My Ugly Tractor Page
Last Revised: October 20, 2023


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We have 4 old Ag/Industrial tractors here. They are all ugly, but they all start and work reliably.
I put this page up just to show others that tractors can work okay and still not look very good.
I have had these tractors for many years. They all sat outside for years and years before I got them, but I don't think ANY of them have been outside without some sort of cover since I got them.


Case 800B Diesel

Owned since about 1980
Case-O-Matic 16 speed transmission
1200 PSI Hydraulic system
Stanhoist power down Loader. Have bucket cylinders machined to fit and ready to install some day.
Schwartz wide front
Eagle 3 point hitch
Engine rebuilt in 1981, transmission overhaul in about 1990
Added 3 spool hydraulic valve and 3rd point cylinder in 2011
Case 800B Diesel side view
Case 800B Diesel Right side view
Case 800B Diesel Rear view


Case VAC

Owned since about 1979
Case hydraulic lift
This is my general purpose hauling tractor and the only narrow front machine that I have. It gets around very well in the woods pulling an old manure spreader (we call 'em "wood wagons") to fill with wood or brush.
It has a leaky rear main. That's what the coffee can under the bell housing is for- to catch the drips.
For some reason, mice like to live in this tractor's toolbox and battery box area. I clean it all out every spring but the acids or whatever in their *&^%$# eats up wiring and electrical stuff. So, I have rewired most of the thing. The field resistor got eaten so bad recently that I couldn't get a good reading on it, so I stuck a "quesstimated" value rheostat in its place and adjusted it to get the current I wanted.
Case VAC side view
Case VAC Front view
Case VAC rear view


Ford 8N

Owned since 1974
It's a 1947 model, but I replaced the horrible steering sector box with a late model box. Engine is from a commercial highway paint spraying machine. Has side distributor.
When I got this tractor, almost everything that bolted on to the basic engine/transmission of the machine had problems.
Note Lead weights attached to front bumper. About 80 pounds. I have several 3-point implements for this tractor. These weights help a lot to hold the front end down when skidding or carrying logs, etc..
Ford 8N side view
Ford 8N rear view


Ford 4000 Industrial Backhoe/Loader with Ford 713 Backhoe

Owned since about 2005
It's the 1962-1964 version
Converted to 12V electrical system and a one-wire alternator
Completely rewired and all new gages.
Electronic Ignition
Not that I am likely to repaint it anytime soon, but I can't even figure out what color(s) the thing was originally!
Ford 4000 Industrial with 713 Backhoe rear view
Ford 4000 Industrial tractor with 713 backhoe right rear
Ford 4000 Industrial Tractor with 713 Backhoe left rear
Ford 4000 Industrial Tractor Left side showing engine
Ford 4000 Industrial Tractor Left side showing loader
Ford 4000 Industrial Tractor right side showing loader
Ford 4000 Industrial Tractor Right side showing Engine

Here, below is a special purpose thumb that I made for the backhoe yesterday. I have a hundred or so ranks of about 10 rabbit cages that have to be smashed flat and then loaded onto a trailer to take to the recycler. Each rank only weighs 30 to 70 pounds, but it is very hard to lift them several feet in the air to add them to the growing piles on the trailer.
I have always wanted a thumb, so I thought I'd try to make one and here it is.
Fixed Length Homemade Thumb for Backhoe
The plate you see is bolted to the stick with 4 5/8-11 bolts. I strongly tack welded the thumb parts to the plate just to see if I had the geometry right.
Rabbit Cages to be smashed and loaded up
Cages ready to be smashed flat before loading onto the trailer.
Loading A Flattened Cage on the Trailer
That's about as high as I can go with this load.
Thumb and Bucket Pinching a Cage
Yes, it works just as I need it to do.

Once this rabbit cage task is done, I will break the thumb parts loose from the plate and add 2 bosses to the plate so I can pin various other thumb parts to it. I think I will make the lower part pivot on the plate as most other thumbs do, and I think I will use a category 1 3 point link as the support/adjuster, since I don't have any spare hydraulics for a cylinder going up the boom.


In 2010, the building that houses the 3 larger tractors collapsed onto them (and onto everything else in there, too). But they survived pretty well, needing steering wheels, a radiator, lights, some general labor and some body work (still on the list).