what model tractors sold against the deere A

swindave

Member
what model of differant companies tractors was the john deere model a competion? (IH M?)
i know very little about old tractors, but i like to learn more,

the reason im asking is, i own a deere model A and im curious,

thanks for your help!
 
I'm a long time Deere lover. My neighbor was a long time IH lover. A good IH M will out pull a good JD A.
 
2 old farmers here that I both knew (they are dead now) were out plowing their fields across from each other.
Someone had run their car off in the creek at the bottom of a steep hill.
They asked the Farmall M owner with a Super M kit in it to come pull them out.
The farmer with the JD A saw them unhook the plow from the M and go down the hill.
The JD owner unhooked his plow and went down the hill to see what was happening.
The Farmall was just spinning trying to pull the car out.
Farmer with the JD A told them to let him hook up to the chain.
JD pulled it right out.
The M owner told me this story.
Richard in NW SC
 
The late styled A's had more HP than the earlier versions. They would have competed against the IH M, Allis Chalmers WD, Oliver 88, Massey Harris 44, Case DC, and Minneapolis Moline U. Let the arguments, bull plop, and hysteria commence as to which one was the best. My grandfather did not want a tractor with a hand clutch so that eliminated JD, Case, and MM. We still have the Farmall M and Oliver 88 tractors that he bought new and are proud to have them. The Neighbors did well with JD A's, MH 44, and AC WD. Others did well with Case and MM. My personal favorite is the Oliver 88 but I would be happy to have a late A or a 1934 open fan shaft A if one were offered to me.
 
First, which version of the John Deere A do you have? There were three total. 1934-38 24.7 belt HP, 18.7 DB. 1939-47, Increased cid from 309 to 321ci, 29.5 belt HP, 25.5 DB HP. 1948-52, gas burner, 38 belt HP, 33 DB HP. In addition, a power block could be installed. An Allis WC could just about keep up with a John Deere A of like year and a WD might be able to keep up with a gas burner A. That meant, in our heavy clay soil, pulling a 2-14 trailer plow. No way could either one pull three. Look up the official Nebraska test numbers of tractors similar to yours. Tractor Data now has pretty good coverage of all of those old tractors.
 
The A was made from 1934 to 1952. It started out as a 2 plow tractor competing against the F-20. Then it got a hp increase in 1941 to make it a light 3 plow or heavy duty 2 plow. Then in 1947, when JD switched over to gas engines, the A was a full 3 plow tractor like the Farmall M.
 
In the case line the A would fall between the SC and DC, the dc was more in line with the G for power. The A was more than the SC by a bit, but most pulled two bottoms here as did the SC. Probably 2-14 with an SC and 2-16 with an A. Most DCs would be on 3-14/16 here.
 
My grandpa bought a new Farmall M in 1950 which I still have. I also have a 1946 JD GM. I like my JDs, but if you drive both the GM and M around the yard, you can see why the M outsold the G/GM by a 5:1 ratio. I do think the G made a better plowing tractor but that's it.
 
In the 1950's here in mid Georgia we had a good Deere dealer and a good IH dealer.They each knew their customer's needs well and some times put on demonstrations in the same field on the same day. The John Deere A and The Farmall M were the more popular tractors for many farmers. The Deere B was also quite popular but the Farmall H never was seen around here much. Ford was a viable 3rd place tractor in many cases for the small farmers. A very few Case tractors were around and only 1 Moline was seen around here in those years. There was a guy selling AC but mostly for him and his brother to farm with he did sell a few to other farms. Eventually Massey Ferguson came and did well later.
 
The late gas A was rated at 34 HP drawbar and 38 HP belt making it a whisker more powerful than the DC.
 
Around here there were more Farmall H's than anything else in its class by a considerable margin. The Ford 8N did very well in some areas but around here there were very few. Most farms could at the most afford two tractors and they had to have significant clearance underneath for cultivating and enough belt power for stationary ensilage cutters plus pull a manure spreader in tough wet conditions.
 
Farmall F-20 and M, Oliver 70 and 77, Massey-Harris 44, Case DC, Minneapolis Moline U, Allis Chalmers WC and WD were some of the competition for JD A. Keep in mind that between 1934 and 1952 the JD A had at least 2 major redesigns and continual updates.
 
It's not horsepower that made that 'A' out pull the 'M'. It's weight distribution. The JD simply has has more lead in it's @$$,and 'feathers' up front.
 
