Old smaller tractor for small brush hog

Sandon8N · Jul 24, 2016

OK all of you who know tractor history. Here is the statement and question;

We just purchased an 8N i am currently working on. My wife and I love "old stuff." Old cars, I'm into old airplanes, and now, tractors.

The question; What possibilities are there of something the size of, or preferably a size smaller than our 8N that my wife might want to play with, in a vintage tractor?

She is a country gal who gets her hands dirty and is physically strong, and can ride horses like the wind.

The tractor will ONLY do two things, brush hog (hopefully 4 feet cut,) and drag the arena with a chain drag. Thats it! She loves to mow. (Dont ask me, I have no idea)

I need to be able to get parts, wide front track, slow enough gears to be a bumpy stroll and not a buckboard. I intend to disassemble, repaint, rebuild, and set it up for her as "Her Toy."

I know it sounds odd, but I can NOT be the only one here with a wife who loves to "play."

Thanks all!

P.S. We saw a Farmall Model A (not that I want it) on Craigslist and she said, "Awww!! How Cute!"
I'm not kidding, she really did.

steve19438 · Jul 24, 2016

Farmall Super A is a great little tractor. (wide front) Allis Chalmers made some great little machines.

rossow (mn) · Jul 24, 2016

I have a Farmall Cub with a 42-inch belly mower. It could easily handle a 48 if you could find one. It also would pull a chain drag as needed. It's small and maneuverable. I'll bet she would call a Cub "cute."

BearGap · Jul 24, 2016

We have a 1950 Farmall Cub and one reason is that it is easy for my wife or the kids to drive. It is light enough to almost feel like it has power steering and is regularly used to mow with a 59" belly mower, pull an IH-100 spreader, or a chain harrow to dress the riding ring. It is easy to work on and parts are readily available. Before we added a Jubilee to the stable, this little red tractor even plowed snow and cut fields with a sickle bar mower, but the bigger tractor does all the heavy lifting these days.

wellmax99 · Jul 24, 2016

she would love a TO35 Ferguson
is it a small tractor like the little ford
1957- 1958 model years

but for her, it is easy to drive, shift and steer, also more powerful than your 8N.
she would have bragging rights,

big improvement safety wise: it has (live PTO) which is much safer to operate with a 5 ft rotary cutter.
note to file: bush hog is a brand name, but all cutters or slashers are rotary cutters.

unfortunately: safety was not a top priority on some of the older tractors.
buy her a safe tractor,

Royse · Jul 24, 2016

Farmall Cub and the A look nearly identical, the cub is smaller.
My '48 had the live hydraulics option for the cub with a single
lift arm at the top. I added lower braces to make a home made
3pt hitch setup on mine. Nice little tractor. PTO spins backwards.

If shorter is better, maybe a cub lowboy. They made them from
the 40's through the 70's in varying styles. Here's one example.

Allis Chalmers B is also a great little tractor.
HP-wise larger than a Farmall A.

Maybe something in the Ford 1500/1700 compact tractor series?
They could be had in 2 or 4 wheel drive. Not sure how parts
support is on these anymore. Someone here will know.

Sandon8N · Jul 24, 2016

Thanks all!

Last night after I posted the question I discovered the Farmall and IH (I know, just a later version) Cub tractors. They look like they would fit the "cute" bill. The offset to one side is a bonus. My wife loves the unusual, less common, and abnormal. (hey, she married me)

I appreciate the information about the Rotary Cutter. I discovered I have some vocabulary to learn and I am enjoying that part.

The other tractors in mention here I will investigate as well as well as the belly mowers option. My wife has run one lawn tractor from new to death ( took a lot of years) and now has a higher HP Husky with a large fabricated deck. Like I said, she loves to mow. So, with that, the belly mower option might be a fit in for her. Thanks again for that idea folks.

I will try to link the Farmall that is about 1 to 2 hours from here. It looks like a good place to start. I will research the Cubs until I feel the 8N is done requiring time and parts then get pretty serious about getting something to tear down and rebuild this fall and winter so she can have it first thing in spring.

I am glad I found this site and look forward to many posts and chats.
Farmall A

steve19438 · Jul 24, 2016

I have no experience with belly mowers but I have been told they are a dirty machine to work with. ie. wind blowing grass all over the operator and machine. so I have been told.

Sandon8N · Jul 24, 2016

With all that said. If we go with a rotary cutter how do I know which cutter to purchase. Someone said the PTO runs the other way, right? Is it a gearbox rotation on the cutter, or just a blade change?

After a little coffee and computer snooping his morning, it almost HAS to be a Cub or Cub Low Boy. They really fit the wife's "cute" requirement. But, let's see what the future brings..

Dean · Jul 24, 2016

Premise: I wish that I had a wife like yours.

That said, your new 8N is a very small tractor. Most of the tractors suggested below for use by your wife, aside from the Cub, are more powerful if not larger than your 8N.

Why not get her a second 8N, which is a much more versatile tractor than is a Cub?

