60th birthday of IH 1206 tractors to be celebrated

RANTOUL, Ill. — Several hundred IH 1206 tractors are expected to be on display during the Half Century of Progress event at the National Aviation Center near Rantoul.

“Our target is to get 350 of them there at a minimum,” said Brad Twiss, who is organizing the display together with friend and tractor collector Kristin Gall. “We’re pretty excited about it and I think we can get more, but I’m nervous.”

This year is the 60th birthday of the muscle tractor that was in production from 1965 to 1967.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to have this large of a group together,” Twiss said. “It is going to be pretty incredible.”

The last time Twiss saw a big group of IH 1206 tractors was in 2006 at the Red Power Roundup.

“I think there were 42 of them there and that is the most I’ve ever seen in one spot,” he said.

The Half Century event is the perfect place for a gathering of the IH 1206 tractors, Twiss said.

“Based on our serial number registry, Iowa has the most 1206s and Illinois is second,” he said.

IH 1206 tractors were sold with 18.4x38 rear tires that were specifically developed for this machine.

“When they were working those tractors on the company farm in Hinsdale, Illinois, they were having problems because of the extra horsepower,” Twiss said.

From collecting serial numbers over the years, Twiss said, the collectors learned there were technically four first built 1206 tractors because there were prototype tractors.

“The first production built tractor was a 7501 Farmall and a 7501 International,” Twiss said. “There was also a 501 Farmall and 501 Wheatland International that were used on the Hinsdale farm and International did a dealer auction and sold those tractors to dealers.”

“We know that from folks that own the International 501 and they’ve had the tractor since it was new,” he said. “The tractor was bought by a dealer from the Hinsdale auction and then they bought it from the dealer.”

IH 1206 tractors have a Solar turbo charger.

“Solar was a division of International Harvester and the 1206 was the only tractor except for the 4100 four-wheel-drive tractor that used the Solar turbo,” Twiss said.

“The 1206 was the first row crop tractor that was over 100 horsepower turbocharged,” he said. “The Allis Chalmers D21 was over 100 horsepower, but it was not considered a row crop tractor.”

The earliest 1206s, Twiss said, featured a fast hitch with the three point.

“There will be a display there that shows that on my tractor,” the collector said. “You can detach a piece of equipment with the operator staying on the tractor.”

Twiss, who has an addiction for red tractors, collects the 06 series.

“I collect the ‘60s vintage tractors that were quite a step up for all brands,” he said. “It was common to have six-cylinder engines and turbochargers on a lot of them.”

These tractors blow black smoke and they are somewhat like the muscle cars of that era, said Twiss, who was raised on a dairy farm in Michigan.

“They have horsepower like farmers hadn’t seen before,” Twiss said.

“I have a 606, which was a small utility tractor never made into a Farmall, a 706 Farmall, an 806 Farmall and a 1206 Farmall,” the collector said.

“I also have a custom tractor that I built and call it a 1406,” he said. “I put a bigger engine in it, that they never used in two-wheel-drive tractor. I’ve got a lot of hours into that one.”

In addition to his 1206 tractor, Twiss may bring another tractor if he can get it all together before the Half Century event.

At the IH 1206 display, there will be several special items for sale including hats, shirts and koozies.

“All the extra funds from the sale of these items will be donated to the Make a Wish Foundation,” Twiss said. “My son was in a bad auto accident and he got a Make a Wish trip to Alaska many years ago.”

In addition, a special IH 1206 toy will be auctioned online through Ken Girard Auctions in September and the money raised through that sale will also be donated to Make a Wish.

“We’re pretty excited about the IH 1206 Half Century of Progress Roundup. We’ve got flags and a happy birthday banner made,” Twiss said. “Who knows if and when this will ever happen again.”