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Toughest Tractor

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Been a fair amount of discussion here lately about best / worst tractors.
Thought I'd stir the pot a bit by posing this question.

What is the toughest tractor in you opinion, and why? Ones that just seem to thrive on abuse and mistreatment.

A few that come to mind for me are the 806/856 IH, 180 MF and its variations, seen some of these in feedlot/dairy applications that just keep on running. Seen several of these that are well over 12,000 hours, with no good upkeep, and minimal repairs. D-17 Allis would be right up there too. Can't really say WHY these were better than others, they just seem to hang on and on.

I realize this is kind of an open ended question, but let's hear your stories!
 
Tough? Try a Farmall Cub.
Yeah, I know, but these little tractors were under powered and over worked to begin with!
Then everyone and their brother decided they would be great machines to teach children how to drive a stick shift on, complete with shifting while moving.
Yet they hang in there, and have become way over priced as trailer queens.
Tough little machine still holding their own as lawn mowers.
 
I would second the vote for 856. We had a 966 as a loader tractor and I just couldn't ever shake the feeling that something was about to break. It wasn't a lemon or anything, but there were a few issues. The 856 hauled in a lot of money for the farm over the years and it always started and pulled like an ox. I would love to find another "Big Red" someday.
 
I have used several that I think will fit, because most of mine are very used when I get them. Any letter series Farmall A B C H M, or the modern B-275, 2-3-4-5-66-7600 FORD wiht eight speed trans, no dualpower quadrange, multi-power, etc. You can't spend $3000 to fix a $2000 tractor. Yhat was my Grandfathers advice, wish I had listened, but I like the air conditioner and O/U on the old White.
 
I have never owned either one, but i read an article
a few years ago, I think in Antique Power mag, and
it said the the toughest tractors to take abuse and
keep working were made by Massey Harris and Oliver.
I believe it because I had a neighbor that had a MH
30 and a 444 and a Oliver 1650 and he and his son
could destroy an anvil, but those tractors never let
them down. The son still has the Oliver and is still
abusing it and it is still doing the job.
 
There are a lot 0f old tractors that would fall into this list.The lettered Farmall tractor ,John Deere lettered, Allis WC,WD,WD-45, M-M lettered tractors and there are others out. These old tractor would run forever if you took care of them.
 
I'd have to vote for both the 826 IH and the 1066. My BIL could tear up a rail road train with a rubber mallet. He's had the 826 sense new, abused it every way you can think of short of taking it for a swim, rolled twice and it's still going. He got the 1066 At least 30 years ago and treats it the same way.....both are still being used today.

Rick
 
I dont know of any tractor that thrives on abuse and mistreatment. Usually its a case of a barely functioning tractor that the owner is too stubborn to repair properly or at least give a decent burial.
That being said a neighbor near were I grew up bought a Ford 8000 when they first came out. They didnt really abuse it but they sure didnt seem to over do it on any routine maintainance. It was their main tractor and it gave them many years of good service.
 
I think you have a good point here...all of the owners that come to mind here are people who would put up with just about anything as long as it started and moved, and didn't have the mechanical sense to know the difference!
 
I'm going to have to go with the WD-45.

I have one that's raked every bit of hay around here since before I was born. Motor was rebuilt once but it has been locked up 3 times since then. It ran out of oil because the front crank seal was leaking. Added oil and broke it free with the crank and amazingly, it was fine. Then it leaked coolant and nobody noticed. It got hot and locked up while sitting overnight. Had to break it free pulling it backwards in 4th gear, but it ran fine. The next day, the same thing happened after it was shut off (even though it wasn't hot). Figured it was a goner, but pulled it backwards in 4th again and it broke loose and ran fine.

Sure sounds like it's on it's last leg, but all this was all years ago and it still starts right up on the first tug on the starter switch and runs perfectly. The poor old girl still rakes about 200 acres (counting all cuttings) every year and does all the drag harrowing.
 
For shear strength that it built in you can't beat the Case LA.
Huge brakes that will outlast the tractor. Heavy gears that will
take on anything. These tractors were built to pull just pull not
good for much else. But they will pull a 5 bottom plow all day
and not even wimper about the hard spots. With 403 CI 4
cylinder it has tons of low end torgue. I would mine up against
any tractor it's size for all day hard pulling.
Walt
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Lots of good and bad here. I like my JD 3020, A
and Allis WD45's and all the rest.

As to surviving on neglect there is one particular
tractor that immediately comes to mind. Local
threshing show owns a Oliver 70 and that thing
just seems to thrive on it. Everybody and I mean
everybody around that show runs it and I think
maybe one in a hundred ever check the oil or
coolant. It ran all day running support cutting
oats Monday and Tuesday. I used it at the end to
put away the binder I am responsible for and it
had a miss. When I got done opened up the side
curtain and one wire was unhooked. Simple fix and
I was the first of maybe 5 people that looked into
it.
 
I will throw my 2 cents at you guys, I have a whole fleet of old Masseys that I use every day. I take good care of all my stuff and they just run, run, run and run, and then run some more. I have had JD and Oliver and I still have Case, and there all good tractors, but my vote goes to Massey.
 
Glock, ok well Glock dosen't actually made tractors, but if Glock did build tractors they would be the toughest. The reason is obvious, everything Glock builds is as tough as it can be.
 
