Re: Researching M before purchase

Posted by LenNH on February 24, 2010 at 13:50:12 from (24.60.236.239):

In Reply to: Researching M before purchase posted by Lingcod on February 24, 2010 at 11:20:23:

Write me an e-mail if you'd like to see an original IHC spec sheet for the M--I have a brochure from the 40s. The Nebraska test results can probably be obtained online now, from the U of Nebraska test lab.
I literally grew up on IHC tractors made before the H and M, and then spent mamy hours on two Hs my father bought later. I lusted after an M, but my father never seemed to think he needed one. A few years ago, I had a chance to put a number of hours on a Super M, which I loved. But--take into consideration that even though I think of these tractors as "modern," they lack a lot of the features and comforts of current-day tractors. The Super M takes some effort to steer in tight places at slow speeds, although it is a delight in the field at normal working speeds. The feeling, sitting up there looking out at the world while listening to the beautiful music coming from the engine, cannot be described.
I spent years with a power lift that depended on having the clutch engaged. To lift the cultivators at the end of the row--assuming the corn went right to the fence--you had to shift to neutral, let the clutch out, lift, shift back into gear, and so on. I personally would not have a tractor without live hydraulics--having to stop and shift to neutral in order to raise an implement is definitely something from the 30s.
As my grandmother used to say, "I don't want to tell you what to do.....but.....(then she told me what to do)," unless you're really attached to the original M for a strong reason, think seriously about a Super M (quite a bit more power, incidentally, and lots of torque).

Here's an anecdote from my past: As a kid, I used to love to visit IHC dealers after the H and M came out. So beautiful! This story will make more sense if you remember that the F-20, that workhorse brute that preceded the H, ran at 1200 rpm full-governed working speed. The H ran at 1650, a REALLY fast speed in the minds of a lot of people back then! A dealer told my father that the H would NEVER LAST because it ran so fast it would soon beat itself to death. The M, of course, ran at only 1450, so maybe he thought that engine would hold up for a while. Well, a few years ago, I knew a farmer with a big wholesale vegetable operation who had over 40 IH tractors of the H-M generation--all restored to like-new condition (there were a number of A, AV, B, C models, too). He had them equipped with various implements that were never taken off (planters, cultivators, sprayers, for example), so all he had to do was tell his men which tractor to take and off they went. He said he could have maybe 15 or 20 of these tractors for the price of a middle-sized new one. The dealer was wrong--these old gals were really built. My father put twenty years on one H, and probably 30 on a second one.
Just one man's two cents worth, now reduced by inflation to what, I wonder?

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