The Farmall M is a large three-plow

row crop tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

produced by

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

under the

Farmall Farmall was a model name and later a brand name for tractors manufactured by International Harvester (IH), an American truck, tractor, and construction equipment company. The Farmall name was usually presented as McCormick-Deering Farmall and l ...

brand from 1939 to 1953. It was of International Harvester's " letter series". It succeeded the

Farmall F-30 The Farmall F-30 is a large three-plow row crop tractor produced by International Harvester under the Farmall brand from 1931 to 1939, with approximately 28,900 produced. It was a larger successor to the Farmall Regular, and was replaced in 1939 ...

. The M was incrementally updated with new model numbers as the Super M, Super M-TA, 400, and 450, but remained essentially the same machine. The original M used an International Harvester C248 4-cylinder in-line engine. Production of all versions lasted until 1954.

Description and production

Styled by

Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magazi ...

, it was one of International Harvester's " letter series", replacing the Farmall F-30. The M was rated for three plows.Pripps, pp. 70-81Klancher, pp. 131-137 The M was one of the most-widely produced of International Harvester's " letter series", with 270,140 produced over the 13-year run. The M was equipped with an International Harvester C248 inline overhead valve

four-cylinder engine The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

with a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

, and a six-

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defi ...

electrical system. The sliding-gear

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

had six total gears: five forward and one reverse. 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 The Farmall H is a medium-sized two-plow row crop tractor produced by International Harvester under the Farmall brand from 1939 to 1954. It was the most widely produced of International Harvester's " letter series", with approximately 390,000 pro ...

and its variants, 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. Versions were produced for gasoline and

distillate Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

fuels. Standard Ms had narrow front wheels on the centerline. Rear wheels could be adjusted on splined axles from to in width to allow for different row widths. An optional extended axle allowed widths of up to . The standard M's purchase price in 1952 was .

M variants

Beginning in 1941, the M's production coincided with the Farmall MD, a

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

version of the M that would start on gasoline until warmed up sufficiently to switch to diesel. A total of 18,253 MD tractors were produced. In addition, IH produced the Farmall Super M from 1952 to 1954. The Super M featured a larger engine displacement than the standard M, at . Variations of the Super M, the Super MD (a diesel version of the Super M) and the Super MTA (with a

torque amplifier A torque amplifier is a mechanical device that amplifies the torque of a rotating shaft without affecting its rotational speed. It is mechanically related to the capstan seen on ships. Its most widely known use is in power steering on automobiles. ...

), were produced. In all, IH produced 44,551 Super M tractors, 5,199 Super MD tractors and 26,924 Super MTA tractors. High-clearance variants for farming vegetables and other high crops were also produced, including the Farmall MV and the MDV (diesel), as well as a standard front version (W-6) and the I-6 industrial tractor. Industrial tractors had fixed wheel widths, different gearing, foot throttles and usually had wide front axles. The M was produced in Britain as the BM. In the United States, the M was produced in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

. Farmall M tractors produced in Britain and Australia were designated the BM/BMD and the AM, respectively. The models produced outside of North America mainly used wide front axles instead of the tricycle arrangement popular in the United States and Canada. The British model was produced from 1948 to 1953 in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, and the Australian model from 1949 to 1954 in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

.The M line was replaced by the

Farmall 400 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 of International Harvester's " letter series". It succeeded the Farmall F-30. The M was incrementally upda ...

Farmall M variants

*MD (diesel) **MDV (diesel, high crop) *MV (high crop) *Super M **Super M-TA (torque amplifier) **Super MD (diesel) ***Super MDV (diesel, high crop) ***Super MD-TA (diesel, torque amplifier) ***Super MDV-TA (diesel, high crop, torque amplifier) **Super MV (high crop) ***Super MV-TA (high crop, torque amplifier) *BM (British, with above designations as necessary) *AM (Australian, with above designations as necessary)

Farmall 400

The Farmall 400 replaced the Super M-TA in 1954, and was produced until 1956. It was produced with a four-cylinder engine with a displacement of , powering a 10 forward gear and 2 reverse gear

transmission. Models were produced for gasoline, diesel and

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking e ...

fuels. Variants included the W-400, with a wide front wheel placement, and the 400 Hi-Clear

hiboy A Hahn Hi-Boy is a specialized, high-clearance type of farm crop chemical applicator designed to operate in high crops without damaging them. The largest producer of hi-boys is Hagie Manufacturing Company of Clarion, Iowa, United States. The mo ...

model. Total production was 40,957 at

. The 400 was briefly succeeded by the Farmall 450, and then the Farmall 560.

Farmall 450

The Farmall 450 replaced the 400 in 1956, and was produced until 1958. The 450 had similar style updates to the corresponding 300/350 upgrades to the H line, and a larger gasoline engine. Diesel and LPG models were produced.Pripps, pp. 124-127 The McCormick-Deering Farmall B-450 was produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 to 1970, mainly with a wide front axle. About 39,000 450s were produced in the United States.Pripps, p. 127

Comparable products

Comparable products to the M include the Case DC and the

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

A.Pripps, p. 73 Similar offerings to the Super M include the Oliver 77 and the

Fordson Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to ...

Major D.Pripps, p. 100 The Oliver Super 88, John Deere 70 and

Massey Massey may refer to: Places Canada * Massey, Ontario * Massey Island, Nunavut New Zealand * Massey, New Zealand, an Auckland suburb United States * Massey, Alabama * Massey, Iowa * Massey, Maryland People * Massey (surname) Educati ...

444 were similar to the 400.Pripps, p. 120

References

External links

NTTL Test # 328 - Farmall M - Gasoline
at the

Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory The Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory (NTTL) is a program operated by the University of Nebraska in accordance with Nebraska law to test the performance of agricultural equipment that is to be sold in the United States for compliance with OECD standa ...

archive
NTTL Test #327 - Farmall M - Distillate
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #475 - McCormick Farmall Super M
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #484 - McCormick Farmall Super M LPG
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #477 - McCormick Farmall Super MD
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #532 - McCormick Farmall 400
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #534 - McCormick Farmall 400 (Diesel)
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #571 - McCormick Farmall Model 400 (Diesel)
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #608 - McCormick Farmall 450 Diesel
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #612 - McCormick Farmall 450 Gasoline
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive
NTTL Test #620 - McCormick Farmall 450 LPG
at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory archive * {{commons category Farmall tractors Vehicles introduced in 1939 Raymond Loewy