Wellytrack
Member
Yes they already make a semi powershift. As said above it’s in the Crystal.
Are Zetor finished in Europe?
- Thread starter Pheasant Surprise
- Start date
Yes they already make a semi powershift. As said above it’s in the Crystal.
holywell farmer
Member
- Location
- holywell, north wales
Ok,
8100
Member
- Location
- South Cheshire
Be a shame if they did fade away .I would say most farms around me had a 50-60 hp one doing the mundane daily chores in the 1970s -1980s.They seemed to do what they said on the tin.The brakes were poo and a couple of loads of grass pre side loading days would mean the PUH would need adjustment but they kept plodding along at their own pace 
celtis man
Member
I had a nose around the Armatrac at the Royal Cornwall Show, and got talking to the chap taken on to do the service and repairs to the them by the dealer he was saying that the new 100hp model has a duetz engine with a zf trans and is capable of lifting 5 ton! Seems quite well put together for the asking price and they are keen to get them out on demo. He said that model was £34 K the equivalent zetor is £41k apparently well that was what he was told by a potential customer.No!!
I went and had a proper look at the 70/80 and 113 hp models last week. I was particularly interested in the 2 smaller tractors with a FEL. The tractor reminded me of a 1980s Zetor, which is a mixed response!
Running gear and mechanicals seemed solid and well put together. BUT.... for me, the cab ergonomics were a shocker on the 2 smaller tractors. The old comment about "controls fall easily to hand" were the opposite for the Armatrac hydraulics, both electro or mechanical controls were not accessible.. PTO was a pull the clutch lever on the floor, and engage, seat position was again for me, poor. The killer (on the smaller tractors) was the dreadful positioning of various control levers on the base of the seat deck which really restricted foot room for operating which was made worse by not being able to adjust the seat up to allow a more vertical seating position.
The overall feeling I came away with, was that the bells and whistles and indeed a lot of the controls, were an add-on afterthought. The ex demo 113hp was VERY competitively priced
The bigger tractor with a bigger and nicer feel cab was a lot better internally in its design, and would have suited my needs nicely, but was a lot bigger than I want in this instance.
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celtis man
Member
I didn't go in the cab but the man showed me some features outside and said they use a bosh type hydraulic control system.I went and had a proper look at the 70/80 and 113 hp models last week. I was particularly interested in the 2 smaller tractors with a FEL. The tractor reminded me of a 1980s Zetor, which is a mixed response!
Running gear and mechanicals seemed solid and well put together. BUT.... for me, the cab ergonomics were a shocker on the 2 smaller tractors. The old comment about "controls fall easily to hand" were the opposite for the Armatrac hydraulics, both electro or mechanical controls were not accessible.. PTO was a pull the clutch lever on the floor, and engage, seat position was again for me, poor. The killer (on the smaller tractors) was the dreadful positioning of various control levers on the base of the seat deck which really restricted foot room for operating which was made worse by not being able to adjust the seat up to allow a more vertical seating position.
The overall feeling I came away with, was that the bells and whistles and indeed a lot of the controls, were an add-on afterthought. The ex demo 113hp was VERY competitively priced
The bigger tractor with a bigger and nicer feel cab was a lot better internally in its design, and would have suited my needs nicely, but was a lot bigger than I want in this instance.
But I left with the feeling it was not bad value
Yep, Bosch sytems, as is the norm these days and as you said earlier decent transmission etc,. The loaders are Quickie, made and badged by Armatrac, who make loaders for Quickie I was told.
I agree, the value is there, but for a bit more, you can get better spec and design AND probably, better depreciation... If I wanted the larger Armatrac tractor however, I would have bought the ex demo there and then! Bargain at £32-33K
I agree, the value is there, but for a bit more, you can get better spec and design AND probably, better depreciation... If I wanted the larger Armatrac tractor however, I would have bought the ex demo there and then! Bargain at £32-33K
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Deutzdx3
Member
Needs to be a full powershift like in a NH tm150 etc. Tried and tested for years. Must be cheap to buy now with every one moving to vario.
celtis man
Member
Mm that is the problem you can find a jd 5080-5090 sh for mid 20k and will have better residual value [emoji848] I think you need to ponder it all [emoji849]Yep, Bosch sytems, as is the norm these days and as you said earlier decent transmission etc,. The loaders are Quickie, made and badged by Armatrac, who make loaders for Quickie I was told.
I agree, the value is there, but for a bit more, you can get better spec and design AND probably, better depreciation... If I wanted the larger Armatrac tractor however, I would have bought the ex demo there and then! Bargain at £32-33K
Wellytrack
Member
Indeed it’s 20 year old design that. ZF have a robotised transmission so far as I remember. Could be wrong.
Cowabunga
Member
- Location
- Ceredigion,Wales
For very very little more than the price of an Armatrac or Zetor you can now buy tractors that are 80, 90 and 100 hp with a decent spec from MF, CNH or perhaps JD. I quite fancy the MF and NH ones and their cabs are well laid out and roomy. The modern day MF390Turbo and Ford 6610 with residual values likely to be as good. McCormick have some nice models in that class too and so have Claas as far as that goes. Not forgetting Kubota and Valtra of course.
holywell farmer
Member
- Location
- holywell, north wales
Why did zetor do well in the 70s
- Location
- pembrokeshire
i bought an Ursus c385 which is the same as a Zetor crystal new in 1980 for less money than a ford 4000 four years old it was a price thing also in those days they had more extras had mine twelve years never put a foot wrong it was all about the purchase price
Cheap. And folks didn't seem to be so snobbish then either.
Oh, and 4wd available which other manufactures didn't offer till early 80's.
holywell farmer
Member
- Location
- holywell, north wales
Crystal bit if classic
In our case, they were substantially less money than the mainstream European competition. And don't forget, there were no where near as many brands or variations in the manufacturers ranges as can be seen now...
As superQ said, 4WD was a big deal too, I remember the revelation of ploughing on our heavy clay when I bought our first Zetor 4wd
Cowabunga
Member
- Location
- Ceredigion,Wales
They were cheap and, basically, gave more for less. When MF had six gears on their 60hp tractor, Zetor had 10 changed through a column mounted lever. They offered very affordable 4wd when the only competition was from conversions, Same and Fiat, all of which were less well established than Zetor. They had roomy and comfortable cabs with useable passenger seats when MF and Ford could only offer the 165/185 and 4000/5000 with cramped cabs added as afterthoughts.
Zetor were ahead of the game except for the quality of some castings being dubious. They were not built for heavy duty work but did great for the less demanding user, which made up the majority at that time.
EDIT
In the time I took to write that, SteveR has posted a similar explanation, so it must be true.
Wellytrack
Member
Cab big enough for Sam, Jim and Roy to go to the pub and plenty of room for a fight on the way home.
- Location
- South Wales UK
Mobile glasshouse too
Enough room for 6 Collies too!
- Tags
- baling continental powershift