Anyone got a classic tractor?

[davo453]

Anyone got a classic tractor?

Here's a pic of our my/our tractor, I bought it about 10 months ago as a restoration project and while I'd like to say I did the work myself I actually got a local mechanic to do it and he did a fine full mechanical and cosmetic rebuild in 3 months, luckily he enjoyed doing it.

It's a 1974 Ford 7000 (94HP) with front end loader. It really pulls hard and is used for pushing over weed trees (Sydney golden wattle mainly :mad: ) and slashing work with the odd bit of ploughing.


Cheers


Dave

[Andy Mac]

I'm jealous:D ...would love a tractor with a bucket on my block, then I could really do some landscaping. None of this hiring a bobcat and operator. The slasher wouldn't be bad either.

Lucky bugger!

[Grunt]

Dave, I know it's a rude question but I'm going to ask it anyway. What did it cost to buy and then to restore?

I'm looking for a tractor with a bucket and a slasher. Maybe not quite that big though. I've only got 11 acres.

[Iain]

Grunt, went to the small farm days recently and you can now buy a Chinee Kubota clone for about $6K, with a FEL, pretty blue they are too, just like a little Fordson.
I thought about one for here but still resort to a shovel and a bucket.

[davo453]

Grunt, the whole thing cost $15,400 inc GST (not inc slasher) which included 8k for the original tractor and a truck load of parts and labor. I was pretty pleased with that as I'd probably have paid a similar price in good used condition, this is now like new.

The slasher is a 6 footer and very heavy duty, which I need on my place as it's a part Blue gum plantation in the second cut stage so there are plenty of rouge stumps around, that was 6.5k on it's own, it is a deduction though.

In an ideal world the tractor would have been a 4x4 but thats a different league price wise and I wanted a classic, I've got it bogged to the axles twice so far but have always got it out under it's own steam after a bit of bad language & head scratching.

Another pic.......

Cheers

Dave

[journeyman Mick]

Classic? why, that's almost contemporary;) . When I got involved in a farming project a few years back we renovated a 1955 Caterpillar D4-6U dozer (4 cylinder with a 2 cylinder petrol starter motor) 3 of Nuffield tractors ( 1 x 3 cylinder 2 x 4 cylinder) all diesels, all '50s and an International Harvester "Farmall" tractor from the '40s (4 cylinder, petrol start, kerosine run) We also got a huge Allis Chalmers (I think) dozer about D8 size of unknown vintage but with a cable blade (no hydraulics) which dates it as waaay back.

Mick

[Mirboo]

This is a classic tractor. A Massey Ferguson 35 3-cylinder diesel. The first tractor I ever drove was one of these. Ours wasn't in as good a nick as the one in this picture though. We had to park it on a hill because roll starting it was the only way we could fire the old girl up. That was back in the 70's and it was a bloody old tractor even then.

[Grunt]

Iain, what was the brand? I've looked at second hand Kubotas with a 4 in 1 bucket and slasher for around $10k.

A mate of mine has a '48 Massey Ferguson. Great machine. Starts first time every time. Pity it doesn't have a PTO.


Chris

[gnu52]

Hello all,
The best tool in our garden/ block is called WOK, a John Deere 1120 from the 1960's.
So called cause the headlights point in different directions ( wok eyed) the little german built beast is about 40 HP downhill but manages to always be useful & so far never misses a beat. Has a Page 6' slasher, 5' kubota rotary hoe, mouldboard plow, grader & Jib pole. Cost $6000 for the lot.
When I get spare time/ money WOK is to be restored but really only the cosmetics need attention.
All out garden beds tend to be as wide as the hoe. Strange that.
Regards, Bill

[Iain]

Can't recall the brand but Gendore have them, they are in Tooradin and Leongatha, will have a hunt around and see what I can find.

[swiftden]

Lots of good info on tractors here:-

http://www.machinebuilders.net/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Garden_and_homemade_tractor_and_implements/

or here

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/index.php

I have a Small Kubota B6000 which is a 2 cyclinder 12hp diesel with rotary hoe, post hole digger small 9 tine plough, 4ft slasher and i have the plans for a FEL and a back hoe which i sent to the states for. I only have 1.3 acres LOL and this is my toy.

The FEL is the next project so i can do some serious landscaping!!

Little tractors are alot of fun.

[davo453]

I've owned several small tractors 40hp and less and they are marvelous for a small place. My neighbor has a Kobota and loves it. This time I wanted something with a bit of grunt mainly because of the weed tree problem on this place (60 acres).

We have a 15hp ride on mower for the little stuff but I still mow the main lawns with the Ford.

Of course the trouble with going bigger is that everything costs more not least the fuel. But mine does about 8 hours of hard work on 20 ltrs. I'm trying to save up the 5-8k for a decent quality rotary hoe at the moment, anything less and Trevor (the tractor) would destroy it in no time

I call it a classic tractor as the tractor enthusiasts have categorized it as such, I can't find the magazine article at the moment but it's something like everything pre 1980 is a classic and everything pre 1960 is a vintage (prepared to be corrected there though)

Like most things people get very anoraky about tractors and the web is a great place to find them, I found a really nice fella that is carzy about Fords and could tell me from the serial numbers that Trevor was born thus

Unit .. 1974 April 26th. Day shift.
Engine .. 1974 April 21st. Day Shift.
Trans .. 1974 March 8th. Day Shift.
Axle .. 1973 December 14th. Day Shift
Pump .. 1974 April 8th. Midnight Shift.
Lift .. 1974 April 25th Midnight Shift.

final assembly on the 26th of April 1974.

All very useful information :D

Cheers


Dave

[davo453]

Swifden I just took a look at the links you sent and found this thread http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/genoperating/Number/864660/page/0/view/sb/sb/5/fpart/1/vc/1/o/all

All about getting stuck tractors out of the mud some great ideas there. Being a life member of the "muddy T shirt club" it should come in real useful.


Dave

[MurrayD99]

We have a 1965 David Brown 880 Selectamatic - the white one. The clock says it has done 12,000 hours but it has been stopped for as long as I have owned it. I did a bit of ag work years ago and have always liked the DB tractors. This one gets used with a mower, back tray and log splitter and to tow the chain harrows (after the horses). David Brown made his money making tractors and spent a lot of it making Aston Martin cars so they say. I don't have a digital photo handy.

[Gra]

David Brown made his money making tractors and spent a lot of it making Aston Martin cars so they say. I don't have a digital photo handy.

You are right about david brown and Aston Martin. The DB in the Aston Martin model designation (DB 2/3/4/5/6) stands for David Brown, he even designed the gearbox in the early cars (It was terrible)

[Iain]

You are right about david brown and Aston Martin. The DB in the Aston Martin model designation (DB 2/3/4/5/6) stands for David Brown, he even designed the gearbox in the early cars (It was terrible)
I think the Lagonda was a DB as well:confused: before the Aston Martin.

[Dan_574]

if anyone is after a compact old tractor, heres one on ebay,

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7619836627&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[Mirboo]

The Howard 2000 tractor pictured in Dan_574's link has its rear tyres on back to front. The chevron pattern is pointing the wrong way.

[macca2]

Eagle eye

[davo453]

So it has !

Would you buy a tractor off ebay sight unseen? I mean those pictures look like they are from the 1950's and it says "needs a bit of work", think I'll save my money...

[Mirboo]

Would you buy a tractor off ebay sight unseen?

Not a chance.