Classic Wheels: 1953 Farmall Super H

Fans and owners of great old cars, motorcycles and pickups needn’t worry: This column will return to classic road vehicles next month. But with spring nearly here, it’s time to honor another genre of classic wheels. Farmers have been putting food on our tables for centuries and no invention helped them do that more efficiently while taking a giant load off their backs than the tractor. 

John Froelich built the first gas-powered tractors in Ohio in 1892. After three years only four had sold and each was returned to the manufacturer, the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. The company gave tractors a try again in 1913, offering the much-improved Waterloo Boy. By 1918, it cost $1,000 (about $21,000 today), the same year the firm was bought by Deere & Co., later John Deere. 

Henry Ford was the first to mass produce tractors, introducing the Fordson in 1917. Also known as “the automobile plow,” it cost $395 ($9,800 today) and by 1925, Ford had sold 500,000 of them. But it wasn’t until 1954 that tractors outnumbered horses and mules on U.S. farms. 

Peter Davoren, who with his wife Stacey Farley operates Davoren Farm in Philipstown, purchased his 1953 Farmall Super H from a farm near Oneonta in 1994 for $1,800 ($3,900 today).

“I wanted to cut hay, but couldn’t afford a new tractor,” he recalled. “I didn’t realize my Super H would become such a collector’s item.” He bought a Massey Ferguson baler on the same trip upstate.

Manufactured by International Harvester, the tractor would become the first of a collection. Davoren later bought a 1950 Massey Harris Pony, a 1952 Ford 9N and a 1965 Massey Ferguson, although the Super H remains his favorite.

One trait he appreciates is the tractor’s simplicity. “It’s a four-cylinder that I knew I could work on,” he said. “I’ve changed valve springs right out in the field.”

The Specs

Assembly: Rockport, Illinois
Total production: 28,784
Weight: 3,800 pounds
Engine: International Harvester C164
Engine Type: 164 cubic inch, inline 4-cylinder
Horsepower: 32
Transmission: manual 5 forward speeds, reverse
Drive: rear, two-wheel
Brakes: mechanical disc
Steering: manual
Electric Starter: 6 volt
Fuel Tank: 17 gallons
Top speed: 18 mph
Cost (1954): $2,100 ($24,800)

The Super H is a “row-crop” tractor; its pigeon-toed front tires and wide rear wheels allow it to straddle crops without damaging them. “It’s perfect for vegetables,” Davoren said, although the tricycle design can be hazardous. “If you go too fast and turn too hard, you can flip it. I’ve come close.” With no power steering, it doesn’t handle easily. “It’s difficult to steer; you gotta really lean into it,” he said. 

Early tractors were not built for comfort. Asked about his Farmall’s features, Davoren said: “It has an ammeter and an oil-pressure gauge — that’s it!” He’s had to change little. “I’ve replaced the starter, generator, regulator, brake shoes, things like that, but I’ve kept it all stock parts,” he said, “Most people convert to a 12-volt starter; I kept the 6-volt.” And it has a crank in the front, just in case. 

Seventy-two years after it was built, the Farmall still runs well. “It doesn’t burn a lot of oil; it runs beautifully, purrs like a kitten,” Davoren said.

He no longer uses the Super H for farming, but he takes it out from time to time at speeds of “maybe” up to 20 mph. “It’s not built for the road,” he said with a laugh.

Cars have evolved tremendously since Henry Ford’s heyday but consider the specs on Davoren’s 1953 Farmall compared with a present-day Case International Harvester Steiger 620, which has a standard air-conditioned cab and four-wheel drive. Its 455-gallon fuel tank feeds a 787-cubic-inch diesel engine that puts out up to 682 horsepower. And it costs as much as $648,000.