For more photos and information on these amazing machines check here!

ABOUT "4-WHEEL UPTIME"
Back in 1977 International Harvester wanted to drive customers to make use of its "UPtime" service, a program where you could bring your tractor (or just some components) in before the busy season and company techs would make sure the machine was in good shape. This was so important for farmers because a broken tractor at the start of harvest usually meant big losses.

The 4586 and 4386 tractors featured in this film were actually built by the Steiger Tractor Company, at their Fargo plant. The machines were given the IH badge and immediately these powerful 4-wheel-drives were a hit as the farmers of the day were looking for more power and traction.  In 1986, nine years after this film was created, International Harvester would end up buying Steiger!

"4-Wheel UPtime" was one of several videos International would play in its dealerships on old cartridge projectors for its customers, to inform them about new company developments.  After so many years in storage, however, the film was starting to show a little of its age.  Film like this from the 70s would often succumb to the ravages of time, as the dyes that made up the color of the video began to fade.  The red dye tended to hold its own better than the blues and yellows, however, and this imbalance would result in the whole video seeming to have a red tint when it was played back.  

While it is kind of cool that even the canisters of film couldn't resist getting a little of that famous IH Red for themselves, it does makes everything everything a little strange looking.  Like this woman's bizarre, hot-pink kitchen, and a landscape that looks a little more Martian than Iowan.

Since we live in the digital era, however, the restoration of film is no longer painstaking.  By passing the film through a computer program capable of filtering out some of the red and restoring the blues and yellows back to it, we can get footage that much more closely displays the color white as, well, white!  Check out the restored images below to see what we mean.


For more photos and information on these amazing machines check here!


Octane Presents is a new video series from Octane Press featuring rare and restored footage from International's archives.  Follow us on youtube, and check back every couple of weeks for more fascinating videos!