Farmall A

 

I have many fond memories of raking hay with this tractor along with doing other things with it around the farm. One thing I can tell you, is that it is a gutsy little tractor. It is a very distinctive tractor because of it's offset engine. And in all it is a very beautiful tractor, I mean it is a Farmall-it's got that pretty red paint.

The Farmall A was built between 1939-1947. This is one of those instantly recognizable tractors for it's offset engine. The design of the A was to allow a full unobstructed view of cultivating right in front of you. With the engine, frame, and drive train off to the left side of the tractor and the seat and steering on the right side right above and behind the cultivator. This allowed the "cultivision".
There were two other variants of the tractor the AV and the AI. The AV was a high crop version of the A, the V standing for vegetable. The AI was an industrial version of the A, the I standing for Inudstrial. It also had no PTO and had a stronger rear end.

The A had an IH  1.9L 4 cylinder gasoline or kerosine (distillate) engine. The transmission was 4 forward and 1 reverse. It ran on a 6 volt system. It was claimed to be a 13-16 HP 1 plow tractor, however the Nebraska test revealed it to be a 16-18. The belt pulley allowed a 8.5 x 6 belt to run at 1156 RPM. The A had a standard set of 4-15  4ply front tires and 8-24 4ply rear tires.

From 1939-1945 it was advertised under the McCormick-Deering Farmall banner, in 1946 it was changed to McCormick Farmall banner. It was built in both the Chicago and Lousville factories, with Louisville only making it in 1947. The engine was a updated version of the F-14's 113ci engine. The distilate engines were only in 1939 and the later years were only the more powerful gasoline engines. The tractor also had a attatchment for a pneumatic lift called a "lift-all" system it was powered by the exhaust of the tractor. It was made to compete with the Allis-Chalmers B which was released in 1937 as a pilot run and 1938 in full production. International Harvester seeing the success of the B saw the need to compete in the small tractor market. Improving on the concept IH offset the engine, increased the transmission gears from three to four, and increased the horsepower Not to be outdone Allis put a bigger engine in the B, Farmall responded with the Super A in 1947. Options for the A were electric start, Pneumatic "Lift-All", and adjustable front axle. Tires could also be swapped for 5-15 front; 9-24, 10-24, 11-24 rear; and 4-30, 5-30 duals for the rear.

Serial Numbers below are for A, AV, AI, B, BN
1939          FAA501-6743    (6242)
1940         6744-41499         (22023)
1941         41500-80738       (22950)
1942         80739-96389       (9579)
1943                                     (105)
1944         96390-113218     (8177)
1945         113218-146699   (18494)
1946         146700-182693   (19739)
1947 ch    182694-198298   (20937)
1947 lou   200001-220829   ( 20828)

Total Built  128,246

Farmall SuperMTA

 FARMALL SUPER M-TA

The Super M-TA was made only in 1954. 26,924 tractors of this type had been manufactured by IH.

Serial Numbers of this tractor are located just in front of the starter. Numbers start at SM-TA60001 to SM-TA83523.

Horsepower for this machine is 44.23 at the drawbar and 47.07 at the belt.

The Super M-TA (SMTA) was the first Farmall tractor that had live power. This was in the form of Independent PTO.

The TA on the Super M allowed the tractor to quickly downshift in the field. This gave the farmer the advantage in twice the gear selection and the ability to shift on-the-go. The gear ratio of the TA was 2.63:1.

The Torque Amplifier (TA) is just what it sounds like. It gives more torque to the tractor. In basic it reduces speed and transfers that energy over to pulling power. Or it could transfer pulling power into speed.

The SMTA would be in the beginning of the quest for more power for IH in the tractor race that sought for more power and higher gear ratios.

The M is the grandmother tractor of the SMTA. The M led to the development of the Super M. The Super M was the first tractor to mount the TA on and the SMTA was born.

The SMTA like the M was a very versatile tractor, it was produced in many different variations. It had three different front end options available a single tricycle - most commonly used for rice; a dual tricycle - normal front end; and the wide front - another option for farmers. The tractor also had different fuel options it had: gas, diesel, distillate, and LPG. Other variants of the SM-TA are the SMD-TA, SMV-TA, and the SMDV-TA.

The average cost a Super M-TA sold for in 1954 was around $2500. Today (2014) they sell for around $5500-$6000.

So what is rarer than a Super M-TA? A SMTA  TA delete. Yes there are those out there. The evidence is in the size of the tractor. The SM-TA is inches longer than the Super M. A simple way to tell the difference between a true TA and TA delete is the SMTA had wings on its emblem. The SMTA  TA delete had the wings removed.

Why was the SM-TA made only one year? Because International Harvester in 1955 came out with its number series and the SMTA became the 400. There is very little difference between the SMTA and the 400, most of it is just restyling of the decals and different tin work.

The Super M-TA is my favorite tractor. I love to start her up and here her 4 cylinders purrrrrr. Love to sit atop the beast and do hay with it. Better yet take her to shows and catch the envious glances in the crowd.