A little history please

I am an author and also an antique tractor owner. For a story I am working on, I am looking for a bit of information.

First, what was the retail price of a new Combine in 1950 (high/low)?

Who was the first with an enclosed cab and when did it come out?

Thanks for your help.

I have used these forums to get help with my JD 60 and my Farmall H, but I have never used it for answers for my stories.

for many decades a new combine cost the same as a new house.

Cabs were on the old steam engines and big gas tractors of the early 1900s.
Minneapolis UDL
X probably had the first real cab in the 1930 1940 era.
Ben

(quoted from post at 19:49:18 05/25/18) Cabs were on the old steam engines and big gas tractors of the early 1900s.
Minneapolis UDL
X probably had the first real cab in the 1930 1940 era.
Ben

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Thanks Ben. I had to look that one up. I had not heard of a UDLX. Beautiful machine. Typical 30's streamlining.

However, I was looking for the first combine with a cab.

Probably around the same time when combines were used to harvest corn. Corn is
combined in the fall, hence weather protection is nice to have. I would guess early
1950s
Ben

Still not far off here, basic combine without heads , would run 500-700 thousand. New homes are just about the same price. I can?t see how folks ever pay for either.

Just a guess, but as the equipment manufacturers
were very competitive, it will be hard to ever find out
who had the first cab on a combine. I say that
because manufacturers would add new changes to
equipment in mid build. So if the machine built in the
spring wasn?t offered with a cab as an option,
doesn?t mean that if they thought the market was
going that way , they wouldn?t hang some kind of
aftermarket style cab on the models built
midsummer. The cans started to appear in the late
60?s early 70?s . I know the MF 300 could have a
cab, also the Gleaner E , as well as the IH 715 ,
Oliver 730 . Lot depended on the area as to how
quickly they were adopted.

The Massey Harris 27 had a list price of around $5000 in 1950. This was for the base machine.
I think around 1959 Massey began offering a factory cab with or without air as an option.
In the early 60's they offered a diesel engine option for the Super 92.

600 Case combines had a factory option of a cab in 1964 they offered a/c in their combines starting in 1967 and tractors in 1968

cnt

Unless someone else provides other info I think Massey and JD get the nod for first factory cabs or maybe first cabs with AC. Massey had air conditioned cabs available far back as the regular 92 which would be late 50s. JD started offering cabs in 1959 with the option of AC.

I knew I had come to the right place! Thanks for the replies.

I am thinking about a story with custom harvesters. It will hinge around the owner's son trying to convince his dad to upgrade to combines with AC.

Dad is stuck in his ways. Kid wants new "modern" equipment. Dad says, "Nothing wrong with what we have now."

I'll set the time in 1960.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Richard Skorupski
www.flyovercounty.com

Case made a short movie about the very same thing,, Called it "A Very Stubborn Man" its about the boy wanting the Dad to upgrade to a Case 600 combine, and they would shell the corn rather than store it in cobs,, that was 1963
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Case offered the model 1000 with a dsl starting in 1958 we had a mf with a dsl in at the dealership we took on trade, think that was 67 or 68 and it was several years old then it was the first i ever seen with a dsl, i also seen small mf here with a real streamlined cab, it was made like a model 92 we had with the dsl but smaller,, the cab fit real nice on it in looks,, i do not know if it was a factory option or not,, my 59 1000 has a aftermarket cab but Case never offered a factory one till the 1010 model released in 1963
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I remember those movies Tom, in fact we had them at our "fish fry's" that Case would help us sponsor, I know it was a whole lot of fun for me to sneak out of school and go downtown and eat lunch.

I recall in 1964 when I worked for Allis Chalmers we sold model E Gleaner with 10 or 12 foot header for $5200 if you haggled a bit. I never saw a factory cab but we sold some with a fan only and no ac. The after market cab took 6 hours for two workers to assemble and install. We sold 52 of them and the traction clutch had to be replaced under a recall

I have several on VHS I have to get to dvd I bought the machine to do it just have not taken time to get it done yet
cnt

(quoted from post at 12:10:25 05/28/18) Case made a short movie about the very same thing,, Called it "A Very Stubborn Man" its about the boy wanting the Dad to upgrade to a Case 600 combine, and they would shell the corn rather than store it in cobs, that was 1963
cnt

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I looked around for that video. Does not seem to have been digitized. I would have liked to have seen that.

