No towering on-highway rollers today, but a collection of classic farm tractors from Austria, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK. The old fieldworkers are presented in chronological order, we’re starting in the twenties of the previous century.
Next year, this Renault PE tractor will be exactly 100 years old. These were powered by a 2.1 liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine. Note the position of the radiator.
Fast forward to Austria in the fifties with a 1955 Steyr 280. Mind you, it has independent front suspension. Under its hood a Steyr WD-413 diesel, a four-cylinder with a displacement of 5.3 liter. Quite a Zugmaschine, back then.
1959 Lanz Alldog A1806 tool carrier with a front-mounted cargo bed. The water-cooled, two-cylinder, 1.25 liter MWM diesel engine (the KD 211 Z) sings its song next to the driver.
Many tractor manufacturers from Germany and abroad sourced their diesels from MWM, which stands for Motoren Werke Mannheim.
Lanz Bulldog -see CC Video link at the bottom- and Lanz Alldog, two intriguing farm dog breeds. (photo courtesy of Ralf Längle Traktorenwelte)
1960 Renault V72 R7052, powered by an air-cooled MWM diesel, a 1.8 liter two-cylinder.
In their homeland, these small and narrow tractors were used in vineyards (the letter V in the model designation stands for Vigneron). Further up north, they were perfectly suited for working in orchards.
Out in the open air, the Renault’s MWM AKD 112 Z engine. (photo courtesy of Bas Steijvers)
Rare, a 1960-1963 Hatz TL11 from Germany with an in-house, air-cooled diesel engine. One cylinder, 668 cc, 11 DIN-hp.
Motorenfabrik Hatz -still going strong- was founded in 1880. The company also built farm tractors in the fifties and sixties.
A 1961-1962 Porsche Diesel Standard Star 238 with an air-cooled (what else?) two-cylinder engine, displacement 1.6 liter.
From 1956 to 1963, Porsche Diesel (Motorenbau GmbH) was a subsidiary of the Mannesmann industrial conglomerate, after which the whole tractor operation was taken over by Renault.
A 1966-1967 Fendt Farmer 3S with an Italian Argenterio crane. Fendt from Germany never had in-house engines, the Farmer 3S gets its power from a water-cooled MWM diesel (3.0 liter, four cylinders, 45 DIN-hp).
1967 County, model Super 4, type 654. Ford based, loud and clear. For truly all ins and outs of this UK specialty I can recommend to read this official 1966 test report.
Here’s an uncompromised farm machine from Bavaria, a 1979 Schlüter Super 1250 VL with a full cab. ‘Bärenstark’ was the manufacturer’s motto, as strong as a bear. So the nickname Grizzly on the cab roof is highly appropriate.
The tractor’s 125 DIN-hp, 7.1 liter inline-six is an in-house diesel engine, known as the Schlüter SDM 110 W6.
And what a great idea, a farm tractor with a tilt cab! (photo courtesy of Schlüterfreunde-OWL)
The last one of the collection is still doing its job just fine, an Iseki TU205 Landhope. Offered from 1986 to 1990, according to the information I found. It’s perfectly capable of handling both apples and oranges pears.
Related Fieldside Classic articles:
1967 Schlüter Super 750 V – Built Like A Tank
Ford County is an interesting article, there were a lot of conversions done to Ford and Fordson tractors, the little Iseki fruit picking tractor is cute but having done that work more trailers and more tractor works a lot better, usually orchardists gave out old Fordsons or similar for that job, oldest picking tractor I ever used was a 1938 David Brown it ran just fine I asked what model it was, but if you want to drive a variety of ancient tractors go fruitpicking in Aussie.
The last time I saw such a County at work must have been 45 to 50 years ago. It was towing a single axle dumper through rough and wet terrain, the County certainly was an ideal tractor for the job.
Considering the ergonomics, or lack of ergonomics on old tractors, I’m not sure how comfortable theses are apart from the Steyr and Schluter tractors. Commenting in order, I’m not surprised the old Renault has the radiator at the rear, since that matches early Renault car and truck practice, as well as early Mack trucks. For the rest it looks similar to 1920s tractors in the US. T
he rails on the Steyr’s fenders are so people can sit on the fenders, I’ve done that with a 70s Ford.
There are some similar tool carrier type vehicles to the Lanz in the US for small farms or large gardens, with the various plows, cultivators and mowers replacing the box, or towed behind.
