flathead 6 Chrysler..

1940-42 Massey 101 Super had a 217 cubic inch flathead 6 Chrysler..

1943-46 Massey 101 Senior had a 226 cubic inch flathead 6 Continental..

Then came the 44-6 with the Continental 6 engine..

I got lucky and recently bought "The Big Book Of Massey Tractors" by Pripps for less than $20 at a flea market..It goes for $75 on ebay and $90 and up on Amazon..It has lots of nice pictures and info..

Heres a picture of my friends money pit 101 Super..He has some over $3,000 in it and still no side sheilds..It was torn down to the last nut and bolt..He also has a couple of 101 Seniors..He totally restored a 101 Senior several years ago and got $2500 for it on a sale..

Does the rotating beacon light start to flash when the grain tank is getting close to full?

Blaine, thanks for the pics. Speaking of early SP units, Dad has a 1952 Model A (52A-4074) that he purchased from the original owner in the late 1970's. We haven't ran it since the mid 1990's, but were just saying the other day that we need to fire it up again. You don"t see many of the pre-A-C Gleaners still out there. There was a guy on the A-C forum that posted about a 1951 R that he purchased recently. I'm not sure what condition it is in. However, while researching a question for him, I did learn that there was a serial number break on the earlier models.