This tractor was a product of the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company of Hopkins Minnesota, that traces its roots back to 1874 when it was known as the Fond du Lac Threshing Machine Company, but only just barely. In 1929, the year it was produced, MTM merged with Minneapolis Steel & Machine Co. and the Moline Implement Co. to become Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company. See how complicated this is getting?
Minneapolis Threshing Machine was a well established tractor manufacturer by 1929 with a solid reputation for building a quality product. The name on the badge may have changed but the tractor remained in production until 1934 according to C.H. Wendel in his Standard Catalog of Farm Tractors. I’ll just have to take his word for that because I haven’t found a list of serial numbers anywhere. The closest thing to a confirmation is a mention in a publication called The Tractor and Implement Blue Book that was printed in 1932.
The one thing that is certain is that the 27-42 was in production in 1929 because it was tested at the University of Nebraska from May 28 to June 11 of that year in test # 162. The information provided by that test report is just about all that I’ve found that’s available online.
MTM built its own motors, in this case, a four cylinder vertical I head that was mounted crosswise to the frame. Bore of each cylinder was 4 ⅞ “ by a stroke of 7” for 522.6 cubic inches displacement. Turning at the rated rpm of 925 it produced the claimed 27 hp on the drawbar and 42.3 hp on the belt. Power take off was by way of a 15 ½” diameter belt pulley with a 7 ½” face that also turned at 925 rpm.
Ignition was by an American Bosch Magneto. Gasoline was metered by a Stromberg model UTR carburetor and a flyball governor controlled engine speed. Air was filtered through a Donaldson Simplex oiled fiber air cleaner.
A Madison-Kipp force feed oiler provided lubrication to critical surfaces. Once the engine was running the oil was pumped automatically. The hand crank handle was for providing a few drops of lubricant before starting the engine.
Power was transferred to the 53” diameter rear drive wheels by way of an enclosed gear system. The disc clutch was hand operated. Two forward speeds were provided; low, 2.6 mph. High 3.4 mph , reverse, 2.5 mph. Fifty-four spade lugs on each of the rear wheels helped the tractor’s total weight of 8373 pounds get a grip.
The tractor shown here is owned by Bobby Cartner and was exhibited at the 2018 Tractors and Trains Festival sponsored by the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer, NC.
Resources:
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu
www.tractordata.com
Books.google.com
