NEWER TRACTORS vs OLD IRON

[DieselnHooters]

I just finished reading the "rust on my kubota" thread and it quickly switched into a debate on how modern tractors wont last as long and are not as well built as those vintage ones. Good points made on both sides I reckon but it left me wondering on what makes a tractor vintage/old iron and what makes it a modern one.

Was it glow plugs, power-steering, OEM cabs, hydraulic shuttles/HST/power-shift, electronic digital displays or something else?-

 

[Sutol]

I'd say it was a cab that sorts the men from the boys, without a cab it's a proper tractor with a cab it should be painted pink

 

[oldnslo]

I just finished reading the "rust on my kubota" thread and it quickly switched into a debate on how modern tractors wont last as long and are not as well built as those vintage ones. Good points made on both sides I reckon but it left me wondering on what makes a tractor vintage/old iron and what makes it a modern one.

Was it glow plugs, power-steering, OEM cabs, hydraulic shuttles/HST/power-shift, electronic digital displays or something else?-

Don't know if you could point it to any one thing. I think it has just been a gradual change and decay in the quality and or quantity of materials used. Today they use computer design, stress and fatigue analysis to build in a "design" life of a piece of equipment under given loads. Before all this analysis it seemed like stuff was just made to last.

I also suspect the advent of the computer age and internet makes a 1% failure rate on product seem like the whole product line is junk.

Roy

 

[DAY]

After WWII "Designed Obsolescence" was discovered by Madison Avenue, and America changed forever. For Good, or For Bad is open to debate!

When I was small we had a party line telephone, and you needed an operator to place a call. Now I can watch movies on my cell phone, while I text message my stockbroker. . .

 

[tim l]

To me a vintage tractor is one which was made in the USA, must have one of the traditional names such as John Deere, Case, IH, etc., Components were mechanically enguaged like the PTO, and belt pulley.

I think they were overbuilt and hard to kill. They could set out in the weather for years and would still run. I would not consider anything made after the seventies a vintage tractor. Also easy to work on.

 

[Baby Grand]

To me it's about the weight to power ratio and the use of materials. Big, heavy, cast iron cases & housings, steel forgings, and a touch of sheet metal. I'd consider an old Ferguson-Brown, Leyland or similar, foreign makes to be vintage, too.

 

[milkman636]

If it leaks too much to keep on a cement floor it's old iron

 

[SPYDERLK]

I'd say it was a cab that sorts the men from the boys, without a cab it's a proper tractor with a cab it should be painted pink

:thumbsup: ... Course my '06 Mahindra is turning pink in the sun. :confused3:
larry

 

[strum456]

In my opinion, you get the best of both worlds with a lot of 15 to
25 year old machines.

During this time period, most tractors had plenty of gears (even synchronized in some cases), decent hydraulics, and hydrostatic steering. They have modern features and are built out of heavy castings and steel.

 

[D7E]

In my opinion, you get the best of both worlds with a lot of 15 to
25 year old machines.

During this time period, most tractors had plenty of gears (even synchronized in some cases), decent hydraulics, and hydrostatic steering. They have modern features and are built out of heavy castings and steel.

Absoluteley , Capable of as much work as a new one , some amount of comfort ,easier maintenance at a fraction of the cost.