“It is the single oldest tractor in New Zealand,” he told the Otago Daily Times. “It looks the part, like a traction engine.”
International Harvester produced about 1,319 Type Ds between 1910 and 1914. The tractors started out with 20 hp but, in 1912, the manufacturer released a 25 hp version. Eventually, International Harvester offered a 45 hp version of the Type D before discontinuing the model.
Mahan’s had the tractor in his collection for about 50 years.
He traded a farmer with mailbox and a billiard table for ownership of the tractor. The previous owner used it to operate a gold stamp mill machine and for farm work, he said.
But the tractor’s parts were scattered in between a neighbour’s place and the old owner’s farm.
Restoring the tractor took about two years, and Mahan enjoyed driving it whenever he could.
“I had a lot of fun driving it and it snorts and bangs,” he said. “It had only got one gear and took quite a while to get anywhere, two to three miles an hour.”
Having a Titan Type D could fetch an antique tractor collector a high price.
Some 20- and 25 hp models could be worth anywhere between US$25,000 and US$175,000, the second edition of the Antique American Tractor and Crawler Value Guide says.
Mahan is also bringing other equipment to the show.
He hopes to display a 1935 Caterpillar No. 11 grader and an Auston Weston grader.
The collector also has plans to build a museum where he can store all his vintage equipment.
Farms.com has reached out to Mahan for more details about his tractor.
Manitoba Agricultural Museum photo