Tips for someone new to old tractors?

Hi, I've recently bought a small hobby farm and have always had a dream to own an older tractor to use on the small farm. I don't mind small repairs and regular maintenance, but not really looking for full time mechanic work. Am I crazy to look for an old tractor that's been restored (I.e do they tend to be pretty reliable)? Or do these wonderful beasts need a lot of care and feeding?

Of course, each seller is different, but any tips or advice on looking at the used tractors for sale in the auctions?

Thx
G

I would say - Sit down first and ask your self what you will be doing and location.
Will you need snow removal?
What ( HP ) needed?
Do you need live hydraulics and PTO?
Most important is your budget.

(quoted from post at 15:17:37 11/06/16) I would say - Sit down first and ask your self what you will be doing and location.
Will you need snow removal?
What ( HP ) needed?
Do you need live hydraulics and PTO?
Most important is your budget.

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Thanks Jim, will look to get my thoughts in order here. Not looking for snow removal, but probably some light tiling and plowing of our garden. Not sure of the horsepower, but I would guess quite light considering the work the tractors used to do.

Appreciate your reply and comments
G

IHC Farmall H or Case VAC go reasonable cheap, can do mowing, small plow and cultivating of very large gardens. Ford Ns have lots of implements, lots of suppliers but just about as expensive as John Deeres in many places. Depends on what you mean by small farm, what you want to do and local implement dealers available. Might consider a Japanese Yanmar or JD equivalent if not mechanically inclined, Brother has some of old family equipment but uses mostly JD430 for mowing and JD950 for loader and utility work-- both Japanese sourced to JD. Sister uses Case VAC for mowing, plowing garden and disking, has access to 4 row planter for sweet corn planting, etc and uses tiller for most other gardening. IHC Farmall Cub is one of best garden tractors for its time and in Wisconsin, some other areas was sole tractor for Tobacco farmers that had large garden and some pasture, hay ground besides. IHC 140 has hydraulics and same off set cultivision, some areas have the sickle bar mounted belly mower that were used by highway depts. to mow road side ditches equipped units moderately priced and can pull a 2-14 plow, 10 foot disk and JD 14T baler. Last of JD 2 bangers can be useful, parts still available for a price and some dealers happy to work on them for you at regular shop rates. Olivers and AC WD 45 or D17 can be useful, especially the Oliver 55 and 70- but dealer support and parts may be a problem, some implements short in some areas. Do you need more than big lawnmower? Garden tractor? If you have couple acres grassland to cut- consider decent fence and 4 to 6 sheep for weed and feed duty, barbecued lamb toward winter time. Massey 35, 135 or some variation of 65 are very popular around the world, many parts of US and Canada. How old do you want to go, how much $$ and what color? RN

Don't get to old a tractor. Independent
power takeoff is a must! That is a pto
that will keep turning when you push the
clutch in. Power steering is wonderful.
4wheel drive is nice with a loader. watch
out for cheaper Kubotas they will not have
independent pto. Or enough hydraulic
capacity to work a loader or log splitter
fast enough. Older 2000, 3000, Fords are
fine. Also 20 to 50 series John Deere. It
goes with out saying you need a 3 point
hitch. Just find something and come back
and ask about it. My neighbor sells the
dickens out of 35 hp Kubotas hydro 4x4
loader rotary cutter box blade and a
trailer. So much a month. Almost no
intrest. It may be O. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice!

Will do, thanks for the comments

It would help if you could be more specific about the size of your farm and what you consider an older tractor. In the Midwest 160 acres of row crops can be a weekend hobby farm. Some folks consider a 20 year old tractor as older while others think of those made before 1939.

If you are puttering around, something from the 1940's to 1960's will be fine. If you are farming against the weather and a schedule I'd look for something from the 1960's or newer for more modern features and better comfort. Do your homework and look for one in good condition rather than a "Sherwin-Williams overhaul".

One of the most common problems with "OLDER" tractors is how long they set between jobs. Gas goes stale or tank condenses water into fuel. points and switches corrode a little won't work quite right, battery goes dead or low and does not have enough juice to crank it to start, battery cables corrode. Most of these problems are overcome or infrequent when the tractor is used on a somewhat regular basis. For me, the more I use them the better they perform. gobble

Beware of so called "Restored" tractors.
A lot of Tractors just get painted and the major
problems fixed and then advertised as "Restored".
In my opinion, buy an ugly tractor that runs good.
That way you know that someone didn't just pretty
it up to sell it to some unsuspecting "Newbie".
Good luck in your venture.

Steve A W

I'd recommend buying something with a good nearby dealer and a nearby tractor service guy or shop who's experienced with the model. I would make sure I got on eBay and looked up how many parts / carb kits / clutches / pressure plates/ flywheel rings / etc are listed for the model. I'd also check into how many were made, and how many are in salvage yards nearby. In my case, the Farmall H met all requirements, over 390,000 of them were made during the production run, and it was designed by Raymond Loewy.

Like Steve said,stay away from "restored". That usually just means new paint like lipstick on a pig. Try to find a nice original that hasn't had somebody trying to cover something up. Don't buy in to the myth of buying a two cylinder Deere either because "anybody can fix one with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers". That's bunk. Most of the old two cylinder mechanics have died off. Those things belong in a museum,not in the hands of a novice trying to use one.
Go for a good utility type. Something in a Ford number series,Massey Ferguson,something similar to that.

How deep are your pockets ?

(quoted from post at 16:37:58 11/06/16) Like Steve said,stay away from "restored". That usually just means new paint like lipstick on a pig. Try to find a nice original that hasn't had somebody trying to cover something up. Don't buy in to the myth of buying a two cylinder Deere either because "anybody can fix one with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers". That's bunk. Most of the old two cylinder mechanics have died off. Those things belong in a museum,not in the hands of a novice trying to use one.
Go for a good utility type. Something in a Ford number series,Massey Ferguson,something similar to that.

