My grandma has a sizable ranch out in northeastern Wyoming. In the time my grandparents owned it, my grandfather filled it with 5 (count em 5!) 1950s era Farmalls. When my grandfather passed 4 quit working. (just like that!) The fifth one ran for a while but then the battery died and nobody feels like fixing anything. I would like to help my Grandma repair these antiques and get them off her land. Any input on how to go about this would be great. I am sorry that I have no info at this point other than what I told you. (Heck, im not even sure which are gas and which are diesel.) I cannot work on the tractors as they are currently 500 miles from me. Any inout, little tidbit would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou

Well without knowing what you got for power makes it hard to tell where a guy would start. I would take a few days to check out couple of tractors tackle gasers first i would say since General Parts come easier Battery, Points, Plugs that type of stuff. Fix what you can yourself and get someone to help you or work on them for you. I know where your at since my Grandpa passed the oldest tractors have gone down for some reason or other but i just shove it off to side and then fight it later. Its partly the fact that its too simple and i just dont find it like the old timer who ran it every day did

Where in Wyo? Up by Lusk?
I don't know much about old tractors,even though we have plenty :rolleyes:. Have a 40 Farmall H sitting here

If they are gas bring a booster pack, can of gas and some either and I bet some will fire up. These old farmalls die hard, unless they have been sitting for a while.

The tractors have been sitting for a couple years. One has only sat for about 6 months though due to us actually needing it but the battery died. Whenever my grandpa started them he would use a little bit of starting fluid also. If any one is wondering about whether or not they have sat for the appointed time, there is grass growing up into the engine. (3 feet off the ground.)

The ranch is just outside Sundance, which is as close as you can get to living in SD without actually living there

If you happen to know the model of the tractors you should be able to tell if they are gas or diesel, the letter series always have a D as a second letter of of the model, for example a M Farmall is gas, a MD Farmall is diesel, a W-9 is gas, WD-9 is diesel. This was used for all letter series, except the A, Super A, B, C, Super C, H, Super H, W-4, and Super W-4, which were not available with a diesel. If they are hundered series, they have a small badge under the model number on hood that will say diesel. If you have any pictures of the tractors I could probably tell you if they were gas or diesel as we have over 35 old IH's at home.

One thing about the old IH diesels is they are tricky to get running if they have been sitting. The start on gas and then switch over to diesel when they are warm. If they are gas, it shouldnt be too tough if the tractors are not stuck, which they shouldnt be. Bring a booster pack or a good battery, see if you can get any of them to pop off. Hopefully the fuel was shut off on them and the carbs are not all gummed up, otherwise you may need to do some carb work to get them running or running good.

Any other questions feel free to ask, I like to think I have some experience with these old IH's and know my way around them pretty well.

heck, half of the tractors were in a constant state of maintenance, and the hoods are missing. I can only think of one badge i've seen that states one of the tractor as a 706. Didn't look too closely though. (It is the newest one on the farm, i'll see if my grandma can send me some pics. Half of the tractors have a frame for a front loader) I'm trying to gather as much info as I can, as I don't plan on fixing anything for about three years. (when I graduate) My uncle is the only one who knows anything about these particular tractors. (and it's not much.)

heck, half of the tractors were in a constant state of maintenance, and the hoods are missing. I can only think of one badge i've seen that states one of the tractor as a 706. Didn't look too closely though. (It is the newest one on the farm, i'll see if my grandma can send me some pics. Half of the tractors have a frame for a front loader) I'm trying to gather as much info as I can, as I don't plan on fixing anything for about three years. (when I graduate) My uncle is the only one who knows anything about these particular tractors. (and it's not much.)

Alrighty, a 706 you are looking at a tad later than 50's...706's were 63-67. If you ever make a trip out there to look at them, the serial tags are on the left hand bell housing and that will give your model of the tractor, along with the serial number. Also, if it has a D stamped after the model its a diesel. Let me know if you need anymore information.

The 706 is the newest out of the bunch. It has fenders over the rear tires and a padded seat with armrests. It also has lights front and back. (redneck install I think though) The front two tires are right next to each other. The rest have no fenders, and the seat is like half a clamshell on a spring. They all vary between tires being right next to each other and as far apart as the rear tires, though I think the majority is the latter. Two have slightly similar aftermarket loader frames on them and one has one that is just huge. It's almost like it's the frame for a one-tractor parking garage attached to the tractor. Like I said above, i'll try to get some pics.

try ytmag.com. there is more info there than you can shake a stick at. those guys really helped me out with my dad's farmall H that i worked on several years ago.

Our old model H never had a battery worth a flip in it, we would engage the side wheel and use it to start it..... once it backfired once it would run strong, no backfire it'd run decent

Gear spread was weird..... 1,2,3,4, then bonzai... 5th was a blast on the road(tricycle front end was a bit scary at speed)

Also VERY important to remember when you are fooling with OLD Farmalls,,,if they haven't been converted,most of them are POSITIVE GROUND !!!This is for the old "letter" series tractors such as the "A,B,C,H,and,M".It should be easy to tell.If it has an alternator it is 12 volt negative ground.If it has a GENERATOR,it could be either 6 volt or 12 volt ,and either positive or negative ground!Usually you can chech the tag on the generator to tell the difference!

We have an early '50s Farmall with a woods belly mower on it...I hate it, but my old man LOVES it. I can jump on our 1050 JD with a finish mower hung on the back and mow @ twice the speed as he can, and not feel like I've been beat up while doing it! I will say, though, the Cub mows NIIIIICE! Can't let the grass get too tall, though, or you'll be there all friggin' day starting/stopping...oh, and the front end made into the lower radiator is very vulnerable and ain't such a good idea...ask me how I know! LOL!!