"Best Buy" 1976 Patriotic Steiger

"Best Buy" 1976 Patriotic Steiger TRACTORS Antiques 26-5-33 When Norris Hayman went shopping for a big tractor more than a quarter of a century ago, he was looking for economical, reliable power. After looking at all the big four-wheel-drives available in 1975, Hayman decided on a Steiger Panther II, with a 310 hp Cummins engine. Having farmed with IH tractors all his life, Hayman joked to his dealer that he wasn't sure about owning a green tractor, not even Steiger green. "He told me I didn't have to have a green one since Steiger painted some of its 1976 tractors in red, white and blue to commemorate the country's bicentennial," says Hayman. The patriotic paint job on the "Spirit of '76" Steigers was not done at the company's Fargo, North Dakota, factory. Instead, after the tractors came off the assembly line, they were trucked to a body shop across town where they were repainted at a cost of about $500 each. The company wanted to sell one Spirit of '76 tractor per state, but none were sold in states like Alaska and Maine while eight were reportedly delivered to Kansas. Most of the red, white and blue Steigers were Panther IIs, but a few Cougars were also repainted. Hayman's Panther II was delivered in October, 1975. He paid $43,200 for the tractor with a rear 3-pt. hitch and a front-mounted dozer blade. Overall maintenance costs have been minimal. "We overhauled the engine after about 10,000 hours and it's gone through three sets of tires," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norris Hayman, 23865 Race Track Road, Ridgely, Md. 21660 (ph 410 479-1591).