Farmall Tractors Calendar 2027

The 2027 Final Days Edition of the Farmall Tractors Calendar features models that mark significant times in Farmall and International Harvester history...

Starting with the first model built in 1906 and ending with the last International Harvester off the line in 1984. Turn the pages and you’ll be treated to rare example of milestone models that were key moments in red tractor history. Lee Klancher’s gorgeous images are accompanied with stories about each machine and details on how that model fit into the red tractor dynasty.

2027 MACHINE LIST

1906 International Friction Drive
1965 Farmall 1206 
1981 International 7788
1939 Farmall H SN 504
1958 Farmall 560 SN 502
1984 International 7288 SN 1
1971 International 1456
1934 McCormick-Deering WD-40  
1976 International 1568 Black Stripe
1958 Farmall 450
1975 International 4366 
1984 International 5488 Last Production 

The 88 Series International Harvester tractors set a new industry-wide standard when they were introduced in 1981, featuring radical styling and innovative technology. These were terrific machines, and they set the bar with performance.

The market collapsed shortly after they hit the dealership floors, and they would not offer enough sales revenue to save the company from labor troubles and the worst farm economy in modern history. Harvester battled to survive this era and struggled with a heavy debt load and cratering sales due to the Farm Crisis. The cataclysmic conditions caused IH to sell the agricultural division to Tenneco. The investment IH made in new technology in the late 1970s, however, allowed them to create these fine machines.

This 1984 IH 5488 is not just the last year of production—it’s the last model to roll down the production floor at International Harvester. Note that in the evening photograph, the uneven paint colors show clearly. This paint is factory original, and the shade variations are because IH was running out of paint when the last one was produced, and the shades of the paint varied on different body panels. The historic tractor lives in Racine, Wisconsin, and it is typically on display at the Case IH Experience Center.

Black stripe 66 Series tractors have the distinct graphics you see above and were produced only in 1976. The eye-catching graphic was the first project of well-known industrial designer Gregg Montgomery, who came to the IH design department after stints with Ford and Caterpillar and would go on to pen the space-age lines of the 88 Series IH tractors and several generations of Magnum tractors. The machines also showcase some features unique to this year of 66 tractors. The V8-powered International Harvester tractors were the brainchild of the marketing department. The 1468 and 1568 are neither the most powerful nor the most efficient models for their times—the turbocharged six-cylinder diesels are more powerful—but the double stacks and throaty V8 rumble make the 1468s and 1568s extremely popular with collectors. 

The International 1568 in the main image was owned by the late Darius Harms, who was the organizer of the Half Century of Progress show in Rantoul, Illinois. The inset is a 1974 Farmall 1568 owned by Joel Jakobs that was photographed in 2019 inside a hangar at the Chanute Air Force Base, where the Half Century show is held.