By Allen Schumacher (Aschumacher) on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - 07:41 pm:

Jeff, my thanks also. Many of us who live well outside farming areas never get to see some of the neat tractors still out there.

By Jeremiah Chamberlin (Jchamberlin) on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - 05:54 pm:

Cool Pics, Jeff. Thanks for sharing.

By jeff l baker (Jbaker) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 09:18 am:

Here are some photos from the 2011 fair my favorite is the blue super M-TA

By Dennis Frisk (Dfrisk) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 08:26 am:

MARLIN - Those old F-series could make power if the right things were done to them. But so could the letter series. Buddy & I went to an antique tractor pull 30 yrs ago at The Machine Shed restaurant in Davenport to watch His neighbor pull His FARMALL H. He told Me you could get more HP out of an H engine per cubic inch than any engine IH had made up to that time. Unfortunately the H isn't real competitive in pulls because the tractor itself is so heavy. And it's tough to build displacement in them compared to the bigger engines like the M. Used to be an M around here that was over 500 CID compared to the stock 248. There's a guy on RPM's forum that pulls an F-30 that's over 700 CID. It's rather expensive t keep running but when it's running right it REALLY pulls!

There was an article in RPM 6-8 yrs ago about everything IH had to do to keep the 706/806 testing "Secret" out at the test farm in Arizona years ago.
The first 2+2's and 5X88's were shipped from FARMALL under tarps. The 2+2's were already shipping when I started back @ Farmall in Jan. '79 but when the first 5X88's started down the line all the office people were prohibitied from going out in the plant since they would see them and may tell someone. My Dad actually had to tell Me about them since He would have coffee at truckstops where some of the other drivers had delivered tires to MY tire dock which was right next to the end of the finish assembly line. The new tractors were maybe 30 feet away from where the drivers stood watching their trucks be unloaded.

My Father-in-law told Me one of the first shipments of AXIAL Flow combines was via rail, and the combines were covered with tarps. Unfortunately the rail cars had to be switched right when it got out of the E.Moline Plant. The switch took it thru the "Harvester Plant" where the RR unfortunately had to leave the cars for a couple days. Needless to say Those Engineers went thru those combines from one end to the other. The EXACT Comment I was told is "Those things will NEVER hold up, there's some parts in that design that will never last and are almost impossible to replace!" I think that was in reference to the oil impregnated OAK block that's the bearing for the back end of the rotor. Which has proven to not be the case.

Getting the rotary combine to work was a BIG undertaking. There's a good book that describes all the effort really well but my Library is a MESS and I can't find the book. Lot of the developement work was done in Europe to keep the effort away from the competition. Deare worked on a rotary back in the 1950's and gave up, there was a picture in FARMSHOW magazine of a prototype that was found someplace.

There was a discussion just this last week at RPM's forum about the Axial Flow, New Holland actually beat IH to market with their twin rotor design in 1975 that IH had worked on decided the single rotor looked like the better way to go. Production started in late '77 or real early 1978. You can still buy a brand new "Conventional combine", but why would anyone want to?

By Marlin Homrighausen (Mhomrighausen) on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 06:16 pm:

Dennis F. Near Tipton, Iowa a farmer had some F20s and some Ms. One of his FAMRALL Ms was a 1939 model. He told me that tractor even overhauled lacked the oomph that his one F20 had and one spring he even parked the '39 M and finished fieldwork with his favorite F20.

Now when the prototype Axial Flow combines were being developed a farmer from near Tipton had some ground rented by the Sunbury, New Liberty, Durant area. There were armed guards around the combine and rumor had it padlocks on every part of the combine. When it was run along the edge of the gravel road the road was blocked off. After the combine left the farm a lot of farmers viewed the fields. They said it looked like half the corn was left spilled out the back and on the ground. I remember thinking the same as others.... "Whatever IH is developing must really be important for them to be paying for all that lost crop." No one knew at the time this was a prototype rotary combine.

By Tom Hoffman (Thoffman) on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 05:23 pm:

To add more confusion to the subject, the 12 series have a "I" shift patern rather than the standard "H" patten of today.

By Dave Ross (Dross) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 10:27 pm:

Marlin, thanks. I couldnt even remember a lot about the conversation I had and I was born 22 years after the f-14 was built so I wasn't there when all that happened.

