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First tractor you operated

B

bruster

Member
Just a general question after being here a while and viewing some of the answers.
How many of you grew up operating 30's, 40's, and 50's tractors and equipment?
I was 6 when My dad stuck me on a 2N to drive pulling a wagon for him (had to stand on the clutch to disengage) Spent the next 15 years working JD and Farmall equip.
I thought we were making progress when we bought a 45 lift for the JD "A" (no more pitchforks!!!) and used a hydraulic cylinder with our 3 bottom and the W-6.......The joys of modern farming!
 
first tractor i ever drove was a farmall h. then the m, 400, w-9, then the big new tractor was a 706 gas, wow!!!!!
 
1943 Case SC. When I was 10 I was given the raking hay job. When I was 41, I pulled it out of the barn that it sat idle in for 15 years and restored it. It was originally purchased by my grandfather in 1946. Is currently taking up 1/3 of my garage space while my truck sits outside.
 
1945 H Farmall with a Woods belly mower was the first tractor I operated solo. That is unless you count the hours I spent on a WC Allis pretending to operate it at 3-5 yrs old. I think the first tractor I actually ran the steering and controls on would have been a Case 1070 when I was 5-6 yrs old. I had adult supervision in the cab and was out in an open field. I spent a lot of hours riding around in that tractor when I was little. Later when I was in High School I ended up working for the guy that owned that same 1070. The first time I drove it I felt right at home.
 
Ever notice how that old iron of your early years always has a place to be comfortable, while trucks and cars sit out?!
 
The first tractor that I RODE on was most likely the Farmall H that dad bought new just a couple of years before I was born. Most likely I was sittin' on dad's lap. The first tractor that I actually drove was probably my uncles John Deere B because I could stand up and operate that hand clutch. I was still too short to reach the foot pedals on the H. When I was 9 or 10, I was out mowin' and rakin' hay with that H. The big new tractor on the farm was a Farmall 350.
 
Even now, If my dad rides along while I'm plowing, I still get a "free" lesson on how to do it. (I'm lucky I guess. 45 Years of lessons and according to him, I still don't do things right!)
 
I claim to remember riding in dad's lap as we brought our new tractor home from the dealer---a 1949 Minneapolis Moline GTB. While it was a 1949 model I don't know what year it was purchased, perhaps 1950 or even 1951 since I feel certain I remember it and was born near new years day in 1947. I do remember going to Ringling Bros. circus that year so it is possible.

That same tractor is the first I drove. It was traded off around 1971 for an M-5. If I knew who had the old GTB I expect I would go make an offer on it. Have only seen one other exactly like it as most folk in our area went from U to GB or other.
 
1st I operated was grandpa's 1958 D-14 Allis Chalmers. I have that tractor now. 1st I owned was a 1946 Allis Chalmers B. I know where it is, but I traded it for a WD wide front and loader about 12 years ago. Kinda wished I had kept it, but the current owner has promised me first chance at buying it back when he wants to sell it.
 
First off, I hope Workman's Comp, never open up this great forum.

I was born in 46, by the time I was 7 I was driving a MM model U, cultivating and raking hay, during the same time frame, I was raking hay for my uncle with a Int W-6, I would have to turn the tractor off, if I got into trouble or it was lunch time, never could handle that clutch until I had been a teenager for a couple years. By the time I hit double digits, my sister and I cut 60 to 70 acres of grain each year with a 10 foot INT binder, again with that MM-U. Sure miss those times, ..and my Dad and Uncle, but not the barley dust....Alex
 
Farmall "Super H" and a John Deere "b", pretty much the same week. First "big" tractor was an Farmall 806 Turbo, then first bigger was an old case crab steer 4x4, then was a Case IH.. 9530(?).
 
I was late coming to the farm so I was about 24 and new to machinery. My neighbor was working with his JD2940 and got stuck. He asked me to help pull him out and I jumped at the chance. The puller was his JD2010 gas with that select-o-never shifter. The high range was out of the transmission and he had to put it into gear for me because I couldn't figure it out.
Just as he was unstuck someone came to see him and he took off for the barn. I couldn't figure out how to get out of low gear and it took me quite a while to catch up to him. I never did meet the folks that came to visit.
Years later I drove a JD4020(?) with that same style shifter. It was better but still bad.
Thanks for the memories!
 
