John Deere Built a Giant. International Harvester Outpulled It.
Farming Machinery US
59,219 views
In the early 1960s, the 300-horsepower International Harvester 4300 arrived in Manitoba on a rail flatcar, overhanging both sides. It had more drawbar power than John Deere’s 8010, yet IH built only 44. Why did this giant four-wheel-drive tractor find so few buyers?
This documentary follows Remi Mosset’s yellow IH 4300, nicknamed “Crunch,” from a South Dakota field demonstration to work on his 5,000-acre farm. We trace its origins in the Hough loader plant, its results in Nebraska Tractor Test 815, the 40-foot chisel plow it pulled, and the gearbox trouble that sent it to an International Harvester truck shop for an Allison power-shift conversion.
The IH 4300 was part of a larger race for farm power. John Deere rebuilt its troubled 8010 as the 8020, while farmers faced the cost of implements large enough for these machines. As IH and Deere stepped back, Steiger and Versatile found a growing market for four-wheel-drive tractors. Years later, Steiger would build the IH 4366.
Which tractor would you have chosen for a large prairie farm: the IH 4300 or the John Deere 8010?
Sources and further reading:
IH zone manager’s firsthand account of Remi Mosset, “Crunch,” and the Allison conversion:
https://www.grainews.ca/machinery/the...
University of Nebraska — original IH 4300 Tractor Test No. 815 record:
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tracto...
John Deere 8010 and its rebuild as the 8020:
https://classictractorstv.com/videos/...
Interview with an engineer who developed the Steiger-built IH 4366:
https://octanepress.com/content/secre...
Versatile’s history of its early four-wheel-drive tractors:
https://www.versatile-ag.com/NA/pages...
#InternationalHarvester #IH4300 #TractorHistory
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John Deere Built a Giant. International Harvester Outpulled It.
Farming Machinery US
59,219 views
In the early 1960s, the 300-horsepower International Harvester 4300 arrived in Manitoba on a rail flatcar, overhanging both sides. It had more drawbar power than John Deere’s 8010, yet IH built only 44. Why did this giant four-wheel-drive tractor find so few buyers?
This documentary follows Remi Mosset’s yellow IH 4300, nicknamed “Crunch,” from a South Dakota field demonstration to work on his 5,000-acre farm. We trace its origins in the Hough loader plant, its results in Nebraska Tractor Test 815, the 40-foot chisel plow it pulled, and the gearbox trouble that sent it to an International Harvester truck shop for an Allison power-shift conversion.
The IH 4300 was part of a larger race for farm power. John Deere rebuilt its troubled 8010 as the 8020, while farmers faced the cost of implements large enough for these machines. As IH and Deere stepped back, Steiger and Versatile found a growing market for four-wheel-drive tractors. Years later, Steiger would build the IH 4366.
Which tractor would you have chosen for a large prairie farm: the IH 4300 or the John Deere 8010?
Sources and further reading:
IH zone manager’s firsthand account of Remi Mosset, “Crunch,” and the Allison conversion:
https://www.grainews.ca/machinery/the...
University of Nebraska — original IH 4300 Tractor Test No. 815 record:
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tracto...
John Deere 8010 and its rebuild as the 8020:
https://classictractorstv.com/videos/...
Interview with an engineer who developed the Steiger-built IH 4366:
https://octanepress.com/content/secre...
Versatile’s history of its early four-wheel-drive tractors:
https://www.versatile-ag.com/NA/pages...
#InternationalHarvester #IH4300 #TractorHistory