My vote goes to the Massey Fergusons. over here we have dairy
farmers that don't know what oil is for and their old masseys just
keep on going, WITHOUT the engine rebuilds some have
mentioned. Rear ends are full of milky oil and the pump still lifts
good. When they finally do need repairs the sump oil has to be
dug out as it is so dirty it has gelled.Try to get them to change to
something fresher.....no way... they tell me to patch it up and it
will do another 10 years! I have one MF 590,similar to the 290
that has clocked up nearly 30,000 hrs, that is 3 times round the
clock and still doing front line work.This one got oil changes
every 250 hrs and still has its original engine, untouched!!
This pic is the 590 lifting another tractor, the hyd pump is also the original Ferguson system pump that came in the tractor,combined with the auxillary pump, it has fed silage to 250 cattle since 1976, never mind doing all the chopping from '76 to '85 when we got a 6 cylinder for that job. Sam
a77501.jpg
 
My Massey MF1135 would rank at the top for turbo diesel,the hour meter broke 15 years ago, never been
rebuilt, just fluids, tires and batteries. As for gas burners then my vote would be for Allis WD.
 
Hear me out before you judge me, but...

Ford 7000


Weirton Steel in Weirton, WV just west of Pittsburgh, PA had a few skidder tractors pulling slabs. They were Ford 7000 all purpose tractors. They'd come into the dealership to get parts that no one ever broke. They tear the casting off the front, break axle trumpets, pop tires left and right and destroy rims, because, they would use the tractor to pull a hot slab (generally a 40,000lb slab) across the concrete and steel floor to teh rolling. They drove the tractors day and night, 3 shifts a day, and most of them had over 30,000 hours on them before a decade was out. Regardless, they kept using them until the wheels literally fell off.


The last of the Ford 7000 all purpose models they had was loaded onto a trailer with a magnet crane, and it is currently in tractor pulls winning prizes all over the place. It's got the pump turned up, the fuel tank outlet has been drilled bigger, and there are countless other things like a TW-15 clutch, but, it is still going...



It's an amazing machine.
 
On our farm it was a DC4 Case; it took a lickin and kept on tickin!

The JD G, on the other hand, broke down with great regularity, always at a most inconvenient time.
 
ive been lucky in that ive not owned any real bad ones. but as far as surviving real abuse and plain old neglect,i would have to say a john deere A and a d2 cat that i started farming with.both were totaly worn out when i got them,but neither ever let me down. if they had ,i would have been out of buisness,because i couldnt have bought a nightmare a feed of oats!
 
Massey 135. By all accounts shouldn't be running today but she does. And as good as ever.

Worst? No idea.

Aaron
 
The 65-85 Fords deserve honorable mention here.
Click below for a slideshow on a 4600 my buddy picked up this spring.
When we went to pick it up I burst out laughing at how terrible it was and the owner agreed and knocked a few hundred off the price.
Surprisingly, the tractor runs real good.
Bad 4600
 
John,
I worked at Weirton from 1984 to 2001. They had upgraded to larger Fords from Vernon Dell in East Liverpool Ohio. Always was proud to see those Fords running around the mill.
Keith
 
I had a neighbor who could and did destroy anything and everything. He finally got cancer and had to sell out in 87. When he had the auction,the only tractor he had that was still running and would move under it's own power was a Massey Ferguson Super 90 of all things.
It was truly like it had won an on farm demolition derby. That and most of the tractors he had,he had bought new. Unbelievable what that tractor went through and survived.
 
I know where there is a 39 M that been in the same family since new and still is used quite regularly, has m&w 9 speed and hand clucth.
 
(quoted from post at 22:42:55 07/26/12) My vote goes to the Massey Fergusons. over here we have dairy
farmers that don't know what oil is for and their old masseys just
keep on going, WITHOUT the engine rebuilds some have
mentioned. Rear ends are full of milky oil and the pump still lifts
good. When they finally do need repairs the sump oil has to be
dug out as it is so dirty it has gelled.Try to get them to change to
something fresher.....no way... they tell me to patch it up and it
will do another 10 years! I have one MF 590,similar to the 290
that has clocked up nearly 30,000 hrs, that is 3 times round the
clock and still doing front line work.This one got oil changes
every 250 hrs and still has its original engine, untouched!!
This pic is the 590 lifting another tractor, the hyd pump is also the original Ferguson system pump that came in the tractor,combined with the auxillary pump, it has fed silage to 250 cattle since 1976, never mind doing all the chopping from '76 to '85 when we got a 6 cylinder for that job. Sam
a77501.jpg
Click to expand...
hat 240 must be plastic,..there's no way you can lift a real one with these thin 3" cylinders.
Besides,the front tires hardly show a load on them. :shock:

I can lift 7000 lb(fully dressed drop in D7 cat engine) with my cockshutt 1855 with boss loader, but it has 6" rams and the front tires will go half flat with that load
 
Two AC One Nintys,one AC 7000. He got somebody to come in and get a John Deere A running,the New Holland skid steer had a motor off an old baler in it,ran but barely pulled itself. Don't remember anymore if that Farmall 400 was still around for the sale or if he gave that to somebody for trying to fix other things.
Those were the highlights.
 

Keith,

Thanks for your years of service! That was a great mill until they went under new ownership. Glad to see a local on the boards!

I was always proud of how the fords performed under the stress. I loved going down there to see them working. I was amazed at how they did all that with farm tractors. I'm glad that you were a part of the crew. That mill was Weirton, WV for so many years. To drive around town now, you'd never know there was so much prosperity in teh industry.


What models were they using when you were there? I loved seeing that. Those tractors took such a pounding! I couldn't believe how they ran them "off farm."

Vernon Dell is a great company. Are you still local? I haven't been there in over a year. I worked for Three Rivers Ford New Holland. My dad worked for Pascoe Equipment, three Rivers Ford, Bull International, and is now a cemetery superintendant. He had 38 years in the business. He saw it all. I saw some. We are both greatful to Ford and New holland for all teh years.

Weirton is flooded with gambling places now. It's not the same town it used to be. You can tell who had teh money from the mill. I hope you made yoru bucks and got out of dodge before the hammer came down.


Thanks for posting. I'm happy to hear from someone who was there.
 
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