million dollar question

[mcnurlanj]

here is a million dollar question how much is my tractor worth? i am interested in some input on this subject from anybody that knows what they are talking about and has an opinion. keep in mind that my tractor in NOT for sale and never will be. besides the many thousand dollars i have spent on it it took me 2 years to get it "done" its never realy done is it?

it is a 1955 ford 640, 713 ford backhoe, 172 cu in with big carb and manifold set, wagner front loader, sherman over/under transmission, 35 gpm hydro pump, jackson power steering (fully hydraulic power steering), back lit gauges, way too many new parts to list, sand blasted and painted
like i said not trying to sell it just curious what you guys have to say sorry this was the only pic i could find

 

[BrianWI]

I would say $7500 given the information you stated.

 

[souNdguy]

hmm.. kinda doubtfull on that. for that j=kinda money you can get a later ford industrial tlb that is a better backhoe and loader than something grafted on to an 00 series.

soundguy

 

[Brian in MA]

It's really a tough question. It is "worth" what someone is willing to pay. I imagine there is someone out there that would pay $7500 for it, but they might be very hard to find, or they might not. I agree with Sounder, if I were in the market, I would think it's closer to $5000, but I also would look for something newer. What is it worth to you? If you're not selling it, that's really all that matters.

 

[souNdguy]

yeah, i could see a super clean 00 that was mostly rebuilt, with a good hoe and loader go near 5k$

soundguy

 

[karl f]

priceless.

karl f

ps for insurance purposes, the median price of "newly restored museum quality" tractors at auction for the past 12 months. or half of the unsold auctions on ebay

 

[Tony Jacobs]

The real Million Dollar Question is how long will it last before you break the rear axle all to pieces unfortunately . You have coupled the higher horsepower engine and good trans. to the weakest rear axle you could find on top of a strong loader and stronger backhoe on top of a hydraulic pump with about 15 gpm too much for the loader and the hoe to begin with . 1801 / 4040 / 4140 Heavy Duty Industrials used only 19-21 gpm pumps even with the LAGREST 14 FOOT 3600 POUND BACKHOE and that broke the rear axles in them machines . So if it is still all apart it would be wise to up grade the rear axle now before it is too late unless you are just digging in sand . The lift cover will break just behind the block off plate where the remote goes and go straight down the rear axle housing from one side to the other and back to the top and just make a big mess . As far as Monetary Worth it is worth what you want to spend on it and worth what someone else would pay because of the unlikely combination of parts. Thanks Tony

 

[mcnurlanj]

thank you for your input im aware that the rear end it the weakest link but its been running fine for 9 months now. the backhoe and loader have been on this tractor for a long time i bought it 4 years ago and the guy that had it before me dug graves with it for 22 years and it was on there when he got it. what kind of soil you are digging in shouldnt affect the rear axle thats what the out riggers are for and as far as the hydraulic pump goes yes it is a little bigger then i need but the ford dealership i talked to told me the 713 hoes came out with a 19 gpm pump and the power steering has a priority flow divider that takes around 5 gpm my theory was the pump is good for 50 gpm at 2500 rpm my tractor doesnt run 2500 rpm so i wanted 25 gpm at the lowest rpm possible it works very smooth at all rpm ranges the only problem is keeping the oil warm due to the high hp required to turn the pump the tractor does not like pumping cold oil at all

 

[Tony Jacobs]

You may want to try some type of Magnetic block heater to warm the oil resevoir before you start it . That would be the easiest thing I could think of . You could also install the radiator out of the Heavy Duty Industrial Ford 1801 tractors because it is the same size and route the return oil through the radiator to use the antifreeze to warm it while it helps cool the engine . The 1801 tractors use that radiator to help cool power steering oil that's why they have a cooler in them. Thanks Tony

 

[john_Bud]

(quoted from post at 14:47:01 01/05/11) The lift cover will break just behind the block off plate where the remote goes and go straight down the rear axle housing from one side to the other and back to the top and just make a big mess . Thanks Tony

What? You mean like this?

mcnurlanj,

The stabilizer legs are there to help, but you should have someone else operate the machine while you watch. Stand directly behind it and with a full bucket have them swing from side to side a couple times. You can see the differential and transmission twist and the rear axle go up and down as much as a inch or more. That repeated stress strain cycle WILL break the differential and possibly the transmission housing. That's why the original instructions tell you to only lift until the weight STARTS to come off the rear tires. Do not do like a modern hoe and lift the whole back end several inches off the ground, that will maximize the twisting and hasten the breakage.[/img]

 

[mcnurlanj]

unfortunately my tractor spends too much time on job sites to rely on an electric heater (it spent the last 6 weeks in the oil field) but i have considered some kind of a centrifugal clutch some time down the road im not having trouble starting it yet as long as the battery is charged but i imagine as the new wears off of the motor it will become hard to start

 

[mcnurlanj]

that sounds like solid advice i had not heard that before i always pick the back wheels up guess i may need to break that habbit

 

[john_Bud]

(quoted from post at 22:16:36 01/06/11) that sounds like solid advice i had not heard that before i always pick the back wheels up guess i may need to break that habbit

Habits are cheaper than differentials!

 

[mcnurlanj]

truer words may never been typed