Interesting Iron’s ‘Greatest Hits’ of 2023

With harvest just about wrapped up and the holidays just around the corner, it’s time to reflect on some of the big stars from this year’s Interesting Iron. 

It’s been a year of highs and lows as Ryan Roossinck covered some major stars and industry rejects at machinery auctions. So grab yourself a cup of coffee (or something a little stronger if that gets you in the groove), sit back, and relax as your DJ for the night spins some of Interesting Iron’s greatest hits — and a few of its vintage rarities — from 2023. 

Chart-topping singles

Ryan’s seen his share of crazy sales throughout the years, but a couple topped the charts with some monster records in 2023.

John Deere 4455

John Deere’s 4455 is the ultimate version of the small-frame SoundGard tractor — at least according to Ryan. Of the small-frame tractors in the John Deere 55-series, the 4455 was the most capable, comfortable, and popular, selling by a minimum of 2-to-1 to every other tractor in the series. For many farmers, this is a favorite tractor, and you can still see a lot of these working on farms today.

This particular 4455 had a pretty easy life — only accumulating 3,549 hours prior to the auction — and was well-optioned with a 15-speed Power Shift and three remotes. Save for a few touch-ups, this tractor was all original. As a clean and low-houred machine, Ryan saw this going for close to $70,000 or more.

Final hammer price: $97,850

Ryan’s takeaway: “This tractor really blew away everybody's expectations! Taylor Auction Company set several different auction price records at that sale, and I believe some of them can be directly correlated to presentation and advertising.

The presentation of all of the tractors on the sale was just about as perfect as you could get. I mean, Taylor Auction Company hired a film crew to put hype videos together for the auction. The photos were sharp and well-presented, and he provided thorough details about each machine in the writeup. Most importantly, though, he used social media as well as his own advertising to make sure that people knew about the sale, and didn’t rely on the bidding platform’s advertising or tacked up flyers at the local gas stations and grocery stores.

There are marketing lessons to be learned from this sale, and I hope auctioneers will take them to heart. That said, Garry Taylor and I talked the day after the sale and we were both blown away by how wrong our estimates were!”

READ MORE: Interesting Iron: the origin story (and a sweet 4455)

John Deere 6030 Non-Turbo

The John Deere 6030 was the final version of the 5010 and 5020 and, at 176 PTO hp and a hefty 18,000 pounds, was an absolute brute. But this tractor isn’t a typical 6030. As one of only 45 manufactured, the 6030 non-turbo was offered a lower-cost option for farmers that needed a heavy-weight tractor without all the juice. Many of these models were exported, and only 23 are still known to exist today, making this tractor a bit of an exclusive collector’s item. 

Besides some new rubber and fixes on the interior, this 6030 non-turbo was almost entirely original down to the paint. This tractor was owned by a husband and wife who collected tractors together. It’s lived an easy life in recent years and has only run about 5,700 hours. The previous record for 6030s was $64,000, and when the original article ran, bidding was already up to $63,750. Ryan expected this one to hit somewhere between $75,000 and $80,000. 

Final hammer price: $150,870

Ryan’s takeaway: “I don’t think anybody really knew what to expect with this one, mainly because we really haven’t seen many 6030 Non-Turbo tractors cross the auction block. As far as I’m aware, the last one that sold at auction was five years ago in Kansas, and it went for a lot of money, too. 

Was it an anomaly? Maybe. That’s a lot of money for what’s essentially a re-badged 5020. However, unless somebody’s got a minty-fresh original stashed away in a barn somewhere, I believe Gary Titsworth’s tractor is probably the nicest all-original example of that tractor left on planet Earth. There are a lot of collectors who value originality over fresh paint. After all, they’re only original once.

One heartwarming side note: I talked with Gary as the bidding on the three big-frame tractors was heating up. With each passing bid, I started to get more nervous about his blood pressure! He was overjoyed, and could scarcely believe what he was watching!”

READ MORE: John Deere 6030 Non-Turbo: One of 45 built

Greatest Hits

We’ve seen the chart-topping hits for tractor sales in 2023 auctions, let’s take a look back and revisit a few of the greatest hits in machinery history. 

