At first there was just one model of the Farmall, but when it became evident the Farmall was selling well, IH developed models with more power and new features to carry on the Farmall brand. Afterwards, the first Farmall model became known as the 'Regular' to distinguish it from later models which carried F- designations, followed by the so-called 'letter series' tractors then the 'hundred series.'
Beginning with the letter series tractors (A, B, C, H, M), the famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy was commissioned to give the tractors a sleek, modern look.
Generally tractors were marketed by the number of plows they could pull in average soil to indicate their power. Here is a brief family tree of Farmall tractors based on number of plows:
- 1-plow: A, Super-A, B, BN, 100, 130, 140
- 2-plow (sm): F-12, F-14, C, Super-C, 200, 230, 240, 404
- 2-plow (lg): Regular, F-20, H, Super-H, 300, 350, 340, 504
- 3-plow: F-30, M, Super-M, 400, 450, 460
- 4-plow and up: 560, 656, 706, 806, 1206
There is also the Farmall Cub, a Culti-Vision tractor smaller than the Farmall A.
- The Farmall H, produced from 1939 to 1952 , became the top selling individual tractor model of all time in North America with over 390,000 sold. (The Ford 8N being a close second).
- A Farmall Cub appeared in a recent Old Navy television commercial.
- Many Farmall tractor models also have a mechanically similar sister model under the International brand designed for industrial or utility use.
- The Farmall Cub, A and B models have the seat offset from the engine, allowing the operator to look directly at the ground under the tractor. This feature was dubbed Culti-Vision.
- The first Farmall tractor with an optional Diesel Engine is the M. It started on gasoline and was manually switched to diesel after warming up. The 400 and 450 diesels used the same engine as the M.
- The next Farmall tractor to offer diesel power is the 350. Unlike other diesel engines that IH manufacured itself, the 350 engine was built by Continental Motors . It was IH's first 'self start' diesel tractor (no gasoline).
- The Torque Amplifier (TA), which allows for a quick downshift without the clutch to gain power, was first introduced on the Super-M in 1954 . The TA became an option on the 300 and larger tractors after 1955 .
- A few clever mechanics have created so called Super H-TA tractors (Super-H with Torque Amplifier). IH never manufactured such a model.
- The Farmall 560 (introduced in 1958 ) was recalled in 1960 to strengthen the rear transmission gears. The 560 used essentially the same transmission designed for the Farmall M in 1939 , however it did not withstand the increased power of the 560's 6-cylinder engine.
- IH discontinued use of the Farmall brand in the 1970's (all IH tractors henceforth carried the International brand)
- Some believe that the seemingly slow response of IH to fix the problem with the Farmall 560 gears left a sour impression with farmers and was the start of the downfall of IH. It was about this same time that John Deere introduced its popular 'new generation' tractors, making for stiff competition.
- Case IH has revived the Farmall brand on some of their latest tractors.
- Klancher, L., ''Farmall'', MBI, 2004, ISBN 0760318468
- Leffingwell, R., ''International Harvestor Tractors'', MBI, 1999, ISBN 0760304238
- Fay, G., ''Farmall Tractors in the 1950's'', MBI, 2000, ISBN 0760307628
- Fay, G. & Kraushaar, A., ''Original Farmall Hundered Series 1954-1958'', MBI, 2003, ISBN 076030856X
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