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Normal steering because it s articulated , it pivots in the middle , so it can turn in a very tight circle . The only difference from front to back is the throttle is on the opposite side . If you can find one in good shape , they are reasonably priced . I found this in central Ohio , was listed on Craigslist, drove 6 hrs to have a look at it and bought it on the spot. It was well cared for with extensive service records. The blower .I found in Barrie, Ont only a 4 hr drive , needed some work but a solid blower . I live in the lake effect snow country of WNY, so 12 -14 inches is common overnight, with 2-3 ft occasionally. It will throw snow 60 ft at a walking pace.log home sat view.jpg
 
That is a cool machine. I'd love to see the looks on drivers faces when you emerge near the road with a white plume entering the stratosphere
 
The valve levers are mounted on the cab side walls . so when turned around the valve would be on the opposite side and in the reverse direction there are foot pedals that control the valves. The loader is normally run with your feet . I don't have a loader for it, i have a ford 555 backhoe, if I come across a loader I will grab it and sell the backhoe.
It is pretty impressive throwing the snow , especially at night. I have LED lights on the front and rear with the work lights mounted low for ground work.
 
View attachment 618530 Versatile 276 bidirectional tractor .The seat , steering and dashboard can be turned to drive forward or in reverse. Hydraulic 4 wheel drive , articulated so drive into the woods , hook up your logs , spin the seat around , drive out forward. no 3 pt turns in the woods. I built a rack for the front to carry saws etc. 100 hp cummins turbo , so plenty of power along with heat , air conditioning and stereo. Fully enclosed when snow blowing my 1800 ft driveway with the 8 1/2 ft wide Pronovost blower. View attachment 618534 View attachment 618535


If you have pics, they aren't loading up for me.

The farm we are putting in has a Ford 9030, sounds like it's similar to your machine. It's about 100hp according to the farmer (which is pretty darn decent out of a 4 cylinder!)

The seat, steering wheel, etc spins around so it can be used either forward of reverse. I can't remember if the pedals spun around too or if it had 2 sets. Must have some type of swivel on teh hoses in the cab, that was was a leaker, floor about needed to be shoveled out from the goopy oil/dirt mess.

I was eyeballing it the other day thinking it'd make a decent small skidder with a grapple built off the 3 point hitch.
 
The ford 9030 is the newer version of the 276 , Ford bought versatile in 1988. My 276 is an '85. The 9030 ,is the better machine for loader work. The 276 had weaker axles, so if I never put a loader on it , it will last longer for me. Mine has a few hydraulic leaks , but not bad , with 7000 hrs , its a pretty solid machine .
 
Nice looking Ford! I have a '65 gas 3000 that looks much worse...lol
Is yours gas or diesel? If gas, how does it start in the cold? Mine won't unless it's around 40 degrees or above.
Mine is a gasser and i'm not sure the year. I talked the previous home owner of our house to throw it in as part of the sale. From the model numbers I believe its an early 70s model. It starts fantastic in the cold. The day i took the picture was a high of 15F degrees and it didn't hesitate at all. I had to choke it but thats the norm even its its 80F out. The only down fall of running it in the winter is without the boxer grader on the back it doesn't traverse snow/ice well at all.
 
Mine is a gasser and i'm not sure the year. I talked the previous home owner of our house to throw it in as part of the sale. From the model numbers I believe its an early 70s model. It starts fantastic in the cold. The day i took the picture was a high of 15F degrees and it didn't hesitate at all. I had to choke it but thats the norm even its its 80F out. The only down fall of running it in the winter is without the boxer grader on the back it doesn't traverse snow/ice well at all.


What size tires are on the rear? Got fluid in them? Tire chains would make a huge difference. You can probably find a used set locally that'll fit. If not, I've got a nice set that might work if you ever get over towards the cities.
 
What size tires are on the rear? Got fluid in them? Tire chains would make a huge difference. You can probably find a used set locally that'll fit. If not, I've got a nice set that might work if you ever get over towards the cities.
I will keep you in mind for sure! I'm not sure the size off the top of my head but I am hoping to replace them this summer so size could change, they are severally weather checked and leak over time. They do have fluid in them but with the front loader its still front heavy. For this winter I'm just gonna keep it parked right where it is to help lift one end of the log to keep my saw out of the dirt. In the summer though this things does a lot of work. Dragging logs, grading, dirt work, have a 5'
bush hog for blazing trailer, landscape rake, trenching water lines for garden, etc...The thing runs like a top and all i've ever done is replace all the fluids, spark plugs/wires, and whatever that thing is called that tells the plugs when to fire.
 
The ford 9030 is the newer version of the 276 , Ford bought versatile in 1988. My 276 is an '85. The 9030 ,is the better machine for loader work. The 276 had weaker axles, so if I never put a loader on it , it will last longer for me. Mine has a few hydraulic leaks , but not bad , with 7000 hrs , its a pretty solid machine .

We've got a 1989 Ford 276. Have had it for a long time. It doesn't go that far anymore - we had a bad mid-winter episode with it about 15 years ago where it blew the main drive hydro hose under the cab while blowing out a woods road. It had to stay in the woods for a few days - was no fun getting that fixed under those circumstances. Cut a hole in the floor to get at some things better. I blew another smaller drive hose a couple winters ago but that was in the yard & easy to get at so not much problem with that one. So it's over kill for what it does now. We have put new tires on over the past 2 winters, and one new wheel last winter - a slow past calcium leak rotted the old one away. Solenoid sticks on it once in a while, requires the old Ford solenoid tap to get it to kick in. But they are indeed very handy rigs - I'm pretty surprised that sort of configuration didn't catch on across other brands. I forget how many hours on ours, but not as many as yours. In bad need of a paint job though.
 
Got the tractor out for a few minutes today and brought a load of wood from the wood pile to the porch.
Just back up and lift, load up and drop on porch. Roll around with casters. loaded with free not so good wood, saving the good for cold weather.

Bringing in wood 1.jpg Bringing in wood 2.jpg Bringing in wood 3.jpg Bringing in wood 4.jpg
 
Kubota L3901 HST 4x4. I must say that I'm in love! It seems to be true when they say that you will wonder how you got along without a front end loader all these years.
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I like the 3pt bucket.

I have an old hay loader been thinking about putting on like that. Would use it for hauling mini logs for the buzz saw.

Maybe throw a box on for gas, oil, saws ECT...
 
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