# Twin Engined Chamberlian Tractor



## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Found this one on Youtube.

Chamberlain was an Australian tractor manufacturer that started in a disused munitions factory in Perth Western Australia.

They built a range of tractors, an early high horsepower for the day which is very collectable was the Super 90 the basis for this twin engined job.

When they come up for auction here bidders tune in from around the world, the last one sold here that I know of went to England. Price was $AU 18,000.

The seeder is jointed so it follows the ground, 62 feet wide and 105 sowing rows at 7 inch spacings.

Not bad for a farm workshop!

Enjoy


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Not bad at all! When were they produced, 70's?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Pretty odd looking Coondle....look like it needs a blade underneath it closer to the front. 

Regards, Mike


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

Coondle, with the size of your farms one could use a locomotive !


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Neat drill, wouldn't work well though for no till, least not in cornstalks


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

5-6 years ago, I remember a bunch of Aussies brought some Chamberlains over and drove them across the US. I assume they made it home OK.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

The super 90 tractors were built from 1962 to 1967. The forerunner was a Super 70, from 1954 to 1963 and only 1010 made. The Super 90 was one of the most powerful tractors of its time, only outdone by a heavily ballasted Oiver.

We have very small farms too. However some are quite large, one not far from me produces and has on-farm storage for around 40,000 tonnes (48,000 US tons) of grain.

The 1970's tractors were all fitted with Perkins diesel engines.

Chamberlain as I said before started off in a disused munitions factory and began with a two cylinder 6.0 litre kerosene 40 horsepower motor, starting in 1949, making 1484 of them.

Many of these were re-engined with higher horsepower diesel engines . The transmissions of the earlier Chamberlian tractors were way over engineered and could take much greater horsepower than originally fitted, the Super 90 in this clip being fitted with GM 6-71 engines of double the capacity and double or more horsepower.

Another surprising aspect is that the Super 90 only had a 213 cubic inch engine (GM 3-71) i.e. 3 cylinders of 71 cubic inch displacement each and 100 hp.

John Deere bought into the company in 1970 and eventually fitted Deere engines to the entire model range and later painted the tractors GREEN, then shut the factory in 1986.

The drill is another Aussie attempt pre air seeders and pre no-till to get a wide seeder and made in 40 row and 60 row as the usual commercially available fare. They still fetch a reasonably high price on the second-hand market.

There is also a cult following and several clubs formed around another of Chamberlian's legendary tractors the "Countryman 9G'. These clubs travel all around Australia on "outings/runs" travelling in a convoy. They have gone cross country through the desert, across the USA and on many runs some tow caravans.

Here is one 9G in the UK.






Here are some on a rally






These were powered by a perkins 270 cu inch L4 motor of 56 horsepower. The first type was a 6G and then upgraded to 9G.

The difference

6G model had a 6 speed transmission, the 9G a 9 speed. Yeah you catch on , 6 gears and 9 gears. Simple is it not?

These tractors had a bench seat and about 40 mph road speed as well as a canvas, steel pipe framed cab as standard way back in the 1950's when they first appeared. A couple of these "cabs" can be seen on tractors in the second Youtube.

So there can be fun in old tractors.


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

back when I was a kid and had just started driving trucks, I drove a short nosed GMC with a 6-71 and a 10 speed. You had to 'slam your fingers in the door' every morning to start the day because the only way to run that engine was hammer down, flat on the floor.

Not too god on a hill either, Drivers used to say.... You had to downshift a Detroit to go over a cigarette butt....

Great engines for constant rated rpm operation such as draglines and ditchers. Not so good for highway use.

I see the front engine in the video is pulling harder than the back engine (more exhaust smoke), typical of a 2 stroke Detroit under load.

The emissions police buried that powerplant.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

GM diesels are known here as "Turners". Turn ****** good air into noise>

Sort of like horses are "Turners" for hay and you can guess.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Pretty cool Coondle-what are they likely seeding in the video?


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

That 9g seemed to have some serious mobile speeds......


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

somedevildawg said:


> That 9g seemed to have some serious mobile speeds......


The way your checking them out devildawg I 'am think'n about finding you 1 for your sq baler  heck you could buy a triple hitch run 3 balers and the two 671 Detroit which would = 12.. I would call it "The Dirty Dozen x 3 squared " then you could really make hay...Maybe even dress you up like Mad Max :lol: :lol:


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I like ur thinkin Sno.....BTW. WTH is Mad Max? Ima guessing its another movie.....


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Hayman1 said:


> Pretty cool Coondle-what are they likely seeding in the video?


