The July/August 2020 issue of Antique Power magazine will be available in subscriber mailboxes and on newsstands now. Our latest cover tractor is a 1951 Minneapolis-Moline Model ZAE owned by Alan Johnson. This feature is written and photographed by Candace Brown.

For years, Alan Johnson believed his father’s 1951 Minneapolis-Moline Co. Model Z was long gone. Then, one day during the winter of 2011–12, his sister Carol Andreen phoned with some news. Their father’s tractor had suddenly reappeared. Apparently, after a new owner bought their parents’ former property near Thermopolis, Wyoming, the tractor had remained in a shed some distance from the house. The buyer finally wanted it removed. Johnson, who now lives in Montana, was both stunned and happy.

“The guy was going to take it to the dump if we didn’t want it,” Johnson said. “I made a deal with him to leave it there until I could get it in the springtime.”

In 1951, the year Johnson was born, his father Vernon purchased the tractor new in Worland, Wyoming, the nearest small town to their farm. By then, the successful “Z” line of Minneapolis-Moline (M-M) tractors was into its second generation, after having launched the company’s Visionlined-series in 1937. Although the serial number tag on Johnson’s tractor indicates it is simply a Model Z, the number along with the wide adjustable front proves it is the Model ZAE variant.

The Model Z first appeared as the tricycle-front Universal Z but almost immediately grew into the ZT-series, which ran through 1948. In addition to the ZTU (Universal) tricycle style with twin front wheels sitting close together, M-M offered a single front wheel version called the ZTN. Other variants were the ZTE with a wide, adjustable front end, a ZTS standard tread, and a ZTI industrial. The years 1949–1953 brought the ZA-series, which included the ZAU and ZAN tricycle styles, the ZAE, like Johnson’s with its adjustable wide front, and the ZAS standard tread. The final ZB-series ran from 1953 to 1955 and included a ZBU, ZBN, and ZBE.

When introduced, the Visionlined Z dazzled buyers with its streamlined styling and M-M’s exclusive Prairie Gold paint color. Visionlined tractors offered improved visibility, more operator room, and greater comfort. According to M-M’s chief engineer A.W. Lavers, Visionlined also referred to the ease of accessing the tractor’s inner workings simply by removing inspection panels on the left side.

“You can open all that up and get to the valves or pistons or even the crank,” Johnson said. “The valves lie horizontally on the top of that engine, but you can pull the covers off and basically overhaul it out in the field if you have to.”

To read more about the 1916 Eagle pick up a copy of the July/August 2020 issue of Antique Power magazine!

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July/August 2020 Antique Power

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