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<p>Here are a few memories...</p>
<p>Although I now live in the city, I have a 1940 JD H (narrow
front!) in my shed, awaiting when I have time to get it running
and restored. Little Johnny was purchased by my grandfather, brand
new, in 1941. Until he came into my hands, he was a 'working'
tractor that always had a job to perform. In my younger days I
used it to:</p>
<p>- Pull wagonloads of corn from the field to the grain bins, then
unhitch from the wagon, and hook the PTO to the elevator to
unload. The real fun was getting a load of corn around a sharp
corner while going up a 30 degree slope, with a railroad crossing
at the top. Take a good run at it in low gear, and don't try it if
there was a train in sight...which could be fairly frequently, in
the mid 1970's the now-abandoned Monon sometimes had 12 trains a
day. <br>
</p>
<p>- Rake hay. When I was 12 or so, we had the clutch set up so
tight that I couldn't yank it out on one occasion; I remember my
dad having to run up behind me, jump on the hitch, and pull the
clutch out so I could stop.</p>
<p>- On one memorable occasion, all 12 HP were put to use to pull
one of our 730's plus 110 bushels of corn out of a mud hole. Kind
of like the tail wagging the dog, but we got it done!</p>
<p>Little Johnny has a dent in the hood, underneath the steering
shaft, that I will not be fixing...here's the story: Sometime in
the middle 1940's my dad and his brother cut down a tree, which
fell the wrong way and landed on top of the tractor, 'twanging'
the steering shaft and flexing it far enough to put a nice little
crease in the sheet metal. The shaft didn't bend or break, and
when my dad and granddad repainted the tractor in the late 1970's
they didn't fix the dent - so I won't either. My dad is now gone,
and his brother is approaching 90 years old and in poor health,
but that dent is a family memory...</p>
<p>Other tractors we had back then:</p>
<p>- JD A with high-altitude piston kit; compression was high enough
it wouldn't start when cold without opening the cylinder cocks.
The hot-rod kit to increase starter torque was a flop. That year
of A was rated at 38 HP, ours pulled 43 on a PTO dynamometer with
nothing more than new plugs.</p>
<p>- JD 620, essentially stock. Not sure what has happened to it; I
have a connecting rod from its last overhaul stashed in my garage.
A truly beefy piece.<br>
</p>
<p>- Two Diesel 730's, one with fenders and one without. I think
they were built in two different years, the gearing was slightly
different...the no-fenders tractor had a 5th gear that clipped
along at about 7 mph at rated speed...great for driving in for
lunch. Both of them could plow all day on one tank of fuel. My
cousin has one of them, the other was sold. I can't remember if
both came from one tractor, or one from each, but we had two
cracked flywheels at 100 lbs each, sitting around the farm for
many years...my cousin and I threatened to build a heavy-weight
cart out of them, using the equally-beefy drive axle that was the
last remaining part of great-great-uncle Jim's 1903 Cadillac. I
think all those pieces got bulldozed into a hole after the
arsonist burned down the barn on my grandfather's place.<br>
</p>
<p>- The one oddball in the fleet, my maternal grandfather's Farmall
300. We mostly used it to mow hay, left the 9W mower hooked up
most of the summer. Also used it to carry a platform with fence
building/repair supplies into places where a pickup couldn't go.
