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Tractor Talk Discussion Board |
Re: Harvest Quiz...#3
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Posted by James O. on September 09, 1999 at 09:51:33 from (208.9.65.2):
In Reply to: Harvest Quiz...#3 posted by King Cotton on September 08, 1999 at 20:56:46:
I'm glad someone finally asked this question. Of course, these are just opinions and observations, but in my book there are a couple of overrated machines that really stick out. First are the John Deere pre-1960 two-cylinder tractors with the hand clutch. Need I explain. All the praises heaped on these machines cannot be justified. Yes, they were fuel efficient. Yes, they sold hundreds of thousands of them. But sales figures don't make a machine good. Advanced concepts and progress make legendary machines, and these two-cylinders lacked both. That's why JD eventually adopted the design for the modern tractor when they made their 10 series, modeled after Oliver's 1800, the first heavy row crop tractor introduced in 1960. I'll take 6 cylinders over 2 any day. And 6 are every bit as fuel efficient as 2. Second, the heaps of praise and fanfare surrounding JD's 4440 and its sisters the 4040, 4240, 4640, and 4840 also cannot be justified by anything other than sales figures. In my experience, these are a cumbersome, inefficient, and highly overrated machine. At the same power level, a 4440 uses nearly twice the fuel that a thrifty Case 1175 does. Yes, the pump was correctly set. Case just built a better engine. And whose idea was it to put the fuel tank ahead of the engine? Those side screens pick up the dust and chaff stirred up by the front wheels and the thing overheats very easily. Glad to see Deere learned their lesson with the 8000 series.
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