[Gillcor]

Hi All

I would like to know a little more about identifying the MB Trac range regarding the approximate year of manufacture of certain models. I am based in South Africa and there were not alot of MB Tracs imported here and therfore very few to see or come across here. The models one sees the most of are the more common square bonnet type. I have an 800 and 1000 respectively with the typical lemon and olive green paint spec. Are these a later (newer series) tractor than the models with the pointed bonnets typically with solid wheels as per the 1300 and 1500 models? These pointed nose models are also typically more of an off lime green colour in South Africa.

Regards,
Peter

[wolli]

Hi Peter,

the painting is quite a bad indicator of the manufacturing year. Especially here in Germany where a lot of older ones received a new painting in the last two decades in the colors of the newer models.
A good overview of common colors is here: https://www.trac-technik.de/Forum/showth...p?tid=1722 "bis Bj." means up to year "von Bj." means from year
The change in bonnet type was in 1982 for the small models, for the big models in April 1987.
The middle model (1000) had no change at the bonnet. The 1100 was a big model up to 1986 and then the name was reused for a 10hp stronger model of the 1000 from April 1987 on.
New engines came in April 1987 for all models.
The wheels are also no good indicator for the year of manufacturing, since there were a lot of different options to order.

The best way to go are the last six numbers in the vehicle identification number. Year of manufacturing can be determined with an accuracy of a few month (if it is between 1980 and 1991).

Regards
Wolfgang

[Gillcor]

Hi Wolfgang

Thanks for the info. If I look at the 2 Vin numbers for my 2 Tracs, I do not see any resemblance to the year of manufacture, even more so for the 800. the vin numbers are 44016840126109 and 44116140111896 respectfully. There were no previous registration papers with these tractors when I bought them and therefore the sellers did not know either. I am guessing that these numbers represent the unit number in total number produced up until that specific time?

Just on another tangent, I find this site really interesting and am so pleased to be able to access a forum like this. I find it incredible that there is such a forum with such a huge following and interest specific to one type of vehicle. It actually makes me feel quite fortunate to own an MB Trac.

[wolli]

Hi Peter,

your MBtrac 1000 must be a spring/summer 1984 model.
The MBtrac 800 is probably a late 1985 model.
The year of manufacturing can be determined from the last six digits of the VIN.

The seventh digit in your VIN ist remarkable. I know of three different meanings of this single digit.
0 is normal for MBtracs and is likely to be "center steered"
1 means left steering, this is used in cars trucks and Unimogs
2 means right steering, also used in cars trucks and Unimogs.
But your MBtracs have the digit 4 which I haven't seen yet. I don't know the meaning of it. Maybe it's some export thing.

Regards
Wolfgang

[Gillcor]

Hi Wolfgang

Thank you for the detail on the age. The last digit could be related to an export / import issue. Mercedes have been involved in South Africa for a very long time and did not seem too phased about the sanctions emposed by the rest of the world. They had manufacturing plants for trucks and cars here for some models.

However, I believe that due to their strong ties in SA, there had to be a certain amount of local content added to vehicles that were fully imported at the time, to comply with the regulations at the time. This might have meant that the engines were probably added in SA as there was a very large engine manufacturing company here building ADE engines which are the same as the OM engines. My MB Trac 1000 has what appears to be an ADE 352 motor in it. It could however have been changed at some point. I bought the MB Trac 800 without a motor so I cannot comment on that.

On the matter of my 800, I would like to chat to you regarding an engine for that if you could spare me the time.

Regards,
Peter

[wolli]

Hi Peter,

so you currently have no engine in your 800?

I have looked into the data cards of both tracs. Both were shipped without engine and tires to South Africa.

I don't know how difficult it is to get a used or refurbished OM 314 engine. If you get one it's very likely that it has not the right oil pan, injection pump, cylinder head cover etc.
This is also a small problem here in Germany, where you can get a OM314 on almost any truck boneyard. But these engines out of small trucks always have the wrong peripherals.

