Super W6 with loader

[chronic65]

It seems like this tractor is not talked about on this board, I wonder why. I have my eye on one, it starts and runs great. Since it has hydraulics, I wonder how big a deal to tap in an run a couple of hydraulic lines to the back of tractor. I am also wanting to get a pull type bush hog for some grass that can get 4 or 5 feet tall, I would keep it shorter after I get it mowed once. Think it would get the job done? I am hoping it could handle at least a 6ft mower. I am looking for a pull type, they seem kind of scarce in these parts.

 

[KenL]

Make sure you take it for a good test ride. Use the loader. Drive it like you are loading with it. Do a lot
of backward and forward moving with it. Drive over some rough ground. Years ago there were a few of them
around. Even the guys who owned them didn't have much good to say about them. Clumsy, rough riding and very
poor pedal placement were the biggest complaints. Compared to an M they were terrible. As far as
dependable, they were as good as any. One neighbor called his a poor boat anchor. He had an M and a W6. The
M was always being used. The W6 just took up space in the shed. I had an M. My opinion, twice the tractor
that a W6 is but,W6 tractors are fairly cheap. For occasional work, could be a great tractor for you.

 

[rustred]

that is because it was one of the best tractors built.it is the same tractor as an M but i prefer the w6 way before a clumsy old M that is so hard to get on and off. i learned to drive a w6 when i was 7 years old . trying to push that stiff clutch in was somnething else. at ten years old i was working in the field discing with it pulling a john deere 10 ft drag disc.
put a ten year old kid on an old tractor now a days and you be hauled off to crow bar hotel. and also had to hand crank that w6 , and now grown men are scared to hand crank them.

 

[Red Mercury]

One reason they are not often discussed on this site (and others) is that there were not nearly as many of the 6 series tractors built compared to the Farmall M's. Roughly speaking, there were 10 M's built for every 1 of the 6 series tractors. Also, many of the members on this site are US citizens, where the Farmalls were in abundance. I am from central Canada, where the opposite is true--more McCormick 4/6/9 series tractors than Farmalls were sold for pulling heavy implements in large grain fields--not much row crop back then in central Canada.

I have some of the 6 series tractors. Awkward is the best way to describe them. My personal experience is that a W-6 seems too big form some jobs (I had a sickle mower on one) and too small for other jobs (heavy field work). I preferred a W-4 on the sickle mower and a WD-9 for cultivating or ploughing. W-6's were also very difficult to steer and some owners modified the steering system to make the steering wheel easier to turn. I can only imagine how uncooperative the steering would be with a loader mounted on a 6 series tractor.

 

[chronic65]

Thanks for the comment. I would welcome your thoughts on this also. I would like to use this tractor to mow some crp from time to time. Sometimes it would be tall and dry, sometimes shorter and green. Always mixed with weeds. Will it do it. Any thoughts on how wide a mower it could pull without big problem. Any ideas welcome.

 

[tractorguy2]

I knew an old farmer that had one. When he came back from WWII he
bought a new Farmall H. Later he bought a used W6. He cussed the
W6 from the day he bought it till he had his sale in 1999. Didn't
like anything about it.

On his sale the very well used H brought $750 running. The W6 was
free but not running and had one rear rim ruined. Brought $500.

 

[Janicholson]

The W6 will handle a 8 foot rotary cutter in tall grass/brush easily. Don't expect easy maneuverability or wheel base sized turns. If the tractor is taxed to power the full width cut, a overlapping cut will keep it going. Sharp blades are always best, with the front of the blade circle 1/2 inch lower than the rear. This prevents cutting the stubble more than once. Jim

 

[farmboy48]

I have a w-6 with a du-al loader, and an m with a farmhand loader. Seems like I use the w-6 way more than the m. Much easier for my old knees to get off and on. The w-6 handles a 9' sickle mower with no problem.

 

[WD40]

I spent a lot of time on one with a loader on it last summer and it got the job done but it wasn't great thats for sure. this one had been modified a lot by my Dad & Uncle, power steering that isn't so power anymore(have to be moving to turn wheels), seat was pushed back for some leg room. Like rusted this was the tractor that i learned on 40 years ago and it's still going with nothing done to it.I got a 2350 loader I will be putting on a 1066 this year though.

 

[chronic65]

I think finding a pull type mower 6,7 or 8 ft is going to be a problem. Or, I am looking in all the wrong places. I thank you for the tips. I am confused about this forum. Maybe you can help? I don't see a way for me to comment or just ask general questions after I start a post. It seems like I either need to reply to specific post or quote the post first. Is that right?