buying a case 1030

This morning I looked at and test drove a 1968 1030.

It is a bigger feeling tractor than I was expecting. There was not as much room in the cab as I was expecting also. These were not bad surprises, just not what I was expecting.

It was about 40 degrees this morning and it started up with no ether! That's a good sign, isn't it.

I ran it through all the gears and it seemed to run smooth. There were no obviously leaks, the front end is tight.

I am excited about taking it home to help me farm my 60 acres (hay), light dirt work, etc... and I am wondering if there is any last minute advice before I commit to the $3000.

It is also one LOUD S.O.B. Is there anything I can do to quite it down a little. I need to put a floor matt in, but what else can I do?

"It was about 40 degrees this morning and it started up with no ether! That's a good sign, isn't it?"
Yes. My Cases usually need just a bit on cold mornings.
Did anyone put a blower on It? If not, put a good muffler on it. Or did you mean the cab was noisy, Not much you can do there except a carpet. Hope it has 3-point. for that price.

Yes the tractor has a 3pt. and the cab is noisy. I think I will have to hang a pair of ear plugs in the cab.

Get some of that 1" foam and put it on the side panels, on the roof, over the fuel tank in back, over the cowl. Then take some foil back fiber glass insulation and stuff it under the cab floor. Also stuff some under the dash. Take the hood off and glue the foil back fiber glass to under side of hood. Do all the above and you will notice a marked difference.

to sound deaden the cab, get some automotive q-pads. they are self stick insulating sound deadners. you will see them in the trunks floors of new cars, kind of a tar looking pad, usually painted over. cut to fit and self sticking. here is a link to them
q pads

Never heard of a 1030 starting without either at that temp, must be ok. About the only thing to help quiet it down is to make sure the exhaust pipe goes atleast to the height of the cab and put carpet with carpet matting or regular cab foam on the ceiling and on the sides. Carpet with matting also works good for a floor mat and will keep some of the gear noise and vibration out. Good luck with it, I spent a lot of hours in one growing up, there are probably better tractors out there, but the 1030 is a good machine.

1030's were bulletproof unless they were over heated. Start it up and remove the radiator cap. you may have to add a little coolant to fill the radiator neck to detect bubbles from cracked heads, sleeves, or blown head gaskets. It will have to run for a while to expose a problem. (radiator cap off) coolant rising and running over, without air bubbles would be normal expansion, when the thermostate opens, but belching with air bubbles would be a sign of deeper problems. Ai; cracked heads,cracked sleeves or head gaskets.Observe it for 30min or so to make a determination. Good luck.

if it has the manifold heater i would use that instead of ether but never both. a good way to quiet down the cab is that egg carton looking foam. works real good. they are real good tractors from my experience. have good power lots of lugging power. afermarket cabs are always noisy but a good set of worktunes will take care of that but they also do get hot in the summer.
good luck
M puller

Don't blame all the noise on its being a Case. I had an 856 Farmall that I put all the insulation I could in the cab, plus 1" rubber mats on the floor, and it was still noisy.

I have a 1968 1030 that has been in my family since new. Some things you can check. Loosen the the oil drain plug see if water runs out, then make sure the radiator is full and look for air bubbles when it is running. Other that that drive it in all 4 gears and both ranges and listen for noise. My tractor has spent it's life in North Dakota and has been started with ether thousands of times. Thouse aluminum pistons can make some slapping around sounds on start up, it is normal, start out slow and let it cool down when your done I think all claims that the tractors tend to overheat, can't take either and the steering is bad are overstated. However the breaks are lousy, and yes the cab is a tight fit.
If it is in good shape that tractor is well worth $3000. Also, not all had 3 pts. I think having a 40 plus year old tractor with out a turbo or any sort of powershift/TA/AT/multipower ect is a good thing.

2 additional thoughts: the way these tractors hook up to hydraulics can drive a guy nuts, there are 4 disconnects on the back of the tractor 2 on the left and 2 on the right. Hook your cylinder hoses to the to 2 inside ones or the 2 outside ones. Do not attach both to the 2 on the left or right side and expect anything to happen when you pull the lever. Finally that 451 is loud, forget about sound insulation, there isn't enough room in the cab. Buy ear plugs and accept it as part of the deal

We had a 730 and an 830 when I was in my younger years. We always had problems with the 830. Cracked heads, poor power and many other problems. 830 was a Case-O-Matice, 730 was standard shift. Our 730 always handled equipment as well or better than the 830. The head mechanic told my Dad, the best thing he could do was get rid of the 830 and buy a 930. And run away from 830s and 1030s both were well known for bad engines. Just wondering if anyone else had ever been told that.

Hay Moline Guy
Your just use to one of the most basic hard working brands of farm tractors ever built.Both Case and Moline had indirect injection, multiple heads, and low end torque that left the red and green ones looking for gears in the celler when the going got tough.If they started hard, so what, they got-R- done under 2200RPM with ease.

My dad used to farm with a 1030 back in the late 70"s - early 80"s. I have never heard him say a bad word about his. He had M&W piston"s and a Turbo on his puttin out 135 h.p. That was his big tractor at that time.

Wear ear plugs..a cheap fix 3M brand..

Wait till you have to fix the SOB,espessially trough the cab door.
Gawd,i hate these contraptions,they are aptly named though..A Case.

You are so correct. I grew up with a 1030, a G1000 and a 4020. I still have the Case, I miss the MM, and I wish I still had the 4020 so I could sell it to some collector and buy 2 G1000s. I loved those low RPM hi torque motors.

Check for the bubbles like the others said.
Otherwise go for it. Simple tractor to work on.
Ran one for years and my lack of hearing proves it. We didn't use earplugs in those days nor a dust mask in a grain bin. Nowdays we wouldn't think of going without protection. I keep a set of plugs in the tool box now. Better late than never.
The case cab was no worse than any others of the day. They were directly bolted to the axles and so amplified all the noise and vibration. The lesson learned resulted in an isolated cab mounting on the 70 series. It is what it is. Not much by todays standards but appreciated back in the mid-sixties.
Brakes can be weak but they can work very well if worked on properly.
Over heating was mostly caused by the radiator being too small. BE SURE ITS CLEAN if you do hard pulling because it will need ALL the cooling capacity. We have 8-9000 hrs on ours and never cracked a head, BUT we always let the motor warm up before pulling hard and ALWAYS let it cool before shutting down. Use ether all the time and so far so good.
Power steering was a little weak too but again, better than none at all. Had a loader on ours for many years feeding big round bales. Just learned to compensate by only turning the wheels while moving with a bale. For tight manuvering I'd just lift the front wheels off the ground by lowering the loader then turning the wheels which ever direction you want to go. Was never a big deal with a little common sense.

I find your coments about the 830 suprising We sold many 830 EH and DOMs with COM trans as well as 730s. We have hilly ground around here and the COM was a must. The large frame 30 series COM tractors rarely had a trans problem, and motor problems were generally poor maintanance issues, (loose fan belts, dirt filled radiators, generally the guys that threw the grill screens in the back corner of the shed.) The 730s were exactly the same tractor as the 830s except for engine displacement. They were a bit slugish on hills if weighted to do the same work as a 830. Both pulled 4B plows around here. Most of them we sold are still going. In my estimation the 930 was the best of the large frame 30 series tractors. We always wanted Case to put the converter drive in them to compete with the Oliver 1850s. We could out lug them, but the steep hill farming required shifting gears. 4010s couldn't hold a candle to either for heavy tillage, however they handled great and were nice to operate on balers choppers and haybines. Just my memories of the past!