# New toy



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Did you ever see something that you knew, without reservation, that you wanted to buy, despite the fact that it is illogical and, perhaps, even irrational to buy? That happened to me today. I now own a '49 John Deere A.

Let me explain - I grew up on the multi-generational family farm and I was very close to my Grandfather. Our '49 A was his favorite tractor. We usually had 3-4 tractors on the farm, but the A was, effectively, Grandpa's. As a small boy, I remember standing on the platform, secure between Grandpa's knees, pretending to be driving the tractor.

I saw this '49 A today and I bought it. I'm not exactly sure what I will do with it, but I don't have to justify this purchase to anyone except my wife and she understands how important this is to me. She's great.

Here is my new toy, hooked up to my trailer with 3 walnut logs on it.


----------



## docholladay (Jan 9, 2010)

OOH! OOH! "POWER" tool.

Doc


----------



## wiswood2 (Apr 12, 2008)

nice looking tractor.
Chuck


----------



## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

There is a HUGE saw with exposed blade and cut off carrage to cut firewood that will fit. It'll cut you in half, but OSHA will never know unless you saw off your arm. 
Bill


----------



## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I failed to ask. Does it have a starter, or do ya spin a flywheel?
Bill


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

It has an electric starter. It's a little primitive but it works. When you press the starter button with your foot on the floor you are literally lifting the starter motor and gear into the flywheel cogs. When the starter motor is in place it starts spinning. It's takes some real pressure to push the starter button.


----------



## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

Everybody took the words out of my mouth…the power takeoff is the purpose, and I am sure it will haul anything you happen to cut down, or cut up. Gotta be some uses.

Have fun, I haven't driven a real tractor in many decades.


----------



## lilredweldingrod (Nov 23, 2009)

My grand father bought a new 49-A and I started the first grade. You are dating us Rich. lol None of that sissy starter stuff for him, he had to spin the flywheel. lol Wish I had one. Good for you.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bill - On our farm we had a huge saw with an exposed 3' blade that we used to cut firewood. However, that saw connected to the tractor (a Ford 9N) on the 3-point hitch. John Deere As do not have a 3 point hitch.

Jim - Regarding purpose - I am seriously considering buying a PTO driven generator. For some time I have wanted a backup generator, just in case. We live out in the country and interruptions to our power are far too common.


----------



## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

*Rich*
I had a good Gravely lawn tractor for a number of years, but when I moved here it didn't have a purpose and I sold it. I had a gear drive PTO, as opposed to the cheaper belt drive ones, and add on tools like a tiller and a snow blower were professional grade items with no belts involved. That was back in the 70's. The add on attachments cost betweem $500 and $1000 or more. Quality stuff.

I remember riding on my uncle's tractor when very young, and driving a Ford tractor to assist with pulp wood harvest in my teen years. But I never lived on a farm. My folks grew up in southern Minnesota farming communities.

I had a back up generator in Fairbanks, and used it. Electriciy went out there a lot, and at 50 below, an outage could destroy a house. Had to have enough power to run the furnace…........and the refrigerator. 5KW.

My favorite generator was a WWII jeep engine driven thing at our cabin up north of Fairbanks. You hooked up the 6V battery. Started it, let it settle for a minute then just dialed the voltage you wanted. Just made a very low rumbling sound.

Bet you find some uses for that tractor. If nothing else just to use it. That ought to be worth the money.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Smooth move Rich. Congrats!! ) When I bought my tractor for the tree farm, I got a small 4WD diesel. It suited my purposes more than an older JD. So far I have been able to resist temptation. I almost bought one a couple times, but without a field to plow are to pull a spring tooth in, I wouldn't get full benefit of hearing it run anyway ;-((

We had a JD 50 when I was a kid. Dad bought it about the time I started school or shortly after. He farmed with real horsepower before that ;-)) We kept a team mules and used them a lot until the early 60s.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Topmax - One of the beauties of an old JD is listening to it run. It sounds even better when it is under stress and working hard.