An A is about halfway between an H and M Farmall.As others said,Case DC;AC WD;Oliver 70;MM Z....Just about every manufacturer had a tractor in the horsepower range of the A.My F-20 seems to have as much power as my JD A.
 
A very late A gasoline engine (not all fuel) is right there with a M. The A underwent a couple of revisions during its production run. The early A's did not have a gasoline version to my knowledge.
 
I thought the late DC was listed at about 42 from case. I know they got a lot more hp towards the end as did most during that time. But I can't say for sure on that.
 
I have a picture hanging in my shop showing a JD G and a Super M hooked drawbar to drawbar. It is a dead heat,a tie as both tractors simply dug holes in place. :)
 
Tractor Data only shows one test with 37 HP PTO and 33 HP drawbar. Maybe Case bumped up the HP on the DC and Tractor Data is not showing it?
 
Tractor Data shows they did the test in 1940, changes were made that increased the power after that. I am not sure why they didn't retest it though.
 
My grandfather had a late A, and an MTA farmall. The A was the winter manure spreader tractor, because it was better going through snow... the A's front end was lighter, and would ride up over small drifts, while the MTA was heavier in the front and would cut through them, bogging everything down. Or so the story goes.
 
Case was somewhat sporadic testing their tractors. I assume they bumped up the hp in the DC since it was made all the way until 1955. It would have to be to remain competitive.
 
Growing up on a farm in Wisconsin in the '50s and '60s, and I got to drive a lot of different tractors. Attended quite a few tractor pulls. With the great variety I saw, I don't believe in "color wars" here on this forum. Because if I wanted to, I could name a "Favorite" of every make, and could name a "Lemon" in most makes. And big differences in horsepower even in the same brand and model, depending on maintenance and aftermarket modifications. Small wonder there are differences of opinion! No point in "color wars" in the forum because there are few facts, and no one will ever change their opinion. We can't count on settling our differences on the track, because a first place finish may not be representative of an entire brand or model. In my experience, it may better represent the efforts of the owner/operator.

Hope you enjoy your John Deere "A", and may it never disappoint you. And good luck to the rest of you, no matter what color you're driving.
 
When I was growing up Dad had a 1947 A John Deere (3 speed-2 speed) bored .90 over and a stock 1949 M Farmall...When plowing the M IH out worked the A JD and should have as the A JD is somewhere between a H and a M Farmall..I drove the neighbors 1951 A JD running on LP with a straight 6 speed and it was much stronger than Dads 1947 A JD..

Sometimes there were 3 of us plowing at once...Dad on the M Farmall with 3x14's,me on the 1947 A JD with 2x16's,and little brother on the 8N Ford with 2x14's..Those were sure some fun times...It would be fun to go back in time and do it once more....Everything mentioned above but me is all gone now..
 
A long time ago, I had a late A - probably a 51, Used it on the manure spreader in the winter as it started good in below zero weather. Also had a WD it was a 6 volt and didn't use it much as it started poorly in any weather. Also had a WD45 12 volt. Never used either plowing, but the A got a lot more use- good power and a reliable tractor. Had a D17 for plowing - traded it in for a JD 2030 - first new tractor purchased - it was a good buy.
Going back more years - Dad had a JD G which i still have. I can remember him working on it one winter, but was too young to know what he did to it- only that it raised the horsepower quite a bit. The next door neighbor had a Case- don't remember the number - mid or late 50's. It was a heavy tractor - had a big solid looking engine. However, Dad and the G could out plow it easily. Can't compare fuel economy though as the G stood for guzzler. Later, another neighbor had an International 560, i think - can remember it sitting in the field for a long time before they got it hauled away for repairs. Rand (taking a trip down memory lane)
 
(quoted from post at 11:09:34 02/21/21) 2 old farmers here that I both knew (they are dead now) were out plowing their fields across from each other.
Someone had run their car off in the creek at the bottom of a steep hill.
They asked the Farmall M owner with a Super M kit in it to come pull them out.
The farmer with the JD A saw them unhook the plow from the M and go down the hill.
The JD owner unhooked his plow and went down the hill to see what was happening.
The Farmall was just spinning trying to pull the car out.
Farmer with the JD A told them to let him hook up to the chain.
JD pulled it right out.
The M owner told me this story.
Richard in NW SC

I'm not taking sides, but tires could account for that in either direction.
 

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