Ingersoll Power Equipment

History

Ingersoll Equipment Company, Inc.(no connection to Ingersoll Rand) was formed when Jack Ingersoll purchased the garden tractor division from Case Corporation in late 1983.

Case garden tractors came into existence in 1965, after the purchase of Colt Garden Tractors/Colt Equipment in late 1964. The motive behind the acquisition was a revolutionary patented hydraulic drive system. This heavy duty drive system could easily power a wide range of accessories uncommon to tractor owners at that time. Production began with the 1965 Case 130 and 180. Both were powered with the reliable Kohler K-Series engine with 10 and 12 HP respectively. The 130 Lo Profile model came with 12" rear rims and the High Wheel 180 model came with 16" rear rims. The Colt tractors remained in production through 1965 and 1966 but the decision to stop producing Colts came in the summer of 1966. There were no 1967 Colt tractors made. Other Case models sold between 1965 and 1969 were the 120, 150, 155, 190, and 195. All of these tractors sported the chrome Old Abe badge on the grille and Desert Sunset and Flambeau Red paint used by the Agricultural Division of J.I. Case.

1968 was the last year for the 100 series and 1969 brought on the all new 200 and 400 series. The tractors were completely restyled to emulate the newly introduced 70 Series Ag tractors and had rectangular headlamps and a squared hood. The older 180, 190, and 195's were prone to rear axle shaft breakage as well as front axle breakage under certain circumstances that were on the edge of abuse. The new 200 and 400 Series tractors used a much stronger trans-axle and cast steel front axle as well as a much stronger main frame. The patented hydraulic drive remained but it was improved upon by upping the maximum operating pressure from 1600 PSI to 2150 PSI at the travel valve and 2250 at the rear PTO valve, used to power attachments.

The early 1970s saw the end of the older "elephant ear" style of rear fenders on the Big Wheel tractors in favor of a flat top fender. 1971 saw the debut of the 'Snap-Fast' attachment system that consisted of spring-loaded pins on the front of the tractor. This made it very easy for owners to change front mounted attachments and mower decks without the need of tools or having to lay on the ground. This was done in answer to the frequent complaints regarding the time and work required to remove the mower deck, utility blade or snowcaster. Snap-Fast has been such a successful system that it remains unchanged to this day. 1973 brought the introduction of the 210 Model which was Kohler K powered 10 HP garden tractor with a Peerless 4 speed gear trans-axle instead of the hydraulic drive system used by all the other Case garden tractors. This was priced considerably lower than the hydraulic drive models and was more or less an entry level GT for those wishing to own a Case. A mechanical drive rotary tiller was engineered to work with this one model and an optional sleeve hitch was also available for the mounting of ground engaging attachments. The use of rubber isolator engine mounts was introduced in 1973 to help reduce vibration from the one lung Kohler K engines. For the 1976 production year, the exhaust system was moved under the hood.

1977 signaled the end of Desert Sunset paint and it was the first year Case garden tractors came with Power Red everywhere except for the Power White wheel rims. The use of the Delco-Remy Starter/Generator ended in 1977 on the Kohler powered tractors. From 1978 on, alternators and starter motors were standard issue. Case engineered a 60-inch cutting width mower deck to be introduced for the 1980 model year at the same time the more powerful 448 became available. In order to fit that larger mower deck under the tractor, two inches were added to the frame between the seat base and the dash tower. The 444, 446 and 448 models all sported the longer 48 inch wheelbase while the 200 Lo Pro tractors remained with a 46-inch wheelbase. The new 60-inch deck was not available for the Lo Pro models.