When does a tractor become 'Vintage'

[sd455dan]

My now parked out of the way 1970 Ford 2000 gas tractor may not be vintage, but it is junk. I used to repair that thing almost every time I used it. I spent more time running 30 minutes each way to get parts than I did using it many times. The last time I used it the tractor got stuck in gear and we had to use a hammer to get it loose and move it out of the way. Not long after that I bought a Deere 4044M to replace it. Just the title of this thread made me laugh and brought back memories.

My 1967 3000 needed little things, the original owner had the Powershift rebuilt by Ford, if that had been toast, yeah pretty much going to be a lawn ornament.
It was a very handy and capable 40 HP tractor, also a great mowing tractor with the independent PTO powershift and power steering. I do like the MFWD and extra power of the Rhino tractor though. One man's junk is or can be another man's treasure.

 

[RB5]

My 1967 3000 needed little things, the original owner had the Powershift rebuilt by Ford, if that had been toast, yeah pretty much going to be a lawn ornament.
It was a very handy and capable 40 HP tractor, also a great mowing tractor with the independent PTO powershift and power steering. I do like the MFWD and extra power of the Rhino tractor though. One man's junk is or can be another man's treasure.

You brought back memories of one wheel spinning in the sandy soil when pulling my disk. I would have to disconnect and hook up again at a different angle to get it moving. No loader.. When I bought a new tractor I had to have 4wd and a loader. Those 2 things have kept me from getting stuck many times. I also switched to a 4x4 truck and have only been stuck once or twice when I thought it was drier than it was and hit a soft spot without having 4wd engaged. I was able to get out much easier in 4 low with all 4 wheels turning than I could with one wheel turning. 4x4 is a must where we live. We have sandy soil with lots of clay. My old Ford tractor got stuck and sat in the field for 2 months until it dried out enough to get my 2wd truck close enough to pull it out. I could see that my Ford 2000 was probably a pretty decent tractor back when it was new, not when I owned it. It has become a lawn ornament. Thanks for reminding me of stuff and making me laugh.

 

[jjeff]

Any year tractor that ends up iny barn or at least looks well used and vintage before I get my hands on it lol.

 

[CliffordK]

This is a google answer...

Vintage Tractors: Typically 25 to 50 years old, often from the 1940s to 1970s.

Antique Tractors: Generally over 50 years old, usually built before the 1950s. These are often displayed in shows and are considered historically significant.

Oh, I just love that kind of a definition. Apparently Google can't do math.

2025 - 25 = 2000
2025 - 50 = 1975

So, by their numbers, "Vintage" should be mid 70's to 2000, and "Antique" is anything before 1975.

As mentioned above, I just think of old tractors. But there may be features that would throw a tractor into a classic/vintage/antique scale. For example, any tricycle tractor might be considered seriously obsolete. Or an exposed flat belt drive. But there were tractor models that had both wide and narrow front wheel placement, so one might have a certain classic collectable appeal, but both may fit on the classic/vintage scale.

Any tractor that as sold new with only hand crank start would have to be thrown into the antique category.

 

[CliffordK]

When my parents bought the farm around 1979 or 1980, they purchased an "old" international tractor. 2 pt hitch and implements. Probably mid 60's. It was a good tractor, but they eventually chose to upgrade to a much newer model. The thing always seemed old.

This spring I found myself needing some HP. So I ended up with a tractor that was probably the same age, but somewhat larger. Clearly an "OLD" tractor. Nonetheless it mostly runs and was able to do the cutting and raking.

 

[masseyrider]

Not vintage in my mind really... but when the manufacturer stops providing replacement parts.
I had a Massey that was a great machine but got rid of it because some parts were obsolete in their parts inventory.
Now a days that can start like mine did when it was only 10 years old and under a 1000 hours.
By that standard a Ford 8N is still current stuff.

 

[WinterDeere]

Not vintage in my mind really... but when the manufacturer stops providing replacement parts.

Isn't that like the day after they stop selling that tractor, for some of the newer brands out of east Asia?

By this definition, Deere's might take a long time to reach vintage status. They still sold every part on my old 855 when I sold it at 36 years of age, so far as I could tell at the time.

 

[aircommuter]

It changes every year.

 

[bmaverick]

Isn't that like the day after they stop selling that tractor, for some of the newer brands out of east Asia?

By this definition, Deere's might take a long time to reach vintage status. They still sold every part on my old 855 when I sold it at 36 years of age, so far as I could tell at the time.

Yanmar is known to reuse parts from the 1970s to present in their engines. The reason why Deere engines and full machines Yanmar made are still going today. Many of the parts are produced globally and tractors and other machines sold globally. Therefore, the machines are not one-of-a-kind, but all are related and many things interchangeable to a degree.

My vintage Yanmar YM2610 swaps parts with several of the Deere siblings. Even the 3T80 engine is swapable.

Ford 8N will live like forever with parts availability. The only thing it really needs is a ROPS. A useful machine, yet in it's history it's linked to over 2,000 deaths due to the tractor or operator errors. A bit of common sense and knowing the limits of any machine is needed.

 

[WinterDeere]

Yanmar is known to reuse parts from the 1970s to present in their engines. The reason why Deere engines and full machines Yanmar made are still going today.

Yep... that's why I included "newer" in my description of the east-Asian brands. Yanmar is as close to ubiquitous among small diesel engines in both tractors and boats, that it's almost surprising no one calls diesels "Yanmars", like Kleenex or Xerox.