Best, Most Durable, Most Collectible Garden Tracto

but I am a fan of early IH Cub Cadets and Wheel Horse tractors built in the early/mid sixties ... also Deere ...

as for best engineered ....if you actually desire to use and cut grass with an old collectible tractor, Wheel Horse must be near or at the top of the list ... cast iron rear end/transaxle, cast iron front axle, angle iron frame - all still in service today. And no other tractor comes close in the mower deck attachment and mower drive belt 'arrangement'.

I feel the early Wheel Horse tractors - with a cast iron Kohler engine - must be considered one of the best engineered items - of any type. This is an example of American design and engineering at it's peak.

The Wheelhorse snowplow mounts to a full length frame that attaches (without tools) to the rear end. Angle can be adjusted on the fly - without dismounting. This may be the only decent garden tractor snowplow setup available.

AND... the transaxles used in the Cub Cadet were the same as used in the Farmall cub! I'd have to say that it has to be the toughest of the garden tractors of the 60's and 70's.

1. Oliver
2. Minneaplis-Moline
3. Pennsylvania Panzer

New parts for any of the three are no longer available. The first two were made by Jacobsen, which has discontinued garden tractors. Panzer changed ownership about three times then disappeared.

If you want to use the tractor in addition to "collect and show it", then some of the best IMO are, in no particular order:

1. John Deere 300 series (317, 318, etc.)
2. Wheelhorse Classic 300 series (312 through 316?), especially the now-discontinued hydro models
3. Allis-Chalmers B-series, especially the 112H and 212H hydro models, and those with hydraulic lift

Many/most parts for these are still readily available new, used or aftermarket replacement. They're proven designs with many different attachments for them. Used attachments are pretty easy to find.

One of the last three mentioned could give you a very low "cost of ownership." They'll hold their resale value or appreciate in value, while you use them -- and you can use them hard -- if you'll keep them maintained....

You can likely find "better deals" on either the Allis-Chalmers or WheelHorse tractors, because green paint carries a premium price used, because of the name.

My two cents....

1. Parts and those hydraulic-driven attachments are expensive and can be pretty hard to find

2. The hydraulic drive has been know to "run-awy" going down hills... even now, if the valves they installed to address this problem should ever fail

Similarly, some of the old Cub Cadets were very good tractors (though I was never impressed with the reliability during the "red years"). But, somehow they don't seem to provide the same "bang for the buck" of those that I listed.