When is a 19XX tractor NOT a 19XX anymore ?

Pete in Holland MI · Mar 18, 2020

Was thinking last night. Over time, some tractors had engines replaced, transmissions replaced, wheel arrangements
changed (narrow to wide), numerous parts from other donor tractors replace, or new/old stock parts added, or
reproduction parts added. This is happening more and more as they were nursed to get buy from previous owners in
their working lives, or when someone orders boxes of reproduction part to restore their tractor.

Someone stated here several years ago; "the handle was replaced 6 times, and the head 2 times, but it's still
Grampa's axe".

At what point is a tractor NOT legitimately a 19XX tractor anymore?

Let the discussions begin.......

crooked rows · Mar 18, 2020

when you replace the part with the serial number on it....lol

Janicholson · Mar 18, 2020

When the owner doesn't recognize it, even if it is parked in the same place it always is. Jim

grizz02 · Mar 18, 2020

zombie tractor?

Aaron SEIA · Mar 18, 2020

For most antiques the only thing not as old as the original is the tires and maybe the pistons. Even replaced parts are more than likely off of parts tractors from the same era. Granted, there is some new sheet metal for some and gauges, but really the vast majority of even a modern restoration is as old as the serial number indicates.
AaronSEIA

showcrop · Mar 18, 2020

This came up on a forum for a brand of classic cars, where a race car was offered for sale. It turned out that virtually everything on the car had been replaced since it was a winning contender, and all that the owner was really offering that was original was a record book.

moresmoke · Mar 18, 2020

I?ve got a couple that are about as mixed up as Johnny Cash?s Cadillac.

ADB-Ia · Mar 18, 2020

I just filled out my census questionnaire online. They only asked for the date of original manufacture, no questions about the age of replacement parts. I'll use the same approach with my tractors.

504 · Mar 18, 2020

I have a customer who has a frame style dump trailer,he has replaced the axles three times and built two new frames for it. He said that the only original part is the 1958 serial tag.

BarryfromIA · Mar 18, 2020

On one TV show they had a rare Charger hemi car that had been hit on both ends and castoff and striped and on the show they straightened it replaced the worst parts and restored it to show quality. Most of the body and the serial tag were original.

T in NE · Mar 19, 2020

Only time I really worry about the year on a tractor is if it's a newer one, if was built before or after they put a dpf on it.

DMartin9N-2N · Mar 19, 2020

Good morning Pete and others: I have a 9n that the engine number is listed on this site as a 1943, 2n. Well, comparing casting numbers and other features against a copy of early parts book, I figured out the tractor was mostly 9n, 1941. The engine is simply a later replacement. BTW, the cylinder head is a third-party item, made to fit an 8n. It fits ok, but the oil filter attaches to the head, and it hangs down over the serial number on the block. Reason? The engineers put the 8n's oil filter farther back to make room for the generator, because on the later 8n's the side-mount distributor left no room for generator on the right side. One thing leads to another..... My tractor has been (and still is) like a big puzzle. My left and right steering spindles/knuckles are not a matched pair..... additionally, I have Ferguson headlights.

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.

Ozlander · Mar 19, 2020

Sounds like a Mutt to me.

Drew · Mar 20, 2020

I started pulling a John Deere A in 1997. Of that original tractor, the current tractor uses the sheet metal, slant dash, transmission gears and shafts (but NOT differential or bull gears), governor, brakes and 1st reduction gear housing of the "original" tractor. The main case and rear axle housing have been replaced. And of the parts that have been replaced, most of them are either aftermarket or one off parts that have never seen the inside of the factory in Waterloo.

When is a 19XX tractor NOT a 19XX anymore ?

Pete in Holland MI

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crooked rows

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Janicholson

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grizz02

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Aaron SEIA

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showcrop

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moresmoke

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ADB-Ia

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504

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BarryfromIA

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T in NE

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DMartin9N-2N

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Ozlander

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Drew

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