[AT] My M Farmall

Sun Nov 26 10:42:35 PST 2017

Only suggestion I would make is upgrade to a 454 or 464. You'll have the 
finest utility tractor IH ever made with live hydraulics and PTO. Must 
be over 8,000 hrs on dad's. We ran the heck out of it pulling a 12' 
cultimulcher and a 300 gallon sprayer when it wasn't running a 7'6" 
grooming mower. Lots of them for sale on CL lately--most down your way. 
Let me know if you need help scouting ways to spend your money! If I 
ever get rid of my 55 Deere combine, you'll be the first guy I call--its 
field ready today.

John Hall

On 11/26/2017 10:02 AM, Al Jones wrote:
>   John, there are still a lot of good 4 row  7000 planters around here.
> I shudder to think about working on one (not hard but nothing is
> easily accessible on them, kind of like JD's combines before the
> Maximizers). but in terms of parts availability and the fact they do a
> good job, that would be the way to go.
>
> I have mixed feelings on fertilizer attachments. I believe you could
> pressure wash a planter with a fertilizer attachment at the end of the
> season and dip the whole thing in a vat of used motor oil, diesel,
> WD40, whatever, and it would still rust.   I do think there's more net
> benefit of banding fertilizer beside the row at planting in our soils,
> but for the last 4-5 years all the fertilizer has been broadcasted on
> our farm.  Daddy bough a new 8 row JD integral planter with all the
> bells and whistles and it does not have fertilizer on it.  Come to
> think of it, I can't think of anyone in our area putting fertilizer
> out with the planter anymore.
>
> I do have a couple of IH 185 planters I could refurbish and put on a
> toolbar.  It could make a cool 22" row bean planter--the Super A could
> pull them and straddle two rows!
>
> My dream operation would sort of mimic a cross of 1950s-60s-70s
> methods, the latter being what I remember as a kid.  There was a LOT
> of two row farming around here well into the 1980s.  It goes something
> like this:  An IH 404 or 424 for heavy tillage and corn planting.
> Super As for cultivating and spraying, an 8' #10 IH grain drill for
> small grain planting, as well as maybe soybeans. My 52R combine would
> cut grain and beans (most likely pulled with the Super A) and the M
> and picker for the corn harvest.  Oh, and shell it with the JD 43
> sheller......
>
> All I need are the 404, planter, drill, some wagons and of course the
> land.  Also when we get the B JD running that would throw another
> interesting dynamic into the mix---it could be the heavy tillage
> tractor.  And if I one day add a JD H to the fold, the possibilities
> are endless!!
>
> A guy can dream!
>
> Al
>
> On Sun, Nov 26, 2017 at 7:26 AM, John Hall <jtchall at nc.rr.com> wrote:
>> Al, having looked into every possibility of planter for 3-4 years, here
>> is some advice that pertains to our area, not the midwest. One and 2 row
>> planters are in high demand from gardeners and especially hunters (food
>> plots).  A lot of 4 and 6 row machines have been chopped into smaller
>> machines--especially the ones that can be mounted on tool bars. If you
>> want something reliable that you can still get parts for (OEM and
>> aftermarket), look no older than an 800 IH or 7000 series Deere.  Being
>> a farm boy I don't have to tell you what fertilizer does to a machine,
>> just remind you to check that closely. The jury around here is still out
>> on broadcasting fertilizer or putting it out with the planter. My
>> retired NC agronomist friend suggested I get a planter that would put
>> out the fertilizer.  Starting around January, Craigslist has tons of
>> planters. Problem is transporting a big one long distances.
>>
>> You mentioned picking one row at a time, I bet narrow rows would be a
>> headache regarding the wagon hitting the next row. Guess you would just
>> have to measure and see.
>>
>> John Hall
>>
>>
>> On 11/25/2017 8:33 PM, Al Jones wrote:
>>> John,  not sure on the corn situation yet.  We're on narrow rows now,
>>> so I may have to pick some a row at a time.
>>>
>>> Matt and I are pros at finding cool stuff a long way from home, then
>>> making it into a drive-until-you're-almost-dead road trip to get
>>> it.....
>>>
>>> I'd like to find 8-10 acres close by that I could hobby farm on.  I've
>>> just about accumulated enough "classic" equipment to make it
>>> happen.....
>>>
>>> Al
>>>
>>> On Sat, Nov 25, 2017 at 8:12 AM, John Hall <jtchall at nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>>> Al, you are starting to like those road trips a little too much! Glad
>>>> you got some new toys. So how many acres of wide row corn are you
>>>> planting this spring?
>>>>
>>>> John Hall
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 11/25/2017 1:11 AM, Al Jones wrote:
>>>>> Dean Vinson emailed me about a message I had posted a long time ago
>>>>> about my desire to own a Farmall M.  I bought an IH 2MH corn picker
>>>>> some time back and needed a M for it.  I kept Craigslist, Facebook,
>>>>> and several other classified sites watched, and one in Rock Falls, IL
>>>>> showed up that I liked.  It was 17 hours away, but it was a later M,
>>>>> which I preferred, had original BFG rear ties in nice shape, was
>>>>> fairly straight, and as a bonus had a M&W 9 speed transmission in it.
>>>>> The price was also significantly less than anything I had found in my
>>>>> area of eastern NC--even after fuel and paying  my friend for his
>>>>> trouble I had significantly less in it than I would have if I had
>>>>> bought the same quality of tractor locally. A good tractor collector
>>>>> friend of mine has a Chevy 2500 and a gooseneck, so we made plans to
>>>>> go get it.  Between our schedules, it ended up being in early January.
>>>>> So, we left his house near Raleigh, NC and drove all night and all
>>>>> day, (his wife came along to help with the driving) and arrived in
>>>>> Rock Falls late in the afternoon.  We loaded the tractor, chatted a
>>>>> bit, and then drove all night, getting back to Raleigh at about 12:00
>>>>> in the afternoon---a roughly 32 hour round trip!  We joked that we
>>>>> were Smokey and the Bandit reenactors, except without the Coors beer
>>>>> and Jackie Gleason chasing us!  I think we also might be a little bit
>>>>> insane.....  I should  mention that I came down with a mild stomach
>>>>> bug somewhere between Winston Salem NC and Wytheville, VA.  The
>>>>> symptoms were controllable with lots of Pepto chewables, but it made
>>>>> for a pretty miserable trip until late Saturday night when I started
>>>>> feeling better.....oh the things we do for old iron!
>>>>>
>>>>> The tractor appears to be a good buy.  The steering is a little loose,
>>>>> but everything else seems rock-solid. It's been converted to 12 volt,
>>>>> but the conversion is well-done and you really can't tell unless you
>>>>> look under the hood or in the battery box. The carb is set pretty rich
>>>>> and I need to do some tuning but it starts right up with no blue
>>>>> smoke. I've started getting it ready for the picker, I got the wheels
>>>>> spread all the way out and started mounting brackets.  Plans are to
>>>>> get it pretty close to mounted over the Christmas holiday when I have
>>>>> plenty of downtime.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'll try to be a little more conscientious about updates in the
>>>>> future.....I need to tell you all about my early 1947 Super A I got
>>>>> this summer.......it was only 13 hours away!
>>>>>
>>>>> Al
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