70s tractor poll

Best tractor produced in the 70s


  • Total voters
    69
In the 80hp range.
The 188 was a good very basic tractor that was becoming out dated by the end of the seventies.
The 6600 was a poor tractor when compared to the 7600
The 784 was a soft tractor when compared to the 844, and that stupid 8mm pin holding up the lift still haunts my dreams.
I never remember any Zetor doing big hours around here trouble free, had a 6cyl Ursus equivalent and it didn't give good service.
The Deutz were a good tractor, but my god were they noisy, if the wind was in the right direction you would hear one 3 or 4 miles away.
The JD 40 series were a good tractors, but mainly 1980's and the 3140 is 100hp 6cyl, isn't it?????? The seventies JD's were good tractors, but good mechanics for them were hard to find.
In a similar vein, the Fendt favorit 600sl, 90hp 6cyl
MB trac 800
There’s one local here and I know he’s coming from atleast 2 miles away. It started its life probably 10 miles or so from here and is now only a few miles in the opposite direction but no clue where it was in between. It would have worked hard in its first home and it’s still on the go now
 
Ih674 was a lovely looking tractor. But I remember the the seat had no give in it.
Mf were great tractors of the time. Rarely gave trouble.
Ford's got more popular than mf in the seventies in UK. Solid tractors the 000 series.
Leyland were outdated and more troublesome than above.
Zetor popular in Ireland but not up to quality of Ford or mf.
70s Fiat were reliable but spoiled by being rusty
Thinking of tractors of the 00s and I think they are much better. Hardly ever recondition a engine now unless it's mega hours.
 
drove every tractor on the list bar the david brown and they all were great tractors in their day at specific jobs, its a bit unfair to compare a 135 to a super comfort 880 as the fiat would be released in 78 whereas the 135 was on the go from the mid 60,s so a lot of developement went on in those 14 yrs , i,ll go for the 188 as i,ve a lot of happy memories of silage work on one, the most disappointing one of the lot is the international 784
 
drove every tractor on the list bar the david brown and they all were great tractors in their day at specific jobs, its a bit unfair to compare a 135 to a super comfort 880 as the fiat would be released in 78 whereas the 135 was on the go from the mid 60,s so a lot of developement went on in those 14 yrs , i,ll go for the 188 as i,ve a lot of happy memories of silage work on one, the most disappointing one of the lot is the international 784


I also voted for the 188 , though i did dither for a minute on opting for the 135 . I shoved up silage with a 188 , and drew silage with a newer 188. I loved them . Either the Ford 7000 or 7600 , were the original of the species , The 1st mass produced 4 cyl turbo engine . The original " Pocket Rocket ". I never drove a Deutz DX , nor a 1210 DB , though i used a 995 for possibly 2 days , and it didnt do much for me , it had the older Victor cab. Im surprised that lots of you didnt like the Internationals , i liked the 784 , 885s . I had a man here doing a job last night , a year older than me , and he was talking about spreading slurry for a contractor in the early 80s , using a Molex tanker , and a 2100 Leyland . He described both tractor and tanker as being greater heaps of shite , than what was in the tanker.. Sorry to offend you @MF30 . Most people around here who ever drove a Leyland , havent very fond memories of them .
 
I haven't .much experience with a 4cyl 880fiat though I did own one for a short time.the 5cylinder one we had which was 1983 I think was the best tractor I ever had in terms of power and reliability and value for money.
Pity about the rust but newspaper and fillers were cheap
 
Having spent more than a day on only two of the tractors in the poll but having repaired most of those mentioned it’s hard to give fair comment. What stands out to me is the price of parts varies hugely between models. Zetor parts are dirt cheap and John Deere top the expensive parts list. The two I drove were decent performers. No offence taken on the 2100 JF850, they definitely weren’t Leylands finest hour!
 
I also voted for the 188 , though i did dither for a minute on opting for the 135 . I shoved up silage with a 188 , and drew silage with a newer 188. I loved them . Either the Ford 7000 or 7600 , were the original of the species , The 1st mass produced 4 cyl turbo engine . The original " Pocket Rocket ". I never drove a Deutz DX , nor a 1210 DB , though i used a 995 for possibly 2 days , and it didnt do much for me , it had the older Victor cab. Im surprised that lots of you didnt like the Internationals , i liked the 784 , 885s . I had a man here doing a job last night , a year older than me , and he was talking about spreading slurry for a contractor in the early 80s , using a Molex tanker , and a 2100 Leyland . He described both tractor and tanker as being greater heaps of shite , than what was in the tanker.. Sorry to offend you @MF30 . Most people around here who ever drove a Leyland , havent very fond memories of them .
i hated the 188 on a pit, clutch was too high and hadn,t near the traction of a crystal or wait for it a leyland 2100 which was the best 2 wd i ever used on a pit but it had a gearbox made from cheese
 
I haven't .much experience with a 4cyl 880fiat though I did own one for a short time.the 5cylinder one we had which was 1983 I think was the best tractor I ever had in terms of power and reliability and value for money.
Pity about the rust but newspaper and fillers were cheap
4 cyl 880 was the first fiat i ever drove and it was a revelation compared to any of the others on the list but it was later in being launched
 
This poll proved far more interesting than I thought, great to hear everyone's opinions and memories of these machines back in their day, although some machines are remembered more fondly than others its still interesting to hear everyone's input.