Climbing a hill in high gear gives you that same sound. Nonetheless, I would love to hook this tractor up to a plow and work a field. That's when a tractor like this is really "in its element". I remember pulling a 2-16s trailer plow with a '49 A many years ago. Later, I was pulling 5-14s with a 4020, but I still enjoyed plowing with the A more than any other tractor.


----------



## Bob42 (Jan 9, 2008)

Yes, I have and I want it!! Nice tractor. *Green acres is the place for me… * you know the rest.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Maybe if you ask some of the farmers in the area real nice and say pretty please, they would let you plow a little this next spring ;-))

I never saw more than a 2 gang in southern ID. Too many lava rocks!!


----------



## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Nice A!

I worked at a shop in rural Idaho back in the '70s. We had a B model for lifting engines out of things too big (like tracked vehicles) to put inside the shop. 4010 and 4020 are more what I was used to working on, in the JD family. A clutch for yours is better than breaking the tractor in half, believe me.


----------



## ChunkyC (Jun 28, 2009)

"I'm not exactly sure what I will do with it"

Bring it over to Le Mars. I'll show you what it can do! That's real nice!

We had Oliver's with the tricycle front end. There's some much that can be done with a trike front end and the make backing 4 wheel wagons a lot easier. Although I never did get the hang up it.


----------



## Mickit (Feb 6, 2010)

My old Ford 9N is in storage… thirty years ago I bought it and restored it…from the ground up. I used it for a while, but circumstances changed, I went on the road, working and then to the city…and (ugh) factory work. Still make the pilgrimage to Tennessee once or twice a year, and part of the trip is to check on/start up and run the tractor. Who knows, the way the economy's been heading, I may be usin' her again pretty soon. Nice stealth gloat BTW. She's a purdy!


----------



## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

OMG! It's outstanding!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

NICE….....I drove one of them when I was young. Does it have the hand clutch? I remember stretching barb wire with it. I was small enough I couldn't get the lever to come back. We had a mighty tight section of fence.


----------



## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

That sure is purty, Rich!


----------



## wchips (Dec 11, 2009)

Rich i have a large saw that will mount on the front of your A About a 30'' blade


----------



## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Congrats Rich! You deserve a fun toy. Just remember that those trikes can tip over much more readily than a wide stance front end. Have fun with your 'new' tractor and be safe as I always enjoy your posts. Andy


----------



## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

That's just cool. Enjoy it immensely.


----------



## doordude (Mar 26, 2010)

Rich, i"m 55 years young, and i had that exact model when i was a kid. it was heavy die cast metal and i could carry it around with one hand.It was about 8 inches long and about 4inches high; I didn't have a trailer with any wood stocked in it though.
But congrats on the new purchase, and rekindling great childhood memeries


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

tooo many times …. LOL
including 2 tractor Massey Harris modell pony 820 had 12 to 19 HP depending of the age
both mine was a 12 hp gasoline …  not as nice as yours since I had bought them as a restoringprojects
just for the fun 
no hydralic lift to raise the plough…. all armpowered … lol










good luck and enjoy your buty
Dennis


----------



## Pete_Jud (Feb 15, 2008)

Every man must have a tractor at at some point in his life, Here is a pic of myself and the 6 year old grandson a couple of weeks ago.


----------



## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

My first tractor was an old Ford 9N. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough after I found out how crappy it was to drive. I now realize how much old grandpa must have worked before power steering, 4 wheel drive, hydrostatic transmission etc. Yours looks pretty good just sitting in the driveway….......


----------



## Maverick44spec (Aug 7, 2011)

Nice tractor. I love those old ones like that.


----------



## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

My Grandson will not let me ride on his. Shame ! He chases after me when I'm mowing with the JD lawn tractor. That little cart will hold quite a few pine cones, though. Even 2 year olds like to work outside.


