International Harvester in 1985 

by Gordy Schultz
      International Harvester is my favorite brand.  It was the most popular brand in area.  Local farmers used great tractor like the IH 806 and 544 when I was growing up.  It seemed that most farms were red. For that reason it was a big surprise to me in late 1984 when Case purchased International's Ag Division. 

       I was surprised like many people that Case and International had become one brand.  At first I did not know what to think of red Case tractors. When the Case International Magnum tractors came out I thought there is the IH tractor I knew. 

      It has been almost 20 years since CaseIH became a brand.  CaseIH has advanced mechanized with enhancing products that  include tractors ranging from 25 to 500 horsepower; combines and harvesters; hay and forage equipment; tillage tools; planting and seeding systems; sprayers and applicators; and site specific farming tools.  CaseIH has continued to make "Red Power" equipment a leading force in Agriculture.

     As we celebrate 101 years of IH in this issue of The Toy Tractor Times , I thought readers might like to look back at the original literature announcing the combination of IH and Case. 

     November 1985 brought the announcement of the joining of J.I. Case and International Harvester Ag.  November is also the month that begins the new calendar year for equipment makers.  This is the month many new products go into production and dealers begin receiving literature on the new offerings.  This was the case in November 1984.  IH began printing its 1985 buyers guide.  Since 1951 IH had been offering a brochure showings it complete line of tractors, plows, harvesters and other offerings.  The 1985 IH buyers guide big new product was supposed to be IH 7488 4wd. A very few IH buyers guides were printed with the 7488 on the cover.  At the same time printing began IH was joining forces  with J.I Case.
   Case International became a new brand for 1985.  The red buyers guide was quickly changed. The Super 70 IH 4wds were dropped from production plans and the buyers guide cover was changed to show a newly painted Case International 4494 4wd. The inside of the brochure was a combination of IH and Case.  The tractor section features Case tractors from 400 hp to 85 hp air brushed from white to IH red with Case International decals. Tractors from 35 hp to 72 hp are IH tractors air brushed to the new Case International look.  The rest of the guide is a copy of the IH 1984 buyers guide with J.I Case and Case International edit in to replace International. 

    The Super 70 4wds were to be IH's new Farmall tractor line leader through the late 1980's.  The 7488 and 7288 were advanced 2+2 tractors with improved transmissions and beefier axles.  The Case-IH merger did not include IH's Farmall tractor plant and the Super 70 4wds were dropped.  A total of 36 Super 70's were produced and sold by IH before the merger. A brochure was printed and released to dealers. The 1985 CaseIH buyers guide shows a 7488 on a 415 Roller Mulcher. The Super 70 brochure is fairly abundant and can be found through many sales literature dealers.    

      The land Down Under went ahead and released a 1985 International Buyers guide. The Australian buyers guide shows some interesting IH products.  It includes an IH air drill, hay tedder and big articulated 4wd called the Acre Master. These interesting  IH Aussie products can be viewed on ToyTractorShow.com. This [piece is certainly a rare piece to come across in North America.  The North American and Australian 1985 Buyers Guides would certainly bring top dollar if they come up for sale due to their extreme rareness. 

    When a major merger takes place like Case-IH's the new brand wants to put a positive spin out to its customers.  New CaseIH dealers in 1985 distrusted an introduction brochure.  This piece talks about to great farming traditions joining forces for a bright new future.  It quells concerns stating that the CaseIH dealer network is strengthened and all IH and Case warranties will be honored.  Tenneco the owner of Case-IH is written about for its commitment to technological  innovation  and combing the resources of IH and Case.  Case's Crab steer and 2wd 94 series are featured in their black and white color scheme along side the red IH 88 and 84 series tractors.  IH's tillage, planting and harvesting equipment also dominates the CaseIH intro flyer.  CaseIH would transition as we see in the 85' buyers guide to Case tractors and IH equipment to build a full line. It would take two years before the combined forces of Case and IH would produce the first CaseIH tractor using the 88 series from IH and the 96 series improvements from Case to create the Magnum.    

TTT August 003 Page 13

Back to the index

Hit Counter