toyfarmer

Courtesy of Toy Farmer magazine.
Used with permission.

The 2006 National Farm Toy Show Tractor
is the IH 4366

In 1972, Steiger painted and decaled the Series I
Super Wildcat, Bearcat and Cougar in Canadian Co-op
Orange through to 1974 and the Series II models
through to 1976. Within a few months of the release of
the orange Canadian Co-op tractors, the Steiger
Company was producing the orange Allis-Chalmers 440
based on the Series I Bearcat through to 1975.

It was not until 1977 that any more Steiger tractors
were produced for another tractor OEM. Four models of
the Series III Steiger Panther were painted blue and
white for the Ford Motor Company and decaled the
FW-20, FW-30, FW-40 and FW-60 tractors. The
relationship with other manufacturers ceased in 1985
with the end of production of the FW-60 for the
European market.

By 1987, Steiger had been purchased by Case IH, the
green Steigers became red and decaled with numbers
instead of the big cat names farmers had become
familiar with.

During 1972, International Harvester had gained a
financial interest in the Steiger Tractor Company
assembly plant. Despite IH producing high-horsepower
rigid-frame tractors, they were not in a position to
build a 4WD-articulating tractor.

A decision was made in 1973 by the IH management to
build a red and white IH tractor at the Fargo plant
was not a recolored and decaled Steiger tractor, but a
tractor of new appearance using Steiger technology
with International Harvester design. Many
International components were used, including the
engine and tinwork, while the cab, mainframe and
drivelines were of Steiger design.

This was the first Steiger-built tractor to take on a
completely different appearance than the previous
production Steigers leaving the Fargo assembly line.

The new tractor released in 1973 was described as the
most powerful of all International farm tractors
International 4366 Turbo tractor with 225-engine
horsepower, articulated steering and four-wheel-drive.
The IH dealers faced difficult times in trying to
promote and sell the new 225-engine horsepower IH
4366. They were trying to sell into a market dominated
by Steiger, Versatile and John Deere. It was difficult
to sell the Steiger-built tractor in such a
competitive field despite the success of the other
eight models in the new IH 66 Series that ranged from
79 to 140 PTO horsepower.

However, IH didn't give up. They slowly made inroads
into the 4WD market. In 1977, they released a further
two models rated at 230 and 300 horsepower: the 4386
and 4586. In 1979, a fourth model, the 4786 rated at
350-engine horsepower, was added to the lineup.

In fact, the Steiger-IH partnership lasted for a total
of eight years before International Harvester
continued and expanded its own range of 2+2 tractors.

International Harvester 4366
The giant International was built for heavy-duty work
for many types of farming operations, from the open
spaces of the wheat country, through the Corn Belt,
down through the Delta and into the large farm areas
of the East. It was the biggest International-built
tractor in 1973; everything about it said power, work
capacity, durability and reliability. It was quality
built from engine through final drive, just as all IH
tractors were.

The power for the 4366 came from the new IH
466-cubic-inch turbocharged diesel engine - the
biggest of the 300/400 Series diesel engines that were
also used in other IH 66 Series tractors.

The Fuller five-speed constant-mesh transmission with
a high-low range gave 10 forward and two reverse
gears. The power from the engine to the transmission
supplied the drivelines through a swinging power
divider which was supplied by Steiger.

The 4366 handled like a smaller IH tractor and was
capable of turning in a 15-foot radius from center
line on wheels at 78-inch tread width. The maximum
degree of articulation was 40 degrees left or right
for high maneuverability. The swinging power divider
swings to the inside of turn, greatly reducing the
angle of drive and adding to overall life of assembly.
The front and rear frames oscillate in either
direction to keep the tires in contact with the ground
on the roughest of terrain.

A Category III three-point hitch with Quick-Coupler
was an optional extra to carry either fully or
semi-mounted implements. A heavy-duty roller-type
drawbar was standard.

Wheel treads were adjustable to meet most requirements
of varying field size and row crop situation. A large
choice of tire sizes was offered in either single- or
dual-wheel arrangement to suit from heavy-duty tillage
work to precision row-crop operations. On single
wheels, the tread width was adjustable from 65 to 122
inches; when fitted on dual wheels, the mean was 96
inches.

With a production run of three years, the
Steiger-built International Harvester 4366 Turbo
tractor moved the company a step further to supplying
big tractors for big farms, keeping the company at the
forefront of technology.

The Steiger relationship lasted for eight years, and
today many of these red and white tractors are still
hard at work more than 30 years on.