Fortunatly we have quite a few MBtrac garages all over the country, were one can get all sorts of used or new spare parts and bigger stuff like engines, gearboxes, axels and cabins.

Here is a list:
https://www.trac-technik.de/Forum/showth...p?tid=2180

Remember that you need the +49 country code in front of the telephone number. You have to leave out the leading 0 in the city code.

You can contact me with the private message function of this discussion board or with ICQ or email.

Regards
Wolfgang

[Nam-Trac 800]

Hi Peter !

Regarding the two colour types I personally think that somebody choosen the "Saftgrün" as you said Limegreen on the bigger (442/443 series) tracs as a standard to RSA i only found one 1100 which has the typically "Hellgelbgrün" like the small and middle series 440/441 , where are you located in RSA ?Are you farming ? or just collecting ?

I´m farm near Okahandja/Namibia , we took our since new owned 1986 800 trac from Austria with us , and I would it do again and again , its fitting so well in the African Bush .....

Now I´m looking for a Big series 1300/1500 in SA because we need a stronger Machine to pull our Ripper and disc-harrow

geseende kersfees vir jy

Franz

[Gillcor]

Hi Franz

It is nice to see there is someone on here that is actaully not too far from me, all be it probably somewhere in the region of about 1500 to 2000km.

I have a small construction related business and my intention is primarily to use it there. However, we are renting a small portion of land in Heidelberg and it can be used there too. Farming is actually very close to my heart as I grew up as a farm child and my family had a long history of farming.

I am now the proud owner of 2 non running Tracs (for the moment), so maybe that will be the start of a new beginning again.

I am keeping a close eye out for more tracs and will let you know if something crops up.

Do you speak Afrikaans? If so and it is easier for you, we can chat using it.

Send me a direct mail if you are keen and we can chat some more.

Nice chatting to you.

Geseende Kersfees vir jou en die familie ook.

Beste Groete
Peter

[Mercedes-Benno]

Hallo Peter,

heb jij ook foto's van de tracs? Franz heeft al eens foto's laten zien van typisch afrikaans gekleurde MB-Tracs, in donkergroen. Het staat goed!

Worden de ADE Motoren nog gebouwd? Is ook in Europa interessant als ruilmotor, indien de oude kapot gaat.

Een zalig Kerstfeest gewenst vanuit Nederland!

Groeten,

Benno

Ps. If it isn't understandable for you, please say. It isn't that hard for me to translate this in english...

[Nam-Trac 800]

sorry writing Afrikaans isn´t that good from my side , i can speak , understand and read it meanwhile very good (i learnd it all by my self the last years , but writing didnt come to me right now , thats why i answer in English

i will send you a mail in the following day´s

by the way : the OM366 / OM366A where fitted in the MercTrucks like the 1317 1114 and so on ;-) there are some guys here which upgradet their 1000 trac´s with the 366 , just for info , but there is again the prob with oilpan exhaust etc

tot siens

Franz

[Mercedes-Benno]

Hallo Franz,

Afrikaans ist ganz nah an Niederländisch, was auch wieder das Deutsch ähnelt. Von daher muss das eigentlich machbar sein, um das sichselbst zu lernen. Ich glaube das es einfacher ist als Englisch?

Es geht bei Peter um ein 800. Da ist ein 4-Zyl. verbaut. Und wenn du kein Basismotor hast, sieht das mit die nicht universelle Teile bei euch in der Gegend wahrscheinlich slecht aus?

Aber du kannst gerne ein oder 2 Bilder von Tracs in das typisch Afrikanische grün hier einstellen...

Groeten,

Benno

Translation of the above for Peter:

I was talking about the relation between the african and dutch language, and the possibility to learn your language for a person who speaks german as main language.

Then about the problems to get special parts to fit in a Truck engine into an MB-Trac in your neigbourhood.

And for the last, I was asking for pictures, as allways.

