I am debating between several of the smaller tractors available. Looking at something like a Farmall Cub or Allis Chambers B. I want a small tractor for a few reasons, leveling a gravel driveway, possibly plowing a small garden area (1 acre or less) and just general fun (perhaps getting into some of the tractor parades, etc). 

I have been looking at a B and Cub on ebay, looks like the prices are all over the place ($1500 to 4000+), also seems like not much for sale near me (North Georgia). Looking for any suggestions,or comments between these two types for my needs. Also if anyone knows of a better place to find one for sale I am all ears. Any gotchas to look out for? I did some research (ask about oil leaks, smoking when running, condition of tires). 

Any help/pointers would be most welcome. I do like the looks of the B model better then the cub. 

Thanks

The A.C. B & C are the same engine.

Dusty

I think most on here would agree the B (or C) is the better choice for the kind of work you want to do. They work really well with a belly mount lawn mower and they pull a 12" (or even 14")  single bottom plow with ease. They seem to plow snow well with a little weight and chains. There are several videos on You-Tube showing them doing all this.

I like orange....red is way to common, but that's me.  

If you'll be doing plowing, a B is a dream. It's a snorty little devil if you have it running good! They made a mounted 1 bottom plow for it, but I pull an Oliver 2 bottom trip plow with mine. In clay soil it gives a work out, but I never added any weight to the tractor until 2016, after I acquired a set of rear wheel weights. They help some when getting in really tough ground. Always runs out of weight before it runs out of power. 
The PTO is also a nice feature. A Cub could have PTO, but without the adapter I believe it turns 1,800 RPM, and runs backwards of most other tractors. 

If you get to wanting to do more work with modern implements, 3 point hitch kits are available. 

If it were me, I'd choose the B. More power, heavier built, and I just like their "center line design" better. 

Seems pretty nice, from the pictures at least. One question that has me stumped though, what is the box next to the left front wheel? Thought it might be some type of power steering, but in researching this wasn't offered on these. 

Any comments good or bad on this one? 

Thanks Again...

 

Unusably underpowered in my opinion.

 

My 92 year old father in law has a Farmall Super C in Cairo GA.  He would sell it I am sure.  Is now too tall for him to climb up on easily.  Well loved, if you know what I mean, but still a worker.  Plenty of power.  Unlike the Cubs.

Very true...

Search craigslist throughout North and South Carolina.  The B's and C's were wildly popular in this region on the family tobacco farms.  They turn up for sale quite often.  Along with the little Farmall's that were also popular.

I'd sell you mine, but I have more money and effort into it than it's worth.    Good luck with the hunt.  Brad

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/grd/d/tractor/6486123135.html" rel="nofollow - https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/grd/d/tractor/6486123135.html

would tinkering with it be part of the fun?

seems to me once a B gets running right, they require very little maintenance... but you can fuss around a little if so inclined.

and it is unbelievable the support you will get from the guys on this forum!!!

I agree that the all new rubber is a big bonus and probably a good indicator of the general condition.  sure looks like a sweetheart B to me.

The tire thing is correct. I bought new rear tires for the B I bought last fall and doubled my cost in the tractor! And I still need tires for the front!

my fave story is that I pulled a starter, replaced the brushes and put it back on in 10 minutes without hurrying.

also without crawling under or getting road grit falling in my eyes.

you're gonna love it!

I went to look at a cub and the fella told me the pto turned ccw?  I also could be wrong, I mean ask the old lady, I'm always wrong

I now have it listed for sale on craigslist in jackson, mi. 1300 hours and excellent condition. 

The reputation on the 8N is:

"Yes, replacement parts are available & cheap... and it's a good thing they are, 'cuz you'll need them."

I predict you will enjoy a B or be delighted with a CA.  and not regret either choice.

When I got my 8N, it was "just an old tractor". I was 15 at the time, and had already had my B for 4 years. I never could do much with it, except plow with my Oliver 2-12 and mow with the belly sickle mower. I didn't figure the 8N would be able to do much either. 

Boy, was I wrong!
I got it running after sitting for 30 years, put a clutch in it, and hooked it to a finish mower. I was a little nervous, thinking, "Is a 66 year old tractor going to actually run this machine and mow the yard??" I made a pass around, and was grinning ear to ear. I couldn't believe I finally had an old tractor that would do the work of a new tractor! Since then, I've continued to use the 8N for everything around the place. We have a newer Deere 4720, and I never use that thing if I can keep from it. Only time I use it now is for occasional loader work. The 8N does everything that 4720 did before, with no sweat. 6' mower in 4' grass/brush? No problem. 7' angle blade? Drag a ton of dirt around with that heavy beast, and go back for more. 

