[AT] My M; now road gear

[Herb Metz]

Yes, 27 MPH seems fast enough; in fact 15 MPH on My D14 Allis seems plenty 
fast for me today.  Golly, when I was growing up on the farm the 18(?) MPH 
on our Farmall Super M did not seem fast at all. That was the predominate 
tractor in our area; never did hear of one being turned over.  However most 
of the time farm tractors were pulling equipment when they were on the road; 
they were not being used as transportation.
If memory serves, advertisement on 1938 M-M UDLX farm tractor was 40 MPH.
Google articles include Barney Oldfield and Ab Jenkins record rides (in the 
60s MPH) during the 1930s; a writer named White noted that Jenkins compared 
his ride to 'that of being on a frightened bison.'
Herb(GA)



-----Original Message----- 
From: Dean Vinson
Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2017 12:23 PM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: Re: [AT] My M Farmall

Al, your road trip sounds like a success on all counts.

Loose steering is certainly common on M-series tractors.   First thing I'd
check is the sector gear in the worm gear housing at the top of the
radiator; sometimes they can be flipped over 180 degrees to put the worn
side away from the worm gear.

Curious about the 9-speed:   How low is 1st compared to a stock
transmission, and how high is 9th?   Are the ground speeds relatively
uniformly stepped up from 1st to 9th?

As I recall there was a low, low 1st gear option from IH for tractors with
mounted pickers.

My Super M has what I assume to be an aftermarket 5th gear, high enough that
I wonder how practical it would have really been in actual farm use.   27
mph top speed, which is more than I want on any but the best road and
without anything heavy in tow.

Dean Vinson
Saint Paris, Ohio