Never a great tractor, but it always would start in the winter,
and often pulled or belt-started one of the 730's. This was the
tractor that suffered the short in the starter solenoid on me
while I was a half-mile from the house, clipping pasture. As far
as I know, the engine has never been torn down. <br>
</p>
<p>- An AC 190XT - never a great tractor, engine had to be
re-sleeved after it developed antifreeze leaks. <br>
</p>
<p>- An AC 210 - no cab, tremendous pulling power - would pull 6 16"
bottoms with ease. Big drawback...not enough radiator. If you ran
it at full rated RPM in heavy Indiana clay soil, it would overheat
within a couple hundred yards. I tried for 2 years to talk Pop
into spending $1000 or so to have a special radiator built for it
with an extra row of tubes, so it would cool. An oddity: we got it
when it was about 5-6 years old, but we were the first legitimate
owner. It had been stolen from a dealer lot when new, then
somebody else stole it from that guy. It got back into
'circulation' when a sheriff's deputy caught the second thief and
his brother trying to pull-start it on a cold morning. They didn't
seem to know what they were doing, so the officer called the
serial number in...and sure enough, it came back as stolen. It sat
on a lot for 3 years or so while the insurance company, original
dealer, and AC fought over the details. We got it for a very
reasonable price, with only about 250 hours on the tach. Hadn't
been abused, the guys who stole it never even pulled the seal
wires off the fuel injection pump to attempt to boost output (with
the aforementioned radiator, it wouldn't have helped much anyway).<br>
</p>
<p>- An AC 8030 - full airconditioned cab, 10-15 more HP than the
210 (same engine block, more blower). Had enough radiator to run
at full power with that 6 bottom plow...and almost was enough to
get me to come back to the farm when I was about 35 or so. Still
on the farm, used by a neighbor who rents the tillable acreage.
A/C compressor no longer holds refrigerant, so it is not pleasant
to drive in high summer any more! Price of a new compressor was/is
outrageous. [Tractor aircon has always been
problematic...designers don't realize what a hostile mechanical
environment a farm tractor can be; seals and fittings that work
fine in automotive use just don't stand up in the field.]<br>
</p>
<p>Good times in southern Indiana...<br>
</p>
Mark J<br>
Columbia MO
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2/14/2019 5:56 AM, Henry Miller
wrote:<br>
</div>
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cite="mid:df5b3d0b-9670-40b1-bf3f-0214d97f3a9b@www.fastmail.com">
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<div style="font-family:Arial;">You hit it with memories. My great
uncle made his own tractors, and so my early memories are of
tractor shows. I loved the big tractors and steam engines, I was
knee high to a grasshopper, so they were really impressive.
Still are now that I'm big. They are mostly unaffordable, but I
want a 60/30 heavy oil pull. <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">The first tractor I ever drove was
a model titan that my great uncle built. He sold that and build
a second which I now have. Turns out to be my goto tractor for
fun, it starts easy and is easy to drive. You can't do much with
only 3 horse power, but I don't have much to do. I've never been
a farmer. <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">My model John deere D is built on
a 1.5 horse John deere e hit n miss. It is fun to drive, though
my son (now 5) doesn't let me often. Generally I walk beside it
for safety while he drives. <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">My grey tractor is the last one I
have that my great uncle made. In my memories it is yellow and
had a now missing log splitter attached. Someday to I need to
build one to get it right. This is my only tractor with electric
start, something I can do without: electric start tractors were
too modern to get into shows when I was a kid. (this is probably
not true, but in my memory...) <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">The other tractors in my memory
are from my dad's side, he was a farmer at one time and still
kept the tractors. He traded a Ford-Ferguson for an 8n. I
remember with my cousin trying to push it to prove how strong we
were (now that I'm older I wonder if taking it out of gear might
have made us successful). Until she died a couple years ago I
wanted to take it with her to a show with it just to hear the
announcer say "that is the original owner driving". This tractor
now belongs to my uncle. <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">Then grandpa bought a Ford 860,
this is the tractor of my dad's memories, he has 3 when it
showed up and that was very exciting for him. Now my dad has
it. <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">Last grandpa bought a John deere B
for cheap at an auction because nobody else was bidding. My dad
drove it home (5 miles or so). Now it is my big tractor as my
son calls it. It is mostly used for hay rides. <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">Last is a homemade lawn tractor
that grandpa made from a David Bradley and model A Ford parts.
