Local Tractor get together in Austria

[ultrarunner]

Snapped a couple of pixs at a local tractor get together last month... Seems love of old Tractors is universal round the world.

Couldn't resist taking pictures of the old Steyr 15 tractor that I used to drive mowing the fields... and yes the fender auxiliary seats are OEM. I was able to confirm with a factory mechanic that many tractors of this vintage came auxiliary seat equipped as built.

I've spent many a day as a child riding on the fender as my Uncle tended his fields with his tractors... and later letting me cut the grass and bring home the hay... some of my best childhood memories.

Also snapped a picture of the a red Porsche Diesel Tractor for performance tractor enthusiasts...

 

[tallyho8]

Wow. Is that actually a diesel with a hand crank?

 

[ultrarunner]

The Porsche has electric start...

It has a Crank Hole... but I imagine it is just to turn-over the engine and not for starting...

The Porsche also has one auxiliary seat on the fender for a rider...

The Green Steyr Diesel is crank start only and it takes some muscle to get it going... On a cold winter day I would have to unscrew a fitting and add a glowing bunt to it and screw the fitting back in... I guess this is where the term glow-plug comes from? Many have added electric start and some are still original 15 hp hand crank diesels

The other Red Tractor was interesting because it is All Wheel Drive and the undercarriage is massive.

I added one picture of my nieces...

 

[hilld]

Do you have a picture of the Unimog?

 

[foggy1111]

I never knew Porshe made a tractor. It looks fairly modern (50's 60's??).....how old is it? Gotta love those second seats....the safety guys would be all over those today...lol.

 

[ultrarunner]

Do you have a picture of the Unimog?

I don't... thought I had one :-(

Still see them around over here... the local city uses them in winter to spread gravel and one is set up with a 3-way dump bed... often wondered why we don't have 3-way dumps here in the States... at least, I've never seen one on a small truck.

 

[ultrarunner]

I never knew Porsche made a tractor. It looks fairly modern (50's 60's??).....how old is it? Gotta love those second seats....the safety guys would be all over those today...lol.

Porsche stopped making tractors in 1963... about a 1000 units were sold in North America in the 50's and 60's.

Here's a link:

Porsche Diesel Tractor Registry

I loved to ride in those seats... sometimes the only transportation a family had was their tractor and riding on the fender seats sure beats riding in the hay wagon...

 

[RobertN]

Do you have a picture of the Unimog?

You might want to check out Von's page. He is a member here, although he does not post often any more... He outlined his first Mog restoration here, and then kind of got in to it whole hog.

VonsMog specializing in Restoration, Sales, Service and Parts for Mercedes Benz Unimogs

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Nice pictures.

I knew that Lamborghini made tractors, but I didn't know Porsche made them.

Since they stopped making them... I would love to own one

 

[tugboat-2]

OK,..I'll do it,....I know others would like to and since in this case its tractor related: ...What a beautiful photo!!!! The one with the fantastic house with such gorgeous window flower boxes, grounds and lovely little girls!!!!

You should be proud of that one and "all" its attributes!! WOW !!!

Gemutleykeit !!! (sp)
. . tug

PS:....oh yes, the tractors are great tooo!! lol

 

[Bird]

I added one picture of my nieces...

They're some cute little girls, too. But that house and yard are fantastic. Someone puts a lot of effort and work into that place and its landscaping.

 

[Thomas]

They are one beefy looking tractor..interesting.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[ultrarunner]

They're some cute little girls, too. But that house and yard are fantastic. Someone puts a lot of effort and work into that place and its landscaping.

Thank you... they are my pride and joy and always a pleasure to be around!

It's definitely a different way of life there... farmers can still farm and most everyone in that area comes from a farm family and understands living a semi-rural life.

A couple of years ago I invited friends from work in California to stay a few days and they couldn't believe "Everyone lives in million dollar homes"... they were expecting Austria to be a third world country.

The truth is these homes are self built and it may take 10, 15 or even 20 years before they are finished inside and out...

Not unusual for a newly wed couple to get a cement mixer as a wedding present if they are lucky enough to have a place to build... they use the pay as you go method to build and that's why it takes years to finish.

There's a lot of pride of ownership for the years of work it takes... The radiant heating systems, often fueled by any combination of oil, wood and solar and even propane backup are super efficient and the craftsmanship is superb... some of the kitchens look like they belong in Fine Home Building. Building Code REQUIRES that every home have a wood rated chimney so the option of heating with wood exists.. whether it is used or not.

By the way... the girls, my nieces, are California born and raised... although, given half a chance they would be quite content living in Austria... they can't get enough time around the farm... especially helping out with the chores and giving names to every baby pig, goat and calf ;-)

We visited another cousin that makes award winning goat cheese that is served in 5 star restaurants on the day they were making pork sausages... from start to finish.

I thought the girls would be squeamish, but they jumped right in and I even made a 60 pound batch... nothing like the flavor of fresh sausages made that morning.

I think it's sad that many kids today are so far removed from the basics of farm life or even being exposed to it... it's a lifestyle where you can be very self-sufficient.

Old/Antique Tractors are a fast growing hobby and many of the old tractors still get used once in awhile around the farms. My cousin sells wood/firewood on the side and has a beautiful Air Conditioned Fendt with winches and a crane mounted trailer that is just fun to watch... he still uses his 50 year old Tractor once in a while to get into a spot to small for the big Fendt.

 

[Bird]

I'll have to admit to knowing next to nothing about Austria, but what you just posted makes it sound great. Of course, it also makes it sound as if the people there might have more sense than most of us over here. I've enjoyed this thread and appreciate your pictures and information.

 

[EddieWalker]

Great pictures!!! Thanks for sharing. The seat on the fenders suprised me. One of those things that I just never thought of before. Too bad we don't have them here, my 8 year old always wants to ride along, but he's too big to fit anywhere.

Eddie

 

[ultrarunner]

Great pictures!!! Thanks for sharing. The seat on the fenders suprised me. One of those things that I just never thought of before. Too bad we don't have them here, my 8 year old always wants to ride along, but he's too big to fit anywhere.

Eddie

Growing up I thought every tractor had fender seats... great way to spend time with your kids and show them what you do... I've never seen a tractor in the States with one...

Most of the new tractors have cabs... so fender seats are a thing of the past.

Good to hear from you Eddie!

 

[ultrarunner]

Here's an update, about 90 seconds on how to start a crank start Diesel Tractor cold.

(It's not me in video)

Steyr T80 Start (ankurbeln) - YouTube

 

[ultrarunner]

For anyone interested... a friend sent me this link (Video is about 18 minutes)

Over 1,350 Steyr farm tractors at a get together... the oldest first up the newest.

These oldtime crank start 15 hp tractors are 65 years old and just keep running...

Steyr Traktor Weltrekord - Längste Kolonne - Weissenkirchen im Attergau 2011 - YouTube

 

[EddieWalker]

Amazing how many tractors showed up for this, even though it looks cold and rainy. I really like the canopy with the windshields on some of them. They even have windshield wipers, but no side walls. Lots of fender seats too!!!!

The countryside is beautiful. We really liked Austria a lot. When are you going back there again?

Eddie

 

[ultrarunner]

The last 3 years there's been too much turmoil at work to get away... I had been going every 2 years for 3-4 weeks.

The fender seats are the best...

Whole families would ride to market and back only with the tractor... now it's the Mercedes or BMW or dad's Porsche.

As a kid, it was all I could do to crank the Diesel fast enough to get it to start... the bunt "Glow Plug" made all the difference when cold.

I'm fascinated by old tractors...