Heavy Equipment Forums Heavy Equipment Community

Tractor In Oz.

RocksnRoses ยท 2008-10-09 08:52

A mate of mine rebuilt and still operates this tractor from the 1970's. Does anyone here on the forum know what it is? Rn'R.

Replies22
  1. #1Deere96702008-10-09 09:10

    no idea, if I guesed I would say either somthing from accgo ore a stiger!

  2. #2dirt digger2008-10-09 10:54

    thats interesting...judging by the front axle it was never meant to be a field tractor it has to be some kind of Australian make...i have never seen anything that even looks like it here in the states

  3. #3bruce oz2008-10-09 17:27

    tractor hello Rocksn'Roses ,it maybe a Upton model MT-855. 300hp V8 Scania, bruce oz http://www.upton.com.au/Content.asp?lngContentID=14

  4. #4maputowhite2008-10-10 02:58

    looks like something bell would have made in years gone by.

  5. #5RocksnRoses2008-10-10 08:56

    Upton MT-855 You are on the money, bruce oz, it is an Upton MT-855. This tractor originally had a Hercules engine in it, but it lacked a bit in power, so Upton replaced the Hercules with a turbo Cummins NTC 290. One of the previous owners tweaked the Cummins up to 330 hp and the tractor produces 300 drawbar hp. The engine drives through a 24 speed Spicer gear box to a six tonne rear axle taken from a fairly large Terex wheel loader, because the original axles were failing. The front axle is taken from a Diamond T truck and the tractor weighs 16 tonnes. There were only a bit over 30 of these tractors produced and I think only two of the bigger model, the 14/350, by Upton at Corowa in New South Wales during the 1970's. This tractor was used for pulling an air seeder but now it is mainly used for pulling a twenty tonne stone roller for breaking down limestone country, which we have plenty of here. Here are a few more pics. Rn'R.

  6. #6Steve Frazier2008-10-10 12:39

    Those are some real impressive specs!! I'd love to see that thing grunting pulling a plow.

  7. #7Bellboy2008-10-10 15:13

    I do believe it calls itself an 'Ofton', if that means anything, in anybody's life... It does however look a helluva lot like and Acco.

  8. #8Bellboy2008-10-10 15:23

    YUP

  9. #9Iron Horse2008-10-10 19:38

    I don't know about the MT but the 855 stands for 855 cubic inches the Cummins has . The T probably stands for Turbo . It looks like it's going the wrong way , the front looks like the back . It would be awsome with a mulcher if it had 3pl and a PTO and the steering reversed .

  10. #10RocksnRoses2008-10-10 23:18

    It sounds very nice when it is pulling, Steve, it used to pull a fairly large air seeder with a trailing hopper and when it started off the back wheels just bit in and the Cummins never missed a beat. It is fairly hard on tyres. I will try and get some video of it working. I am not sure about that Iron Horse, because on the Upton Engineering website, bruce oz put the link up, the MT-855 shown there has a V8 Scania engine in it. Rn'R.

  11. #11Iron Horse2008-10-11 18:23

    Yes , i'm not sure what to make of that now . Ive just looked at the link , my way of thinking would make the 14/350 model a 14 litre 350 hp Cummins (855cubic inches) It's a bit of a coincidence that they would use 855 for the model number , the exact cubic inches of a Cummins for a tractor with a Scania V8 engine . Seems i'm wrong again , DOH .

  12. #12qball2008-10-13 21:35

    looks like it has a toe out problem.

  13. #13RocksnRoses2008-10-13 22:25

    You are right qball, I had to go back and have a look at the pics, I'll follow that one up to see if there is a reason for it. Rn'R.

  14. #14Iron Horse2008-10-13 22:47

    After a bit of a Google , it seems the Scania V8 and the Cummins 6 cylinder are both 14 litre engines which is 855 cubic inches so the model number works for both of the engines that were fitted .

  15. #15RocksnRoses2008-10-13 23:31

    You are right Iron Horse, that is the reason it is called an 855, I checked up with the owner, and there is no obvious reason for the toe out, qball, it just does. I also made a mistake with the roller weight it is pulling, the roller full of water is actually thirty five tonnes. With these rollers you can fill them up with water for heavy rolling, or drain the water out for light rolling. Rn'R.

  16. #16Iron Horse2008-10-14 17:01

    The tie rod may have caught on something , it only needs to have a slight bow in it too make the wheels toe out .

  17. #17Deas Plant2008-11-05 03:47

    Upton tractors. Hi, R-n-R. Nice photos. Thanks for posting. As I understand it, in his heyday, Upton claimed that his 2wd 14/350 model would stay with or outpull any competitor's 350 hp 4wd tractor. I would have liked to see a contest between Upton's beast and some or all the competitors 'cos that 14/350 was a pretty solid bit of gear. More about it here: http://www.puddingsworld.com/Machinery/Upton/UptonImages/Upton_advert.jpg Puddingsworld home page: http://www.puddingsworld.com/ He has all sorts of interesting stuff about tractors there, mainly agricultural tractors as that is his background. Thanks again, R-n-R.

  18. #18RocksnRoses2008-11-05 05:47

    Thanks Deas, and thanks for the link, that looks like an interesting site. The Uptons were a pretty formidable piece of equipment in their day and this one is still used on a regular basis. Rn'R.

  19. #19Deas Plant2008-11-05 06:16

    Yer welkum, M8. Hi, R-n-R. Yer welkum, M8. Thanks for your photos.

  20. #20Malmac2008-12-23 19:26

    Looks like this tractor is near Minlaton SA

  21. #21RocksnRoses2008-12-23 20:36

    Spot on Malmac, you wouldn't happen to be near there too? Rn'R.

  22. #22Malmac2008-12-28 16:47

    Yep. Kadina. This tractor was Scott Hoyle's regards, Malmac