It’s a question I’ve started asking myself since we found what might be the oldest example to still exist. The tractor is serial number TV139, making it the 38th one built. I don’t know of any other 10-20 Titans that are this old, so could it be the oldest one?
If you know of one that is older, please comment below or shoot me a message!
The 10-20 Titan
The 10-20 Titan Tractor was one of International Harvester’s first “compact” tractors with gear forward and reverse. It was more fuel economic and marketed as a versatile little tractor. Production ran from 1915 to 1920 with different changes made every year or between years.
1915
International only built twenty-five 10-20 Titan Tractors in 1915. These tractors were unlike any other in that they used igniters instead of spark plugs. The records of decisions show they switched the design in 1916, scraped the igniter tractors and all the patterns. Its doubtful any of these were sold to the public, but some of the drawings for the 1915 models still exist in the archives at the Wisconsin Historical Society.
1916
The design changed in 1916 to spark plug ignition with a high bar magneto. Another difference included the carburetor setup which was only used on 175 of the 1916 tractors. Tractors with the high bar magneto were only made to serial number TV2000.
The photo above shows the early 1916 carburetor on the left that was used on just 175 tractors. The carburetor on the right is the later style.
The Oldest 10-20 Titan?
In the spring of 2023 the 10-20 Titan tractor above showed up on the Steve Stratman Rocky Mountain Round-up Auction in Pueblo, Colorado. The auction was conducted by Polk Auction Company on May 20, 2023.
What’s The Difference?
So what’s the difference? There’s way to many variations in the 10-20 Titans throughout its entire production run to list them all here. I’ll focus on the 175 built in 1916.
The Carbuertator
As I mentioned before the carburetor is quite difference. As seen in the photos below.
The Ignition
This tractor uses a high bar magneto with spark plug ignition. The later models switched to a KW magneto.
The Frame
At least one of the channel iron frame rails is lighter. The records of decision show that issues arose because of this and braces were added to the frame. In the photo below you can see a rod that runs the length of the frame on both sides.
We initially thought this was added on by the farmer, but on closer inspection is seems to have been installed either by a dealership or at the factory.
The front bolster is also different. It has no pull ring on the front an is made lighter with fewer rivets.
The Restoration
The plan is to restore this tractor back to running condition. It’s in pretty rough shape, so many parts will be sourced from a donor tractor, luckily many of the parts are the same on the later models.
I’ll continue to do more research and will post more about this project as it progresses. Be sure to join my email list below to get the latest updates and access to exclusive content.
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