By Marlin Homrighausen (Mhomrighausen) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 05:07 pm:

Let's see if my tired memory recalls some stuff. F12 and F14s were a three speed transmission with reverse. My youngest brother had both and one had the two speed gear box from Heisler. That did around ten to twelve miles per hour. Then I think they did have a Road gear tranny from Heisler similar to the F20 and F30s. Of course the F20 and 30s also could be had with the two speed Heisler gearbox. If my oldest son didn't sell the critters somewhere I still have one of each in pieces. Should I find them then I'll sell them since I'll never go back to another F20 again. I think the first F30s had a three speed transmission and the later ones the four speed. I remember reading one time of a Regular 30 series only have never seen one. The LOW speed or cornpicker gear in an F20 was obtained by removing the F20 first gear and installing first gear from a Regular. The transmission was stenciled with the word LOW on the side of the transmission to designate (warn) of such a gear. When you wanted to install a Road Gear from Farmall into an F20 that was obtained by removing the standard third gear and installng the road gear in. Then fourth gear became the new third and third the new fourth. Farmall even went as far as making a shift cover that you could put on to show the new shift pattern. My F20 had such gears... both LOW which I installed when I had a bearing go out in the transmission and the Road Gear was in the tractor when I got it. The tractor still had the original shift pattern on it so I had to tell everyone that I let drive to be careful.

Some of you may have seen the prototype tractor that a gentleman from Nebraska owned. It was either a FARMALL M rearend with an F30 engine or vice verus. I am pretty sure that it was the first. I'd heard about the tractor when I first moved to Marshalltown back in 1998. At that time there was speculation that the tractor wasn't a prototype. The gentleman was in ill health and I heard has since passed. I don't know who owns it now. Eventually it was found to be a true IH prototype. I would love to see that creation.

By Dave Ross (Dross) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 02:04 pm:

Dennis, I owned an f-12 and 14. From memory I think the 12 was 1450 and the 14 1650 rpm. with a 3 speed, I believe the road gear for those was designed to replace 3rd inside the transmission.
I do remember talk of an extra box on the front of the transmission I don't know enough to say it's a different design or a difference in the models.
Yep, I agree about the horse thing, I'm not sorry I missed that kind of farming. Fun to go watch for a day but thats about it.

By Dennis Frisk (Dfrisk) on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 08:02 am:

DAVE - I've never been around or even run an F-series, but from what I've seen those old engines only ran 1200-1400 RPM full load depending on model. Pretty sure a 4-speed was all they had, the "Road Gear" was an overdrive unit installed between the clutch & transmission about where the battery box is on that one. Grandpa Frisk bought a new F-20 in about '39 a year or so before Dad went into the service. Not sure if it came on rubber or if it was on steel and later got "Cut-offs" but the last time I saw it, it was on rubber. Their neighbor bought a new '39 H on factory rubber and I remember Dad saying He and His brothers always hated getting passed on the way to town for feed. But there's NO Doubt those FARMALL's were better than the teams of horses Grandpa farmed with before.

ANYHOW, the F-20 w/BBC as You said would run 35-40 MPH I heard.

By Dave Ross (Dross) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 10:52 pm:

dennis, I'll bet it had a road gear, in those about 11 mph, at what 1800, So if the V-8 would turn 6000, you'd be at 35-40 mph, with that steering, that would be a ride.

By jeff l baker (Jbaker) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 08:57 pm:

I wonder if Kraig has a photo of that parked beside a cub spirt76 that would be sharp. Also that low boy looked nice.

By Myron Bounds (Mbounds) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 07:48 pm:

Jeff..Here's the Case SO76 Brochure...Hi res & spec sheet available.email me.

Myron B
CCSupplyRoom

By Dennis Frisk (Dfrisk) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 06:46 pm:

JEFF - That old F-seried FARMALL (Can't tell if it's an F-20 or 30!) is a restored 1966 Modified pulling tractor for the 5000, 7000, and 9000 pound classes. Neighbor used to run an F-20 with a 396 BBC on his feed grinder. It struggled a bit running the mix mill but it DID have a heck of a road gear!

By jeff l baker (Jbaker) on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 09:09 am:

here are a few from the fair, the spirit of 76 is a factory original paint and the farmall looks like something from Aaron at Extreme Motorworks.