If you’re in the market for a capable, no-nonsense, Ford tractor with bulletproof mechanicals, power aplenty, classic status and growing residual values, then something from the 1980s TW Series should fit the bill.
Launched in 1979 as high-power successors to the Ford 8700 and 9700, the original TW Series models were built initially for the world market in both Ford’s Romeo, Michigan plant and in Antwerp, Belgium. However, in 1981 production was concentrated at the Belgian factory.
The three-model range available to UK buyers consisted of the 128hp TW-10, the 153hp TW-20 and the flagship, 188hp TW-30. All were powered by versions of Ford’s tried and trusted, six-cylinder, 6.6-litre diesel engine, carried forward from the 8700/9700 models. The entrylevel TW-10 was normally-aspirated but the two larger models got turbochargers and the TW-30 also benefitted from an intercooler plus a larger fuel tank (it was physically longer, too).
More power!
The TW Series range was upgraded in 1983 with the model names changing and engine outputs increasing to meet demand from power-hungry customers. The entry level model for the European market became the TW-15 which, having gained a turbocharger, produced a healthy 143hp. Further engine tweaks liberated 156hp for the mid-range TW-25 while the output of the range-topping TW-35 was boosted to an impressive 190hp.
Although the option of two-wheeldrive had been available across the