Naracoorte is mentioned in the video and is a town is in South Australia. The tractor has a South Australian number plate so I assume the tractor is somewhere near Naracoorte which is a grain growing area.

Looking at the grain going into the combine (drill) it appears to be oats.



somedevildawg said:


> That 9g seemed to have some serious mobile speeds......


The Chamberlian Champion with serious mobile speed was a 6g modified to be the recovery vehicle for several round Australia reliability trials in the 1950's. The tractor is known as "Tail End Charlie" and was capable of 65 mph or 110 kmph. (some say it could only manage 60 mph/100kmph) For their time the production models had good road speed of about 35 to 40 mph. One farmer living near me was a huge man of around 6 foot 8 inches and 30 stone or 400+ lbs and in the late 60's he used a Chamberlian Champion as his vehicle to go to and from town.

You are right somedevildawg Mad Max is a movie released in 1979 and now has a second sequel released May 15 called "Mad Max - Fury Road". The first sequel was "Mad Max - Beyond Thunder Dome". The first movies were set in the Australian desert the latest however was filmed in Southern Africa because the Downunder desert had received rain and the arid desolate remote area was bright green.The movie poster for the first:


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

All this info and that tractor and so very good info that I have learned from Coondle.. makes me want to pack up and head down under.. somedevildawg can you make me some Vegemite sandwiches Coondle hope to see ya when I get there.. devildawg can you fly me down there ? and can we make it nonstop 1st class ? then when we get there with the Help of Coondle I can find that beast of a tractor for you dawg.. Good-day Mates


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## gwagen (Apr 20, 2015)

Coondle said:


> Naracoorte is mentioned in the video and is a town is in South Australia. The tractor has a South Australian number plate so I assume the tractor is somewhere near Naracoorte which is a grain growing area.
> Looking at the grain going into the combine (drill) it appears to be oats.
> 
> The Chamberlian Champion with serious mobile speed was a 6g modified to be the recovery vehicle for several round Australia reliability trials in the 1950's. The tractor is known as "Tail End Charlie" and was capable of 65 mph or 110 kmph. (some say it could only manage 60 mph/100kmph) For their time the production models had good road speed of about 35 to 40 mph. One farmer living near me was a huge man of around 6 foot 8 inches and 30 stone or 400+ lbs and in the late 60's he used a Chamberlian Champion as his vehicle to go to and from town.
> ...


You forgot The Road Warrior!


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

gwagen said:


> You forgot The Road Warrior!


I did. didn't I ....... and I was really think that would be more on course than Madd Max


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

snowball said:


> All this info and that tractor and so very good info that I have learned from Coondle.. makes me want to pack up and head down under.. somedevildawg can you make me some Vegemite sandwiches Coondle hope to see ya when I get there.. devildawg can you fly me down there ? and can we make it nonstop 1st class ? then when we get there with the Help of Coondle I can find that beast of a tractor for you dawg.. Good-day Mates


"Are ya tryin to tempt me" because I come from the land of Dixie..... I can do ya some pimento cheese samiches and boiled peanuts Sno, kinda vegamitey


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I ain't much into them movie shows......every once in a while ill watch one, think Titanic might have been the last, with the exception of American Sniper (waited until DirectTV aired it)


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

somedevildawg said:


> "Are ya tryin to tempt me" because I come from the land of Dixie..... I can do ya some pimento cheese samiches and boiled peanuts Sno, kinda vegamitey .


Never heard of them devildawng... I knew you aren't much of a movie watcher.. the Madd Max and Road Warrior ain't my type of movie .. I like real history movies.. so Can you fly me down there to find you the tractor ? would you use it if we found you 1 ?


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I don't think the 172 will make it Sno......Quantas has a monopoly on flights down under, they're the only airline with planes that can cruise upside down


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

How are we going to get that tractor back to the Peach St. ?


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

snowball said:


> How are we going to get that tractor back to the Peach St. ?


Ain't sure, but where there's a will there's a way.........ima guessing by boat up the appilachicola inland waterway, right thru Florida and up into Georgia....will have to unload at the fertilizer port and mobile from there.......


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Coondle said:


> Naracoorte is mentioned in the video and is a town is in South Australia. The tractor has a South Australian number plate so I assume the tractor is somewhere near Naracoorte which is a grain growing area.
> 
> Looking at the grain going into the combine (drill) it appears to be oats.
> 
> ...


You forgot "The Road Warrior" which was the first sequel to "Mad Max"... "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome" was the last one until this latest "Fury Road" movie came out...

Later! OL JR


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