It runs but the clutch needs work so it doesn't drive. This was
mostly built as a pto for a grain elevator. </div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">I moved to Moline IL a month ago,
I have a 40x60 poll barn to store this all in. However getting
boxes unpacked has been using most of my limited time. The B did
get put to some use getting everything to the trailer. I haven't
had the energy to write anything about the move though. </div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div id="sig11221025">
<div class="signature">-- <br>
</div>
<div class="signature"> Henry Miller<br>
</div>
<div class="signature"> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:hank@millerfarm.com">hank@millerfarm.com</a><br>
</div>
<div class="signature"><br>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">On Wed, Feb 13, 2019, at 9:39 PM,
Spencer Yost wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" id="fastmail-quoted">
<div style="font-family:Arial;">Why did you own what you have
owned? Farmer started it; as he usually does....<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">The preponderance of narrow
front tractors a tractor shows is sort of a weird variation
on self-selection bias. When people collect tractors, they
tend to collect what caught their interest when they were
younger and imprinted in their memories. So their memories
are screaming “let me into the sample!“. Those memories are
reinforced by nostalgic pictures of Farmall Ms, John Deere
A’s, etc.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Having lived in Pennsylvania, and seen many horses but
very few tractors, I don’t really have a bias that I can
sense and explains the menagerie of tractors I have owned. <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> I bought my Farmall A because it was close, handy, and i
knew of a mower i could put on it. I bought my Pacer
because i was looking for a project, it was close, from a
co-worker, it was handy, and it was a good price even though
it was rusted stuck. Every tractor was a weird twist of
fate. I’ve inherited one(friend who passed), got a call out
of the blue, you name it. I have probably owned around 30
tractors; they have all come and gone after I got them
running and made them happy(a few went to scrap when I made
a mistake in assessment). They are a complete smorgasbord of
anything and everything you can imagine.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I’ve settled on my Ford 861, MH Pacer and JD 430V. I’ll
probably die with these. If there is any pattern, it is
obvious that I prefer tractors from the 50s.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>My collection pride and joy was a complete set of the
Massey Harris “equine” tractors. I had a Pony, Pacer, Colt
and a Mustang. A guy came along and offered me more money
than I could refuse and now they are gone. My original Pacer
remains.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>In addition I rebuilt the engines of 6-8 tractors in
this area around 1990-2000. I still see a few mowing and
brush-hogging from time to time. That’s probably my
greatest reward. <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">A friend recently said he is
about to give me his family’s Ford 8N for engine
rebuilding. Hopefully I can post on that from time to
time(Don’t hold your breath: he said that a year ago too.
:-) ).<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div id="fastmail-quoted-AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr">Spencer
Yost<br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">On Feb 13, 2019, at 9:14
PM, Indiana Robinson <<a
href="mailto:robinson46176@gmail.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">robinson46176@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>You are right Greg, my 4020 Deere was narrow
front. Not my first choice but it was a very good
buy on a very good tractor. It did have the
Roll-a-matic and that did help a lot on handling and
ride. It was also very heavy and thus quite stable.<br>
</div>
<div>For most things wide front / narrow front doesn't
really matter to me I have always adapted easily,
even to a #%&^ hand clutch. :-)<br>
</div>
<div>My father's first tractor, a 9N Ford, bought new
in early 1942, of course, an adjustable wide front.
