Are Internationals good tractors?

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Everyone was so helpful the last time, so I'm asjking once more about a tractor. I'm looking for a tractor that I can put a loader and a mower on and do some light logging; someone has an International 350 with a dirt blade and rear forks on it, Continental gas engine, double hydraulics and 'push down', I guess on the rear pto. He wants $2,000 for it. Cam I easily get parts and attachments for it?

Thanks.

-- Rod Perrino (redjouster@aol.com), January 16, 2002

Answers

350s are pretty good old tractors,most have the International 'fast hitch' they are easy to adapt to 3pt. and fast hitch equipment is ususally pretty easy to find.On the engine I would think its an International.Parts should be pretty eay to come by as alot of the parts interchange with other IH models and tractor junkyards are full of them.

-- Gary (burnett_gary@msn.com), January 16, 2002.

What year 350? The International 350 ag tractor and it was available in a tri-cycle model. I beleive this was a 40 vintage model. There was also a International 350 utility model and that was a wide wheel base front from the late 50/early 60's.

The tri-cycle model would not be a good tractor for a loader. Depending on what you want to do with it, The price is nice. I would do some research on adding a loader to it. Is a new one available? Can you even find a used one to fit. Figure a new loaders going to cost $3000 plus install cost. Is the tractor going to be worth $5000? Can you find another tractor with loader already on it for $5000? The tractor was considered a utility tractor, It may or may not have the attachments, ports, that a farm tractor does. oes it have a PTO? Some utilities dont.

-- Gary (gws@columbus.rr.com), January 16, 2002.


Try the post for Farmall tractors and ask your questions. These men/women live for Farmall/IH tractors...

www.ytmag.com/farmall/wwwboardl.html

Good luck!

-- Milam Gerick (milamgerick@juno.com), January 16, 2002.


I'd keep looking, IH's were OK but a 350 probably has to rely on after market and used parts. IH bought Case in the 70's to form Case International, they've since been bought by Fiat, seems less and less is dealer supported. Continentals are getting harder to get parts for too, but that may just be my continental I was looking to rebuild! It's going to be tough to get a loader tractor with power steering, in good condition, under $4000. Tough but maybe not impossable. Ag Dealer and Fastline list used tractors and equipment for sale. Is a gas tractor a requirement?

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), January 16, 2002.

Hi Rod,

International Harvester tractors are excellent tractors. Many thousands of pre 1960 tractors are still in farm service.

The IHC 350 is a good tractor. It sounds like the rear hitch has a leveling option on it and the second set of hydraulic outlets will be good for the loader and other implements. The engine is a Continental, as IHC used Continentals on some models in some years as did John Deere and many others.

Parts are a breeze to get for models back to the late 30s. New OEM parts from the Case IH dealer I mean. Used parts and after market parts are widely available as well. The model 350 does command a bit more money these days because it was a powerful and strong tractor. I have restored several IHC tractors and parts are never a problem other than you might wonder how a bushing can cost 30 bucks.

Ask whether it has the 3 point option for the two point fast hitch. If it does not have one, you can easily add one. This will make implement matching more easy. Two point fast hitch implements are somewhat collectible, as is the tractor so again that adds price and value.

Regarding the loader, many narrow front tractors have been used successfully with a loader. It is a common misconception that the narrow front tractor is significantly more prone to rollover than a wide front. Most wide front axles have enough pivot in them that the rear wheels are actually contributing much more to stability than the front. Regardless, the wide front is a better choice for a loader because it spreads the load over a wider distance and you have slightly better floatation under many conditions. If the 350 has a wide front...which wqas an option at the time, I would look more serioously at it for your needs. Used loaders can be had from about 300 on up. you will need to go looking.

