My
Super M came into the family as an afterthought, for lack of a better term. It
was 1996, the year that we got back into farming, albeit on a small scale. I had
just purchased my first tractor—a 1949 M—in February of ’96, which brought
our tractor tally to 6. I thought it silly to have all of these tractors and not
work them, and it was equally silly to have this farm ground and not utilize it.
So, with Dad’s old tillage equipment, we broke ground and put out a crop of
corn. We had no means to harvest the crop, but I figured that I had all summer
to obtain some sort of picker. My occupation at the time was delivering
petroleum products to farmers and rural folks. As my route covered about 5
counties, it was a superb way to meet people and to find farm equipment. By way
of this fuel route, I was able to find and buy 2 gravity beds, a grain auger, a
corn planter, a 3-bottom plow, Farmall wheel weights, and most importantly, that
harvesting machine that I needed.
I came across the harvesting unit on a dairy farm near Adamsville, Ohio. It was a New Idea mounted 2-row picker with a husking unit. The farmer said that he picked ear corn and then ground it to feed to his calves. However, because he was going to discontinue this practice, he no longer needed this picker, and it was on the way to the junkyard. (I always thought that mounted pickers were neat. When I was a kid, the dairy farmer across the road had a mounted unit, and it seemed like a great rig.) When I expressed an interest in buying the picker, he said that he also had a sheller unit that he had never used, plus two more gathering units that he had for spare parts. I could have it all, plus a box of miscellaneous parts and three owner’s manuals, for 200 dollars. When I went to his barn to see this rig, I was shocked at the size of the mechanical monstrosity, which had a rough-looking 1952 Super M as its source of life. I knew I wanted the picker but was not particularly interested in the Super M since I had already purchased a tractor a few months ago. Moving this stuff without a tractor to support it would be a real challenge, though. When I expressed this concern to the farmer, he said that I could take the entire unit home in one piece, and when I got the picker items off of the tractor, I could bring the tractor back. “And oh by the way,” he said, “If you decide you want to keep the tractor, I’ll take 1,300 bucks for it.”
Some weeks later, we headed back to this dairy farm on a Saturday with 2 trailers, one of which was a hefty tri-axle that a friend pulled behind his 1-ton 4x4. Before the trip home, we removed the elevator from the husker unit as it was likely to get into power lines while up on the trailer. With the other items on the second trailer, we departed and made it home with no problems.
Back at the farm, I knew that it was time to see about getting these picker parts removed from the Super M so that I could return it. I began to study the configuration of the entire setup, crawling into it here and there, trying to figure how this crap was held together, and trying to figure out how to liberate the tractor from this conglomeration of sheet metal without getting killed. The more I studied it, the more intimidated I became. Then my mind began speaking to me: “You know, you have an ‘M,’ but now you have a chance to own a ‘Super M,’ which is even better.” I liked the thought of having a Super M and I finally succumbed to the self-applied pressure. I told Dad I would be keeping the tractor, which meant that barn space would start to become an issue.
After a few weeks of owning my new picker rig, I was able to unhook the tractor from the picker so that I could give it a good look-over. The grill had a few broken bars, the paint was badly faded, and the right side of the hood stuck out because of the 12-volt alternator that had been added. The belt pulley unit had been removed and an unsightly homemade plate was covering the hole. The steering support post had been broken of at the base and had an ugly patch, and the foot starter lever was gone. The original seat spring was gone and replaced with a stout auto coil spring. I actually liked this, as most Farmall seats sink all too readily. The original throttle handle had been replaced with a homemade unit that did not have enough throw to open the governor all of the way. The battery box was also missing, so the battery sat in a badly-cobbled angle iron frame. As this was a very early Super M, it really was not much different than my straight M. It lacked the distributor-mounted hydraulic pump, and the battery was located under the gas tank. The only differences (and only proof that it was a Super M) were the presence of disc brakes and the “C-264” on the right side of the engine block. There was, however, a notable difference when I drove it around. It could have been my imagination, but the Super M seemed quicker than the straight M, and I wondered if the Super M’s came out with slightly different gear ratios. I don’t recall ever reading anything to suggest this, however. Despite its flaws, the tractor was dry, ran great, and did not smoke. It also had new front tires, and I considered it a great buy at 1,300 dollars.
I harvested corn with it that fall with the sheller unit attached, and it performed fine. In 1997, I acquired many missing parts, fixed the abnormalities and gave it a good paint job. It has always been a tight, smooth-running, and dependable tractor. I find it quite comfortable, too since the auto spring under the seat keeps the operator sitting nice and high.
Recently, I have obtained a belt pulley gearbox, a correct throttle handle, and a better steering support post. Lord willing, I will get these things painted and installed when the 400 project is completed.—Bill