My grandfather never owned a tractor nor a
car/truck, only horses.<br>
</div>
<div>The rebuilt McCormick 10-20, acquired during
those tractor shortage post war years mentioned was
a "standard tread" wheat-land style front axle. It
was traded for a decent 1939 Chrysler sedan in 1951.<br>
</div>
<div>The Ferguson TO-20, bought new about 1949 was an
adjustable wide front. <br>
</div>
<div>By 1952 - 53 my older sister and I were putting
in hours running tractors and my father became
largely committed to low slung wide front tractors
for safety reasons. About 1952 a John Deere MC
crawler came to the farm and I spent a lot of time
on it and later the Deere 40C crawler, bought new,
that the MC was traded in on. Is a crawler a "wide
front"? :-) Very high stability.<br>
</div>
<div>In very early 1954 the 9N was traded for the 1953
Ford Jubilee, of course also a wide front low slung
tractor. That one had 2 clutches, one foot and one
hand for live PTO.<br>
</div>
<div>The Deere 40C was traded for a IHC 300U, also low
and wide front.<br>
</div>
<div>I don't actually ever recall ever even driving a
tricycle front tractor until we got the Allis
Chalmers C that a close family friend had bought new
in 1946 and owned for 20 years. We used it a lot for
stationary PTO use like elevators and augers and
using the mid-mount sickle mower. I still have that
tractor and it has been to a number of shows.<br>
</div>
<div>We stayed with ear corn longer than most, we had
a Kentucky connection who would pay a premium for
good ear corn for cattle feed. My father found a
very good used New Idea 2 row mounted picker with
mountings for a Farmall M. We found a good Farmall
Super M tricycle (that I still have) to mount that
picker on. I then found my Farmall Super MTA
tricycle which was ideal for that picker with
independent PTO and TA. (I still have that one too)
It has been to Portland before.<br>
</div>
<div>The Farmall 400 LP bought just because we wanted
it is a wide front. I still have it but it is not
currently running, needs an engine rebuild.<br>
</div>
<div>The MM-R with a #$%^ hand clutch, is a narrow
front. Still have it, bought it at an uncle's
auction. It has been shown a number of times
including Portland.<br>
</div>
<div>The 1948 John Deere A is a Roll-a-matic narrow
front with a #$%^ hand clutch.<br>
</div>
<div>Ferguson TO-20 (not our old original) wide front.
Used almost daily.<br>
</div>
<div>1946 Case VAC, narrow front, also in regular use.<br>
</div>
<div>1947 Farmall Cub and a (I forget the year) Massey
Harris Pony. Both wide front but not very wide. :-)<br>
</div>
<div>I almost forgot my MF-165D wide front. I have
some of it apart but maybe I will get there next
fall. Priorities are different when you no longer
actually farm...<br>
</div>
<div>Oh and 2 8N Fords. One nearly done and one not
started on and not really a priority.<br>
</div>
<div>Also a Case VAC that hasn't decided if it is a
project or a parts tractor. A narrow front.<br>
</div>
<div>I guess That's everybody.<br>
</div>
<div>I guess that my biggest complaint about narrow
fronts is how they can turn into virtual bulldozers
in extremely soft wet soil.<br>
</div>
<div>Speaking of moving tractors around, I see a lot
of single fronts at shows here these days but I
never saw any of them growing up...<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> <br>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div class="fastmail-quoted-gmail_quote">
<div class="fastmail-quoted-gmail_attr" dir="ltr">On
Wed, Feb 13, 2019 at 6:40 PM Greg Hass <<a
href="mailto:ghass@m3isp.com"
moz-do-not-send="true">ghass@m3isp.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,
204, 204);padding-left:1ex;"
class="fastmail-quoted-gmail_quote">
<div style="font-family:Arial;">This is a question I
have wondered about for years although it is not <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> world changing. The
question is: why are some areas mostly wide front
<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> and others narrow
front tractors? In our area of Michigan, as soon
as <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> wide front became
available almost 100% went with wide front. <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> Personally, I hate
narrow front tractors with a passion. I would
never <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> get a narrow front
tractor except maybe an old 2 cylinder JD or <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> something like a
Farmall F-12 where wide front either did not exist
or <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> is extremely rare.
I know that in some areas the larger tractors had
<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> narrow front
because of mounted corn pickers. From videos other
areas <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> had narrow fronts.
If you Google ( tractors from the past, plowing
in <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> 1962) you will find
many tractors plowing but I didn't see a single
wide <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> front even on a
couple new generation JD's. I don't know where the
video <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> was filmed but I
suspect Indiana because of the fields and the way
they <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> raised the plows to
go over grassed waterways; something I still see
<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> when we travel
there to see our kids. I'm not sure, but I think
the 4020 <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> Farmer used to own
had a narrow front. Also why does no one make
narrow <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> front anymore? In
the video, even the Ford disking has a narrow
front, <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> something I have
never seen in our area and in years past there
were a <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> lot of Fords around
us. Comments anyone.<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"> Greg
Hass<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">
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<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
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<div style="font-family:Arial;">-- <br>
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<div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">-- <br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">Francis Robinson<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">aka "farmer"<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;">Central Indiana
USA<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Arial;"><a
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