Things to check... 1. white smoke after warm up leave it unless you feel like an engine overhaul. 2. run it in all gears, if you hear a howl from beneath you in second or third gear but not others, consider it if you do not plan to plow earth with it for hours at a time. If it howls in most gears, you are looking at replacing bearings in the transaxle. Not hard but wyo uhave to take the thing apart. 3. If you hear a loud gear whine in all gears, the differential needs the preload or lash adjusted...or new bearings and adjustment. Bearings howl, gears whine when things are not quite right. Some whine is normal. 4. If there is oil leaking around the axle shafts, you will need seals and possibly bearings soon. Not that hard to do but still a job 5. Is there less than a quarter of a turn of free play in the steering? Too much can be adjusted oout sometimes but often is the result of wear. 6. How are the tires? If the rears are good with some checking, they will last you but if they are worn down and badly cracked, you will need to add around 500 bucks for new rears. 7. Check the clutch for chatter as you release it. They are easy to replace (comparatively) and are easy to get. 8. Is the oil at all milky? Coolant leaking into the oil means head work at the minimum. Valves, heads, you name it all readily available.

For 2 grand, this tractor oought to be ready to go more or less.

I farmed with John Deere, Allis Chalmers, Kubota, and IHC tractors so I am not an IHC fanatic at all. I like them all. Old iron is strong and useful but may not be as convenient. If you really thing you will do a lot of loader work, go with power steering if you can.

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will III (owill@mail.whittier.edu), January 16, 2002.



I have an IHC 300 row crop.

The 350 was built 1956-58. There were IC, Continental, & IH diesel options for engines, so you are probably right. Looks like 42 pto horsepower. The average auction price is $1500, I would say it's not quite worth $2000 unless it is in very good condition. Pto work well? Good TA tranny? Two hydraulics plus the fast hitch? Good strong distributor-run hydraulic pump? Power Steering? Pretty good tires? Good engine? Got the hitch itself with the fast hitch? Any 'no' or 'maybe' answers should reduce that price.

Now, the positives & negatives: The fast hitch works well, but not as many of those implements around. You can convert it to 3-point, but I believe the 1st year of production did _not_ have a mounting bracket for the upper link - check that! (Dad built his own on our 300 - more bother).

Live pto & the distributor hydraulics are live, good things. (Altho I don't understand what you mean by 'push down' pto? Did you mean the fast hitch - aka 2-point hitch? Or did you mean double-acting hydraulics? Or live pto? Help!)

Which type of hyd pump do you have, belly pump or distributor pump? Distributor is better, but very low gallons per minute. You will probably want a front crank pump to pwer a loader. (I believe the belly pump was only single-acting?)

The utility tractor is kinda low, depending what type of loader you get you won't have much ground clearance. Generally not a problem, but I get into deep manure with a loader & it would be an issue for me. On the other hand, lower is better for not tipping with a loader so this is a positive! :)

Is it wide front or narrow front? I'm thinking all the low utilities were wide, but not sure. Wid front is better.

Is it 5 speed, or does it have the hi-low Torque Amplifier option (available on this model, giving 10 forward & 2 reverse gears)? The TA trannies are great. But, people only sell them when they are wore out, and costs $500-750 to repair. This is the weak link of older IHC tractors - the TA tranny. They are good, work well, very nice. But they wear out kinda fast. They are _much_ cheaper to repair than Ford's SoS tranny, and parts are very easy to find for the TA. And when they wear out, often just the low part goes, the tractor will work fine for years & years in the high range, so you end up with a normal 5-speed if you don't want to repair it. But for $2000, the TA better be there and it better be working fine! :)

Overall, ICH parts are easy to find, are well stocked, and they have a good dealer network. It's easy to find salvage parts as many of these were made, and parts are interchangeable from a wide number of models. If it's a good sound tractor you should like it.

(I tend to point out negatives on tractors so you know what to look out for - in general this should be a good machine for what you want.)

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.


Internationals are the utility type,Farmalls are the row crop versions McCormicks are the standard type.Also according to the information I have on the 350 the contineals were only available in diesel version.

-- Gary (burnett_gary@msn.com), January 17, 2002.

Hmmmm,

Well, my international Harvester H is a McCormick Farmall H. It is definitely an ag tractor. So is my A, B, and Super C.

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will III (owill@mail.whittier.edu), January 17, 2002.


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