Best Old Tractor

[bowhunternw]

Is there any opinions on a great little old tractor for maintaining land? I see tons of older 8N's for sale but I realize that they have their limitations, for example no live pto and only a couple of gears. What I am looking for is something I can put a mower on and also some cultivation for food plots. I am kind of leaning towards a wd 45 with live pto right now. I kind of need to keep the price down so that I can afford some implements. Thanks

 

[Tap]

I'm far from an expert on the matter but here are a couple thoughts.
Is you property flat or steep? If it's steep, I'd try to stick with wide front end tractors.
How much tillage do think you'll be doing and if you plan to pull plows, what type of soil do you have? Sandy soil requires less horsepower than heavy clay.
How many acres are you planning to maintain and how tight will you need the tractor to turn? Split brakes are really nice for maneuvering tight turns.
I'm on my 3rd tractor since 1986. My 1st was a 1953 Ford NAA (Golden Jubilee). It was okay for a starter tractor but it was a little rough and needed a lot of repairs, so I moved up to a 1975 Ford 3,000. That was a decent tractor for me, 33hp, 2wd, gasoline, and no front loader, and I used it for quite a few years.
My latest tractor is a Farmtrac 545 with is basically a knockoff of the Ford 3,000 except it's 4wd, diesel, and has a front loader. Other than having some mechanical issues with it, it's a nice, heavy tractor.

You may as well consider what implements you'll be using to help your decision on what tractor will work for you.
And, IMO, as for tillage, stay away from moldboard plows. With the herbicides available these days, there is no good reason for turning soil over and burying (killing) all that good stuff on the top few inches of soil. I'd go with a chisel plow.
I Don't think a 3 point disc does as good a job as a drag disc. And discs that are easy to adjust the pitch are nice. Mine are pretty much at a fixed pitch and I wish I could change it easily.

 

[Lee Haakenson]

Oliver 550s. 40 hp, wide front end. Can get one for under 4k. My dad has two since i can remember (30 yrs) and they are still going strong, no major issues.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Tree Spud]

I find that buying "cheap" leads to 3-5 hours of frustration to every 1 hour of productive work.

What is your budget? What is your target work? What do you expect? Then there is the aspect of repair parts .

Depending on what you are trying to do, a high end atv might be the answer ...

 

[TMIL]

I bought this Ford 601 with brush mower for $2500. The 601 was the model between the Jubilee and 3000 that Tap referenced. It has live PTO. I have an 8' drag disk, 2 bottom plow, and cone spreader as well (an additional $600 if memory serves).

I would not decide on a particular make before shopping around. Pretty much any of the major tractor makers from the 50s and 60s will have a model that fits your requirements (which are pretty basic). It would be a shame to overpay for a WD45 if there's a screaming Craigslist deal on a similar Ford, Oliver, John Deere, Case, IH, etc.

 

[bowhunternw]

I don't think I am set on the allis, just know that it has live pto and I feel like that would be nice to have. That little 601 would be perfect. Don't want something too big, as there is plenty of wet spots and my trails would accommodate a smaller tractor better. I will never have more than 1.5 to 2 acres of food plots and as I mentioned earlier would like to do some mowing with it. So as a summary I would like a smaller tractor with live pto and good reliability. Would like to keep the price around $3000.

Keep the opinions coming I am open to all ideas.

 

[scott44]

I have a 1962 Ford 861 it does everything I want it to do.
http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/001/6/6/1666-ford-861.html

 

[Sconnie]

We went the green and gold route, 1982 JD 850 for a bit over $3K (ok so a '82 is not that "old"). Nice little tractor with a solid Yanmar diesel engine. 2 stage clutch and split brakes make life easy in small spaces and mowing. Only bad so far is the hyd. master cylinder has burst twice and been re-brazed. Hard to find some parts but easy to work on! The turf tires are great for mowing (no bare spots when turning) but are not quite the diggers you need for pulling a disc or ripper. So far we have added a 4' brush mower, 4' rototiller, 4' C-tine cultivator and front end weights. Gotta love tractor time...

 

[MRBB]

I have had a few, my old IH, model H and model 340, had been about bullet proof since new, the H was a 1948 and the 340 was a 1961
the H ran every time it was needed and sat some times for yrs not used, a zillion parts out there for them too, but they are a little on the small size, I used mine to drag a 8 ft drag disc and never had any issue's doing so, that or a cultipacker , Only really used it for food plots
But original owner bought it new in 1948, and I took over there farm and it was there untill I sold it last Summer(2015) ran like a champ and never needed anything but basic up keep

the 340 was same deal, original farmer had it since new, but it seen a bunch of work from 1961-2014, had a 3 bottom plow, 2 row corn planter, and dragged them 8 ft disc a LOT better, was about 49 hp or so, and it too, never not started or had a sinlge motor or running issue

but ANY old item, the biggest issue will be HOW It was cared for or NOT!
not all owners treat things the same.
but these older tractors ,m were built a LOT heavier than new one's of TWICE the HP, have a look at weights on things, and you will see, and that weight is your friend when it comes to tractors and pulling things IMO and it also makes they last longer. REAL steel and iron on them , made to last, when there was a pride factor in brands and wanting a reputation for building long lasting tractors
NOW< they only want them to last long enough to where a owner won't complain so much and then buy again!! thinking they got there money's worth out of it!

disposable JUNK is made today at HIGH price tags!

 

[TMIL]

Sconnie mentions a rototiller. You need to be real careful buying an old tractor if you plan to use one of those. Nearly all of the old tractors are geared way too fast to run a tiller effectively. To slow them down you need gear reduction in the form of a creeper gear, so make sure there is a "Hi/Lo" lever on it!!