My dad's old Ford 8N. It was traded for something bigger back many years ago. I remember mom getting really upset at dad for letting me drive it around by myself when I was so little.
 
Dad's only tractor when I was little was a '43 Farmall H. At the end of the day, he would often let me ride with him as he put the tractor in the barn. From about age 3, I was taught to "kick the switch" to shut it off.
By the time I was school age, he'd let me drive it through a gate in first gear as he walked behind.
The summer when I was 7, Dad borrowed a neighbor's Farmall B and taught me how to use the side-delivery rake in the hay field. I spent many hours driving that tractor at slow speed in second gear - just fast enough to stay a head of Dad on the H with a hay chopper. We'd fill two wagons, then take both tractors and wagons to the barn and blow the hay into the barn. The next summer I got to cultivate corn with the H. That fall, Dad got a Farmall M, and the H pretty much became my tractor. I still have it and the M.
 
9N Ford in the mid 1960's. Dad had a farmall M also, but wouldn't let us kids drive it. He said it was too big for us. He was probably right as we could barely push the clutch down on the 9N.
 
I was about 5 when I would drive our little IH 240 utility in the field for my dad while he picked loaded and stacked square bales of hay. It was great for that since it had power steering.
 
First solo work was in 1945 with a 1942 Farmall H, dragging after seeding our oats. I was nine years old. I had cut oats the summer before with my grandfather operating the grain binder.
 
john deere M at about 7 years old--sick with chicken pox-- I drove and my dad and brothers picked stones!!!
 
1944 JD "B" handcrank. I first drove in fields in early to mid '50's pulling a wagon while dad, grasnd dad and others put on and stacked hay bales. I would have been 8-10 yo.
Mr. Bob
 
Ford 8N, probably at about age 10, in 1958 or so. Actually drove the truck in the hayfield a couple years before I drove the tractor- Mom was worried about tractor rollover accidents. Dad farmed, in one way or another, for about 30 years, and that was the only tractor he ever had. Started working for the neighbor at age 13, did a lot of seat time on JD 40 and AC D14, and a brand spankin' new Oliver 550 diesel.
 
1940 9N Ford. I probably started driving it around 1950. I can still remember trying to pull up on the steering wheel to get more pressure on the brake on a hill. A lot of times if going up hill, my dad would have me hold it from going backwards by just slipping the clutch enough to keep it from rolling backwards. I think that they really expected too much out of us back then on those steep fields. I did learn a lot and also got my a$$ chewed if I did it wrong. :eek:)
 
I started out sleeping on my dads lap in the late 60's on a 4000 Ford pulling a JD #5 sickle mower. I still remember well even though I wasnt much more than a toddler. First one I drove solo was our first diesel, and first new tractor, a 1975 885 Case/DB. It, and the 990 Case/DB that followed it sure seemed like the stuff. Then I remember when we got a 5600 Ford in 1981, those old Cases seemed kind of faded and worn. Still got the 5600. Sure miss that investment tax credit from the 70's, seemed like dad got a new tractor every couple of years. Havent had a new one on the place since.
 
A steel wheeled Case tractor that belonged to the Nikula Farm on Munson Road, Interlaken N.Y. ..It got junked many years ago due to a frozen/cracked block..He also had a Case D tractor that was used for plowing the corn fields..I guess I was about 5 or 6 when he fired up the steel wheeled tractor for me to drive out back in the field..
 
Grandpas ford 4000D raking hay. I started out just steering, he got off to ajust the rake and told me to finsh raking. Talk about nervus. Same tractor that I have now, the rake got sold after grampa died thoe.
 
Case 830 case-o-matic, raking hay around age 8 or 9. Was with my older brother and he didn't want to rake. He gave a quick once around the field and said "There ya go" Case-o-matic was not good to learn on but I never forgot how to use it right. Let off the throttle a little and pull the lever back and feel the power of the case diesel motor take over. Will never forget that day.
 
I was 12 and my grandfather said put some fuel in that tractor and bring it down the street, to a field he had just plowed. It was an old 3020 with a 46A bucket. took me 5 minutes to get it in gear, then went around picking up stones. I've done it a few more times since
 
1946 Oliver RC 60. My first turn behind the wheel must have been around "63 or "64. Had a JD #5 sickle mower hooked to it. Damn..what a PITA! But back then...we thought it was good as any.
 