Massey 1150

The 1150 is one of the most sought after tractors Massey ever designed. The tractor is built with a V8.510 engine with a stock rating of 170 hp, intended for use on city buses. Massey’s engineers tuned it down to 135.6 hp on the PTO, hefty enough to make some big waves in the industry. Unfortunately, while the V8 may sound great, it’s not exactly suited for field work and had some issues with snapping crankshafts. 

This particular 1150 never left the county it was originally sold in, and was always stored overnight in the barn. Despite the care, this tractor suffered a decapitation under the first owner when a tree limb tore the cab up, temporarily retiring the beast. After replacing the tachometer around 3,400 hours, the 1150 had accumulated somewhere around 3,600 at the time of sale. With a range of issues, Ryan predicted this would sell in the $12,000 to $14,000 range. 

Final hammer price: $15,650

Ryan’s takeaway: “These tractors, to me, were the high point of Massey Ferguson’s styling. The 1150 wasn’t necessarily the most reliable machine they ever made, but man, it looked and sounded great — V8s just never made great farm tractor motors. Still, this one was reasonably well-kept, and I think it was well-bought.”

READ MORE: Unleashing the Red Giant: The Massey 1150

International Harvester 1086

The International Harvester 1086 may not be held in as high regard as the 1066, with some design issues in the cab, but on a whole, these were solid machines. They were the first red tractors designed with a cab in mind —  with good visibility and optional HVAC — and a short wheelbase made them handy and maneuverable. 

This 1086 is the first to ever roll out of the production facility in Rock Island, Illinois, serial number #8601. This is the original, all the rest are copies. It started life as the factory model, likely the star of advertising brochures, marketing, and farm shows in the summer of 1976. After its life in stardom, it was sold to a farmer and worked just under 6,100 hours. 

Final hammer price: $61,500

Ryan’s takeaway: “I had high hopes for this tractor. Not six-figure hopes, but I did expect it to go a little higher than it did. In retrospect, though, while the tractor was very well-documented and very nicely restored, it was a case where the popularity of the 86-series pales in comparison to its predecessors. I still believe that they’re great tractors, and I stand by my comment that there are probably more of them in regular use today than the 66-series. However, for the collector, I think the 66-series carries bigger significance.” 

READ MORE: Preserving History: The story of the first IH 1086

Rarities and B-Sides 

Some of these deep cuts don’t get as much love or airtime as some of the bigger hits, but that doesn’t make them any less deserving of a look.

1937 Minneapolis-Moline YT Prototype

The John Deere B was the machine to beat in 1937, and Minneapolis-Moline attempted to fire back with the YT prototype, but couldn’t muster up enough power for its small-size build. Intended for work in small row-crop applications, the little two-cylinder only made about 14 hp and just couldn’t compete.

While Minneapolis-Moline recalled all 25 prototypes the following year, a handful managed to survive. This tractor is serial number 630013, likely the 13th built. It was repainted a while back, but otherwise ran completely fine. The last Minneapolis-Moline YT sold in 2016 went for $62,500, and Ryan predicted this would sell somewhere above $40,000.

Final hammer price: $61,950

Ryan’s takeaway: “I’ve often heard it said that rarity doesn’t always equal collectability. This may be part of the reason why this tractor didn’t bring more. It’s a rare machine for sure, but the Minneapolis-Moline collecting community is a little smaller than the red, green, and orange crowd. For that buyer, though, they got a terrific piece of history that slipped out the back before the company knew it was gone.”

READ MORE: Rare Prairie Gold: 1937 Minneapolis-Moline YT Prototype

Muir Hill 101

Muir Hill had been around since the early 1920s, building equipment to expand the capabilities of Fordson tractors, but the 1966 Muir Hill 101 was the English company’s first production ag tractor. The initial model was open station and made use of many Ford parts, including a naturally-aspirated inline six-cylinder engine rated for about 108 hp.

