Farmall Super A

[rbedell]

This Super A has a Seat that I have not normally seen. Was this an option or an aftermarket seat..??

 

[bigsteve]

Roland The seat is off of a 140 which is a newer version of the super A

 

[rbedell]

Thanks Steve........

 

[jchamberlin]

I thought I would use this thread to post some pictures of a Farmall Super A that I pass every day on my way to work. The tractor sits were it was parked many moons ago and appears to be leaning into a store-front type building at the side of the road. It seems as if the two --the tractor and the shed-- are supporting each other as together they decay before the ravages of time and weather.

They are both located just north of a 5-point intersection known as Pelletier's Crossroads which lies between the towns of Snow Hill to the north, and LaGrange to the south; just south of the community of Jason on North Carolina Hwy 903. The spot on which they sit is mid-way between my home and my work site, so I look forward to rounding the bend, and watching them come into view.

As she sits now:

Model Number:

View from the South:

View from the North:

View from across the street:

Modest House across the street from the tractor and store/shed:

"Manor house" undergoing restoration located just south of tractor/shed on the same side of the street:

I'm sure if the old tractor or the shed could talk, they could both tell tales of the people to lived in the two houses. Perhaps there are people yet living in the area, perhaps even in the same houses who know how the tractor came to be parked where it now rests.

The tractor has identical ground-engaging implements mounted at the rear and under the "belly" which look like "crow-feet" (for lack of a better term), with the point facing forward and the "toes" opening up toward the rear. It seems to have done a day's work, long ago, and was simply parked, as if the operator stepped in for a bite to eat. Like Rip Van Winkle, the tractor is sleeping yet, awaiting the arrival of an enterprising restoration artist interested in returning it to the condition of the one which Roland Bedell posted below.

 

[fcurrier]

I'm going to stick my neck out, here, and call the attachments "hoes and cultivators".

I'd like to see that fourth pic as a jigsaw puzzle!

 

[wshytle]

Jeremiah-

Why don't you try and find the owner? You might get it for a song but being where it is right by the road the owner might want way too much. I bought an "A" a few years back for $900 and turned right around and sold it for $1350. I took the profit and bought another cub cadet.

Those are sweeps behind the rear tires to "recultivate" the foot print.

The worst they can say is no.

 

[thoffman]

Other than the tires that Ol' gril looks to be in pretty good shape.

 

[kostendorf]

Do I see a flapper on the exhaust pipe? It might not be frozen up if it stayed dry. I'm working on a 560 right now that sat in a lean to off a barn for 3 years. No flapper so its froze up. We dumped a can of mmo in the spark plug holes about a week ago. Got to go out there this weekend to see if it will turn over.

 

[mschutz]

Jeremiah, I'm with Wayne, knock on some doors. At the least you can find out its history.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Jeremiah, I'll third it, knock on some doors and find out more about that and perhaps if it can be purchased. I bet there's a good story about why it's parked where it is. Perhaps they parked it under the roof to protect the exhaust, perhaps the operator had a health issue and made it just that far...

 

[thoffman]

Jeremiah,
That porch covering might have save the life of that S/A's engine. Knock on the door, one day the tractor will be gone and you'll kicking youself in the a$$ because you <u>didn't</u> stop!

 

[wshytle]

With that tractor sitting where it is, I bet 100 people have inquired about it. Being the nice little cultivator it is it sure is a shame. I'm also surprised there aren't dents from bottles, etc. being thrown from cars.

Be sure and ask who owns the tractor first. If you ask if it's for sale they can easily just say no. I doubt the house across the street is where the owner lives but they might know who and where. If not I'd just go to the closest store and inquire. They usually know everything about everybody in these little Carolina townships.

Like I said, you might get it for a song or find yourself running from a double barrel shotgun.

 

[jchamberlin]

Wayne, my thoughts are the same as yours. There are quite a few "restored" Farmalls served up in our area on a regular basis, I'm sure my inquiry wouldn't be the first. I suspect there is a sentimental attachment and a story to this tractor. There is one store in Jason, almost two miles up the road, on the other side of the "community;" and I thought I would make my first inquiries there. At least I could learn who held the shotgun before I knock on the door --R-E-S-P-E-C-T is key to any deal-making in this part of the woods. Many times, it isn't what you ask, it's how you ask it that matters.

Edit: I'll let everyone know what I find out.

 

[mhomrighausen]

Jeremiah C. Be Brave and think like Mike and Frank on American PIckers. Be yourself and show a true interest in the owners and the tractor.

 

[pbell]

I am surprised that with it being that close to a highway for as many years as it appears to have been there, that the tractor has not been damaged or vandalized. I would say that it is locally known that the owner lives in one of the close by houses and keeps an eye on it.

 

[jchamberlin]

Paul: I think you're right on in your observations.

Wayne: The store ploy didn't pan out, I forgot that foreign nationals seem to own and operate just about all the "country stores" these days. I'm going to have to take the direct approach and imitate Mike and Frank, per Marlin's suggestion. The only difficulty I have with this approach is that (1) I don't have a van full of cash like they seem to have, and (2) I'm not really interested in purchasing it, even if I thought I could "flip it" like you did. I'm just curious about how the tractor came to be where it is, and I'm not even sure I really want to find out; the mystery would be gone. As long as I don't know the true story, I can make up my own.

I guess I'll screw my courage up and knock on the door of the "big house" because I'm sure the answer can be found there. I'll be back with the "rest of the story . . .."

 

[fcurrier]

Jeremiah: Update?

 

[jchamberlin]

Frank: Thanks for asking. Nothing to report yet. I've been keeping an eye on the the "Big House," looking for signs of activity. The only vehicle I usually see is an older Chevy truck (80's or 90's vintage) parked behind the house. One Saturday I saw a middle-aged fellow mowing the grass on a nondescript riding mower. I don't know if he was the house's owner or someone hired to do it, but since I didn't see the usual truck, trailer and weed-eaters, it may well have been the owner. I would have stopped, but I didn't have the time that day. I'm more hopeful of gaining an opportunity once I move to the evening shift, and I can leave a little early. No sign of life at the little house directly across the street from the tractor/shed.

Frank, you would feel right at home in this part of North Carolina, it is a "coastal plain," just like most of Maine is --nothing but sandy soil and pine trees; but of course we have more hog, turkey, and chicken operations down here.

 

[fcurrier]

Jeremiah: I told Wayne once that if I were to move it would probably be to North Carolina. He said if too many more people moved there he was moving out!

I just got a book "The Tractor in the Haystack" by Scott Garvey and it's got a bunch of stories in it of people wanting an old tractor and the ways they happened to find them. The old Farmall leaning up against the building is classic. I dread the day that you drive by and it isn't there, so thanks for the pic!!

 

[fcurrier]

I think what I like most about this pic is that the old tractor seems to feel like I do, sometimes.