A Real lawn and garden tractor! Ingersoll

beenthere · Jan 9, 2006

IF it were the "best tractor out there" then the company would not be disappearing, as it apparently is. There were some good ideas, but not good enough apparently to survive their competition (which must have been better than them).
Seems pretty straight forward. The ones that 'look better' or 'look good' maybe don't hold up so well.

IF they are good, I do hope they get back into production and sales to add to the competition. Just my opinion here. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

However, I will admit not always does the best win out, and Sony's Beta is a good example. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

slowrev · Jan 10, 2006

The reason they are disappearing is cost. We want stuff cheap. Good quality costs more than most of us want to pay.
Ben

_RaT_ · Jan 10, 2006

I would say that Ben is quite accurate.

kenmac · Jan 10, 2006

I called a distributer for ingersoll tractors in my area. They said that they had several sizes that they would like very much to sell.They said that ingersoll co. had been sold, but didn't say who to.Someone is to call me back with prices . Said that they were very well built tractors.

dbear · Jan 10, 2006

I think a big part of Ingersoll's realitive obscurity in comparison to brands like JD, CC, Toro...is not a quality issue, but a marketing one, or rather a lack of marketing on Ingersoll's part. Possibly a dealer/distributor issue as well, as I only knew of 2 dealers in my immediate area (20 mile radius), and they only had 3 tractors between the 2 of them when I was looking about 5 years ago! In contrast, there are 4 JD and 3 CC dealers in the same area, not counting Lowes and Home Depot.

5030 · Jan 10, 2006

Raterman:

For once I agree wholeheartedly. My Ingersol was way overbuilt, literally a tank, covered with grease fittings, diamond plate deck, greasable axles and pivots, everything to last a lifetime and not a disposable lawn tractor like is built today.

They built a durable well engineered product and that product had a price and that price was not competitive in the marketplace. The Ingersoll is not a disposable tractor.

DmansPadge · Jan 10, 2006

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I would say that Ben is quite accurate. )</font>

I would say that Ben is very accurate! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

And I hate to admit it, but, at times.... I'm one of those guys. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

gsganzer · Jan 11, 2006

I used to have a 1976 Case 446. The little thing was great for mowing, it had a 48" deck and gave one of the best cuts I've seen. They were true hydraulic drive, not hydrostatic. It had two forward speeds, two reverse speeds and a 2 speed transaxle. Because they were hydraulic, they had a whole slew of hydraulic implements for the Cat 0 3-point. Including a tiller, rotary mower and log splitter. If I remember correctly, the splitter was somewhat interesting, it had a fixed anvil on each end of the beam. The wedge would slide back and forth, permitting splitting logs on both the extend and the retract stroke.

Up until a year or two ago, they were still being sold under the Ingersol name (Not the same company as the Ingersol-rand stuff). The tractors were still virtually unchanged from the earlier models. A testament to a truly good design. There are entire groups on the internet dedicated to the Colt/Case/Ingersol tractors. Parts are still pretty plentiful for anyone wanting to take one on as a pet project.

5030 · Jan 11, 2006

Did you ever remove the seat plate and take a gander at the gears in there....massive. Plenty of lubricant too. The hydraulic oil for the vickers pump was under the seat lubricating the gear train.

slowrev · Jan 11, 2006

( I would say that Ben is quite accurate. )

I would say that Ben is very accurate!

And I hate to admit it, but, at times.... I'm one of those guys.
//

Yep, me too, sad to say.
I did get a 1973 812 Gravely garden tractor a few years ago. It is a tank, all Cast Iron Kohler engine and tranny is over rear axle, will go anywhere. I pull 3/4 ton loads of firewood up a hill that a 2wd pickup has trouble with /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Weighs in at about 800 lbs dry, 5 Gal fuel tank, can run all day.

Ben