|
My grandpa had an H and an M. My dad had an M. I like them because they sit up high and out of the dust and debris. Technically, Allis Chalmers was probably the best tractor in the thirties and forties. They definitely had the best implements. All the manufacturers in the twenties were just trying to make practical tractors. In the thirties they were trying to make them reliable. The engineers designing the farm tractors in the thirties had the same education as those designing the Duesenberg, Cord, B-17, V-16 Cadillac, etc. They are not low-tech. The move from a fuel pump on the F series to gravity with updraft carburetor on the letter series was an improvement I still appreciate every time I don't have to check for a bad fuel pump. You won't find a tractor designed in the thirties which had short cuts taken to make it cheaper. In the forties all the effort was going into increasing production. In the fifties the thrust was more horsepower and labor saving attachments for productivity. In the sixties cost savings crept in along with greater horsepower, and the cost savings took precedence in the seventies. I bale hay with M's and H's and they are still very reliable. We had a breakdown yesterday. Finally tracked it down to a broken spring on the points. I don't replace points just for exercise, but I guess these had gotten so old the spring fatigued in two. They probably have five years or more use and the tractor was still running well but getting a little slow to start, I'd been meaning to adjust the points. But all the tractors from the thirties (when the letter series Farmall's were designed) have similar reliability. The John Deeres are a bit out of step because you hardly ever see anyone actually farming with a two cylinder but even they are still reliable.
| 
