"Best Buy" "58 Ford Powermaster
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When Dick Hayward and his wife moved to their current location 11 years ago, they had some land that needed bush hogging. “We needed a tractor for that, so we found a 1958 model Ford 861 Powermaster diesel with an overhauled engine,” says Hayward. “It started real easy and seemed to have plenty of power. We bought it on the spot and 1,100 hrs. later, it still purrs like a cat. I use it for all sorts of jobs. I hook a 3-pt. winch on it to move logs and downed trees. When I lift something heavy it tends to do a wheelie, so I built a weight bracket for the front end. Now there’s 200 lbs. on the front that hold it down. It has a good pto and plenty of power to run the wood chipper I made from an old New Holland chopper (see Vol. 39, No. 1).”
Hayward has talked to tractor mechanics who’ve told him the 861 is one of the most dependable small tractors anyone can own. “I haven’t done anything to the motor other than change the oil, change the filters and keep the radiator clean,” Hayward says. “The tractor starts real easy, even in cold weather, and idles real well. One year before I had a shed it sat outside all winter, covered in snow, and it fired right up in the spring.”
Hayward used the frame mounting holes to build a bracket on the left side to hold his chainsaws and a gas can. On the right side he has 2 brackets mounted on the hood to hold a large axe and a small bracket to hold a radio. “It’s a small open station tractor, exactly what I need for this acreage,” says Hayward. “The steering is still tight and I’ve never had any issues with the transmission or brakes, although I did put a clutch in it a few years back. Another good thing about this tractor is that if I ever need parts, they’re easy to find.”
Hayward also has a 10-year-old Chevy Duramax with 168,000 miles on it that’s been a real gem. He was thinking it might be at the end of the line on miles when he read in FARM SHOW about a fellow who owned one with more than 250,000 miles, and it was still going strong. “After reading his account I rethought my plan to look for another truck and will keep this one, do the regular maintenance, and hope for the best,” Hayward says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, R.W. Hayward, 180 Blind Buck Rd., Salem, New York 12865 (ph 518 854-7564).
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Best Buy 58 Ford Powermaster TRACTORS Antiques When Dick Hayward and his wife moved to their current location 11 years ago they had some land that needed bush hogging “We needed a tractor for that so we found a 1958 model Ford 861 Powermaster diesel with an overhauled engine ” says Hayward “It started real easy and seemed to have plenty of power We bought it on the spot and 1 100 hrs later it still purrs like a cat I use it for all sorts of jobs I hook a 3-pt winch on it to move logs and downed trees When I lift something heavy it tends to do a wheelie so I built a weight bracket for the front end Now there’s 200 lbs on the front that hold it down It has a good pto and plenty of power to run the wood chipper I made from an old New Holland chopper see Vol 39 No 1 ” Hayward has talked to tractor mechanics who’ve told him the 861 is one of the most dependable small tractors anyone can own “I haven’t done anything to the motor other than change the oil change the filters and keep the radiator clean ” Hayward says “The tractor starts real easy even in cold weather and idles real well One year before I had a shed it sat outside all winter covered in snow and it fired right up in the spring ” Hayward used the frame mounting holes to build a bracket on the left side to hold his chainsaws and a gas can On the right side he has 2 brackets mounted on the hood to hold a large axe and a small bracket to hold a radio “It’s a small open station tractor exactly what I need for this acreage ” says Hayward “The steering is still tight and I’ve never had any issues with the transmission or brakes although I did put a clutch in it a few years back Another good thing about this tractor is that if I ever need parts they’re easy to find ” Hayward also has a 10-year-old Chevy Duramax with 168 000 miles on it that’s been a real gem He was thinking it might be at the end of the line on miles when he read in FARM SHOW about a fellow who owned one with more than 250 000 miles and it was still going strong “After reading his account I rethought my plan to look for another truck and will keep this one do the regular maintenance and hope for the best ” Hayward says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup R W Hayward 180 Blind Buck Rd Salem New York 12865 ph 518 854-7564
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