[AT] Farmall 240 notes and appeal on IH Farmall needs

[Grant Brians]

Well, here is another post from this vegetable farmer in Hollister,
California. Last Sunday I picked up another old tractor, although as my
tractors go it is not THAT old as it is a 1958.
     One of my suppliers knew that I seem to always need more irrigation
pipe for my produce farming operation and so when someone called him about a
stack of old pipe he immediately called me. The lead did not sound very
promising, but as it was less than 20 miles away and the fellow preferred to
have the old items be used rather than just melted. I checked the items out
and discovered that there was some pipe I could use and also some old
implements that I could use for parts.
     So I was about to head back to the ranch and I asked about the tractor
in the laen to.... Two days later I had picked it up and got it back to the
ranch. When I bought it the 36" tires and the tricycle front tire were all
flatter than a cheesecake (not as flat as a pancake....) The Carburetor and
intake had a crust on them that was ridiculous and the tractor had probably
not been run in 25 years or more. The seat is a disaster and the steering
wheel is a wreck. The cultivating bars almost hit the ground at the time!
Now a week later, the fuel tank is a mess and the carb does need boiling and
the seat and steering wheel are still a mess, but I have determined the
engine turns over. The Transmission, brakes and rear end all are good. The
hydraulics look like pending a test when the motor runs look like they may
be good and even the hoses are visually ok. The tires appear runnable for a
while after replacing the bad valve stem. We will try to run the motor next
week and I may have acquired an actual cultivating tractor to use! The
downside is that I really need a 60" Cultivating tractor at the moment and
so I may have to put a wide front end on this one. But I think I might not
have to do an engine rebuild to use this tractor.
     All in all this is another IH Farmall surprise for me! This takes me
from having no Red Tractors at the start of 2006 to having 4 Farmalls and a
Massey-Harris Pony now. I will say though that those little offset Farmall
100's are not something I can drive as there is physically enough space for
me to fit my knees below the steering wheel, let alone operate any pedals.
     By the way I need a parts tractor to get #3 Farmall 100 operational.
Anyone know a low priced source here in California????
                Grant Brians
                Hollister,California