----------



## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

Do not forget to put the tin can on top of the exhaust pipe if you are going to leave it outside. I can 
remember pulling spark plugs on the popping Johnny and spinning the flywheel to clear the rainwater out
of the cylinders when someone (could not have been me, I was too young to operate it ) forgot to put 
the can on the exhaust when we were using it to run the wheat binder. The man who owned the threshing machine used his tractor to operate it. Could not have been more than a couple of days ago. I remember 
the new IH diesel tractor had spark plugs because you had to start it on gasoline, then switch to diesel after
it had warmed up. Thank you for sharing.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

What year did you go to combining Gus?

WE never worried about water down the pipe in Idaho. First time I ever heard of that ;-))


----------



## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Congratulations Rich. Now you can do this . And this (You might need to get one for your wife too). Try a new sport.  Start a band. Even get famous. Have fun. -Jack


----------



## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

"Did you ever see something that you knew, without reservation, that you wanted to buy"

My wife. (Cue the "awe, how sweet" comments)

Of course, I didn't actually have to "buy" her. That would be illegal, so we keep it on the down-low.


----------



## Pete_Jud (Feb 15, 2008)

I posted a pic of myself on the tractor with grandson 22 hours ago, and the pic has been removed as well as the link to photobucket, but the post is still there. What happened? Reply #26. It was there the last time I looked at the replies. opps, it just came back.


----------



## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

It is still there, Pete.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I see you too Pete. I did lose everything that was linked to my Photobucket account. I think it was over 3 months between log-ins when i was really busy. The account is still there, but I can't log in and everything seems to be gone. That is why I directly post pics now that it has been added rather than links.


----------



## cloakie1 (May 29, 2011)

that's a real beaut jd you got there rich …..reminds me of our collection that we had up until recently.we had a case 'm' (i think) an alice chalmers both were center steer like yours and petrol. the case had an eletric start but the alice you had to crank it. we also had two lanz buldogs one of which we did a lot of work with when i was a lot younger. both ran on a blend of diesel and kero and both were a hot bulb start which means using a blow lamp to heat up an ignition bulb at the head of the cylinder( both were single bangers). then remove the steering wheel and put it into a hatch on the side of the body work…and swing on it when the bulb was hot enough….good times
i think i'm lucky i'm not wealthy cos i would have to have a lot of toys…then i would need a bigger place so i could store them and buy more ….and then a bigger place etc etc….least my habit is under control when i'm poor


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Looks like a great restoration.

We had a JD "H" which was smaller than the "A" and I learned to drive on that. Remember that I my arms weren't long enough (or strong enough) to fully engage the clutch while seated. So - I would put it far enough to get it moving then place my foot on top of the clutch lever and push it the rest of the way. Stopping was also scary because I barely had enough muscle to pull the lever past the detent. Oddly enough I never ran into anything. The Lord had to have been looking out for me!


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Joe - I had the same problem with the A when I was very young and I did run into something. I was pulling the wagon in place so we could empty the grain bin on the combine into the wagon. It was a tractor pulled combine. I could not get the clutch to release and the real wheel of the A ran into the rear wheel of the tractor on the combine. The A's wheel climbed up the other tractor's wheel that the A tipped over. I jumped clear. I didn't drive the tractor again until I was strong enough to release the clutch safely.


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Oh wow. That *WAS *a close call. Since an A was bigger than the H, it probably took more strength to work the A clutch, so I would have been totally out of my league on that machine.

Ours predated the starter option so had to be hand "cranked" and I was way too little to do that. But I do remember that it had a magneto that doubled as the on/off switch. To shut it off you had to pull what is equivalent to a coil wire, and half the time I got shocked big time.


----------



## Builder_Bob (Jan 9, 2010)

I'm green (and yellow) with envy.


----------



## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

Topa, back then, the 40's and early 50's the wheat binder cut and bundled the wheat, then you stacked it
in shocks, about 6 bundles to the shock. When the threshing machine came it was run by a big Case tractor
with a long belt that seemed about a foot wide, but was probably 6 to 8 inches. I was too young to help,
but they would let me do minor things like pull spark plugs and spin the motor over with no compression. 
Some tractors had a curved pipe on the muffler, or a hinged exhaust cap that compression pushed open 
when the engine was running so you did not have to worry about the rain. Was around the my first combine
in 1954 on my uncle's farm, but never did get to run one of those wonderful machines.