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Great comments and advice all, makes sense. By small hobby farm I mean only a few acres. Appreciate the avoid restoration advice. I would like to stay under $6,000 if possible and will look around for options.

If you figure total operating costs over the next 20 years . Sometimes it's cheaper to price out a new tractor with warrenty and low interest payments .

IMHO - hard to go wrong with a MF135 or Ford 3000 tractor, diesel, power steering and of course they come with factory 3pt hitch. Easy to
operate, easy to maintain, very versitle. Parts plentiful as well as online/internet support. Prices are within your budget and for $6k, you could
move up a size or find a newer variant of the same tractor.

Good luck,
Bill

(quoted from post at 17:52:24 11/06/16) IMHO - hard to go wrong with a MF135 or Ford 3000 tractor, diesel, power steering and of course they come with factory 3pt hitch. Easy to
operate, easy to maintain, very versitle. Parts plentiful as well as online/internet support. Prices are within your budget and for $6k, you could
move up a size or find a newer variant of the same tractor.

Good luck,
Bill

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Thanks Bill

I would stay 1968 or newer and small 40-50hp utility tractor...550 Oliver , 3000-4000-5000 Ford , MF 135-165, IH 444. Your $ 6000 should get you a descent one.

My Ford 6610 with Westendorf TA26 loader is a real workhorse.

Whatever you buy, buy a tractor with FACTORY
3 point hitch. Everything else - live
hydraulics, power steering, live or
independent PTO, gas or diesel, brand,
color, size, horsepower, etc is negotiable.
But a factory 3 point hitch is not.

If someone offers you a "completely restored" tractor ask to see the photos of the progress of the restoration, AND the master expense spreadsheet. Not many guys do a restoration w/o doing this. Believe it or don't I sold a total restoration H and I had all the photos and receipts. I spent 4100 on it. About 200 hours labor. Sold it for 4500.
I never took it to a show. Buyer did.

There are not many tractors more satisfying to operate than a JD 520 or 530..They have Modern 3-Point, easy on fuel and have plenty power for what you seem to need.

They ARE Reliable and you most likely won't LIVE long enough to wear it out..

Swear by my MF40 with loader and gas continental
engine. Check for oil leaks on any tractor but esp
where engine/trans configuration basically provide
the frame. Replacing the rear crank seal not for the
faint of heart--typically requires separating the
tractor into two halves. Lots of heavy parts, risk for
injury, etc.

I think we need more information. How many
acres? What are you doing? Hay? Truck patch?
Row crops? Answer those first and I'm
certain we can help you more.
Having said that, yes you can work a small
farm with an old machine. I work 80 acres,
20 are row crop the rest pasture and woods.
I have a Farmall 300 (45 hp) and a John
Deere B (+/- 29 hp) that I do all my work
with. I just got the B this year, before I
had a 2000 Ford utility ( also about 30 hp)
and also a 9n Ford. Neither of the Ford's
have live PTO, hence the reason they're no
longer here. Life's too short to be
miserable.
The Farmall is a row crop type tractor. It
sets up high, and gives good visibility all
around. It has live power, and I added power
steering. It had a 3 point added on before I
bought it. It is plenty powerful, and the
only complaint I've had is its thirsty. 3.5
gallon per hour on the 6' mower.
The B is also a row crop. It doesn't have
live power or 3 point. However, I have a lot
of jobs that don't need a 3 point (like
raking hay) so that's not a big deal. It is
a narrow front as well, and that's also no
concern to me even on my hills. I just use
my head.
Both of my tractors were built in the 50's,
and I consider them reliable because of what
I've done to them since I've had them. Both
start well in any weather, and are simple
enough to work on. Both are gasoline, and I
prefer them because even though it's not
terribly cold in the winter here, they start
extremely well.
Having said that, both my Ford's were
equally reliable. Both started and ran well,
and were in good mechanical shape. I got rid
of them because I prefer row crop tractors,
and the need for live pto.
So now, I've told you entirely more than you
care to know. But I'll leave you with this:
buy a tractor, regardless of brand, that is
equipped with as many modern features as you
can afford. I repeat: life is too short to
be miserable, and if you're going to have to
run it then you darn well ought to be
comfortable doing it. Good luck.
Mac

Three point hitch is very desirable, live power and live Hyd. is more desirable. 3 point hitch can be added to some tractors fairly easy. Such as Allis WD, WD 45, D17 and C and some IH/Farmalls. Live power and live Hyd. can be difficult and expensive to "add on". Try to "work the tractor" for a few
hours (brush hogging, plowing and/or disking) to see how it performs "under a load". Fresh Paint usually costs more than its worth. (You can paint the tractor yourself fairly cheap). It usually cost more to get the tractor to the point that you "have it like you want it" than you plan on spending. Try to
get "just what you want" or don't buy it. If you have hills or gullies try to get a "roll bar". A front end loader can be "wonderful" attachment for your tractor. Try to get a tractor with one already on it. Just one persons' opinion.

Consider an Allis Chalmers WD or WD-45. The snap coupler hitch is fine, three point can be added,
they are powerful, fairly easy to work on, have in effect live PTO and hydraulics. There are a fair
number of them around and parts are easy to find.

3000 Ford seems like a perfect fit for your needs.

What are you planning on doing with the tractor?

Once you have a loader you won't believe how you got along before, without a loader!
I agree that power steering, 3pth, live pto are necessities as well.
Keep looking and you may find a 'package deal' that will include some implements.
Good luck and keep us updated.