Renault tractor

Bustamif

Bustamif

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A few locals in my area have various restored tractors from the 1950's, I would love to stir them up with something Renault. Anyone seen anything like this, in need of rescue, sitting in a shed in Aus? I have found everything from Massey Ferguson to Porsche tractors but no Renault.
E30 Tractor.jpg
 
I've seen a lot of bigger renault tractors for sale over the last few years. Often fitted with loaders and backhoes
 
In 1976 or 1977 Renault tractors were sold in Victoria. A 65 HP 4wd was around $11500 compared to a Deutz at $12000, a Fiat at $10500 or a Zetor at $8000. Not sold by Renault Australia. I looked at one at a show and commented to the salesman that it was much dearer than a Zetor. With the superior air French car salesmen often assume he looked down his nose at me and said the Renault should not be compared with a lowly Zetor. Within a year the Renaults were exhibiting a major gearbox fault that required an expensive strip down and major parts replacement so the distributor folded leaving the buyers without warranty or parts. Unsold stock was dumped at a low price on a road building authority. I bought the Zetor and it gave me 40 years of reliable service with new parts readily available to this day on next day delivery.
Claas tractors are Renault based. Renault tractors are not a premium product or a major player in tractor markets. At different times a smart importer will bring in a line of tractors cheaply obtained and disappear in a puff of diesel smoke when they're sold. Some people collect oddities. Keep an eye on the farm websites and you'll eventually find a Renault but there aren't many survivors.
 
Russell Hall said:
In 1976 or 1977 Renault tractors were sold in Victoria. A 65 HP 4wd was around $11500 compared to a Deutz at $12000, a Fiat at $10500 or a Zetor at $8000. Not sold by Renault Australia. I looked at one at a show and commented to the salesman that it was much dearer than a Zetor. With the superior air French car salesmen often assume he looked down his nose at me and said the Renault should not be compared with a lowly Zetor. Within a year the Renaults were exhibiting a major gearbox fault that required an expensive strip down and major parts replacement so the distributor folded leaving the buyers without warranty or parts. Unsold stock was dumped at a low price on a road building authority. I bought the Zetor and it gave me 40 years of reliable service with new parts readily available to this day on next day delivery.
Claas tractors are Renault based. Renault tractors are not a premium product or a major player in tractor markets. At different times a smart importer will bring in a line of tractors cheaply obtained and disappear in a puff of diesel smoke when they're sold. Some people collect oddities. Keep an eye on the farm websites and you'll eventually find a Renault but there aren't many survivors.
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Thanks for the summary Russell. With my collection of Renaults I am often accused of collecting oddities, so why not add a rare tractor. With a slasher on the back it would save me over $600 in contractor fees every time I take it for a drive round the paddock.
 
Keep an eye on farm machinery and clearing sales sites. They were orange, anything yellow has been used in industry/construction. Chances are that unit sold for $1000 was bought for the loader and the tractor is sitting in a paddock. If it's got electrolysis of the block it's terminal. There were more sold in NZ and parts were sourced from there. Clearing sales have been on hold because of restrictions and now of course crossing borders isn't straightforward so your quest may have to wait but my advice would be to advertise on a few sites and one will turn up.
 
Bustamif said:
Thanks for the summary Russell. With my collection of Renaults I am often accused of collecting oddities, so why not add a rare tractor. With a slasher on the back it would save me over $600 in contractor fees every time I take it for a drive round the paddock.
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The cheapest I could find was old aussie made internationals .... ~40hp with a 2 stage clutch. Slashers are not cheap. if you have nearby neighbours a flail of some sort is probably safer. You will use the tractor for everything .... with a few implements you'll wonder what you ever did before you owned it.
 
I helped my neighbour get his 1960's Massey Ferguson running and could borrow that until he sold it.

Just to clarify, I could go the same route as most and get something common, old and cheap but I want a rare, old, cheap Renault tractor.
 
Bustamif said:
I helped my neighbour get his 1960's Massey Ferguson running and could borrow that until he sold it.

Just to clarify, I could go the same route as most and get something common, old and cheap but I want a rare, old, cheap Renault tractor.
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The Renault tractor is only rare here, plenty for sale on this website. Worth a browse and give you a good indication of price even if these are on the other side of the world.

 
Before starting your search it may be worthwhile to check the availability and price of spares. Claas may not feel the obligation to provide spares for the older Renaults and where engines, transmissions and so on have been provided by other makers the search may be more complex. Some Euro firms have spares parts pricing that deters all but the hardiest owner.
 
I was losing bidder on a Renault 651 with 4 wheel drive, cabin and loader at a clearing sale a year or so back. It made about $5k and I was not game to go any further. Even that was probably reckless, I'm sure Russell would say it was!

Some clearing sales are going online now (See auctionsplus.com.au). Prices seem higher than face-to-face clearing sales and it is too easy for sellers to implement a reserve price. A lot of things are passed in but stuff that sells seems to bring big money. My worry is the agents will stick with online after the isolation is over because they think they will get higher prices, and we will miss out on all the fun.

Roger
 
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