Hello Everyone! Newbie looking for a needle in the haystack

I am in search of a Small 80" max width, 4000lb weight live pto and 3pt hitch tractor. I do not have $14,000 lying around so I am looking for a vintage machine. I need to auger 8"-10" holes for a new barn. Rototill my garden and if all possible run a small snowblower. I know that this is not a problem for the new compact machines, but my pockets are rather shallow $2000.00 I looked at a really nice AC-B with live hydraulics running off a crankshaft mounted pump and 3pt hitch system. It ran like a watch, but no live PTO. The Ford's and JD's are out of my price range. I kind of like the IH Utility 300, 240, 340 and 404. I am pretty sure that the 240/340/404 have live PTO but I am not sure about the 300. Is there and other machines Case, David Brown, Miniapolis Moline, Duetz,Etc I'm a Ford guy, but as long as it gets the job done I don't care.

one of the earliest tractors to use live power was Oliver. KEEP THOSE IN MIND

300 400 on up ihc had live pto. But you would need
to convert it to 3 pt to run a digger.
How about renting a skid steer? You can put a lot of
holes in the ground in a day with one.

You have really limited your posabilities with a $2000 budget. You also need a tractor with a very slow forward gear for tiller operation. A DB 780 0r 880 would have all the features you need including the slow forward gears, but around here that is a starting point pricewise.
Loren, the Acg.

you might be able to find a nuffield for that kind
of money, they look like a fordson major only
orange... not all of them have live
pto/hydraulics, but it was an option, and many see
to have it, live pto/hydraulic versions have a
hand lever for the pto clutch on the left side of
the transmission housing next to the footplate...

Just found a DB 880 on local craigslist for $800, might have to take a look. I am not able to post a pict but I have emailed forum admistrator for access.

Here is the 300 and the 880

I've built several pole barns on my farm and dug all the holes for the poles by hand. Get one of those digger bars with a flat blade on one end and a tamper on the other and a set of posthole diggers to remove the dirt and digging the holes isn't a real big chore, especially if you are on a limited budget...most PTO post hole diggers around here start at $500 so if you find that $2000 tractor you've exhausted your available cash and still don't have the implements you bought the tractor to use.

Oliver Super 55 or 550. Live PTO,live hydraulics,6 speed forward,2 reverse.

I have accumulated the componets to build an auger. I have the gearbox and the auger bit. Just some iron and a day behind the old Buzz Box and Whala! Post hole digger. I have a several good friends with "junk in the yard" we help each other out on various projects we are working on. I'm a decent welder and my one freind could make a dead dog run.

Save up till you have $4000. Then you can get something decent with the options you want.
Buy a $2000 tractor and you will have $5000 into it before it is trustworthy.
That or reduce your desires and get an 8N Ford.
It wont have the features you want but it will still do a lot. As long as you don't go off the deep end restoring it you can sell it for what you paid for it when you find the tractor you want.

I like that Oly!!! Peerfect size. I am writing down all the Makes and models you guys are giving me so when i am out an about I know what i am looking for. Keep them coming, Please!! and Thankyou!

Almost any tractor with a rockshaft and good brakes can run a post hole digger without needing a live PTO. Most tractors made before the 1960's do not have the low speed gears to run a rototiller (forward) or a snow blower (reverse?).

How big is your garden and how much area do you clear snow? If they are not big areas you may be ahead to use a dedicated walk behind rototiller and a walk behind snow blower.

You could use standard tillage tools (plow, disk, harrow) to prepare your garden and then use the rototiller as a finishing tool in the soft ground instead of as the primary tillage in hard ground.

Likewise, a front end loader or a rear blade could do the majority of your snow removal.

oliver 55 in athens ga. craigslist.......dewy

You may be able to get a Massey Ferguson 35, 50, 65, etc but they
would often be at the top end of your price range or a bit more.
The Ferguson 35 and 40 are also similar. I have a 35 and it does
great blowing snow in low reverse and low 1st would be slow
enough for a rototiller, I think, though I don't have one.
Zach

I will second a David Brown 880, 885, or 990 as it is about the only thing that will do all your wanting for the price you want to give. Parts can be bought through CIH. They really where not a bad tractor just kind of clumsy.

There are no other major brands that will be as cheap as your looking for with the features your looking for.

Farmall 240, 340, 404 have live hydraulics but sadly do not have live PTO (pitiful decision by IH for being late 1950's early 1960's tractors). If IH had equipped a 404 with live PTO then I would have one in my personal collection.

An international 300 or 350 utility would have live PTO and live hydraulics, but not really slow gear speeds optimum for snow blowing or roto-tilling even if the TA works.

Your desire to run a rototiller and a rear mount snow blower makes having the a choice of slow gear speeds suited for tilling and snow blowing absolutely mandatory with the throttle set at 540 PTO rpm. Live PTO is nice for these functions too, but is not as necessary as the slow gear travel speed options are IMOP. Part 2 is finding all you need for the low price of $2000

A David Brown 770, 780, 880, 885 is the only vintage (and cheap)tractor I can think of that would have a whole range of gears well suited for this and that is only if it is equipped with the 12 speed. The 6 speed tranny models will not do it. David Brown's do not hold their value well so you might luck into one for $2k - but that is a low price even for a David Brown.

An early Massey (MF35) would do it. It would have one slow gear and the option of live hydraulics and live PTO via 2-stage clutch. A massey 135 would be similar but more $ since newer. (A Fergusion TO-35 would not have live PTO but would have live hydraulics and the slow gears). You might luck into a MF35 since there are so many out there. Finding a 135 would be difficult for $2k.