I personally only over drove the 188, 135, 3130, 784 and perhaps the 4000 if I include it with the ford's and out of the lot I must say the 188 is the pick of the crop for me. Although I love my little 135 and it never ceases to amaze me all the tasks it's able to do, some big and some small, the 188 just has that bit of extra power to pull heavier loads and bigger kit. They're also one of the nicest and handiest tractors in my humble opinion to work on, everything is very thoughtfully laid out but I hear the fiat's are meant to be much the same, a very easy tractor to split so I'm told.

3130 and 784 kind of fall short with me on the fact that they're just not as simple to work on. The 4000 is a close second but I just find the cab a little bit more cramped than the sirocco cabs found on the masseys. As mentioned before they do have a great brake system for their size. I wouldn't be too keen on any of the x600 series ford's, heard too many horror story's about the engines on them and from the few I've seen the cabs aren't the best for rust.
 
You had the Ford 7000 available back then for power. A very good 4 cylinder turbo. What was around in the 6 cylinder straight at that time that would have been popular? Leyland 2100. Anything else?
 
You had the Ford 7000 available back then for power. A very good 4 cylinder turbo. What was around in the 6 cylinder straight at that time that would have been popular? Leyland 2100. Anything else?
A 946 International, Ford 7400 would have just been making an appearance, Steyr 1090 getting long in the tooth, 3130 JD.
 
You had the Ford 7000 available back then for power. A very good 4 cylinder turbo. What was around in the 6 cylinder straight at that time that would have been popular? Leyland 2100. Anything else?
There was Massey 1135/1155, Ford 8600/9600, International 1046, Deutz D10006/ D12006 and the John Deere 3130 off the top of my head, alot of lads used to do conversions on Nuffields and majors putting truck and industrial engines into them. Don't worry, I'll do a poll on them in the coming days too. Any other suggestions are more than welcome.
 
i hated the 188 on a pit, clutch was too high and hadn,t near the traction of a crystal or wait for it a leyland 2100 which was the best 2 wd i ever used on a pit but it had a gearbox made from cheese
I used a 2100 on a pit, great grunt and you could lift off if it spun and throttle on again once it gripped, it did try to kill me once on an open walled pit beside a slurry tank, getting towards finishing off and going towards the wall dipped the clutch to find nothing as it had leaked the fluid, even at tickover by the time I had pulled the stopper there wasn't far to go to a 10ft drop into a slurry tank.
 
You had the Ford 7000 available back then for power. A very good 4 cylinder turbo. What was around in the 6 cylinder straight at that time that would have been popular? Leyland 2100. Anything else?
IH 955, MF1135, ford 8100 & TW10, Deutz Dx110 and Zetor/Ursus 12011. were the 6cyls around here
 
Too many variables in the 70s.

It should be split between pre and post introduction of the Q cab in my view.

Probably the 7000 pre 76 and in the post category either IH1055 or DX110 but I think both were introduced in 79 so just about scrape through.

The 8011 and 135 are 60s tractors so are outside scope.
 
Too many variables in the 70s.

It should be split between pre and post introduction of the Q cab in my view.

Probably the 7000 pre 76 and in the post category either IH1055 or DX110 but I think both were introduced in 79 so just about scrape through.

The 8011 and 135 are 60s tractors so are outside scope.
I wouldnt consider the 8011 a 60's tractor tbh, local contractor bought a few new ones in the late 70's and there were plenty sold new in the 80's too
As regards the poll, I would put put the 8011 up there, when you take price, capability and the fact that it was way ahead of most of the others of its time with a proper fully enclosed flat floor cab, decent wheels etc
 
Too many variables in the 70s.

It should be split between pre and post introduction of the Q cab in my view.

Probably the 7000 pre 76 and in the post category either IH1055 or DX110 but I think both were introduced in 79 so just about scrape through.

The 8011 and 135 are 60s tractors so are outside scope.
I'll probably do another one for 67/68 onwards and cut it at 72 maybe.
 
The 188 was the ticket to expansion for us. It just did everything and when we finished with it 25 years later it went and did the same for the next man, neighbour, helping him expanding by costing nothing in repairs. There was just no end to it. Loved the 2140 also but not to same extent as it was 10 years newer and a nice few repairs
 
Voted for the 188 though I wouldnt have swapped my 185 for one ,8 inches shorter, lighter ( cast centres on any 188s locally) we had a 168 at the same time , it was to be a second 185 but their was a price increase so an old price 168 with ipto , Multi Power and wide tyres was cheaper than a basic 185 . It worked out to our advantage because it wasnt long till the 168 got an 80 loader and with the combined flow hydraulics it was a big advantage.
 
I wouldnt consider the 8011 a 60's tractor tbh, local contractor bought a few new ones in the late 70's and there were plenty sold new in the 80's too
As regards the poll, I would put put the 8011 up there, when you take price, capability and the fact that it was way ahead of most of the others of its time with a proper fully enclosed flat floor cab, decent wheels etc

The 8011 was actually introduced in 1968 I think hence my comment!!
 
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