If you’ve ever been to a large enough car show, you know there’s always a chance you might see an antique tractor or two displayed alongside those classic muscle cars and hot rods—and since we’re big fans of anything piston-powered around here, we gleefully snap pictures of all of it.
That said, these photos include all of the interesting tractors, lawn mowers, and farming equipment we’ve come across in our decade-plus of covering local cruise-ins, museum exhibits, historical events, county fairs, and the Summit Racing Show Car Series.
Take a look at what we spotted below, and let us know if you have a favorite using the comments section at the bottom of this article.
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Before diesel and gasoline ruled the roost (farm pun!), steam provided the power. In fact, while the word tractor means “To Pull” in Latin, the name gained widespread use from the term “Traction Motor” applied to these early steam-powered behemoths during the mid 19th century. (Image/OnAllCylinders)The ill-fated UDLX “Comfortractor” from Minneapolis Moline was pitched as a tractor you can drive into town with. Problem was, when it tried to be both a car AND a tractor, customers found that it wasn’t very good at either. Poor sales and a short-lived design mean that surviving examples are now the prize of many antique tractor collections. (Image/OnAllCylinders – Sean Cutright)Case was one of the first major players in industrialized agriculture, starting out in the 1840s as the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co. It began selling gas-powered tractors in the early 20th century and by the 1980s it had merged with one of its major competitors, International, to ultimately become Case-IH. (Image/OnAllCylinders)A while back, our favorite dragstrip covered its lanes in dirt to welcome the inaugural World Series of Pulling. Check out details and pics from that event here. (Image/OnAllCylinders – Jason Liss)Speaking of hot rod tractors, this is a vintage 1965 John Deere 4020 fitted with a small block Chevy V8 and set up for pulling competitions. (Image/OnAllCylinders)Take a good look at the name on the cowl here—this is a 1958 Porsche 308 N Super Diesel. Porsche made its own Porsche-branded tractors from 1956 to 1963. All told, about 120,000 Porsche tractors were produced across a handful of distinct generations. (Image/OnAllCylinders)Based in Canada, Cockshutt began as a plow company before building full scale tractors following World War II. Fun Fact: The Cockshutt 500 Series tractors (like the one pictured here) were sculpted by famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy—the same guy behind the GG1 locomotive, Air Force 1 livery, and Studebaker Avanti. (Image/Summit Racing – Will Schertz)After World War II, the Willys company marketed the Jeep as a piece of agricultural equipment, and there was a robust mix of tillers, augers, spreaders, and related implements available to make use of the Jeep’s rear PTO unit. (Image/OnAllCylinders)In the same vein, the plucky Crosley Motors of Cincinnati, Ohio offered its own pint-sized take on the Jeep, the aptly named Crosley Farm-O-Road. Like the short-lived Comfortractor above, it was billed as a piece of farm equipment that you could run errands with—and yeah, despite being smaller than a golf cart, it’s street legal. (Image/OnAllCylinders)At its peak, the scope of the Allis-Chalmers product portfolio was incredible, ranging from blast furnaces to industrial engine hoists and, by the 1920s, hard working tractors and other farming/construction equipment. The agricultural division of Allis-Chalmers currently exists as AGCO, based out of Duluth, Georgia. (Image/OnAllCylinders)About a decade after the Model T, Ford began its own tractor line under the name Fordson, a portmanteau of “Ford and Son.” This is a later Major diesel model released after World War II. While the Fordson name was dropped by the 1960s, Ford continued to produce tractors until the 1990s. (Image/OnAllCylinders – Sean Cutright)Ford would go on to design and build what is perhaps the most famous tractor of all time: the 8N. Part of the long-running N series, the 8N debuted shortly after World War II and would be in production until 1952. All told, Ford would make over a half-million 8N tractors, and many are still in use to this day. (Image/OnAllCylinders – Matt Griswold)One of the earliest tractors we’ve come across, this 1920 Samson Model M ran on gasoline or kerosene—whatever the farmer had available. Samson was a purchased by General Motors in 1917 to compete with the nascent Fordson line, before being shuttered in 1923. (Image/OnAllCylinders)The Cub Cadet tractor line was hatched by the International Harvester company as a way to market compact, user-friendly tractors to small farms and rural homeowners. (Image/OnAllCylinders – Will Schertz)The Cub Cadet division essentially produced scaled-down versions of industrial ag equipment, right down to their steel frames, PTOs, and robust Kohler engines. This is a 1968 Model 72 equipped with a mowing deck, but you could also get snow plows, spreaders, and other add-ons too. IH sold Cub Cadet to the MTD company, where it continues to this day. (Image/OnAllCylinders)The name “Cub” itself was first used on the smallest tractor in International Harvester’s line, before branching out into the distinct Cub Cadet brand. The Cub was sold under the Farmall, McCormick, and International marques as far back as the 1940s. (Image/Summit Racing – Will Schertz)Like many other agricultural companies, the Jaques Power Saw Co. ventured into the home market with a lineup of small tractors and riding mowers. This Mighty Mite Model 10 was perhaps its most common offering. (Image/OnAllCylinders – Sean Cutright)Despite their old-school persona, modern tractors are marvels of agricultural engineering—and carry the price tags to prove it. (Image/OnAllCyllinders)Massey Manufacturing began in the 1840s before merging with the A. Harris, Son and Company to become Massey-Harris at the end of the 19th century. In the 1950s, Massey-Harris combined with Ferguson to give us Massey-Ferguson, a company that remains a major presence in the international agricultural industry today. (Image/OnAllCylinders – Sean Cutright)OK, so it’s not a tractor, but we’ll just close with this early Hurricane lawn mower powered by a Lauson pull-start motor. We spotted it at the Kansas City Autorama a few years ago—watch your toes with this monster. (Image/Championship Auto Shows)
Paul is the editor of OnAllCylinders. When he's not writing, you'll probably find him fixing oil leaks in a Jeep CJ-5 or roof leaks in an old Corvette ragtop. Thanks to a penchant for vintage Honda motorcycles, he spends the rest of his time fiddling with carburetors and cleaning chain lube off his left pant leg.
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