New to Antique tractors

A. what has the acreage been used for?
B. what do you plan to use the acres for?
C. if you want will surrounding property be available to enlarge your operation?

Seems to me the size, type, hp, etc of a tractor would hinge on what the use demand would be.

Whatever your choice, good luck. Farming can be a tough life no matter how big or small the spread.

Polkwing

135"s and 150"s can be found for under $4000 in good condition. (On up to $6000 range) There"s still a lot of low houred ones around. Perkins diesel is among the most fuel efficient engines ever built. It"s the cheapest engine of it"s size to rebuild. Parts are available through AGCO/MF and plenty of aftermarket parts too. The basic priciple behind those tractors was to keep them simple and easy to understand so farmers could do even the major repairs out under the shadetree. Simple ended up meaning reliable and economical. I"ve owned a 150 since it was new in 1971 and wouldn"t trade it for 10 NEW tractors.

They have all the bells and whistle you have to have. 3-point (w/draft control), live power, power steering (optional on 135"s standard on 150"s), good dealer/manufacturer support, and reliable, economic operation.

What's your "beef" with the "N" Fords? While they lack live PTO and live hydraulics, they have no more maintenance issues than any other tractor including some of the modern "half plastic" stuff that is being sold today.

But.

It's really hard to beat a modern compact diesel for economical, dependable, versatile power. Local dealer support is more important than brand, pick one that you can get parts and service for.

You want:

3 point hitch (the range of implements available is staggering)

Power steering

Loader (you won't believe how useful a loader is)

4WD or MFWD

You need to think about whether you want gear drive or hydrostatic. Personally, I prefer gear drive as it's simpler, cheaper, more rugged and it puts more of your rated engine power on the ground. Advantages of hydro are essentially infinite variations in ground speed, and they're the cat's caboose for loader work.

You DO NOT want

Gray market machines (parts availabilty is poor)

ANYTHING Chinese (NorTrac, Jinma, and many others)

Kubota, John Deere, Ford, New Holland/Boomer, Massey Ferguson all make good ones. Most are re-badged Japanese units. Mahindra (Indian) and the new McCormicks seem to be fairly well-received too.

Best deal is to find one some Yuppie has used for a glorified lawn mower and traded up to a bigger one to Keep Up with the Joneses. They rarely get much hard use and can be quite low hours.

• Hobby farm

KEH