----------



## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

Rich that tractor is a thing of beauty. It looks like someone did a wonderful job of restoring it. I'm glad that your wife is supportive!


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Funny that you should mention that Gus. Here are a couple of photos I took last week.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

49 was the last year my dad and granddad used a threshing machine. They had silage blower to fill the silo that ran with one of those leather belts. That is what the wheel on those Johnny Poppers is for. I remember seeing that.

One of the neighbors I worked for some time had a big M Farmall that had a kick back crank to start it. Anyone who ever tried to start one knows why I call it a kick back crank!! ;-))

*ajoseph* Where was the threshing bee?


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Topa - the threshing bee was in McLouth, Kansas. It was ok, but I think there are probably better ones around.

BTW - the wheel on the left side of a John Deere was the engine's flywheel. The belt pulley was on the right side and was smaller in diameter and geared down. It pulley was also controlled with the main clutch.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

As an FYI - Our family's A was also used to run what we called the silo filler with a belt. Topa uses the name "silage blower". I think we are talking about the same thing. A silo filler takes in whole stocks of corn (usually in bundles) and chops it into silage and blows it into the silo in one step.

Eventually, we got a field chopper and discontinued the use of the silo filler. A field chopper chops the corn into silage in the field.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

We always chopped in the field. The blower just blew it up into the vertical silo until it fell down. After that, everything when into a bunker type silo on the ground.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

If you are a fan of old John Deeres like I am, you know that to really appreciate them, you have to hear them. Further, you don't want to just hear them idling. You want to hear the engine running wide open under some stress.

Well folks, here is a treat for you. I drove my A up a couple of hills. About half way up the first hill I gave it a little more throttle and a few seconds later went wide open. I hope you enjoy it.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Topa - That is interesting. I've never seen or heard of a blower than was belt driven. From my experience, in the belt days we used a binder in the field, loaded the stocks of corn on a wagon and delivered them to the silo filler that chopped and blew.

In my experience, field choppers took a lot of power - more power than was normally available in the belt era. We didn't buy a field chopper until we had a 3020 (74 hp, I think) to run it. Later, a 4020 ran it even better.

FYI - We eventually put up some of those blue (Harvestore) silos and their unloaders did not work well if the silage (or haylage) was not chopped quite fine. Our approach was a blower with a recutter. That required us to have a revert to the 3020 in the field (and cut course) and put the 4020 on the blower/recutter. We burned a lot of fuel filling the silo.


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

thank´s Rick awesome sound ))

Dennis


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

I love it, Rich. Sounds like it's well tuned.

Speaking of corn choppers, for the last 10 years or so as a farm boy, my dad sold the corn to Monfort Feed Lots in the field, i.e. Monfort harvested and hauled it. The stock choppers weren't fast enough so Monfort designed his own based on a GMC 2 stroke diesel. It was self propelled and could chop four rows of corn at a time, blow it into a truck that the chopper PULLED through the field. The reason they pulled the truck was the harvester moved so fast that a truck couldn't keep up in granny gear, and didn't have enough power in low gear.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I'm home sick Rich!! ;-)) I may play that in the back ground when I'm working just to make me think I'm on the farm ;-))

My uncle had a 720 that ran a 2 row chopper. One time he stopped to clear a clog of some kind, his pants or something got caught in the chopper. He grabbed the drive belt with both hands and stopped it long enough for my granddad to get to the tractor and stop it!!

The blower may have been an old chopper they were using as a blower only. I was only about 8 or 10 when the silo fell down and they dug a pit silo. My dad and Murphy Harris were in the silo filling it about 45 minutes before it went down. My grandpa was gone to town to find some steel to make bands to put around it. Dad told grandpa it was cracking at noon when they came down for dinner and that the cracks were bigger when they stopped for the day.

