BY PETER O'BRIEN
ONE cannot deny that the McCormick International Harvester B-414 is a striking tractor. It’s purposeful square and sculpted bonnet, red paintwork, and cream wheels and grill give the tractor a desirable stout and stocky appearance – a trait that International continued right into their Tennaco merger of the 1980s.
Unveiled at the Royal Show, the B-414 was manufactured in Bradford, England by International Harvester in 1961 for both the European and American markets. Interestingly, the tractor was available in both diesel and petrol engines, with a small minority farmer still favouring a petrol engine.
The B-414 took over the reins of the B-275 as the highest horsepower International manufactured at the Bradford factory at the time. The B-414 was a direct competitor to the Ford 3000 and Massey Ferguson 35 and 135 – the latter for a short period. These tractors were powered by three-cylinder engines; however, a four-cylinder power unit is used by International for the B-414. Producing 44hp, International’s 2.5l BD-154 engine provides the pep for the International.
The transmission provides the operator with eight forward speeds through four gears with a High/Low option, along with two reverse gears - with high reverse a spritely 10kph!
At the back end of the tractor, International employed it’s ‘Vary-Touch’ three-point draft control system with a 540rpm PTO with an additional 745rpm or 1000rpm speed as an optional extra. Both hydraulics and PTO were now live on the B-414.
At the front end of the tractor, a heavier square, box-type front axle was introduced, a removable grill to aid cleaning of the radiator as well as a new radiator filler cap access panel on the bonnet. The tractor’s fuel tank was also expanded to make capacity for almost 40 litres of fuel.
Independent of the transmission, the tractor also features an externally mounted hydraulic pump driven by the engine. Brakes are locked in place by a hand lever when parking. Weighting in at 1.8 tons, power steering was also available as an extra.
Interestingly, the B-275 and B-414 were also manufactured under licence by Mahindra and Mahindra of India from 1962, producing over 85,000 units. This was the company’s first venture into tractor production. Now a global super company including automotive, renewables, finance, logistics and agriculture, the Indian company claims to be the largest producer of tractors by volume in the world. However, their agricultural success can be traced back over 60 years to the humble International.
Contact Peter at [email protected] or see Instagram @flashphotoscork
