MM UDLX Tractor

[MJ in the UK]

Just got my copy of the very good Heretage Tractor mag and there is an article about
Minneapolis Moline tractors in the UK. It cofirms the story I had herd many years ago about one UDLX tractor being sent to the UK for evaluation before being sold to a contractor for hauling sugar beet to Bury St Edmunds beet factory in Suffolk in
1940. MM built tractors at the Essendine factory starting in 1976 using gearboxes and rear ends imported from the USA and fitted with UK built Dorman and Meadows diesel engines. These tractors were to expensive for the UK farmers and MM UK went bust in 1949 and Allis Chalmers bought the factory for making Allcrop combines and the model B tractors. No details yet of the UDLX serial number and what happened to
it but Iam working on it. MJ.

 

[Bill(Wis)]

 

[sourgum]

Minnie Moline was wishing everyone Happy Holidays in the U S in December 1939. Have heard there maybe as many as 65 UDLX tractors remaining in existence out of the 150 produced. Some say only 125 units of the 150 were actually sold. The remaining 25 returned to the factory. Is thought about 35 - 50 are in operating condition & restored today. Rarely seen or come up for sale. An owner at a tractor show said he thought a UDLX would bring 160 K at auction. This was before our current inflation kicked in. How many have you heard still exist ? What price have you heard they bring restored ?

 

[J.Wondergem]

Mecum had one go at 208,000. on Tv.

 

[fastfarmall]

There's a guy from the MM board, they call him GB hes a pretty good expert on how many of the UDLX, were made and survived, i am from North Dakota, there was one about 7 miles from where i grew up,The Smith Bro had a new one, their brother was the dealer in LaMoure ND, back in the day,but they did take the cab off it, eventually, but then it was salvaged and put back on a differant UDLX, but i was a little to young to remember them farming with it. But they had 1280 acres of good farmland and cattle, and the farm is still their, and prospering, with a diff family on it!

 

[Bob Bancroft]

I'm assuming this was late 1938.

 

[sourgum]

I was a year off in my post. This Minnie would have been a 1938 model. Have read where the UDLX production ran from 1938 to the first half of 1939. The company realized this model was not going to sell @ $ 2155 window sticker and ceased production. Unsold tractors were called back to the factory. Other brands in this horsepower class were selling much cheaper than the UDLX.

 

[DPittman]

A discussion about this tractor went on for days on the Moline page I think in 2019. Very informative and enjoyable. I wanna say the best documented info they came up with was 72 known to be in existence. Ive slept so many nights since then Im probably wrong but thats the number I remember. The search for any surviving in a barn somewhere continues

 

[Bob Harvey]

Tractorin' in high style !

 

[Bob Harvey]

Whoa ! You can almost see her knees ! Outrageous !

 

[SVcummins]

Im saving her for a future installment of pretty girls and tractors

 

[1206SWMO]

I once owned (2) UDLX MM's in the early 1980's and off and on I have kept track of all known ones since around 1976...I currently have (92) of the 150 serial numbers accounted for...A couple of these are just parts tractors..My guess is that theres close to 95-100 still in existence..Its been impossible to get serial numbers for several known ones...I haven't added any to the list in several years..Dorene Wonder in Iowa also had a UDLX list and she has passed....I never got to see her final list as she worked on it when I wasnt..We helped each other all thru the 1980's....I have lots of UDLX pictures from where they were found..

I owned this UDLX #310552 from 1983-1988..

I briefly owned this UDLX #310542 which came from the Kingman,KS area..I sold it to a friend in Kansas...It then went to N Dakota and got restored..Its now 100% totally restored and was for sale on eBay in Watsonville,California,for 175K about 10 years ago.

 

[1206SWMO]

All 150 were sold but I hear that it took until 1941-1942 to do it....See my above post as to how many still exist..#310551 sold for $205K on the March 2021 Mecum auction and Aumann sold #310570 for $236,250 in June of 2021...The first one built #310001 still exists as does the last one #310625.

 

[used red MN]

Okay, I am quite happy for those who own these tractors at whatever the value is. And I hope the investments they make turns out in their favor. However, with nearly a 100 in existence I just do not get how they bring such a high price. I know all it takes is two buyers who want them bad enough and are willing to pay that kind of a price. To me it would be far more understandable if there were only 10 or so known to exist. Just my opinion.