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Digger Man Blog

by Nick Drew  |  Thu 02 Apr 2020

Digger’s Conexpo Highlights: Best 60 Restoration

As a #ThrowbackThursday feature I thought it would be good to take a look at this stunning Best 60 restoration that was displayed at Conexpo and to give a bit of history on this iconic tractor.

Digger’s Conexpo Highlights: Best 60 Restoration

C. L. Best Tractor Co and the Holt Manufacturing Company were the trailblazers of the tracked type tractor in their own rights. And as the years passed both manufacturers were creating some incredibly reliable machines. By the end of the first world war both companies were fiercely competitive with both parties having their own advantages over the other. Eventually it made perfect sense for both companies to join forces and so in 1925 they decided to merge and became the Caterpillar Tractor Company, and as they say, the rest is history.

This 1923 Best 60 tractor, serial number 1561A was lovingly restored in 2012 and is in showroom condition. It is estimated that the restoration took around 4 months to complete during which time 5,500 man hours were spent on it. The machine weighs in at 20,500lbs (9,299kgs) and has a power output of 60hp (45kw).

The Best 60 was the premier tractor of the C. L. Best Tractor Company. The machines were well known for the great engineering and superior reliability. The company made a name for themselves by using cast steel rather than iron, heat treating shafts, anti-friction bushings, and many other items that were considered as leading edge at the time.

This 1023 model would have been a 2nd generation Best machine. By this time they had made a number of significant improvements over the old models such as replaceable drive sprockets, and a strengthened roller frame. Often used in agricultural applications, this particular example would have been for the construction sector due to the location of its operator seat, as seen in the historical photo above.

Checkout this video on the history of the 60 from Caterpillar.  

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