Tractor of the week # 16 4786

[INTERNATIONAL 1466]

Our 4th of July tractor of the week is the mighty 4786. Never ran a 4786, but always wanted to. We did own a real good 4586 for a while, which we really liked. I know a lot of people were not a fan of the big V8, but I think they were fine if run like intended. Still a lot of them out there with V8's yet. So does anyone have one yet? Let's see em' y'all!

[Big Bud guy]

I know of one a nearby town.  Next time I’ll check to see if it’s a 45 or 47.  I’ve only seen one other one and it was up for auction last year.  I was going to bid on it but it went for $5,500.  Honestly these IH Steigers were a complete dud around here.  It doesn’t look good when our local IH dealer sold Versatile over those.  

[acem]

I've seen alot of 43 and 45s but never a 4786 in person.

The 4366 through 4586 were useful in rice and had good dealer support in rice country. Versatile and Stigler were good tractors but dealers were less common. Ih was big in rice country back then.

Thx-Ace 

[766 Man]

44 minutes ago, Big Bud guy said:

I know of one a nearby town.  Next time I’ll check to see if it’s a 45 or 47.  I’ve only seen one other one and it was up for auction last year.  I was going to bid on it but it went for $5,500.  Honestly these IH Steigers were a complete dud around here.  It doesn’t look good when our local IH dealer sold Versatile over those.  

  Two of the biggest IH dealers in this state carried Steiger and the one also carried Versatile.  I don't know how many dealers tried to obtain Steiger and were turned down but a nearby IH dealer was rumored to have been one of them.  Probably pissed off the IH dealers when Steiger started selling product through Ford.  

[TheIHMan]

My sister's boyfriend has this 47, we repainted it and put a new turbo on it this past winter

[ChrisNY]

19 minutes ago, TheIHMan said:

My sister's boyfriend has this 47, we repainted it and put a new turbo on it this past winter

That is beautiful!

[SDman]

In the state of South Dakota the biggest Steiger dealers were....the biggest John Deere dealers at the time. Grossenberg's in Winner claimed to be the biggest Deere dealer in NA  and the largest Steiger dealer in NA as well in the late 1970s. Don't know if either claim could be fully verified, but they were a very large dealer at the time. Brown County Implement in Aberdeen was also a very large Deere/Steiger dealer at that time as well. I used to have a Steiger dealer directory for the state of South Dakota for 1988....a couple years after the merger of Steiger and CaseIH. There were still several Deere dealers listed as Steiger dealers at that time. I'm guessing most of them let their Steiger contract go shortly after CaseIH took over Steiger. I've always said that the reason CaseIH did so well in 4wds through the 1990s in the state of SD was because all the Deere dealers made Steiger so popular in the 1970s/80s. We used to sell a lot of CaseIH Steigers to predominately Deere farms at that time. I've also said that IMHO, the addition of Steiger to CaseIH was just as important as the merger of the Case and IH brands. IH had fallen out of favor to many big operations around here going back to the 1960s. IH still had a loyal following with a lot of older customers at the time, but most newer, younger, bigger operators were going to the green side by 1980.

As far as Versatile, it seemed like a lot of Versatile dealers were dealers that didn't have IH or Deere dealerships. Massey Ferguson, Allis-Challmers, Ford, and even a couple Case dealers around here sold Versatiles in the late 1970s. For many of those dealerships, Versatile soon became their #1 line as Versatiles did become very popular in the early 1980s.

As far as 4786s, there were several around here in the 1980s. By the time I got into the repair business in the early 1990s, most IH 4wds were starting to show their age. Too many years of working summerfallow/set aside acres in the 1980s had caught up to them. By that time, most of them were on their second or third owner...and most of those guys bought them because they were considerably cheaper than a comparable Steiger/Versatile/Deere/Case 4wd. Several of those owners soon found out that IH 4wds could quickly become a money pit if they hadn't been properly maintained by previous owners. 

[ole 815]

My Uncle's 4786, bought it new, has a Cummins in it now.

 

[1256pickett]

7 hours ago, ChrisNY said:

That is beautiful!

