Sunday, October 29, 2023

1965 International 140 Industrial Tractor with a Model 1000 One-Arm Loader

How many days has it been since I lamented over buying yet another tractor? Um, thirty-three. Yep, I bought another tractor yesterday. Uh-huh. But I couldn't pass up this one. It was just too quirky. Here, have a look for yourself.

Does something look off? That's by design. The engine/transmission/differential are all shifted left, and the driver's station is off to the right so there is a clear view of the ground in front for doing things like cultivating crops. I can understand that design for an agricultural tractor (advertising of the day said the 140 was a "specialty tractor for specialty crops") but I'm not quite sure why they would make an offset industrial tractor, as the 140 Industrial was meant more for highway / school / county / municipal work than farming jobs. I guess people liked these offset tractors though, as a bunch of 140 Industrials were made. Even more quirky than the offset tractor is the goofy Model 1000 one-arm front end loader this tractor has on it.



See that little pedal that's circled in red below? That is one of several differences that makes this an industrial tractor. It is a foot throttle. The agricultural (Farmall 140) tractors don't have it. Some other difference are a heavy duty front axle, front axle brace, and unique steering pitman arm. I think the center-mount rockshaft ends are also unique to the industrial 140, but I'm not certain.


Below is a photo of the driver's station. You can see the engine on the left side and steering/brakes/clutch are on the right side. It's a bit odd driving this thing but that's what makes it a special tractor. I really need to stop going to tractor swap meets....

At one point in its life, this tractor belonged to the Boeing Aircraft Company. I presume they bought the tractor new, and used it as a tug to tow planes or carts.

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