Is this a good deal?

A good "A" brings $1500 in Eastern PA. That one seems pretty nice....especially since a lot of the work has been done. They are a little bigger than the cub, and are great plowing, and cultivating tractors. They also can pull quite a bit more than a cub, and move about 10 MPH on the highway (not tooooo bad). One of he bad features are that the PTO is way to the left side (just like a cub), the good news is that it spins at 540, and turns the correct direction for most implements. A-specific implements are getting a little hard to find at good prices, in my opinion.
 
Well it looks like I’ve bought a 1946 Farmall A. Previous post “Is this a good Deal?” After talking to the owner and getting the feedback here, I decided to go ahead and place a bid. I ended up being the only one, so I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I guess I shouldn’t second guess success. The owner says the tractor runs great and starts right up even in the bitter cold. Clutch, brakes and transmission are good. I’m hoping I can pick it up this weekend. It looks to be an easy project to finish. I get a little nervous buying anything large on ebay but his feedback was excellent. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
 
John...You got a GOOD DEAL! CONGRATULATIONS! Anytime you can buy a Farmall Cub, A, B, C, H, or M for $1200.00 that's had as much work done to it as your "A" has...YOU GOT A GOOD DEAL! :wink: Of course you realize that you may get bitten by the Red Tractor Bug...you may develope a high fever that can only be cured by buying the rest of the "A"'s brothers and sisters in the Farmall line! BUT...Don't worry John, many others have encountered this same bug and have recouperated very nicely! :wink:

ENJOY your Farmall "A"...Drive it...Work it...Play with it...Repair it...Parade it...and let "kids" sit on it and turn the steering wheel! :D
 
That serial number is very high for an A and is late '47, not '46.

Red Power Magazine occasionally publishes a list of highest/lowest serial numbers reported in posession of the readers. I think this one is higher than the one currently listed for a Farmall A. If the number checks out, you should send it in to the magazine.
 
Thank you "Country" Elliot, your post makes me feel good about the purchase. From all the looking I've done lately I thought it looked like a pretty good deal but it's nice to hear from some of you more experienced Farmall owners. And I'll watch out for that bug, I hear it's going around.
As for Jim Becker that's interesting to know about the serial number and year. I will defiantly check into to that ASAP. I'm picking the tractor up on Sunday! I'm not familiar with the Red Power magazine, is that a monthly & where can I purchase it?
 
I truly love my A....although it is the other end of the age spectrum from yours, being a '40......I wouldn't trade it for another cub.....
 
I just got our new to us Farmall A home safe & sound. It appears to be everything the seller claimed it to be and didn’t over describe anything. The bad news is I already have a problem/issue I need to deal with so I need your folks help. After a nice one mile jaunt, as I was bringing it into the garage it died and I couldn’t get it restarted. My wife & I pushed it into the garage, we noticed the carburetor was dripping gas? On closer inspection it appears to be coming from a tiny hole in the very center of the bottom of carburetor float bowl. Just to clarify, it’s not coming from the drain plug. I don’t have a repair manual but I did find a parts manual online, from what I can tell it mentions a drip plug felt & a drip plug washer but no drip plug??? Can someone give me some advice on this? It has the Marvel-Schebler carburetor. Other than this little snafu that put a damper on the first day of ownership, I’m very happy with the tractor. While it was running it purred like a kitten. This is my first tractor that I’ve ever owned and would really appreciate any advice anybody out there can give me. Is there a repair manual online anywhere?
 
Dose TSX-157 sound like the right number for a 1947 Farmall A? Drips out of that tiny hole as soon as I turn the gas valve on. It looks like a small screw vibrated out maybe?
 
That is one of the correct carburetors for a gasoline-only Farmall A. Your problem is not that gasoline can drip out that opening, but that there is gasoline at the other side of that hole to drip out.

You have a leaking float valve, stuck float valve, stuck float, sunk float or related problem that is causing gas to continue running into the bowl when it should shut off.

Although it is a different carburetor and the exact parts and specific details are different from the Cub carburetor, it is exactly that same problem as when a Cub carburetor leaks fuel out the bottom.

Search the archives for questions about the same problem with a Cub. The same answers apply. Look at the maintenance tips on Rudi's server, particularly at Lurker Carl's carb fixes for more about what to do.
 
Called the PO and he said he had never had a problem with a carb drip. He stated that he had rebuilt the carb 8/04 with IH/Case parts. I took the carb apart and everything was a clean as could be, put it back together no drip. Who knows what it's problem was, but I am getting to know my tractor better already.
 
Could have been nothing more than a small piece of trash stuck in the float valve. If so, that may be the end of the story.
 
I wish it was the end of the story. Just when I thought I had it fixed, it will run for a while then flood, die and drip. Last night I took it out for a spin and running along in forth gear about ¾ throttle and all of a sudden it dies. Won’t restart and then comes the dripping. This darn carburetor is driving me crazy, I’ve had it on & off about six times now. I’m getting quite fast at it. I read the tips in lurker Carl’s page and the only thing I haven’t done yet is pull the needle seat out and use some sealer. I just have a hard time believing that’s it as some times the dripping is more like a full stream. I’ll take any advice I can get. A new Zenith carb is looking better every day. But I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet.
 
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