Oliver 55, S55, 550 would maybe do it. 1st gear may be just a bit fast though.

A 3 cylinder Ford 2000 or 3000 with an 8 speed tranny would do it assuming it is equipped with live PTO (not all of them are). Finding one for $2k would be next to impossible though. ($3500 would sure open a lot of possibilities here though).

International made some little hydro tranny models that would work well in the late 1960's early 1970's. If you found one that needed work maybe in the $2k range but look out if it needs major hydro work.

Thinking totally outside the box, you could use an Allis WD or even an Allis WD-45. These things do not really have slow gears but the hand clutch on them runs in oil. That hand clutch can be slipped pretty much indefinitely providing you a slower travel speed by slipping that indestructible clutch, live PTO and live hydraulics provided too as long as you do not push the foot clutch . These tractors can be bought dirt cheap - often under $1k. Allis D14, D15, D17 could do it too but more money to buy.

In short, If the $2k is a firm price point, then I would be shopping for a Massey 35 gasser. I would shop Massey 135's too but doubtful you will find one for $2k. Beware of any diesels that are not 3 cylinder Perkins which is a great engine. The 4 cyl Standard Motors diesel is not desirable at all. 4 cyl Continental gassers or 3 cylinder Perkins gassers are also okay.

1965 and newer ford 3000 with live pto and live hydraulics.. for around $2800 to 3300 would put you into a modern tractor, with lots and lots of cheap aftermarket parts... These were made in 3 factories and sold world wide so parts are plenty. 38 pto hp..

Some of the ford 2000 had live pto,, all of the ford 4000s had live or independent pto so they would work as well.

Or move the the earlier 4cy jub series from 1953 to 1964 but get the 5 speed model for live pto. Parts again are plentiful and cheap. Price is around 2200 to 3000. can have hp from 28 to 48 on these models.

You may want to check out auctiontime.com -- if you find a tractor you are interested in you can go look it over before bidding opens as there is usually several days or weeks between advertising the listing and the day of the live sale. There seems to always be some good deals on the older tractors, there are normally plenty in the price range you are looking at. I have bought one tractor and several pieces of equipment in their auctions and got good prices and no problems as of yet.

The big thing is how good are you at fixing things and look around a lot before jumping on one. Over the years I have picked up non-running tractors for as little as $100 and had them up and running for less then $250. But I enjoy working on them and know pretty much what I am doing when working on them. The ford 801 series with a 5 speed like say the 861 would fit your bill and are common. Another big thing it dealer support as for parts

its going to be really hard to buy a tractor for 2 grand that will do much work u will beworking on it but if i was looking it would be a 2000 or 3000 ford. good place to look is farm auctions

Hire someone to dig the holes, or rent a machine, or like someone said, dig em by hand. Not sure how many you need to dig, but a friend and I dug 6 or 8 holes for a deck in several hours one afternoon.

Biggest expense ? Case of beer.

Gene

Double check that 880. They get ther live PTO from a dual stage clutch. IF I remember right when the clutch petal is all the way down stopping both the PTO & ground speed I think the hydraulics stop too at least tat was true on some of the 850 models

don't forget to check out the industrial or utility
tractors like the mf 20 (mf135 in yellow) as an ex
all makes made them
county yards n construction companies used them
most of them go cheaper than their tractor counter
parts do
and were built with heaver duty parts on them

Thanks for all the good infor. I just have wait for the right tractor to appear but it is helpfull to know what I'm looking for. It seams to be the consensos MF35 would do with a Gas job or 3cyl Perkins.

I've dug lots of holes for house pillars, decks, etc., using a one-man Earthquake gas post hole digger. Didn't cost that much, and is still auguring holes today!

I had a New Holland 1210 tractor with live 540 PTO and a bucket up front. Didn't know how nice that little tractor was till after I sold it. Sure wish I had it back!

Gunny, in Iowa

They're around in that price range I just sold a Ferguson TO-35 in top shape Live PTO for $2500 and just bought an Oliver 1550 that needs a few things for $2000.A Long 445 or 460 will do what you want and they sell pretty reasonable sometimes.

For other than the post hole digging it sounds like you need a garden tractor, a vintage Cub Cadet or Deere would fit the bill, attachments are available. Rent something to do the post holes, the wife and I used a rental two man digger (the wife was not quite "man" enough but we got it done). I hate digging with a post hole digger or a shovel!

I bought a DBCase 885 for $1400 around 1990. It was a sweet little tractor. The only negative was getting your boot past the fenders and the sticks. I had to go bigger and sold it 3 years later for $3400. They say that parts can be hard to get, but the guys across the pond say parts are no problem. Being an orphan they are usually cheap.

(quoted from post at 17:06:19 01/04/15) For other than the post hole digging it sounds like you need a garden tractor, a vintage Cub Cadet or Deere would fit the bill, attachments are available. Rent something to do the post holes, the wife and I used a rental two man digger (the wife was not quite "man" enough but we got it done). I hate digging with a post hole digger or a shovel!

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Amen! Brother!! I built a 24 x 60 Pole barn 5 years ago and we drilled the holes with my buddies Kuboto. Real nice, except we got into some tree roots and screwed the SOB about 3 feet deep. I told him just reverse the PTO and unscrew it. He looked at me kind of funny and said "REVERSE" I aint got no reverse...start diggin. We ended up unhooking the auger from the gearbox and unscrewing it with a big pipe wrench. Took about an hour to get it out. The hole is always reminding me when I look down the side of the barn and one pole is a little off. I just figured that with $15000.00 machine reverse was a given. Guess not!