Like was stated, the B is a swell tractor, but you can't do much with it, in terms of modern equipment, unless you convert to 3pt. The 8N was made to work with a 3pt, and while you can convert a B, the ends of the arms will be positioned very far back (more so than a factory 3pt tractor). You are also not likely to have a sway lock system with a conversion kit. This means every time you've got the 3pt mower or disc or anything else heavy attached, when you round a corner doing anything faster than a creep, the implement swings hard to one side or the other, jarring the tractor, and can bend or break some stuff (don't ask how I know) The 8N has a remarkably superior system for locking the implement...easy to use, and I love it. (although some fail to recognize it) The 8N also has draft control, which carries out the same operation as "traction booster" on a CA/WD/WD45. You can adjust the sensitivity so when you're plowing and hit a tough spot, the plow will bump up just a hair, and allow you to keep going without spinning tires. Can't get that with a B, and there's been a lot of times I wish mine had that feature, which is why if I'm plowing anything bigger than my garden, I'll use the 8N. Some will say "Yeah, but you're only plowing 3" deep with the 8N when you're using draft control"...this again is not true. I've plowed our clay soil a good 12" deep before using a Ferguson 2-14 plow, with no added weight. Position control is obtained at the flip of a lever, and will now hold your equipment at whatever height you want. This is basically for anything other than a plow. The B basically has this, and only this. The comment about the 8N being only good for garden work made me laugh...I've used mine for everything around here, except garden work. I leave that to the Allis G....

So, if you want a tractor to get work done with, I recommend the 8N. Incredibly more versatile, at least for what I do. If you want the garden tractor/parade tractor, I recommend the B. Although I don't think it would work on tractor rides, due to it's lack of a fast road gear. 

Geez, my reputation around here probably just went down the drain, thanks to what I've said about a *gasp*..."ferd", but I stand by every word. 

I am hopefully in the final stages of overcoming disuse and poor maintenance from prior owners problems (as mentioned) and am very encouraged by your praise of the lift system, which is my main issue now.

I will be replacing the pressure relief valve which arrived recently and research says that is likely to fix the delayed and sluggish response.

a cleanup & fresh fluid improved it from non-functional to at least operational.

Yes, a relief valve will probably fix your issue. I'm not sure what size wrench is needed, but it will have to be a stub wrench, due to working inside the tractor. Also have to drain the fluid I think. On my 8N, sometimes the lift would freeze up/delay, as in, if you pushed the lift lever down, the load would stay up. I'd have to move the handle up and down a few times, and then it would drop. New relief valve will fix that.

Once you get it operating, it should hold a 2-bottom off the ground overnight. If you hook onto something heavy (disc or brushhog), lift it, then kill the engine and hear a rhythmic "click" noise (It may be fast, or really slow "click") the lift piston is worn and needs replaced. That's an afternoon job, is pretty easy, and fairly cheap. 

But...unless it just bugs the heck out of you, you could probably leave it alone. The lift has ample volume to compensate for some major leaks, without hampering field performance. 

As far as cleaning, I filled mine with diesel and ran the lift up and down a few times. That got some sludge out of the internals of the system, but it's a good idea to clean around the pump by hand, especially the intake area. Just take the right side round cover off (the dipstick goes through it) and clean the area out by hand as best you can, if there's 60 years of sludge like mine had. 

A lift in good condition that is properly adjusted can do some wondrous things. In this photo there is no weight added to the tractor. The hitching point is about 4.5 feet from the ends of the lift arms, yet it lifts this 720 lb Allis disc with ease. I'll admit, that did make it light on the front, but I think filling the tires would have helped that quite a bit. 

Well said! Lol

 

I bought my CA mainly because I wanted to run a belly mower.  And I wanted a tractor  more clearly old, and with a little more "old school cool" than the 1966 David Brown diesel that I already had. 

 

My CA has a three point conversion kit on the back of it, but has never been satisfactory to me because it is a make-do.  Functional but not comfortable.  No sway control is my biggest gripe.

