The Most Interesting Iron of 2024 (Part 2)

Let’s pick up on the back half of the list of the Most Interesting Iron of 2024 that we started last time, shall we? There was some neat stuff on that list, but there’s still a few more pieces that never got the attention that I felt like they deserved.

The Boxcar: 1996 Case IH Magnum 7120

Unless there’s a lower-houred example in the collection in Racine, I would imagine that this is probably the lowest-houred Boxcar Magnum on the planet. With only 386 hours on the clock, this tractor is an absolute time capsule. It’s even still got the plastic on the seat!

If I understand the story correctly, this tractor came from Wisconsin and spent some time in a collection in New York before going to Greg McGrew’s collection in Pennsylvania. It’s a beauty, that’s for sure! It hammered home for just over $132K, which I believe is the highest auction price ever recorded for a 7210, and actually for a non-89-series Boxcar!

The one lingering question I still have, though, is this. Is the buyer going to use it, or stash it away in a shed as a collector tractor? I’m torn as to what I would do if it were my decision to make. On one hand, it’s probably one of the lowest-houred Boxcar Magnums on the planet, and that’s worth something. On the other hand, though…that thing would make a heck of a nice baler tractor or maybe even a planting tractor!

What would you do?

Hammer Price: $132,300
Auctioneer: Aumann Vintage Power
Date: November 20, 2024

The machine shed rocket: Friday O-48

I’ve always had a thing for Friday tractors because they were built in Hartford, MI, which is only about two hours away from where I was born and raised. Furthermore, my family still uses a Friday cherry shaker to harvest tart cherries in July!

Anyway, these little tractors are pretty neat. David Friday was a problem-solver, and one of the problems that Michigan fruit and veggie growers faced was how to get produce to the market as quickly as possible. So, David set out to build a low-slung tractor that could get through the orchards without damaging the trees and get the produce to market without causing a traffic backup!

The Friday O-48 was powered by a 3.6L Chrysler Industrial inline six that made about 50 horse, and the power was transferred through a five speed gearbox and a two-speed Timken rear end. The resulting combo was good for about 60+ MPH on the road, which had to be utterly terrifying in a tractor with absolutely zero safety equipment! I suspect that the driver’s nerve usually ran out long before the gears in the transmission did!

At any rate, there weren’t a ton of these built, but every now and again they still show up for sale. This one had been very nicely restored and it brought good money, too!

Hammer Price: $7,300
Auctioneer: Espe Auctions
Date: September 21, 2024

The farm truck: 1976 Chevy Squarebody

To me, a squarebody Chevy 4×4 like this one will always be the quintessential “farm truck.” There’s just something about that body style that makes Bob Seger start playing on repeat in my head, and suddenly I want nothing more than to be nine years old, bouncing around in the bed of that truck in the middle of August checking crops with my dad and grandfather. What’s more? We didn’t even own Chevrolets when I was growing up…we had 1/2-ton Dodges with 318s under the hood!

By the way, if you haven’t seen the Chevrolet Christmas ad yet, you need to go out to YouTube and watch it. Nobody has mastered the art of linking family heritage with automobiles quite like they have. I’ll guarantee that even if you didn’t grow up with Chevrolet, this one will almost make you wish you did.

Hammer Price: $9,500
Auctioneer: Pifer’s Auction & Realty
Date: October 3, 2024

The tractor that got tucked in every night: John Deere 8410

The hammer price on this tractor shocked me. I mean, I know 8410s are among the greatest machines John Deere has ever built, and this one was a) loaded and b) pristine, but $172,000 for a 23-year old tractor with 5200 hours? That was a full $31,000 higher than its closest competitor!

I wrestled with why on Earth that tractor brought what it did, and I was about to pick up the phone and call Randy Ulmer to get the story until I stumbled upon a Facebook Reel. Brent Ulmer was walking through Ernie Weisbeck’s machine shed previewing the auction. However, what was far more telling to me was Ernie in the background carefully pulling blankets off of each tractor.

That’s when it clicked. Ernie really loved these tractors and treated them right. He took pride in ownership, and every night, those tractors got tucked in at night. Regardless of whether or not the shed was heated, those machines were cared for properly. Furthermore, with the way farmers talk, I can guarantee you that word had traveled and that that reputation influenced the bidding.

In fact, I know that it influenced bidding, because that tractor stayed pretty local to Herreid, SD! That 8410 was bought by somebody who knew exactly what they were getting, and wasn’t afraid to pay for it!

Hammer Price: $172,000
Auctioneer: Ulmer Auctions
Date: March 23, 2024

The retirement tractor: Case 1470 Traction King

Personally, I think that the 1470 Traction King is a little like that tag line from the Red Green Show…”if they don’t find ya handy, at least they’ll find you useful!”

However, over the years, quite a number of farmers have found them useful enough that they basically ran ’em right into the ground or parked ’em on the nearest fence row when they died. As such, when you normally see them, they look like a dumpster fire. Furthermore they’ll oftentimes sell for scrap value or less.

So, when this one showed up looking like none of those things, my curiosity was peaked. So I called the gentleman listed on the description, a fella named Gary from Thief River Falls. He told me that he was the second owner of this tractor, and that it had come to live out a pretty easy retirement on his farm. Prior to that, it was one of the primary horses on what sounded like a fairly big operation out in North Dakota.

At any rate, when Gary consigned it with McMullen Auctioneers, it did need brakes. However, that was the only thing. Other than that, it fired off every time and it didn’t use any oil either! I know that sounds like the oldest tale ever told, but based on the auction photos, I would tend to believe it. The tractor had been repainted, but it was essentially spotless, which is something you almost never find in those tractors!

At $4,050 I’d say that if all it truly needed was brakes, this was a good buy even if it had to be shipped a good distance away!

Hammer Price: $4,050
Auctioneer: McMullen Auctioneers
Date: September 19, 2024

The planter tractor: 2008 John Deere 7930

I’m not typically much for “modern” tractors, but I do like 7930s. When this 2008 model surfaced in early December with only 132 actual hours on it, I was very interested. It was a well-optioned tractor with pretty much everything except for an IVT transmission. It’s the lowest-houred example of this model we’ve ever seen listed on Tractor Zoom.

I haven’t heard the backstory on this tractor yet, but I do know that it was consigned by a custom chopping outfit. If I had to guess, they may have bought it to run a silage wagon and found it to be a little light on power or they didn’t like the way the Power Quad transmission worked with a heavy wagon behind it.

Regardless, though, it tied for the second highest auction price ever recorded on a 7930! There was another one that sold on an Ohio auction for the same price a few months back. That tractor had an IVT and 901 hours on it. Honestly I think the transmission was what made the difference.

Hammer Price: $190,000
Auctioneer: Zomer Realty & Auction
Date: December 21, 2024

So there you have it. The last half-dozen entries on the list of iron that I wish I’d been able to spotlight. Every year I say that I’m going to do better, but it’s resolution that I’ll probably never keep. There’s just too many machines out there with great stories! I hope that in 2025, you’ll make some memories with the machines you own!

Find some Interesting Iron of your own here!