Alternatively, and if the budget permits, update your tractor to something more modern and powerful, e.g., 86/7/8* series and give the 8N to her. If you install a Sherman combination in your 8N, the ground speed will be manageable for a novice operator in most conditions.

Of course, if the budget permits, buy her a modern 20-25 HP hydrostat tractor. She will love you forever but you will immediately become spoiled.

Dean

Ultradog MN · Jul 24, 2016

Cute is nice but...
If you really want to make her happy get her
a tractor with power steering.
We big, swarthy men do ok with armstrong
steering but girls have to work at it.
Buy her a Ford 3000. Get one with PS, 8
speed transmission, live hydraulics, live
power, remote hydraulics, differential lock
for when she starts spinning a tire, warning
lights for oil and amps so she doesn't have
to watch the gauges. And she'll get 50% more
horsepower on a platform not much bigger
than an N.
She'll let go of you before she lets go of
that tractor.

Jimmyjack · Jul 24, 2016

Darn good advice! Closer to a real tractor.

Tracy Brown · Jul 24, 2016

Not sure what age you and your wife are but a Cub or A Farmall are not the easiest tractor to get on or off of. Especially when age starts to be
an issue.

Tom N MS · Jul 24, 2016

Now u are cooking with grease -- now u are talking real tractor--wish I had one..

Royse · Jul 24, 2016

"Cub or A Farmall are not the easiest tractor to get on or off of."

Agree. I own both. At 50 I don't have trouble with the Cub.
I just grab the steering wheel and pull myself up from the front.
It's pretty low to the ground and has that wide platform.
Still have to step over the brake pedals doing it that way.
Same with the A. Easier to get on and off the back on that one.
I put two seats on the BN so I put a step on the "passenger" side.
I didn't have it on yet in this picture but you can get the idea.
Climb the step to the platform, step over the shifter to the driver's seat.

R Geiger · Jul 24, 2016

The John Deere Model M is a nice small tractor.

Royse · Jul 24, 2016

(quoted from post at 22:06:37 07/24/16) The John Deere Model M is a nice small tractor.

Yes it is! First one they made without a hand clutch wasn't it?
Two cylinder but vertical as opposed to the horizontals. A, B, etc.
Watch out if you need new rear rims though.
I've not had good luck finding them in my neck of the woods.
Interesting design on how you can move them in and out
without switching them from one side of the center to the other.
Wish I had a picture of them up close to share.

Charlie in NY · Jul 24, 2016

If you want something older, interesting, smaller than an 8N but very servicable for mowing look for a WheelHorse

I refurbished and repainted an Agway 14.5Hp (generic MTD lawn tractor) as a Mini-me for my Ford 640, but destroyed the mower deck in our rock-filled property where I should have been brush-hogging.

But now the wife uses our Husqvarna YTH 24K48 finish mower and she like it a LOT more than the Agway.

Rodeo man · Jul 24, 2016

My 8n is the most used piece of equipment on my farm. It's used almost daily to drag or work the arena. I don't shred pasture with it, but I do make 3 or 4 passes around each field with it before I start. With no upright muffler, and no ROPD, I can get up in under everything better. I also use it to rake hay, and shuttle rolls to the barn.

Tough little dude

Kirk-NJ · Jul 25, 2016

Here's my 1956 farmall cub loboy that I mow with. this have a 5' finish mower deck. If you want something for cutting brush that also
made a 42" or 48" deck that has the same style brush hog blades It can be used for brush or mowing but it won't give you a nice as cut as
a finish mower. I have the brush hog style mowers on one of my standard cubs, great for knocking down corn stalks at the end of the
season.Parts and implements for the cub are readily available. For the use you described I would suggest a loboy rather than a standard
cub. I don't know your location but if your in snow country you can always add a snowplow on the off season and you will be surprised how
much snow these little cub can push. With a 42" blade it cut a nice path down to the chicken coops and wood shed. It get it tight area
where a big blade tractor can't.
For women you can't beat the cute factor of a cub. Did I mention my wife have a '52 cub. she does let me use it sometimes to do some
flail mowing.

Kirk

Ed S. · Jul 25, 2016

Completely off topic, but what old airplanes do you have or are into? I have a Nieuport 11 replica that's at the 90% done stage on the airframe (and at this point, not likely to ever get completed, as life priorities are quite different from when I was actively building and flying).

Always wanted to get a Cessna 140 to fly off the hayfield, though.

es

Sandon8N · Jul 25, 2016

I can see a Cub Low Boy is the one! My wife and I in our late fourties and in great physical health. Eat healthy, don't take any meds, not overweight and exercise a lot, etc.

