953 nut 55,236 #1 Posted April 24 Farmall produced the MTA tractor. What did MTA stand for? More trouble ahead! Farmall M The Farmall M is a large three-plow row crop tractor produced by International Harvester under the Farmall brand from 1939 to 1953. It was one of International Harvester's "letter series". It succeeded the Farmall F-30. The M was incrementally updated with new model numbers as the MD Super M, Super MD Super M-TA, but remained essentially the same machine. The original M used an International Harvester C248 4-cylinder in-line engine. Production of all M variations lasted until 1954 when it was replaced by the Farmall 400 which was essentially the same machine with updated sheet metal. Variations of the Super M, the Super MD (a diesel version of the Super M) and the Super MTA (with a torque amplifier), were produced. In all, IH produced 44,551 Super M tractors, 5,199 Super MD tractors and 26,924 Super MTA tractors. IHC's torque amplifier allowed the operator to shift between two gear ratios on the fly, even under load without the use of the clutch. The TA is basically a planetary gear located in the clutch housing which provides a 1:1 gear drive when locked up and a 1.482 :1 ratio when disengaged. If additional pulling power was required it could be accomplished without stopping, when field conditions improver the previous speed could be resumed at the flip of a lever. The number of available gears doubled to 10 in a standard five-speed transmission. The M was the larger of the two prominent row crop tractors produced by IH from the late 1930s to the early 1950s, along with the Farmall H, yet could still use the same implements. As with the other letter-series IH tractors, the M used a modular design that allowed assemblies to be removed and replaced as units. All Ms had hydraulic lifts and were produced for gasoline and distillate fuels. Standard Ms had narrow front wheels on the centerline. Rear wheels could be adjusted on splined axles from 52 inches to 88 inches in width to allow for different row widths. An optional extended axle allowed widths of up to 100 inches. The standard M's purchase price in 1952 was $ 2,400 (equivalent to $28,290 in 2024). 4 2 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,815 #2 Posted April 24 (edited) Ms are a pulling beast. My boy @Rp.wh had one and always did good. A very heavy tractor. As with most letters series a common tractor around around here. At shows you see many of them in all clothes. Edited April 24 by WHX?? 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skwerl58 704 #3 Posted April 24 I have never owned a large farm tractor but my favorite for their looks are the IH tractors. These and the Cub's would be what I would search for if I ever need one. I also like the same era Ford's. Great trivia and hope you keep it going! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 7,306 #4 Posted April 24 12 minutes ago, Skwerl58 said: I have never owned a large farm tractor but my favorite for their looks are the IH tractors. These and the Cub's would be what I would search for if I ever need one. I also like the same era Ford's. Great trivia and hope you keep it going! Yes, those red ones were modern for decades while the green ones were in the Stone Age. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
