A tractor with an identity crisis

The G1355 is a relatively uncommon workhorse. This one lives in Lone Rock, Wisconsin, until February 23, 2021.

See the details on this tractor.

Today, we’re looking at a tractor with a bit of an identity crisis (for multiple reasons). It’s the Minneapolis Moline G1355.

The G1355 was the second-to-last model to leave the line wearing the iconic Prairie Gold paint. White Motor Company had bought out Minneapolis-Moline back in 1963, and the G1355 and G955 were the end of the line.

The G1355 was built at the Oliver factory in Charles City, Iowa. This would be the first Moline tractor built there and also the most powerful two-wheel-drive farm tractor that Moline ever built! It was a beast of a tractor, too, making nearly 143 hp. on the PTO dyno. It coupled Moline’s motors (either the Model 504 running on propane, or the Model 585 on diesel) with Oliver’s rear end components. Both motors were tough, and when mated to Oliver’s Hydraul-Shift transmission, they made a very stout (and quite versatile) combo!

The Identity Crisis

In the last paragraph, I sort of hinted at the identity crisis that these tractors dealt with – using Moline powerplants mated to Oliver transmissions. But that’s only part of it.

The G1355 was also sold under three other models. For a while, there was an Oliver G1355 until the model number was changed to the 2270. They were both painted green. From what I’m told, most of the green 2270s were shipped to Quebec and sold there. Lastly, there were a handful of tractors painted Cockshutt red and sold in Canada as the White 2270.

See why I think the G1355 had an identity crisis?

Here’s what they all look like.

The Minneapolis-Moline 1355

Here's an Oliver G1355 that sold at an auction hosted by our friends at McGrew Equipment.

This 1974 White 2270 belongs to my friend Brian Gonyea. Note the solid-color side panels – those were a 1974-only thing.

G1355s & 2270s by the numbers...

Production records for the G1355 and the 2270 are sketchy, to say the least. Being that this was the first Moline built in Charles City at the Oliver factory, it’s quite likely that the employees may not have been real fond of yellow tractors coming off of their line. I’m not saying that it was a sour grapes kind of thing, but the detailed records for Olivers produced during the same time period DO exist.

At any rate, there are some fairly high-level records out there, and my friend (and noted MM historian) Brian Gonyea has them. According to his notes, there were a total of 1,542 tractors built, which included 1,116 Model G1355s and 426 Model 2270s. He’s never been able to verify that they’re 100% accurate, but nothing has ever surfaced in Charles City that’s more detailed, so this is what we’re going with!

The G1355 in Lone Rock, Wisconsin, that you can bid on...

Our friends at Gavin Bros. Auction & Real Estate are handling the sale of this tractor, and it closes on February 23, 2021. The owner has a small collection of antique tractors, including a neat little Allis D14 forklift as well as a Moline G705! We’re pretty sure that the G1355 is a 1973 model, based on the engine serial number that was included in the listing. (Again, thanks to Brian for his expertise in knowing about where the motors and chassis numbers match up.) It’s in good shape, and the motor was overhauled in 2019.

As far as the value goes, I’m honestly not sure. G1355s don’t show up on the auction market very frequently at all. If I had to make a semi-educated guess, I’d say that it’ll sell somewhere between $8,000 and $10,000.

So, if you’re looking for a cosmetic restoration project for Minneapolis Moline’s biggest, baddest 2WD ever, you should probably be looking pretty hard at this one!

See the details on this tractor.

Here’s a company promo from 1973 for the G1355 and the Oliver 2255. Neat stuff!

Special thanks to Brian Gonyea for his help with the research on this article. He's a tremendous fount of knowledge when it comes to all things Prairie Gold, and I'm grateful for his help and friendship! He maintains the Michigan Moline website, and he's written several very detailed articles on various models!

Hi! I’m Ryan, and I love tractors. It doesn’t matter if it’s a showpiece, an oddball, or has seen its share of life ... if it’s unique and it’s listed by one of our auctioneer partners at Tractor Zoom, I’m going to show it off a little bit! This equipment is all up for auction RIGHT NOW so you can bid on them! I think they’re cool, and I hope you will, too. This is Interesting Iron!