Pics-An Average UDLX MM In The 1980's-Part 2

1206SWMO

Well-known Member
Heres some more pictures of UDLX MM's from the 1980's....Most were in collectors hands by the late 1980's but none had been restored..The bottom one UTOX #310012 was actually found about 15 years ago....Someone made a cab for it..
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Most of the owners that actually used them back in the day had no idea how sought after and how valuable these tractors were going to become..
 
These are really great pictures and they give everyone an insight on how these tractors aged just like many other old tractors that had outlived their usefulness did. I'm sure that there were people thinking that someday they will be worth some good money but nobody had envisioned just how much, so in the meantime many just went downhill until the collectors came to life. I was just wondering, you keep using the UTOX designation for the open version and at an Aumann Auction in SE North Dakota about 8 or 10 years ago I purchased some MM memorabilia and inside was this manual that covers how to operate and service both UDLX and UPON Models. It would seem that "UOPN" is the correct designation according to this factory book. The owner had sold his UDLX prior to this sale and I'm not sure how long he had owned it but a neighbor had told me he had one stored in a shed years before this sale.
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Kinda like a R cab I know of. It was too hot in cab so just cut the top of cab off! Sunroof
in now days terms.
 
That clears that up...Thanks...In the 1980's owners send me pictures and some would be labeled UPON and some would be labeled or identified as UOPN....Others would be labeled UTOX....I have never personally looked at a serial number plate for any of the first 25 tractors..Are any owners of the first 25 tractors on here that could take a picture of their serial number plate..

An original UDLX owners manual came with my tractor...From what I've heard less than 10 are in existence..I was going to keep it but the buyer of my tractor offered $200 for it and I let him have it..I have heard of one selling for over $1,000..
 
There are more than ten R1001 Instruction Books in existence. I have seen more than that sell in the past 10 to 15 years. The print code shows 1000 copes were printed in November 1939. I would reckon that hand typed (not press printed) Repair Catalog R-1008 is far more scarce. The most I recall seeing is 250 printed before then went to a printing press, sometimes as few as 100.
 
1206SWMO I really enjoy your posts,you have really got some good pics. I am in N C and my son and I have a collection of minneapolis,twin cities and MM, some our MM have tag that reads frick dist. of MM in southeast. A man gave me a box of TC and MM books that came from a dealership up north that his uncle had in it was instruction book udlx and upon 53 pages with oil chart red like the one in the earlier post. I have enjoyed the posts about the udlx and uopn. Thanks David
 
The 10 quote was from the 1980's...Several major MM collectors and UDLX owners came up with that figure as almost every UDLX owner that they talked to didn't have an owners manual..With the internet and ebay its now much easier to find old manuals-etc..All we had back then was Broken Kettle Books and Clarence Goodburn to get literature from...

I'm just curious as to why MM would print up 1000 UDLX owners manuals when only 150 tractors were built..Do you think MM had plans to build 1000 UDLX's? Didn't one UDLX owners manual sell for a huge price on ebay some years back?
 
OK, the time frame makes sense. Pre-internet, made finding manuals much more difficult.

It was very common for MM to print 2x to 4x as many manuals, as there were tractors. Dealers got at least one, owner got one, and then to have extras. Also, I would imagine that MM planned, or hoped to built more tractors. Often there were more than one printing on manuals, as different date codes can often be found on virtually identical manuals.

Yes, a couple years ago, a UDLX Manual sold for $800 something on eBay. This last year, one went for the $200 to $250 range, and at least one Repair Catalog sold in the past couple years years.
 
Last one I WATCHED sell went for around 700$. I would never pay that for a piece of paper especially if it is an Op manual. It tell you nothing an average person knows or can't figure out. The repair book is way more useful crossing parts etc. Reproductions are abundant.
 

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