X2

[766 Man]

12 hours ago, SDman said:

In the state of South Dakota the biggest Steiger dealers were....the biggest John Deere dealers at the time. Grossenberg's in Winner claimed to be the biggest Deere dealer in NA  and the largest Steiger dealer in NA as well in the late 1970s. Don't know if either claim could be fully verified, but they were a very large dealer at the time. Brown County Implement in Aberdeen was also a very large Deere/Steiger dealer at that time as well. I used to have a Steiger dealer directory for the state of South Dakota for 1988....a couple years after the merger of Steiger and CaseIH. There were still several Deere dealers listed as Steiger dealers at that time. I'm guessing most of them let their Steiger contract go shortly after CaseIH took over Steiger. I've always said that the reason CaseIH did so well in 4wds through the 1990s in the state of SD was because all the Deere dealers made Steiger so popular in the 1970s/80s. We used to sell a lot of CaseIH Steigers to predominately Deere farms at that time. I've also said that IMHO, the addition of Steiger to CaseIH was just as important as the merger of the Case and IH brands. IH had fallen out of favor to many big operations around here going back to the 1960s. IH still had a loyal following with a lot of older customers at the time, but most newer, younger, bigger operators were going to the green side by 1980.

As far as Versatile, it seemed like a lot of Versatile dealers were dealers that didn't have IH or Deere dealerships. Massey Ferguson, Allis-Challmers, Ford, and even a couple Case dealers around here sold Versatiles in the late 1970s. For many of those dealerships, Versatile soon became their #1 line as Versatiles did become very popular in the early 1980s.

As far as 4786s, there were several around here in the 1980s. By the time I got into the repair business in the early 1990s, most IH 4wds were starting to show their age. Too many years of working summerfallow/set aside acres in the 1980s had caught up to them. By that time, most of them were on their second or third owner...and most of those guys bought them because they were considerably cheaper than a comparable Steiger/Versatile/Deere/Case 4wd. Several of those owners soon found out that IH 4wds could quickly become a money pit if they hadn't been properly maintained by previous owners. 

    A fair number of Ford dealers around here avoided selling the blue Steigers.  A fair number lacked the facilities to repair the big tractors.  It was like they were stuck in the 8N days of the early 1950's.  I don't know if contract language had anything to do with it.  Sell a blue Steiger then have to stock several hundred dollars worth of shop tools and parts that may seldom see the light of day.  A number of AC dealers here were quite aggressive but never venture into the high HP tractor business.  Maybe it did not help that they did not have much in the way of tools to sell along with a big tractor?

[SDman]

2 hours ago, 766 Man said:

    A fair number of Ford dealers around here avoided selling the blue Steigers.  A fair number lacked the facilities to repair the big tractors.  It was like they were stuck in the 8N days of the early 1950's.  I don't know if contract language had anything to do with it.  Sell a blue Steiger then have to stock several hundred dollars worth of shop tools and parts that may seldom see the light of day.  A number of AC dealers here were quite aggressive but never venture into the high HP tractor business.  Maybe it did not help that they did not have much in the way of tools to sell along with a big tractor?

You bring up a rather valid point that I would apply to many IH dealers around here in the 1970s....service facilities(or the lack of). Many IH dealers around here were still stuck in the days from the Hs & Ms up to maybe the  06/56 series in the 60s. By the 1970s,there were numerous IH dealers around here that would have to remove rear duals on a tractor just to get it into their shop, and/or have to remove the cab as well. If the dealer couldn't get a 10/1466 into their shop, how could they get a 4366 or bigger into their shop? That probably did limit many longtime IH dealers around here as to why the didn't push IH 4WDs very hard. By the late 1970s/early 1980s, most IH dealers around here were to the point of making a rather difficult decision...either invest a lot of $$$ to update their dealer facilities to handle more modern farm equipment, or just get out of the business entirely. Most chose the latter option. On the other hand, most Deere dealers that I can remember around here in that time frame would have had no problem getting an 8630/40 4wd in their shop.

[Big Bud guy]

34 minutes ago, SDman said:

You bring up a rather valid point that I would apply to many IH dealers around here in the 1970s....service facilities(or the lack of). Many IH dealers around here were still stuck in the days from the Hs & Ms up to maybe the  06/56 series in the 60s. By the 1970s,there were numerous IH dealers around here that would have to remove rear duals on a tractor just to get it into their shop, and/or have to remove the cab as well. If the dealer couldn't get a 10/1466 into their shop, how could they get a 4366 or bigger into their shop? That probably did limit many longtime IH dealers around here as to why the didn't push IH 4WDs very hard. By the late 1970s/early 1980s, most IH dealers around here were to the point of making a rather difficult decision...either invest a lot of $$$ to update their dealer facilities to handle more modern farm equipment, or just get out of the business entirely. Most chose the latter option. On the other hand, most Deere dealers that I can remember around here in that time frame would have had no problem getting an 8630/40 4wd in their shop.

 Both our JD dealers at the era had what I would call “5020” or 105 size shops.  They could fit those in without issue.  The one got around the size issue by simply renting another building 120’ by 80’ on the outskirts of town.  