In your story what machines does the dad operate and what does the boy want to get. Cabs on combines without AC were miserable even with the blower fan tolerable with preoperative coolers but dirty as well
instead of being dusty at the end of the day you were probably going to be muddy. In 1960 most cars didn't have ac at least not ones that farmers or ag professionals like custom harvesters would have bought. I
think ac in a combine would have been low on the priority list for a person wanting a combine then it just seemed superfluous even though once they had them they realized how much they increased operator
comfort and as a benefit awareness i would guess but it seems to me they would be afraid they would look like a sissy. Back then gas was very cheap and for some reason combines sold better with gas engines for
a fair amount longer than tractors did. My grandpa told me it was gas engines were cheaper and had a bit more power. For a story set in 1960 it seems to me that the dad would be running 1st generation sp
combines like old JD 55s and MH 21as or gleaner A's. By 1960 combine tech had gone a long ways to increase capacity with the super 92 jd 105 C2 gleaner IH 181 and the big 18 ft machines case made sorry not up
on the old cases there is plenty of room for argument between a father and son just based on that without bringing diesel power and air conditioning into it, it is just to early. in 1970 it would be much more
believable at least to a western Ks combine nut. Sorry if I sounded over critical I wasn't trying to be. I hope your story is a success
Thank you and have a great day!
Levi

I will give you a couple of stories from the 1970's. In 1970 our local dealer had two brand new Combines on the lot from 1968. A 5542 Olivier and a G Gleaner. Both gasoline machines, both 18' headers. Both had cabs, no AC just blowers. We were running a Model 40 Olivier. Dealer said he would trade us for $5,500 for the Gleaner, $5,000 for the Olivier. So my Grandfather decided to take the 5542 and keep the extra $500. He and I ran it this first harvest with the blower. That flathead Chrysler engine setting about 6" behind the cab made it miserable. depending on wind direction we would wire the door open. Next year we invested in a swamp cooler. Now if you want to make time stop just run a combine with a swamp cooler and cross a terrace. I can still hear that cooler fan pickup water and I would scrunch up waiting for the mud bath, but it didn't come, you'd relax and then SPLAT! Time stops between the fan picking up the water and you getting hit. If you have ever wondered what the Congo is like just run a combine in late June in Southern Kansas with a swamp cooler.

In 1979 I purchased a worn out 1970 G Gleaner with AC, Diesel engine and a 20' header for $11,300 on a 18% note sold the 5542 to a man at Victoria Kansas for $10,000 That was when Farming started down a very unpleasant path. (Inflation is great until it is time to put the brakes on, interest goes up and machine value goes down). Up dated the 1970 G for a tip top 1972 G Diesel with a hydro in 1984, still have it. Today I run a 2016 S88 but still try to get the 1972 G out every other year. I remember when that 20' header seemed massive, now after going over 2600 acres with the S88 and the 40' header and get into the G it feels strangely small. I still say the 1972 G was the best combine ever built, comfort, large capacity, yet so simple to work on.

Brand new 5542 and me at age 10 in 1970

My Dad and I with the 1972 G Unloading the last bin on wheat in 1999

(quoted from post at 12:10:25 05/28/18) Case made a short movie about the very same thing,, Called it "A Very Stubborn Man" its about the boy wanting the Dad to upgrade to a Case 600 combine, and they would shell the corn rather than store it in cobs,, that was 1963
cnt

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I looked around the internet for that film. No Joy. Looks like it didn't make to the digital world. Shame, I would have liked to see that.

I only know of a few tapes around with it on mine is one of them,, I have thought about offering them for sale to recoup a little investment cost of the new VHS to CD machine I bought,, maybe this winter I will have time to get mine transferred, I have a few tapes with different stuff on them,,