The Muir Hill 101 up for auction was a cab model, using an aftermarket build by Cozy Cab. It had its fair share of small fixes needing to be made, but for its age and work history, the fact that it was functional at all still counts for something. Ryan wasn’t sure where the hammer would fall on this tractor, but with Muir Hill’s cult following, he expected it could score a pretty sweet sale.

Final hammer price: $4,500

Ryan’s takeaway: “I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect as far as the sale price for this British tractor. To me, they’re a neat piece of history, but for your average American tractor nerd, it didn’t really move the needle. There were a few fairly isolated areas in North America where these tractors had some popularity, but they were few and far between. I followed up with the auctioneer after the fact, and he told me that it was headed out to the Canadian plains where the buyer intended to fix it up a bit. Hopefully it turns out to be a nice tractor when it’s finished.”

READ MORE: (Another) Funky Ford: The Muir Hill 101

Case IH 3394

Transitions can be rough for anyone. The same is true for Case and International Harvester’s first tractor together: the Case IH 3394. Built at the IH plant in Racine, Wisconsin, the 3394 made use of the company’s existing tech stack with 4WD, a 12- or 24-speed transmission and 180 hp capability. This tractor — and its bigger brother, the 3594 — endured all sorts of ire from the IH purists and Case loyalists for what essentially came down to a new paint color and set of decals. Regardless of the huffing and puffing from the brands’ respective die-hards, the tractor sold pretty well. The models initially retailed for around $70,000, but a fire sale in 1986 moved tons of units off dealership lots for about half the price. 

These models do have some known failure points, but this particular tractor for sale lived a fairly easy, well-cared-for life. The previous owner did more with livestock than crops, and eventually transitioned to no-till, meaning this 3394 saw less time in the field, only accumulating 5,945 hours on the original tachometer. The motor was overhauled in 2016, and has mostly original paint besides a hood replacement. Ryan expected this tractor to come home for around $30,000.

READ MORE: Case IH 3394: The red-hooded stepchild

Final hammer price: $43,000

Ryan’s takeaway: “I’ve never been happier to be so wrong in my estimate! This really was a very nice tractor, and it had been very well cared-for by its owner. It deserved the money that it brought.

The fact is, the ‘transition’ tractors as Case and IH came together get a bad rap, and some of it really is undeserved. Sure, they had their issues, but so did every other tractor in history. You name the model, somebody’s had a lemon.

In retrospect, the article I wrote about these tractors has generated more discussion after the fact than just about any piece I’ve written in the past year or two. I’ve met quite a few nice folks who have had terrific experiences with their 94s, too.”

Talent scouting

One of the biggest headlining acts this year wasn’t a tractor at all — in fact it was its complete absence that made so many waves.

John Deere 4020

Stacey Lanoue is on a mission, and needs your help! She's trying to find her grandpa's 1967 model 4020 — the sister tractor to one that's in the photo above. Stacey's dad bought a 1967 John Deere 4020 at Wheeler Tractor & Equipment in Kankakee, Illinois on Sept. 9, 1967. Six months later, her grandfather drove his Oliver 1850 gas down to the same dealership and traded it in for a 4020 of his own. 

Her dad's tractor is T213R167721R, and it's still in the family. Stacey can’t remember for sure which it was, but her grandpa's 4020 was either serial number T213R167720R or T213R167722R.

Ryan’s takeaway: “Earlier this year, I met Stacey at the National Farm Machinery Show, and decided to pitch in for the search effort. Sadly, we still haven’t had any luck in finding this one. John Deere even did some digging on our behalf, but for now, it’s still a mystery as far as where it’s gone. I keep in touch with Stacey, and we’re all still hopeful that it’s in somebody’s barn somewhere. If you see anything or hear anything, please reach out!”

READ MORE: Search party: Join the hunt for a long-lost John Deere 4020

Hi! I'm Ryan, and I love tractors. It doesn't matter if it's a showpiece, an oddball, or seen its share of life ... if it's unique and it's listed by one of our auctioneer partners at Tractor Zoom, I'm going to show it off a little bit! This equipment is all up for auction RIGHT NOW so you can bid on it. I think it's cool, and I hope you will too! This is Interesting Iron!