Schwartz Front End vs Narrow Front

Considering swapping a Schwartz front end for a narrow front on my M. Don't have a need for the wide and have always been partial to narrow fronts. It will mostly be used for some light mowing on pretty level ground and maybe to run a disc in some small areas of pretty level ground. In any event, I am curious as to what type of dollar figure might be recommended for swapping these front ends as I know the wide is more desirable to many and is probably worth more than the narrow front? Both are in very good working order. Thoughts?
 
From my limited use of a farmall m, when you hit mud with a narrow front, youll get stuck faster than with a wide front. The tractor wont tip as easy as with a narrow front. From what your doing, you should be fine, but if was me I would keep your wide front. A farmall m rides better than a non roll o matic 1950 John Deere A abt the way.
 
If the WFE is in good condition with no welds, I would ask for $500 plus a good NF.

A Schwartz WFE is better than the factory WFE, but a NF will even more maneuverable for mowing.
 
It's too bad IH didn't sign up to use the Roll-a-Matic frt end the two farmers that created it offered them. Their original prototype was on a FARMALL B.
As long as you approach hills pretty much straight up or straight down a narrow frt end is capable of negotiating steep hills. According to most posters on this site I should have been dead, crushed by a tipped over Farmall M with a loader on it, over 50 years ago. Just plan your path and work ahead of time and if there's ANY steep slopes approach them cautiously.

Yep, I'd put the NFE under any M. Far as a WFE not getting stuck as easy as a NFE, You guys are kidding right? I got our NFE Farmall 450 stuck pretty good a couple times, one time cultivating was memorable. Got the '51 M stuck too with NFE and loader. And to the amazement of many here, got the 4010 with WFE and 11Lx15 flotation tires stuck more times that all other tractors combined. We had a lot of sloughs that were not tilled, could farm thru them all spring and get some rain and on the second cultivation you drive down into the slough and your buried. Spring fieldwork with duals was a great way to end up having to walk home, the duals toward the wet spot would stop pulling, other rear wheels turn you right into the deepest part of the wet spot, EVERYTHINGZ you do to keep out of the wet spot just makes things worse. Including stopping and trying to back up, turning and hitting a brake to turn, raise the disk or leave it down, actually seems leaving it down gets you farther into the wet.
If you have washed out holes or ditches a WFE may let you get across them when mowing grass waterways or road banks that the two narrow frt tires on a NFE totally drop into, but I've seem that same thing with a WFE snap spindles many many times.
How many of you have noticed that in over 50% of cases, someone who'd rolled a tractor once, does it again, and maybe a third time?
 
(quoted from post at 05:58:09 09/06/20) It's too bad IH didn't sign up to use the Roll-a-Matic frt end the two farmers that created it offered them. Their original prototype was on a FARMALL B.
As long as you approach hills pretty much straight up or straight down a narrow frt end is capable of negotiating steep hills. According to most posters on this site I should have been dead, crushed by a tipped over Farmall M with a loader on it, over 50 years ago. Just plan your path and work ahead of time and if there's ANY steep slopes approach them cautiously.

Yep, I'd put the NFE under any M. Far as a WFE not getting stuck as easy as a NFE, You guys are kidding right? I got our NFE Farmall 450 stuck pretty good a couple times, one time cultivating was memorable. Got the '51 M stuck too with NFE and loader. And to the amazement of many here, got the 4010 with WFE and 11Lx15 flotation tires stuck more times that all other tractors combined. We had a lot of sloughs that were not tilled, could farm thru them all spring and get some rain and on the second cultivation you drive down into the slough and your buried. Spring fieldwork with duals was a great way to end up having to walk home, the duals toward the wet spot would stop pulling, other rear wheels turn you right into the deepest part of the wet spot, EVERYTHINGZ you do to keep out of the wet spot just makes things worse. Including stopping and trying to back up, turning and hitting a brake to turn, raise the disk or leave it down, actually seems leaving it down gets you farther into the wet.
If you have washed out holes or ditches a WFE may let you get across them when mowing grass waterways or road banks that the two narrow frt tires on a NFE totally drop into, but I've seem that same thing with a WFE snap spindles many many times.
How many of you have noticed that in over 50% of cases, someone who'd rolled a tractor once, does it again, and maybe a third time?

The "roll-a-matic" was marketed to IH before John Deere. The Farmall engineers installed one on a Farmall B, tested it, and decided it had absolutely NO advantage over the normal narrow front end so they rejected the idea. I personally have experience with the roll-a-matic on 4010 and 3020 John Deeres, and I must say that I agree with the Farmall engineers. Roll-a-matic is nothing more than a gimmick.
 
The biggest advantage of Roll-O-Matic is when plowing with a tractor that does not have power steering. Many drivers on different brands of tractors broke an arm when the steering wheel spun as the front wheels hit the furrow wall.
 
NFE should be easy to find pretty cheap. If it was me I would keep the Schwartz at least for a while instead of trading for NFE. You may change your mind after a while and WFE pretty easy to sell anytime. With no PS the NFE will be easier to steer than wide front.
 
I put a Swartz on my 1941 M 20 years ago. One of the best upgrades one can make to bring the tractor into the 21st century.
 
How much does the wide front end raise the front of the tractor? I have limited clearance in shop but would love to have wide front on my super H.
 
a wide will not(or shouldn't) raise the front a bit.On the tractors I own,the wide and narrow are the same hieght.Even between Swarts and factory WFs,they are the same height. The single with 7.50x16 is several inches taller.
 
Ditto. A Swarts and Norden are better fronts. They steer lots tighter than the 'factory'. Especially the 'old style'.
 
where abouts you located.? i have a narrow front for an m with the hubs. id trade for an air cleaner assembly for an m. derecho blew my tool shed down and crushed the tube. north central illinois
 
The tipping with a nfe is all BS. The same with the getting stuck. Now if you want to argue the sliding front wheels you might get me to agree there. I'd keep a nfe on and M or H anytime over a wfe.
 
Having used both on the same tractor, we did change it out every year, the wide front does have certain advantages. One of those was stall resistance in plowed soft sandy ground and we had a lot of that. The wide front should burn up less fuel working through soft plowed ground. Otherwise the narrow front would be preferred.
 
Too bad you not closer to me. I have a front post, hubs and rims i would sell you for a hundred. Tires are junk. You could put narrow front on try it and decide which one you like. By the way live northwest ohio.
 
I paid $50 for a NFE with hubs for an M at Red Power Roundup last year. They are common and easy to find. People think they're worth a fortune but they are not.

The ONLY thing about a WFE that is true is that they ride better on rough ground. You only get half the oscillation of the front end because only one wheel hits any given obstruction, except ditches of course.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top