 

BUT

 

For most any kind of hobby farm, or real farm, or land maintenance WORK (vs parades or belly mowing) a standard / universal three point lift is essential, IMO.  8N has that and it was built in from the beginning.  Fergueson designed it, Henry Ford stole it, they fought about it in court, and the ensuing "agreement" they came to allowed Ford to make it universal and standard around the world.

 

The pages your are reading are an allis forum.  And we have lots of fun sharing information to keep the old tractors going.  There is some pride of color here.  I like having a brand specific formum,  but none of us really drank any kool aid when we signed up.  We really do like all the old tractors.  And we are all sad they there are not more of them around, being restored, paraded, or worked.  Of any brand or model.

 

My belly mower equiped CA is what I had hoped it would be.  My father in law has a B with a belly mower (a tractor I bought from Hubnut and gave to him) so I am not anti Allis.

 

But....

 

If I was going to have only 1 tractor, it would not be an old Allis, even an Allis with a 3 point conversion.  My one tractor (for getting work done) would probably be a diesel, but it would for sure be one that had standard 3 point hitch and standard rotation 550 PTO.

 

My david brown 770A fits that bill (but parts now are hard to find).  Massey 135 or TO 30 etc would fit.  The Fordson Dexta (that I grew up on and was passed from my grandfather to my father and that I am still waiting to receive and restore) would fit.  And an 8N would fit.  Many others, too.

 

Bottom line....Come on in, the water's fine. 

 

None of the old ones will break your bank.  And getting one certainly will not prevent you from getting a replacement or even additional tractors down the road if the first one you buy doesn't turn out to touch all your bases.

 

 

and btw - you won't have to sleep next to it tonight.  it won't run away.  

8th symbol from left, the filmstrip is the icon you need to click on, on the long form post reply button.  Or click on post options, Quote, and it'll take you to the long form, too...

BTW would you happen to have any relatives up around Jacksboro or Dogtrot, TN?

If they're too light for "real work", I guess my great-grandpa wasn't a "real farmer", because that's all he ever had. 

The plowing problem is the classic symptom of either having your lift lever too low on the quadrant or having worn/mis-adjusted linkages under the top cover. Either is an easy remedy. I was 15 when I first plowed with mine, and I remember thinking it was a flawed system as well. Really jerky draft control, plow was always too deep or barely scraping the ground. Lots of "lug, spin tires, *plow bumps up* lurch forward, *plow drops back down* lug, spin tires..." and on and on. Once I learned you don't shove the lever all the way down, plowing was fast, and the draft control worked seamlessly. Just lower the lever enough so the plow settles on the ground, then go down another inch, and it will be set just about perfect for plowing deep in clay with minimum slippage. 

Funny story I just remembered...an old teacher of mine used to have an 8N he liked pretty well, but he said every time he plowed the front end came off the ground. Not sure what he was doing, but something was definitely not set right.

As far as the PTO...the B is the same way...no ORC, no quick stop...

Glad the OP got a B, nonetheless. They are nice tractors, I agree. Like was stated, you can convert to 3pt if you wish, which is a lot better than nothing. Hope to see more pics once you get it home! 

Something interesting about the B (I don't know if it's true or not) but I read Henry Ford really liked them, so he bought one in 1938, and based the design of his new 9N off of it. 

b's are great little tractors, nieghbor used his with a 5ft brush hog....just chugged a long. if you can't find an answer on this forum about a B there isn't an answer out there.  Don't be afraid to ask a question folks on here have been using allis's for generations, even if you get a manual check with the folks on here, they will most likely have a tip or two to make the job easier.

So keep your head up...you'll get the right one sooner or later! 

The Farmall I actually took in trade. 

Interesting, can you school me on the Kersoene models, were these dual fuel? 

There is a separate number on the block starting with a 'K', Looks to be 'K 108'. 

The other number stamped appears to be 5 digits starting with an 'AM'. 

The engine serial number is located to the rear of the air cleaner, where the engine bolts to the torque tube. May be kinda hard to read, but should start with either a "BE" (most likely) or "CE" and end with a "K". The "AM" number on the right side of the block you saw is the casting number. the last two digits of that string of numbers indicates the year it was cast, but it's still a code. It will be a number like 12, or 13, etc. I can't remember what numbers line up to which years, but someone here will know.

I made a tool from a piece of flat stock to scrape all the junk out of the housing.  There's a a hole in the bottom of the housing where debris can fall out.  Compressed air or a shop vac will help.