With that, the Cub will be used on flat pasture to knock down the early weeds when they shoot up and then drag the arena (hopefully covered someday) as a majority. It will be a machine used a few hours a month at best. Just a "Her" toy. Any of the "heavy lifting" or big jobs are going to be a me thing with the 8N. She has a larger high HP Husky with a smooth engine and all the goodies but if she had a bigger play toy just for her she would actually use it and in turn freeing up a couple more hours a month for me!! The unwanted vegitation grows so quickly during the rain that it is just too much for the garden size tractors when it's dry enough to get to it. That was when we were in MT (we moved two months ago) and it might be different here (Spokane WA area.) Either way, we rented our property there and will return in a few years or at most when we retire. So the tractors will be going with us. Our neighbors had tractors we could use there. One with a newer Deere and the other with a Kubota. Both good. We have a commune system there. I did mechanic ing and fixing of things for the older single gal and used her tractor. She and my wife would ride horses together. We neighbors all helped each other and had grilled dinners and gatherings just for the fun of it.

Aviation answer; I currently have a '65 Cherokee with a 270 hours on the engine. Good little runner. My A&P in Montana I used to help is one of the few Tube and Fabric guys in the area. I helped a little on old Piper Cubs and a few high HP Super Cubs. Lots of fun. I was helping put a 1954 C-195 on a set of 1936 EDO Floats. That was cool. I will try to post some pics from my phone. I also have about 14 or so sets of plans for tube and fabric or wood and fabric. I could go on for hours about planes!

souNdguy · Jul 25, 2016

Maybee a farmall C if they want a 4' cutter...

Kirk-NJ · Jul 25, 2016

I think you wife will like it. Here's a photo of my wife on her '52 pulling a load of wood in a small trailer up the driveway

Kirk-NJ · Jul 25, 2016

Here's a photo of my '59 with the brush style mower. It is a Dano IH mower and works OK but if you can try to get this style mower in a
Woods mower. It's a better mower IMO. The blades are 2 that swing on a middle section

Sandon8N · Jul 26, 2016

I did forget to specifically point out that after seeing Kirk in NJ posts of the tractors that i FULLY intend to go that rout for the Mrs. if I can find one. That would be a perfect "toy" for the wife. Again, just something she can play on when she wants. After the post about the belly mowers, i will have to strongly consider a rotary cutter. If it kicks up too much while mowing she will make me "fix it" anyway. I have enjoyed this discussion quite a bit.

For the person who asked me about airplanes, here is the last one I worked with a couple months before moving.

jimtrs · Jul 26, 2016

To answer your question about the Farmall Cub's PTO. The Cubs PTO is it's own animal. I believe it is a 15/16 diameter with 10 splines. And yes it rotates opposite of the standard PTO. Any implement to be run on a Cubs' PTO must be an implement designed and made for the Cub. Not to worry though there is tons of good used stuff always available for these great little tractors, as there were almost a quarter million of the tractors made.

Sandon8N · Jul 26, 2016

Thank you for the information about the PTO.

I ask, why is it the fun things show up right when you spend your money? You all have to appreciate this. Ugh......

http://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/5700708452.html

MRinMN · Jul 28, 2016

I disagree. My A/C B with a woods 59l belly mower works great and discharges to the right. As long as all the parts are there, works good.

Royse · Jul 28, 2016

"why is it the fun things show up right when you spend your money?"

That's a nice looking Cub but it fails the sniff test at first glance.
Way too high of a price, first off.
"Fully restored" with a 12V conversion?
Not to mention the wrong colors and decals, distributor vs
magneto, painted over tag, missing starter cover, incorrect
switches, etc. I'd keep looking.

Lynn Patrick · Jul 29, 2016

If your main task will be mowing, I would suggest a Cub Cadet 154 or 185 Low Boy. I have had a belly mower on a 9N, & though it did the job it still was mowing w/a tractor. I now have a 154 w/a 60" deck. It is easy to get on & off (even at my mid 70's age!), has independent pto, & is VERY handy! In my opinion it drives like a large lawn mower. Some have 3 point & all will pull small implements. It also burns less fuel per lawn mowing than my Cub 1250 w/a 12 horse Kohler!

oldtanker · Jul 29, 2016

Implements, Implements, Implements! If you can't get them new don't buy a tractor that requires a certain design! Just ask the guys with the IH Fast Hitch or AC Snap Coupler about implements and the prices for good used pieces! Your wife may have to bypass cute for usefulness! Also most brush cutters today are 3 point mount. That means that a 3 point would have to be added to any of the old Farmall/IH tractors that are "cute". Opps, can't find a 3 point kit for a Farmall A. Going to have to build your own! I know that a 5' brush cutter taxes my 8N in some situations, even just heavy weeds and grass. A Farmall A at 17HP is going to be worse! Now I have a fairly new 6' cutter, trailer type, that I use behind a higher HP tractor, 40+HP and sometime it taxes the tractor. I haven't seen a 4' cutter in trailer type ever unless it has it's own engine. Smallest I can find is 5 Ft. Way too big for a Farmall A. If she is determined to get something "cute" as opposed to usable first buy her a swing blade so when can do the mowing! Then see if cute is still so important!

Rick

Old smaller tractor for small brush hog

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