Yes, tractors! Not the kind of vehicle one commonly finds in Tokyo, of course. But up in Hokkaido – even in towns, sometimes – those things are everywhere. This post is dedicated to Johannes Dutch, who will undoubtedly be instrumental in identifying some of these. An eclectic bunch, as we shall see, starting with this 1952 International Farmall.
This is the only tractor in this post whose model year I’m relatively confident about – it was written on a plaque. It was kind of difficult to take pictures of this one, as there were a bunch of kids playing on and around it (my kid included). That streamlined nose was designed by Raymond Loewy, apparently.
On a farm that mostly grew lavender and bred alpacas (the most random thing one cold ever conceive to find in Japan, really), there were two very cool British-made machines. This Fordson Super Dexta was remarkable – and remarkably well-preserved.
These were made in Dagenham from 1962 to 1964; some were sold in the US as the Ford 2000. The 3-cyl. Perkins engine only provided 32hp. That big chrome “Super Dexta” emblem is something to behold though. Almost looks like something out of the Eastern Bloc.
Next to the Fordson was its arch-rival, the Massey-Ferguson 35. According to Wikipedia, these were made in the US from 1955 and the UK a year later, both countries building these in substantial numbers until 1964. I’m not 100% sure about this, but it seems this one’s “FE 35” designation makes it a 1956-57.
It seems the Japanese obsession with goofy rear-view mirrors extended to farming vehicles. Both this M-F and the Fordson have them. That’s not necessarily the case with the other tractors I’ve seen here, though.
Here’s the local retort to these foreign devils: I think this might be a Kubota T15. This was the company’s first tractor, launched in 1960, though they had been in the business of making engines since the early ‘20s. Nowadays, there’s not a country in Asia where Kubotas aren’t used, especially for rice farming.
The “15” refers to the Kubota 2-cyl. Diesel engine’s horsepower – modest, but then the whole tractor only weighs 900kg. The key’s still in the ignition, too.
Last but certainly not least, at the old Sapporo brewery (in, well, Sapporo), was a lovely orange Fiat Diamante. We stupidly did not ensure that the museum that now occupies the old brewery was open before we made our way there, so of course it was closed. Still, the grounds were great and this ‘60s Fiat, plonked in front of the main building, made the trip sort of worthwhile. As did the “Genghis Khan” (i.e. lamb BBQ) outdoor restaurant, I guess.
Apparently, this series of Fiat-OM tractors, launched in 1963 and made until 1968, were the first of their kind to benefit from PininFarina’s handiwork. Some of these were manufactured by Kubota under license, though I have no idea where this one was built. That’s it for my first foray into the world of tractors, folks. Back to JDM oddities and whatever interesting foreign metal Tokyo throws my way.
I’ve always been fascinated that tractors were industrial equipment marketed as consumer products, with considerable attention to styling and advertising based on emotional appeal.
Of course that powers the appeal of the vintage and collector tractor experience. Few people collect true industrial equipment.
I like vintage tractors and own three of them. A neighboring Mennonite farm community actually farms with them. Tractors are allowed alongside horses so long as they do not have hydraulic lifts or electronics and they simply pull their implements. It’s interesting seeing seventy year old vintage equipment in daily use.
Tractors were consumer products until the rise of huge corporate farms. For a family farm they were a major investment. There was a lot of competition and the manufacturers used features, color and a bit of styling to get a leg up.
BTW, that Farmall is a C.
Nice collection there! I showed my 8N and Boomer 8N a couple weekends ago at a local tractor show, where there were a few interesting and rare tractors on hand in the midst of the usual sea of green. One was a Fergy TO-30, and another was a Case 1570 ‘Spirit of ’76.’
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/fieldside-classics/fieldside-classics-case-1570-spirit-of-76-tractor/
In addition to evening tractor pulls, they had a “Slow Race” in which the last tractor across the finish line wins. I entered the Boomer 8N, and *almost* tied for third place. A kid on a JD garden tractor next to me came in first (or is is last?).
Thank you! Great collection of old, well-used machinery. Small and narrow Japanese tractors (like the ones from Kubota and Shibaura) are common here among fruit growers and horticulturists. The mid- and full-sizers in other branches, and that includes earth-moving, are either American or European.
A guy who lives about 2 km down the road from me has several Oliver tractors in beautiful condition. I have seen them at some local fairs, but he has one he does use for real work. During the winter he mounts a snow blower on the back (it also looks as if it is an antique), and a plexiglas and wood cab on top, and he clears the snow from a number of driveways in the area. We are on the Ontario shore of Lake Huron, so there is lots snow, and there he is blowing out the driveways. It is a great thing to see.
It seems to be a rite of passage for CC contributors to eventually produce a tractor-related post and the multi-tractor one is even better! These look great and except for the Kubota I would not have expected you to find any of them there which is obviously a pox on me as there’s no reason why they wouldn’t be there…I know next to nothing about tractors but they always interest me for some reason, so thanks!
Most enjoyable, T-man.
It seems to I that tractors have simply got to interest the moving-object enthusiast at some point, as there is too much of interest to be disinterested. For a start, just how many one-seat four-wheel vehicles are there, outside of the racing jobs?
This post has set off a reverie, as it seems not so long ago that old tractors and steam trains were part of many a local park. (Alas, “seems” covers a good 25-30 years ago now. Such is the nature of gettin’ on). I now can think of just one with an old Fordson, in a little creekside park well to the urban fringe and probably soon to be safety-ied away.
Many, many hours were spent as a kid on such machines, climbing and dreaming and fighting into the summer dark. All the moveable bits were locked or gone: were they really so dangerous that they had to go? I’m going to rise (very slightly shorter than I once was), clear my lungs (definitely diminished despite years without smoke), raise my voice (it’s a touch reedier) and say in my best Orstralian accent, “No they fuckin’ weren’t!”
Oh well. I don’t have a lawn, but had I one, I would also be telling Them to get off it – unless, ofcourse, they were installing a sweet old Fergie for me/the kids to play on.
The Massey Ferguson 35 is a later model the 56/57/58 were gold mechanicals and grey body work and simply Fergusons the colour change to red and grey came after the merger as did the name change and the Dexta is a Fergy 35 built by Ford,
The Dexta may have been more similar to a MF 35 than it was to its Ford counterpart from the US product line, but there were many differences which differentiated them. This was the case with many of the look-alike tractors of that era. To the layman, a Ford 8n, a Ferguson TE20, an Oliver 55, and a Ford 3600 differed only in paint color. Those of us who used them knew them to be quite different and individualistic. Also, the Fiat pictured, and its siblings, were apparently also manufactured under license by Brasov Tractor Works in Romania(?) and marketed in the US under the “Long” brand, as well as certain models which were marketed by Allis-Chalmers (the 5040 I believe) and Oliver (the 1355 as I recall.) They were simple, tough, overbuilt tractors made for long life and hard work. I know, since I had a Long 560DT four wheel drive, which probably had 1000 pounds more cast iron in it than a comparable domestic production tractor. Rekally nothing manufactured now like any of these at a realistic price for the small farmer, so he goes out and buys a new-to-him fifty year old tractor and goes to work. Ironic, isn’t it?
I volunteer once a year to run a steam engine in an antique farm show. We have a lot of much much older stuff. Russel steam engines, Rumely oil pull traction engines, Waterloo Boys, vintage homebuilts from model A Ford cars, etc. Never get tired of seeing those old red farmalls and case-eye-aytch guys. Especially a little farmall cub with a belly mower…