[SDman]

I remember my old IH dealer talking about how many IH dealers in small towns around here quit handling IH combines when the high-profile 8/915 combines came out in 1969/70. They had nowhere to work on them except outside. They might have kept selling smaller machines like 403s/715s or pull-types, but not the big SP models. 

[zleinenbach]

I never gave this a thought. Very true and interesting Point!

[766 Man]

2 hours ago, SDman said:

You bring up a rather valid point that I would apply to many IH dealers around here in the 1970s....service facilities(or the lack of). Many IH dealers around here were still stuck in the days from the Hs & Ms up to maybe the  06/56 series in the 60s. By the 1970s,there were numerous IH dealers around here that would have to remove rear duals on a tractor just to get it into their shop, and/or have to remove the cab as well. If the dealer couldn't get a 10/1466 into their shop, how could they get a 4366 or bigger into their shop? That probably did limit many longtime IH dealers around here as to why the didn't push IH 4WDs very hard. By the late 1970s/early 1980s, most IH dealers around here were to the point of making a rather difficult decision...either invest a lot of $$$ to update their dealer facilities to handle more modern farm equipment, or just get out of the business entirely. Most chose the latter option. On the other hand, most Deere dealers that I can remember around here in that time frame would have had no problem getting an 8630/40 4wd in their shop.

  I can't think of a single IH dealer that could not get a 1460 into their shop when the Axial Flow combines came out.  But then again I never saw any dealership buildings 50 miles to the south in hill country.  My understanding is that JD, IH, and NH had separate contracts for combines here in NY.  That some dealers specifically avoided carrying combines because of the contract requirements for parts, repair tools, and facilities.  I stopped to look at a USED 6600 combine (taken in on trade for a 4250 tractor) down by Ithaca, NY around 1986.  The conversation shifted towards how many combines were sold around that dealer's territory.  He answered that he never sold a new JD combine since he got into the business which was around 1970.  He figured at the time I talked to him in 1986 that it would cost over 20,000 dollars to meet the contract obligations in order to possibly sell 1 combine in 10 years.  His territory was predominantly small dairy and beef cattle operations.  Very little grain grown around there.  The closest NH dealer back at the same time was one of only 3 in all of NY to carry a combine contract for NH.

[SDman]

Just thinking about some things today for perspective on this.

When I started at my first CaseIH dealer in 1991, we had a combine open house at the dealership. My job...was to get a new 1680 combine into the shop for the open house. I had to take the operator's ladder off to narrow it up enough to get it in the sides of the door. Then, I had to let enough air out of the tires to get the height of the combine down low enough to get it in under the door...just enough air in the tires so it wasn't running on the rims themselves. This was what I would call a run of the mill 1680...with 30.5x32 single tires with no extensions. And this dealership sold 4-6 new combines a year at that time....usually 1-2 1660s and 3-4 1680s.

Then in 1994 I moved to another dealership that had a much bigger shop...but no overhead cranes or anything fancy as far as shop equipment was concerned. About 15 years ago I was seriously considering retiring from the service department as the machinery kept getting bigger and I....was getting older. Once my old boss sold out to my current employer, they put up a bigger shop with overhead cranes, well-equipped service trucks, bulk oil delivered right to your service bay, and many other amenities I could never have dreamed of before. Its actually easier for me to work on today's bigger equipment now than it was to work on stuff that was considered big years ago.

As far as companies, dealers, and contracts are concerned, New Holland begged for years for us to sell NH combines. My boss didn't want to stick more $$$ into another line of combines to stock parts for and service, when he already had good business with Axial-Flows. So....we didn't sell NH combines until the CRs came out in 2002. There were many New Holland dealers in SD that didn't sell combines back in the 80s/90s. Many NH dealers at that time had another major brand besides New Holland....they mainly sold New Holland haying equipment, skid steers, and smaller ticket items for New Holland, while selling another line for combines. Like you say, selling a major line like 4wds or combines requires a pretty good investment in tooling/shop equipment and parts...and not every dealer wants to get into those lines with that kind of commitment needed.

[Clark Riley]

4786 repower

[Finney]

A couple of the mid size dirt contractors around here tried the 4786 to pull dirt pans. When they got them weighted up to stop the slippage the rear ends would shell out.

[rbeckman]

I have a 903 that might be fun to put in one with a bad motor but. I don't need another tractor, I don't have a use for it could pull a hay rake, and my time would be better spent working on my 3588.

[m.c.farmerboy]

one just sold up here last fall needed a clutch $8500 hand been for sale for a year too old for the big boys and they are into tracks now

[acem]

 

[acem]

Now the scout is worth more than the tractor!