Maggie's Farm

Nothing like a letter series Farmall. One of the greatest products ever made; and made to last. Properly taken care of they will last forever.

Mine is a '49 H. It came with my place back in '99. Tractor is a tad older than myself. Nothing mechanical is maintenance free; you must pay to ride.

I have the big red H at a point where I can crank it, and use it at any time. It is not fond of low temperatures, but that is no problem as neither am I. My latest improvement was a new intake / exhaust manifold. All of the fluids are fresh, all of the fittings have grease, and the radiator is good to -20°. The battery is hot, and the hydraulics work. It is more than fun to keep this beast going.

I could dump some $$$, and elbow grease into her, and turn her into a real work of show-quality art, but that is not what I want. I want a working tractor. Any time anything breaks, or needs repair, I fix it up as good as new. There are thousands of restored Model H Farmalls. We really don't need another.

Have you ever taken a good look at your letter tractor? Have you noticed the curves, and domes; the Art-Deco-ness of the design? There is classic beauty right there in all of that cast iron.

She is bright red, albeit a repaint. Some previous owner, some old farmer, hand painted her, and she has a few glorious brush strokes in her gloss.

I have a brand new Kubota, a modern version of my old H, that I use for garden plowing, and mowing. The H sees bush-hog duty. The little K is a great diesel tractor, with 4-wheel drive, and power steering. It does not sound the same, it does not steer the same, and it is so very easy to start. The H is muscular to steer, can be finicky about starting if one does not know the formula (she likes to flood if she doesn't start right away), and has a primal throb when running at top RPM. I do enjoy my Kubota--it is like a Toyota or Honda, dull and dependable--but there is just something about that old Farmall.