Old Tractors. Anybody? (really Non-guzzi content)

[Toecutter]

Yeah, I mean actual old tractors. Wondering if anyone out there works on 'em or is into them.

My father picked up a 70s Case 644 as a gift to me. (Got it for a song)

Bought it off a market gardener who bought it off the original owner, but it's been neglected and kinda hacked at.

I used it last summer to haul manure on my property, worked, but rough. I got it idling like  sewing machine after some work, but the exhaust has been cobbled together... they tapped the head, and threaded in some pipe. It's way too restrictive.

So, long story short... wondering if anyone out there  knows of someone or someplace (other than google, thank you, not having a ton of luck)I could start my search for parts (in this case, a stock exhaust flange would be a good place to begin, I can weld the exhaust itself). Or maybe some shadtree ideas that haven't occured to me yet? I'd appreciate it. Spring's coming, and I have a lot of work to do, having this thing running would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks.

[delrod]

Pics? Would help

[rider33]

Check with Steiner Tractor:

https://www.steinertractor.com/brand-case.aspx

they usually have a broad range of old tractor bits.  Me, I have an 8N.  Given how long they were made and how many of them there are finding just about anything for them is easy.  Steiner, on the other had, will have stuff for makes I've rarely if ever seem.

[Toecutter]

Pics? You're right... but it's under a tarp under about 4 feet of snow right now, with no signs of winter ending yet... It's -24 here today.

[Sheepdog]

Get a parts book and search for what you need by part number. This is the best way to find old stuff. It really helps you to be certain you�re buying something that will actually fit...

[John A]

That may be a Continental engine and a new exhaust manifold is about a hundred bucks. I refurbished a medium sized wood chipper, a Fitchburg 6" with a 4 cylinder 60 horse Continental and was pleasantly surprised at parts availability . So see if you can identify the engine, Continentals were used in a lot of tractors .

[Gliderjohn]

Not really into them but I still use this 58 IH 350 for blading, Bush hogging and that plow in the picture for my garden. My farther bought it new in 58. I have the bill of sale and original owners manual.

GliderJohn

[John A]

http://www.tractordata.com/industrial-tractors/000/2/7/272-ji-case-644.html
Just looked it up, Kohler engine. Nice little tractor. Did you get any attachments with it?

[Toecutter]

John,

Yup, Kohler.

Got a tiller, harrow, blade, & the original ballast bucket.

Things awesome, it's just working at about 50% capacity right now. Half throttle it starts loading up, and backfiring badly.

[brider]

John,

Yup, Kohler.

Got a tiller, harrow, blade, & the original ballast bucket.

Things awesome, it's just working at about 50% capacity right now. Half throttle it starts loading up, and backfiring badly.

That's a Kohler K321, 14 hp by the Tractordata site. Those K-series engines (K311, 321, 341 for the 16-hp version) all use the same basic block and externals and are the definition of BULLETPROOF, and were used on dozens upon dozens of garden tractors of that era. I have a K341 in an Ariens tractor, and you could find a K-series in almost any Wheelhorse, Case, Gravely, Cub Cadet, John Deere, from the 70's to probably well into the 80's.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I have an '82 vintage Gravely 8122 with the Kohler K301 as my main mowing tractor.

A few years ago, I bought a 5665 with "blown" motor that I rebuilt. The K301 had already been bored several times and there was no larger piston available, so I had it bored just a bit more (.125" over stock) and used a K321 piston. The shop that bored the block told me there was "lots of wall thickness still" and it would be "fine unless I planned to run nitrous".  Turned out to be a great running machine and I sold it to a gentleman down in Lexington, VA - delivered it during the VA Rally that year in fact.

This one got a couple of hours of use last week:

'64 Gravely L "Custom", that I've owned nearly 35 years. Still amazes me what it can do.

[Toecutter]

That Gravely is sweet!

We bit the bullet on a spanky new BCS 749 this past fall. That thing is a phenomenal piece of machinery. Used it to break ground for our garden... the rotary plow chewed through roots as thick as my wrist with no issues whatsoever,, been flogging the hell out of it clearing the driveway, with all the snow we've gotten this winter. Come summer, we're gonna plow an acre out front, so we can turn that into something useful.

