Thanks, it's a McCormick model 120 Balanced Head mower. It's setup to bolt to the drawbar & actually takes a bit of patience to add & remove from the tractor. It should have been named a Balancing Mower. If everything isn't set right, it will be laying in an awkward heap the next time you need it. IH did make the mower versatile enough that you could get it set up for the Fast Hitch or a three point & various setups for other makes of tractor. There is a model 100 that has no tail wheel to balance upon & could be setup for Fast Hitch, 3 point or pull type. Quite a few other brands of mowers were made with conditioner hitches, both pittman & pittmanless.
Don't let my little review, here, scare you. Clumsiness aside, it's a great mower! I have yet to find a ditch that I can't cut(safely). It'll cut fast, too. I put it on my 400 & trimmed the ditch on the long side of our rented out field. In fourth I got the job done in less than half an hour. IH made quite a few different mowers with the hay conditioner hitch, so you can find what suits you best. That includes a few of the mid-mount sickle bars, too.
The conditioner is a McCormick model 2A & is the most common to find. There are four other models, the no's 1, 2, 33 & 34. The #1 came out in '58 with chain driven rubber rollers & a ratchet lift. The hydraulic lift & the sheet metal for windrowing was optional. A belt kit came out to replace the noisy chain drive. The #2 came out in '59, has belt driven rollers & sealed bearings on the lower roller. Both of these had the jack on the back of the machine to stand them on end & take up less space. A jack was put on the hitch if the sheet metal was on the back. The 2A was built from '60 to '63 & saw greaseable bearings return to the lower rollers & the rear sheet metal & hyd. lift were standard. The 33 came out in '63 & was essentially a heavy duty version of the 2A. The 34 came out in '65 & featured a restyled lower rubber roller with a steel roller as an option. Both of these machines were out of the catalogs by '73. The combined mower-conditioners were selling like hot cakes by then.
The Balanced Head mowers are still quite popular & a good majority of parts are still availabe through CaseIH, Agco & Rowse. Prices vary widely, from $350 to $800 & for Heaven's Sake if it has yellow paint on it somewhere.... & it ain't cheap, cheap, cheap!... just leave it be. Dealerships are usually fairly high priced on the Balanced mowers, but not always.
Hay conditioners can be found anywhere from free to about $400 to $500 & in any color you like. Everybody & their uncle made some kind of hay crusher from the early '50s to the mid '70s.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Identifying Tractor Noises - by Curtis Von Fange. Listening To Your Tractor : Part 3 - In this series we are continuing to learn the fine art of listening to our tractor in hopes of keeping it running longer. One particularly important facet is to hear and identify the particular noises that our
... [Read Article]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