1939 AC B in 1943,I was 6 years old and Dad turned me loose Discing the Garden,last one I operated was my own AC D21 pulling a 2 Row Fox Chopping Corn Silage fall of 1971.
 
MF 135. I was about 7 or 8 yrs old. Pulling a haywagon in the hayfield. Had to stand on the clutch to disengage it.
 
The first tractor I ever drove (with Dad on the tractor too), was Dad's 1933 Farmall F-12. First tractor I drove by myself was my 1943 Farmall H.
 
8N Ford when I was 7. Dad had me tedding hay then pulling a wagon around picking up bales. Hard to push that clutch in when you're only 7. Dont think that thing ever had any brakes that worked well.
 
1926 Fordson, probably about 1944 when I was 10 years old. It had the teardrop fenders and I started riding on the fenders when I was probably 5.
 
Ford 960 when I was 7.

Still fun to watch very experienced farmers not able to shift that vertical slide shifter. :) :)

--->Paul
 
When I was 9, dad bought a brand new 1957 Ferguson F40. That thing seemed like the most modern piece of equipment in the county! After he drove it around the yard for a few minutes, he put me in the seat and turned me loose! Talk about feeling on top of the world! First tractor I ever plowed with too.

I still have it. It's in mighty rough shape. Someday it'll get the royal treatment.
 
To Paul; We had an 850 Ford and I never had a problem with the vertical slide shift.

Andy M,
first tractor I drove by myself was an F12. Biggest tracor was my 706 ger. diesel. Quie the horse.

stevermary
 
same here...was 8 or 9. raked hay with 1956 case 300 roundnose...Did exacly what my father told me to do...Grandpa shows up and Dad says "I don't know what kindof mess is out there...the kid did it."
 
Case 350 round nose and a Case 400 diesel. The 400 had a two range, eight forward speed, single shift lever deal that Case guys today call the mystery shift. Also drove an Oliver 80, I could stand on the clutch because of the way it was designed. All three of these tractors are still around today.
 
9N ford raking hay for my Dad. He told me to make sure and keep it where he could follow easy, clean the field up, and keep hay in the mouth of the baler all the time. Just a little pressure for a 10 year old. Sure wish I could rake hay for him again.
 
Farmall H, I have it, actually I found it and brought/bought it back home. I also plan to make it the last tractor I drive. If that doesn't work out it can give me my last ride.
 
Same tractor my dad started on when he was 12 in 42. He's told me it had no muffler and the worm gear drive made the seat too hat to sit on
 
Either our 1941 or 1951 DC CASE. We traded the '41 off around 1980. We still have the '51, which we bought new. It's taking the winter off in the shed at our Wisconsin dairy farm.

Glenn F.
 
oliver of some sort. probably a 77 or 88 row crop. i remember hauling wood in a trailer and got the shifter in the lower section and could figure out how to get into high. i was about 10
 
I see no one else started out on one. I drove Dad's at about 5 years of age pulling an IH 37 disc. No hydraulics on the 30, they brought the Cockshutt 550 to the field to lower the disc, away I went.
 
A Massey Harris Pony. Dad took it in on trade on an A John Deere. It had a hydraulic snowplow on it. He bolted a block to the clutch pedal so I could plow snow with it when I was about 5 or so. Then I moved up to hauling manure with an 8N Ford. I could hold the clutch down on that by standing up on it. First plowing I did was with an Oliver 66. Dad was standing on the drawbar letting me drive. He got off to pick up a rock,told me to go ahead and take it on down to the end and bring it back. Must have been about 8 or so.
 
1944 BR John Deere All Fuel hand start (the year I was born). First tractor on our farm which was traded off in 1954 for a TEA Fergie. I know where it is to-day and gonna get her back some day. Used to race the neighbor's son with his TEA Fergie (he always won). First started to drive it when I was 7.
 
1948 AC B,bought it in 62 when i was 12 yrs old,was'nt running then. I took it all apart,and put the whole thing back together by my lonesome.
I was as proud as a peacock when i had it running a yr later. WE used it for many yrs after on dads farm, was only horses before back then.
 
Late 40's Farmall H. Oldest brother has it inside shed after he bought it at estate sale. Mowed and cultivated with it first then learned to plow with a pulled 2 bottom. RN
 
1944 Farmall H that my grandfather bought brand new. I was 8 years old when my father let me go get the cows by myself with it. What a thrill!
 