[Nam-Trac 800]

Hi Benno !

I know about the prob with the engine of the 800 that there was none

But Peter wrote above the 1000 even is not working , but he didnt say whats wrong with it , i just gave him a hint for the om366 conversion which is possible if on the 1000 is a problem on the engine

Yes its very difficult to get the specific parts for the MBtrac , thats why all big farmers which use the trac are selling them , and the farmers who love their trac´s like us buy every unit they can get for sparepart or to have a better one and break up their old ones for spares , via Mercedes RSA you cant get spareparts for the trac anymore , thats the mainprob here , most of the farmers are importing their spareparts directly from germany

last time there was a 800 for R 57.000,- vat included ,in the agrisales magazine , i was too late to buy it, so just keep you eyes open , you will find a trac to buy and use your´s or the other one for spares


ja benno , deutsch is doch sehr nah an afrikaans und niederländisch , deshalb spreche ich es auch lieber als englisch , weil man sich oft mit einem deutschen wort auch weiterhelfen kann

[Gillcor]

Hello Benno

Ek gaan sommer Afrikaans met you probeer praat. Dit is my tweede taal en is ook maar maklik vir my om te praat en nie te mooilik om te skryf nie.

Ek het twee MBtracs tweede hands nou onlangs gekoop. Hulle is my eerste MB trekkers. Die 800 is heeltemal sonder enjin en het 5700 uur op. Die voorige einaar se die ratkas is nog goed. Die trekker is algemeen in a baie netjiese toestand.

Ek het toe nog n trekker gekoop wat veronderstel was om ook n 800 te wees met n goeie enjin maar die ratkas was foutief. Ek koop toe die trekker sonder om daarna te gaan kyk en die verkoper het goed verduidelik wat verkeerd was en ek het in elkegeval gedink ek sal 1 kan maak uit die twee. Hulle lewer toe die ander trekker af en dit is toe eintelik n 1000 met n goei enjin en n foutiewe ratkas.

Wel, ek het nou twee verskillende grootes en will hulle nou sommer albei nou reg maak. Die 1000 het omtrent 7500 harde uure op maar die enjin loop goed.

Ek het net die "flywheel" en "flywheel housing" vir my 800 maar niks verder vir die enjin. Ek glo die ander onderdeele gaan mooilik wees om hier in die hande te kry aangesien daar so min van die MB trekkers hier is en daar is daaroor geen specialiseerders van hierdie trekkers hier. Dit maak my bietjie bekomered en ek glo ek sal dalk die onderdele moet invoer.

ADE enjins is baie volop hier maar almal is uit trokke uit en die spesifikasies sal dan seker ook vir trok doeleindes wees. Van die enjins kan jy nog voledige nuwe sub-assemblies koop maar die is meestal vir die 352 en 366 enjins. Die onderdele hier vir ADE enjins is nog oor die algemeen nie te duur nie. Ek is nie seker nie maar ek glo meeste van die onderdele is ingevoer.

Oor die fotos! Well ek het nog nie uitgewerk hoe om fotos te laai maar sodra ek weet hoe, sal ek van my 800 en 1000 op laai en ook een van n 1500 in daardie snaakse groen waarvan ek gepraat het.

As ons nie weer voor kersfees praat, mag jy en jou familie n geseende kersfees geniet.

Baie groete,
Peter

---

Hi Franz

I see you mentioned the MB Trac 800 in Agrisales for R57000. I bought that tractor and it turned out to be the 1000 that I mentioned. The guy selling the tractor did not realize that and I did not go and see it prior to buying it. The first I saw of it was when he delivered it. I ended up paying R43 000 for it all included (transport as well). The engine is a 352 and seems to be running very well. The gearbox appears problamatic.

Regards,
Peter

[wolli]

Now you have disconnected me from this discussion as i don't understand Afrikanns nor Dutch.

[Gillcor]

I think you should blame Benno, he inspired it!!