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Updated Farmall "M" Runs Better Than Ever
Farmall "M's" are now pretty much just a collector's item that sits in a shed. But for Robert Dunton, Topeka, Ill., his "M" is much more.
Over the years, he's made many modifications to his 1950 tractor to keep it modern so it would fit into his large farming operation.
"I use it on my farm almost every d
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Updated Farmall "M" Runs Better Than Ever TRACTORS Antiques 26-3-33 Farmall "M's" are now pretty much just a collector's item that sits in a shed. But for Robert Dunton, Topeka, Ill., his "M" is much more.
Over the years, he's made many modifications to his 1950 tractor to keep it modern so it would fit into his large farming operation.
"I use it on my farm almost every day to operate grain augers, move wagons, and do many other chores. It's a good little tractor and the changes I made make it work even better," says Dunton.
Dunton bought the tractor used in the early 1970's for $1,000. He replaced the original narrow front axle with a wide front and mounted a homemade fold-up hitch on it. "The wide front axle allowed me to use the tractor with a grain drill to plant double crop 10-in. soybeans into wheat. The hitch also lets me tow the tractor behind my pickup between bin sites," says Dunton.
Another update was the addition of live hydraulics, consisting of a pump that's gear-driven off the tractor engine. The pump is used to raise or lower a commercial 3-pt. hitch that he added. "The tractor originally had one-way hydraulics. I needed two-way hydraulics in order to operate a cylinder that raises and lowers the drill," says Dunton. "We also use a 3-pt. mounted Bush Hog mower along irrigation lanes and roadways."
To make it easier to get on and off the tractor, he bolted an 18 by 24-in. steel grate platform above the axle on each side of the seat. "The platforms provide much safer footing than standing on the axle itself," notes Dunton.
He also made an extension for the tractor's foot-operated clutch and extended the throttle lever. "It lets me operate the clutch and throttle without having to climb up onto the tractor," says Dunton.
An adapter on the pto spline allows him to push in the clutch and operate the mower even when the tractor has stopped.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Dunton, 26494 E. Co. Rd. 1900 N, Topeka, Ill. 61567 (ph 309 256-2319 or 309 597-2543; E-mail: rdunton@heart.net).
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