At age 6 driving our 1948 Allis B hauling feed & water to 2000 chickens on pasture. I still have it, Dad bought it new.
Paul
 
one that i own today a to-20 Ferguson. dad bought it new in 50 and now i have it. it will never leave the family
 
My first was a 1955 Ford 860. Always rode on Grandpa"s lap. Then He finally turned me loose on it when I was 12, plowing and discing, and bush hogging. I still have and use the tractor. I sure do miss my gramps!
 
A 1937 long frame JD B was my first. I drove pulling a hay rack and hay loader. My dad adjusted the clutch looser so I could operate it; I was 8 years old.
 
Grandads 1966 Allis Chalmers 190. Sat on his lap and he'd let me steer on the way to the tobacco fields. Wish there were alot more Grandads like him....Rennie Moore of Farmville/Saratoga NC.
 
John Deere 4320 that was my uncles at the time, I have that tractor now, all in original condition with next to perfect paint. The only things to be changed was the seat cushions wore out and it now has a seat from a 4040 and Uncle Keith thought it would be fun to put a chrome straight stack on the tractor too (I usually have the muffler on as it is a little loud without it).
 
1940 John Deere "A" Hand crank. No power steering, no starter, no lights. Never had a dead battery. Ah, those were the days.
 
an old massey harris dont remember the number was made similar to a 8n ford but bigger.was supposed to have power steering dont think it worked . in 1972i was 11 or 12
 
51 oliver 88RC tryed to back a hay wagon in the barn boy did everybody get a kick out of me burnen up the cluch I was 10 or 11.
 
The folks had a homemade garden tractor with a little 4 cyl engine, 2 model a transmissions and model a rear end, cut down to about 3 ft wide.

The first real tractor was a LA case. I was 7 at the time. Dad figured I couldn't get hurt sitting between the big fenders and could stop with the hand clutch. It didn't have turning brakes. 2 years later he bought a MF-65 with POWER steering!
 
Guys, First operated an Allis Chalmers C, Then graduated to a Farmall M. Talk about being on top of the world up there on that ol M. Kinda like Alan Jacksons song "When Daddy Let Me Drive" I had an ear to ear grin. I was about 8 or 9 yrs old.
Later,
John A.
 
The first was a 1949 Oliver HG crawler when I was about 5 of course I could only steer and my dad stool on the drawbar. The first tractor I drove by myself was a cub followed by an Oliver 66 when I was about nine years of age. From there I drove several model Oliver tractors and crawlers.
 
With grandpa sitting on the seat beside me at age 4, a john deere 3010 deisel. On my own an oliver 1550 gas. Sucked fuel but it was horsepower my partner and I could afford at the time. Drive all deeres now on that farm.
 
'51' JD A. Built and bought new by my dad a few months after I was born. I must have been six or seven years old when I spent the first couple of minutes behind the wheel under the careful eye of my dad.

My son planted his first corn with this tractor, sitting between my legs and running the steering wheel while I was coaching, ready to grab the wheel. Those rows were awflul crooked but he was proud of them. Jim
 
HI folk

Just so their not forgotten
1949 Silver King (used) then a new 1951 Silver King, Uphill penna. shale rock farm !
Have a great day everyone

Bob Whitmoyer
 
A 1979 John Deere 950 was my first. The year was 1986 and I was 8. We were picking up bushels of potatoes and dad wasn't too happy when I ran over one of them.
 
I Mentioned this post to my wife and she said the first tractor she drove was a B Farmall on the hay rope. She said that's how she learned to back up, though sometime not too straight. Jim
 
Remember first riding on the tool box in front of the steering wheel on a CC Case. In 51 dad traded it in on a new WD, so that where I got my drivers training. The only rest the WD got was in the shed at night. In 56 dad bought a F-20 to help out. In 59 traded the F-20 for a M. In 62 replaced M with 400. In 66 replaced 400 with a new 656. I still have the WD
 
Mine was Grandpa's Oliver 1600- I was about 4 or 5. Been on my own since then, hauling manure up the road when I was 7 with a Massey 285.

Still got both.

