Re: Farmall: 350 and Utility

Posted by Mark W. on December 02, 2000 at 08:11:09 from (209.176.193.145):

In Reply to: Farmall: 350 and Utility posted by Matt Campbell on December 01, 2000 at 10:48:04:

Hi, Matt.

As the owner of a 300 Utility, I'd like to offer a few comments.

First: As the other respondents have mentioned, the Ford 8N's tend to be more expensive than the International Utilities. I think the reason is just supply and demand. Many hobby farmers are interested in a small but capable tractor. To them, an 8N is actually a big tractor because they're often comparing it to the lawn tractors they're used to. Another reason for the 8N's popularity is its standard 3-point hitch, which will means it can operate just about any implement it can pull.

The 300 Utility came with International's "fast hitch" system. It's not what we would call "industry standard," but many (if not most) Utilities have been converted to a standard 3-point hitch sometime during their lives. Check for that before you buy.

My uncle had once commented that the 300 Utility was a "bigger, better, heavier" tractor than the 8N. My neighbor has an 8N, and I must say my uncle was right. Having gotten used to my tractor, I was surprised when I looked closely at the 8N. The clutch and transmission housing (in other words, the "trunk" of the whole tractor connecting the engine to the rear wheels) looked surprisingly small and delicate compared to the 300U. There are a lot of nice Fords out there and I mean them no disrespect, but if I had to pull stumps I'd choose the 300U hands-down.

Second: I don't think a torque amplifier ("T.A.") is necessarily an advantage in your case. The T.A. is sort of an underdrive for the transmission that is shiftable on the fly and gives the tractor more leverage/torque.

The T.A. is not without its problems. First, there's a reliability issue. About half of the Utilities I've seen for sale have T.A.'s that don't work, and it's a rather expensive repair job. That's the bad news.

The good news is that the T.A. doesn't have to work in order for the tractor to work; just don't engage the T.A. and it won't matter.

Having mentioned that you live in a hilly area, you should know that when engaged the T.A. allows the tractor to "freewheel" down hills. In other words, braking with the engine doesn't work with the T.A. engaged.

All said, I think the bottom line on the torque amplifier in your case is that (1) it would be O.K to have it, (2) you don't really need it, and (3) if you have it, it's all right if it's broken because you probably wouldn't use it much anyway.

Third: There seem to be a fair amount of 300U's and 350U's available. I've even seen a few sold on eBay in the past year.

Fourth: If you're from northeastern Ohio, you should check out Malabar Farm State Park (in the Mansfield area)if you haven't already. Louis Bromfield was an interesting character!

Good Luck - - Mark W.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Re: Farmall: 350 and Utility redhusky91 09:31:42 12/04/00 (0)
• Re: Re: Farmall: 350 and Utility Matt 18:09:32 12/02/00 (0)

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