It’s worth noting the newer Renault doesn’t have a radiator since it’s air cooled but would have had a front radiator since Renault started putting radiators in front in the late 1920s.
I’m somewhat familiar with Hatz engines from Wacker comactors and rollers, but never saw a complete Hatz before,
The tractor with the grapple crane is unusual, I’ve only seen that type of boom used with mowers. It does look like the sort of thing Bruder toys would have as an accessory.
County Tractors also made 4×4 Ford Transits based on the second generation models, I’m not sure if they did later generations.
The Schluter’s tilt cab really is clever for servicing the rear end, but big jobs would still require removal.
The Iseki is a new name to me but their products resemble the Yanmar and Kubota tractors I’m familiar with
Those small Iseki, Yanmar, Kubota, and Shibaura tractors are widely used here by fruit growers, tree nurseries, and in the big greenhouses.
All the bigger tractors come from the usual US and Euro-manufacturers.
I’ve seen a few Ford Country here in the US, but nothing else looks familiar although I have heard of them. The needs of the european farmer were very different than the needs of the midwestern flatland farmer.
Interesting selection of tractors. I’d like to see more of/about the rear hitch on the Renault PE, looks like a 3pth. Steyr with independent front suspension, I sold some Hercules engine parts to a guy that was restoring and old tractor that had a very unique front end, it had two arms with the back end mounted to the tractor frame that would pivot in or out, the other end held a spindle that went through a coil spring. the spindle had a plate with notches or holes (I don’t remember) so when you moved the arm out you moved the steering linkage to another hole to keep the tires straight. I want to say it was a Moline but on a quick search I found nothing and it’s been 30 years since I’ve seen it. Heard a lot about Ford’s County Super 6 here in the US although I’ve seen one.
Here’s a Renault PE with a reversible Huard plow (that’s what I make of it).
Source:
https://www.atr-agri.com/cata_ta.php?atrnum=0005&NumOrgane=&organe=
Avery Ro-Trac tractor built between1938-1941 coil spring adjustable front end.
This?
Yes! The old guy that had it worked for IH back in the ’30s until his retirement. His hobby was restoring old tractors. He came across the Avery in a salvage yard and just had to have it. It was a very unique front end setup, not too hard to adjust and the coil springs gave a good ride. Had a 200 cid Hercules engine. The guys name was Howard Drake and he had one hand taken off above the wrist, didn’t slow him down! (Wow talk about pulling a rabbit pull of a hat!)
Driving through a small town in the US state of Iowa, I saw this notice posted. I was raised in a small farm town where tractors on the street were not an unknown sight. Not being a farm boy myself, this notice surprised me with the question on tractor road speed. I never realized how such small differences might be important for planning things like a parade. Gives me a new appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes to pull off such an event.
Correct, Van Veldhuizen instead of Vanveldhuizen. Quite a common last name in the more northern parts of the Netherlands.
Anyway, modern farm tractors can do close to 60 km/h (37 mph). When I was a kid, farm tractors (regardless their size/power) always had a 16 km/h sign on their front, that’s 10 mph. The article’s 1960 Renault has one.
Ah, vintage machinery. Hartelijk dank! If I go to the Geelong Show this year, I must return the favour and take some photos of the rows of vintage tractors and implements on display.
Having lived in small country towns for the past 35 years, I should be used to the speed of modern tractors. But on the occasions whan one comes through town, the driver usually keeps the speed down to around 40km/h (in a 50 zone). I’d guess this could be a reflection on the braking distance he might need rather than the potential speed of the tractor.
That Renault with the radiator in front of the driver – I wouldn’t want to be in the saddle when it boiled over! I totally understand why they did this – carryover from their cars, but still…
Here’s an old Lanz I made a few months back.
Graag gedaan Peter! What a stunning little Lanz Bulldog that is, and with a happy farmer to boot…
Below, on the left, a 1949-1954 Kelly & Lewis. I caught it a few years ago, it’s an Aussie Lanz Bulldog D8506 (but you already knew that).
A KL Bulldog in the Netherlands – wow!
I remember seeing them in action at a vintage tractor pull. It was pertty much the highlight of the evening, it’s amazing what such a simple machine can do.
Great photos and facts and comments from the CC’ers. As for slow and not comfortable, has anyone considered that you might meat a fine filly if you’re driving one of these? Thanks for the respite from my labors.