I want to buy a brush mower for it, with an eye on the pressure washer and log splitter down the road (when I get sick of swinging a maul, not that I see that happening for a long time, I enjoy it too much)

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

That Gravely is sweet!

We bit the bullet on a spanky new BCS 749 this past fall. That thing is a phenomenal piece of machinery. Used it to break ground for our garden... the rotary plow chewed through roots as thick as my wrist with no issues whatsoever,, been flogging the hell out of it clearing the driveway, with all the snow we've gotten this winter. Come summer, we're gonna plow an acre out front, so we can turn that into something useful.

I want to buy a brush mower for it, with an eye on the pressure washer and log splitter down the road (when I get sick of swinging a maul, not that I see that happening for a long time, I enjoy it too much)

I wanted a BCS back when they had the (Italian) Acme diesel engine, but just couldn't afford one. Bought the Gravely for $450 instead.

For the '64 I have the 30" bushhog, sickle bar, rotary plow, rotary cultivator, PTO with a pulley (to drive a generator, water pump, etc.) and of course the push blade. I've love to have a chain saw attachment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpTykdG7i1U

[wymple]

I have a 1973 AC200, the beast. My son Chris has an old 1954 Ferguson TO, overhead valves. It's either a TO30 or a TO35, don't recall.

[pressureangle]

Every brand has dedicated forums, not too hard to find.

This one's mine.

[Aaron D.]

Hey! A 644 is awesome, actually quite desirable.
Kohler was standard in that tractor, the old Iron Line models. A vanguard will fit!

Do you have the bucket and loader? Lots of accessories around, some quite desirable. My Case J32 splitter was a Cat 0 3 point mount and was used on a 644.

casecoltingersoll is the place you seek. Parts are quite available.

[rudyr]

That tractor is made by David Brown, I’ve got a 1190 Case just a littel newer and it was made D.B..  They were made in England really good tractors and you can still get parts for them.  A bittch to prime if its diesel.  My son primed my(his) last week.I’ve been driving thru ID., Mt. and I’ve seen lot’s of old John Deer 60, 70. a lot just sitting the fields.Rudy

[Luap McKeever]

Oh boy, my type of topic. I love tractors 'almost' as much as I love motorcycles.  Always have.  I currently have a Terramite T5C (backhoe) and a Mahindra eMax 25.  They both get plenty of use around our place, plus they are kind of my 3rd business when I get someone that needs something done...

[EldoMike]

This is a big deal in my town...place fills up with people and tractors...

https://www.americanthresherman.com/showinfo.html

[EldoMike]

link to pics...

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110352507646877155655/album/AF1QipPLBMFCUSV_AKAlwvOpPs400YECWyeBE7hzodVb?source=pwa

[Sheepdog]

It’s a pity that the Appalachian Museum discontinued their Fall Homecoming after 38 years. The tractor display alone was worth the price of admission, with many running machines and implements that were over 100 years old. The food, restored antique structures, and the bluegrass music was pretty great, too. Who knew that folks used to run ice cream makers, washing machines, and sawmills off of their tractor flywheels...amazing .

[quota2000]

For those of you that are into tractors, here are a couple of links to a quality event that happens every year in my neck of the woods.  Very entertaining weekend with a good mix of antique and new....

https://www.facebook.com/pg/PSATMA/posts/?ref=page_internal

http://www.psatma.com/

The bonus is that it happens during the short period where the Pacific NW usually gets PERFECT weather!

Regards,

Jeff

[wymple]

The biggest gathering on earth of old steam power, tractors, etc. Mt Pleasant Iowa Old Threshers. Every year, 5 days ending in labor day. You have to see to believe all the stuff.

https://goo.gl/images/CNHKjY

https://goo.gl/images/iMZ74v

[brider]

Bought the Gravely for $450 instead.
For the '64 I have the 30" bushhog, sickle bar, rotary plow, rotary cultivator, PTO with a pulley (to drive a generator, water pump, etc.) and of course the push blade. I've love to have a chain saw attachment.