*Joe,* Pulling trucks reminds me of of seeing Hay Boyd's beet digging operation one day when the school bus went by. They had a WWII 2 1/2 6 wheel drive truck with a cat pulling and another cat pushing beside the beet digger ;-)) Mud must have been worse than teh time I had a cat pulling a ditch witch modified with duals on all four to keep it above ground ;-))


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Joe

Here in Iowa I watch from the road when field choppers are harvesting 6 rows at a time and blowing it into trucks. They are moving at a steady clip. I understand how much power is required and all I can say is "WOW!". It is my understanding that those machines have in excess of 400 hp.

As an FYI - Some cars and lots of big trucks have the capacity to deliver 400 hp, but none of them have the capacity to deliver that much power on a constant basis for hours at a time. That is where tractor horsepower and car/truck horsepower differ. Tractors are designed to deliver all day long at maximum output. I've spent many long days on tractors that were at maximum output virtually all the time.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I'm amazed by what we did with the little JD 50 compared to the monsters they have today. It only had about 25 or 30 hp and it didn't plow 15 times faster than a good than did ;-))


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Farming technology has come a long way since the 50's. At the time I didn't realize how far ahead of the curve that Monfort was. I drove a truck during the harvest one year. We had to haul as far as 20 miles one way, so you can see how many trucks it took to support one harvester. We had to get it on, because if you were late getting back to the field and the harvester was waiting for you, well you know the rest of the story. The truck I drove was a 58 Chev with a 348. By the end of the season it was pretty much worn out, because they ran around the clock.


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Has anybody been to the Midwest Old Threshers in Mt. Pleasant, IA?


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I've been to the Old Threshers in Mount Pleasant several times. When my father was still able, he absolutely loved it. I enjoyed it a lot also. It's very big and very well done with lots of scheduled events. There must be a field of about 3 acres with parked old tractors. They have a daily parade of power when the tractors drive in a parade. I might be there with my tractor next year.

For those who don't know, it is always held on labor day weekend.


----------



## lilredweldingrod (Nov 23, 2009)

In 61 when I came home from boot camp, my grand father had stepped up to a Allis-Chalmers diesel and from the two row cultivators and planters to a six row set up. We thought we were real big time. lol


----------



## AGriff (Sep 21, 2011)

Really nice toy! Reminds me of one I "go-deviled" cotton with in the early 60's


----------



## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

One thing about those tractors and do not ask how I know, they go good up hill and even better down hill
especially if there is a curve at the bottom of the hill with a fence it took one day to replace, no one bothered
to tell me the brakes on the old tractors were only for turning on tight corners. As the greenhorn on the 
crew they gave me the 1941 Chevrolet truck to haul to town with orders not to go over 55 and no fair 
using Montana overdrive, letting it coast downhill. They thought I was cheating when I kept outrunning
the neighbors wife who was driving a new 1957 Ford V8 truck, until the boss road with me and discovered
I was double clutching and using the two speed rear end, going from 1st under to 1st over then 2cnd under, 
etc. while she would start out in 1st low and shift up until in 5th gear and sometimes forget to upshift to 
5th high. The boss told me to quit doing it because it would wear out the rear end, it was the old manual
linkage. After I got the boss to talk to my father, who head mechanic of the Holly Sugar Ag plant, I was 
allowed to use the two speed again, but was told to shift the pickup slower because they thought I had 
put an automatic in it, they could not hear me shifting as I left the house for the field-about 6 miles away.
I was practicing for the quarter mile drag strip.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

No tractors have brakes for stopping like an auto that I know of. Brakes are for turning and holding only. Do not even think about using them for stopping ;-)) if you need the brake on a hill, you will break!! ;-((


----------



## maljr1980 (Sep 4, 2011)

friends dont let friends drive green tractors… international harvestor FTW


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Did anyone know that IHC made a V8 diesel in the mid 70's?


----------