P1000428.jpg


Donovan from Wisconsin
 
my first one was a farmall C in about 1964 i was 8 and thought i was king of the road on that thing, actualy grandpa taught me to drive it pulling a hay wagon, which freed up another adult to help with the bales , he also had a farmall M but i wasnt allowed to run it untill i was 14 he said it was too much tractor for a young person to handle, probably he was right, a m is small today but back then that was considered big power
 
First tractor I drove was a Fordson Major 1953?
next was a W-9 International - clutch wayyy out there
Then we got a fordson super major diesel 1955?
Then 820 JD - 1/2 mile to the end of the hood.
then 1971 4020-select shift -cab-radio-ac
Thought I was in hog heaven
Also had an 8N with wagner scoop

Now have a 1949 Oliver 77 for Antique puller
 
8 or 9 yrs old Farmall A. Then MCormick Deering 1020, Wallis 2030, Allis UC, and Farmall F30. Whichever one needed driving. Leather gloves and knees clamped around steering wheel on the F30. First one owned by me a 730 JD diesel.
 
First tractor I drove was a 49 Ford 8N,some time in the late 50's,I was probably around 9 or 10 at the time.Dad sold one of the mares of the team he had to make the down payment on the 8N and a couple implements.He kept the 8N untill he passed away in 94.My brother has the tractor now and still runs pretty good and still looks good.
 
I was driving at 5 with adults nearby and 6 years old solo. I drove a 1956 Chockshutt 540 and a 1955 Oliver Super 77 rowcrop. I could stand on the clutch and brake while pulling on the steering wheel to apply enough pressure on the Chockshutt. For the Oliver, I'd slide off the seat wedging the small of my back against the front of the seat to push hard enough to keep the clutch in while pressing the brake. I couldn't use the middle brake peddle (the one that uses both left and right brakes)until I was over 100 pounds. Those were the good old days!
 
I'm 46 and the first tractor I ever drove was a JD 620 at about 6yrs My father bought it new when he was in 11th grade. I still have it. I was disking and dragging solo at 8, plowing at 12. Second was a MH44 and third was probably a 9n or a Farmall M.

My first memory of driving anything was at 4years old steering a 64 ford f250(engine off) while being pulled by my father with the 620. We did this some to get both tractor and truck between farms, about 3 miles. I remember he told me just steer it and the brakes are right down there
 
1948 Allis-Chalmers WD....which I still have. My dad and great-uncle bought a 1942 A-C C model, then bought 2 WD's. With the WD's having hand clutches, they thought it would be safe for me to drive those.

WARNING: Do NOT turn to the right too sharply while pulling a side delivery rake or else it will ride up the back tire of the WD.
 
79' Zetor 4911,new at the time,picking rocks,6 years old,well Dad put it in gear,i just did the steering,was on it alone though.
 
I still have a 350 round nose and a 400 with the 8 speed. Both are in the process of being restored. A very very long process. I don't get a chance to work on them much.
 
Large Allis Chalmers Garden tractr which I never should have sold. Then a Case 530 CK, ran the backhoe when I had no clue how to use it but some how got the area I needed dug out. Myself and everyone else survived through that first dig. So I must have learned something.
 
When I was six and my brother was four, we managed to get my dad's 8N started, much to the horror of my mother. Fortunately we didn't manage to get it in gear.

I honestly don't remember what tractor I first actually operated, but it must have been the 8N. By the time I was 15, I had operated the 8N, Fordson Major, Farmall M, JD 820, JD 5010 and probably a few others I don't remember. I remember that the 820 was a pretty easy tractor for a kid to operate, except for the hand clutch. I think the Major is my favorite tractor from that time, although I've spent more time (probably over a thousand hours) operating the 5010 than any other tractor.
 
I was not born until the '60's but the tractor my Dad had was from the 50's. 1953 Ford Golden Jubilee. And I have a '53 Jubilee and a '54 NAA, which my son and three daughters, ages 16, 12, 11, and 8 now drive.
 
Oliver Super66 pulling a wood trailer. Didn't see my toy Structo dump truck in the snow and completely flattened it.
 
My father bought a Farmall Super C with a Bush Hog
and IH disk.

Mowed alot with it as a teenager in the early 60's.

My neighbor now has the tractor and uses it in his "truck patch".

I have used the Bush Hog with Nancy's 48A.

I still use the IH disk.
 
8 years old and raking hay with a 1956 Ford 860 and one of those Massey pinwheel rakes. Still have the 860...
Then I went on a 4000 and then 5610. Plowed a lot of snow with the 5610.

Rod
 
Ford 5000 SOS, at about 8 yrs old but never felt safe driving it. Then Ford 7000 which was much better, didn't jump around like the SOS.
Chris
 
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