Farmall 340

[Alex J]

I had originally posted this in the restoration forum, and they suggested I post here as well, so here goes. I just recently purchased a Farmall 340, I believe it is a row crop with a wide front, a friend of mine immediately sent me to this site when I told him about the tractor. I have been living on my aunt and uncles farm for the past 3 years, and this is the first farm tractor I have ever bought, and now its time to restore it. I would love to talk to anyone who has any experience with these tractors, especially people who restored one themselves. Is there anything I should keep an eye out for, what kind of project am I getting myself into. Basically any and all information pertaining to 340s would be greatly appreciated! One of the questions they asked me on the restoration forums was are the decals IH or farmall, and the answer is that the emblem on the nose is IH, but the emblems on the sides of the hood are Farmall.

 

[Janicholson]

It is a Farmall International is the parent company. A Mustang is a Ford, Fords are not all Mustangs.
It is a row crop style tractor.
It is based on an engine series started before the second world war.
The tractor is in a modestly unique slot in the Farmall lineup as it is heavier and more modern then a Super C, but not quite a 350. It has the HP of a good H, but not the torque rise or mass.
It does have a Live PTO and hydraulics. It probably has either a Fast hitch (good)
or a 3 point (also good but not as handy) If you have the F/H implements, they are very easy to change and use compared to the 3 point. (opinion)

Purchase an owners manual, and a repair manual. IH original versions are best. (opinion)
2-16 plow is all it wants in heavy soil, 3-14 in loam or sandy soil.
a 7 foot disk harrow is about all it can use well.
Loaders work well on them.
6 foot bush hog mower is a good fit.
they will run a small square baler, but are better suited to pulling the baler alone, or the wagons, not both if in hilly ground.
Take pictures of everything you do before during and after.
Keep fasteners in marked ziplock bags.
Keep engine bolts pushed through cardboard in their position order.
This is a start.
Others will add to the list. Jim

 

[Alex J]

Thanks, that's quite a bit of info, I understand the whole Farmall-IH connection, I think they were just wondering which one it was branded under, as I have seen it both ways. It is a 2 point quick hitch, I haven't found many quick hitch accessories in the Connecticut area, However I will most likely only be using it for hauling trailers and at most raking/tedding with it. My aunt and uncle have other tractors, all IH, an 884 that mostly does the cutting/baling, a 674 for hauling/raking/tedding, and a 584 for hauling. So it wouldn't be needed for to much heavy work. I was also lucky that the guy I bought it from on top of having recently bought a bunch of new parts for it, he also had most of the manuals that he gave to me as well.

 

[SouthernFarmall]

Janicholson covered a lot of material. The 340s are in the 140, 240, and 340 family. All of these are good tractors, and the 240 and 340 are moderately rare, whereas 140s are found everywhere. This could make getting parts a little harder, but you will have a more valuable tractor in the end. This tractor also had a Torque Amplifier available as an option. This is a really cool feature that allows the operator to downshift while under heavy load.



Good luck with your project, SF

PS: Here is a lot of good information (Be sure to click on the PDF file on the "tests" page, to see the Nebraska Tractor Test. You can use these tests to directly compare different models.)
Tractor Data

 

[Alex J]

I also just checked the serial number, and its a 1958 model

 

[old]

Ok have to ask this. Since your up in CT are you any where near Groton or New London??? I ask because I spent a few years up there back in the late 70s when I was a squid and if you do not understand that term then you are not close to either of those places

 

[Alex J]

I'm not too close to that area, I am more up in the northwest part of Connecticut, in the small town that no one has ever heard of called Roxbury, a beautiful little Connecticut town of just over 2,000 people, but knowing that the submarine base is located in Groton I am assuming squid is a nautical/navy term of some sort.

 

[Pete7]

Hi...I have a Farmall 340 and find it to be a very nice tractor. I have a loader on it and find it very handy. Easy to work on and most parts are pretty easy to find (I search Ebay when I need something). Can't really think of anything bad to say about the tractor. You've found the best site to ask questions and get information. The archive on this site is a treasure chest of info. I wish you the best on your project.
Pete

 

[J.J. from Afton]

I grew up driving a 340 Utility and really like that tractor, got good power for their size, and nice to have Independent PTO and two-way hydraulics. We've never had trouble finding parts for it, usually get ours through the CaseIH dealer unless its a part common to others. As others have said be sure to document your project in pictures to help you remember how things go together and you can use them to make a record book if you so choose. And like Jim said be sure to keep track of what pieces go where and keep them sorted. I used dozens upon dozens of plastic bags to keep things sorted in my projects.

Just an example of documenting that I did with my 560 project
560W

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hi Alex, sorry but I am no help on the 340 as US built tractors stopped coming into the UK after 1949. It is nice to see your Aunt and Uncle have 3 UK built tractors, they were built 30 miles from me at Doncaster. In the 1970s I worked for an IH dealer in Lincolnshire selling trctors doing very well with the 454, 475, and 674 tractors. They were good tractors to us and I took a lot of MF tractors in part exchange becacse the IH tractors had far better driver comfort also the IH tractors had a far better hydrulic system. The other reason we did well with our tractors over the MF ones the MF dealers had no salesmen, only order takers. MJ

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hi JJ, going on a tractor road run this afternoon and there will be two 560W tractors taking part. they are both recent imports into the UK from Canada. I useually go on my 1945 Farmall H but this time I am taking my 1956 Fordson Major Diesel tractor as It is nearest the shed door. MJ

 

[Alex J]

Thats ok MJ, as much as I wanted info on my tractor, I find any sort of information like that interesting, I am always willing to learn something I didn't before. We almost have another tractor that was made in England, a 1927 Steel Wheel Fordson that my aunt and uncle just bought last year, becoming only the second owners of the tractor, I believe it was one of the last made in the US before they moved manufacturing to Great Britain. Helping them work on that tractor over the winter is what really got me motivated to get my own tractor to rebuild. And just as another side note, when I first moved onto the farm all we had was the 584, and a MF, we sold the massey, it was a great looking tractor, but it had nowhere near the power of the IH, and the steering killed your arms, so we sold that and got the 674, which was worlds better.

 

[old]

Ya squid is a term used as slang for a sub sailor. By the way does that 340 sort of sit tall as in say 5 foot tall or close to that?? You say it has a wide front so again it the axle sort of way forward or back a little bit. I have a 340 row crop on the place right now but it is the tike version with fast hitch/3 point and power steering and have it hooked to a NH 460 haybine right now. When we got it, it had 36 inch tires and rims on it but I took them off and put on a set of 38s