I've had a few of the old Model L's, always wanted the sickle-bar attachment. I only used the brush mower, what a wicked machine at only like 7 hp!

I eventually sold what I had because of too many close calls backing up hills with the reverse lever "locked" while trying to wrassle with the bars. Almost tripped many times over roots and rocks going backwards; that thing would've kept driving right over me with the blade spinning without a hiccup.

My property that I was trying to clear was just too hilly and rocky to use it safely. Still have a great appreciation for it's simplicity and ruggedness. I sold a Super Convertible model (with the 2-sp axle) that was non-running to a guy who drove up from NJ to buy it. There's a big cult following for those rascals.

[rodekyll]

We had the "G" tractors when I was growing up -- Gibson, Gravelly, and Groundhog.  We used them in the orchards and garden and to skid logs.  I had the Gibson until I moved to Alaska. 

Here's an old tractor, not mine, up on the Klondike Highway somewhere.




picture host ru


Here are some on Whidbey Island

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I've had a few of the old Model L's, always wanted the sickle-bar attachment. I only used the brush mower, what a wicked machine at only like 7 hp!

I eventually sold what I had because of too many close calls backing up hills with the reverse lever "locked" while trying to wrassle with the bars. Almost tripped many times over roots and rocks going backwards; that thing would've kept driving right over me with the blade spinning without a hiccup.

My property that I was trying to clear was just too hilly and rocky to use it safely. Still have a great appreciation for it's simplicity and ruggedness. I sold a Super Convertible model (with the 2-sp axle) that was non-running to a guy who drove up from NJ to buy it. There's a big cult following for those rascals.

You can adjust the lever so that it won't lock in reverse and Gravely made a modification to later 7.6 tractors that does the same thing. "Hilly" isn't a problem for a Gravely, but "rocky" means you should be using a sickle bar or flail mower instead of the bushhog.

[ohiorider]

I have an '82 vintage Gravely 8122 with the Kohler K301 as my main mowing tractor.

A few years ago, I bought a 5665 with "blown" motor that I rebuilt. The K301 had already been bored several times and there was no larger piston available, so I had it bored just a bit more (.125" over stock) and used a K321 piston. The shop that bored the block told me there was "lots of wall thickness still" and it would be "fine unless I planned to run nitrous".  Turned out to be a great running machine and I sold it to a gentleman down in Lexington, VA - delivered it during the VA Rally that year in fact.

This one got a couple of hours of use last week:

'64 Gravely L "Custom", that I've owned nearly 35 years. Still amazes me what it can do.

A fine machine.  Your oldie was probably built by Gravely at their Dunbar, West Virginia plant.  Our family bought two factory reconditioned Gravelys from the factory in the mid 1950s and early 1960s.  The one I selected was equipped with dual wheels (so as to keep it from tipping on a steep hillside) and a 30" rotary blade.  They made a sickle bar attachment, but I did just fine on heavy weeds with the rotary blade.  Since I could push down on the handlebars and lift the blade, it was easy to make the first cut high by lifting the blade, then lowering it to ground level when backing out.  One hell of a machine!

[charlieb / ma]

I have two 444's. Great little tractors. Try the tractor forum and look under case. Lots of stuff there and advise. You'll be happy with it once its up and running.

[Chuck in Indiana]

The biggest gathering on earth of old steam power, tractors, etc. Mt Pleasant Iowa Old Threshers. Every year, 5 days ending in labor day. You have to see to believe all the stuff.

https://goo.gl/images/CNHKjY

https://goo.gl/images/iMZ74v

I've been there a couple of times. Once on the Centauro, (Guzzi content) another in the Skyranger. (Antique airplane content.) The local airport runs a free shuttle out there.

[Texas Turnip]

I enjoy watching the Meacum farm auction on RFD TV. Unbelievable what some of the restored tractors are selling for.

DON'T google popping johnny if you are looking for old JohnDeeres!

Tex