Rolitto
Well-Known Member
True. They leak quite a lot! LOL.
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My Michigan 125B
- Thread starter Rolitto
- Start date
cuttin edge
Senior Member
We had a couple of 75s and 4 125s and even a pre Volvo L90. I must say that I prefer a new machine. Comfort, quiet and a lot easier on fuel. Even the jump from the L90 Michigan to the L90F is a far one
kshansen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 11,160
- Location
- Central New York, USA
- Occupation
- Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Two things that will help reduce the drips.
#1 Use the correct oil! Straight 30 weight oil with the sulfated ash of 1.00 percent maximum
#2 Make it work, don't let it run at low load conditions for extended periods of time. I don't care what the water temperature gauge says if it's not working close to 75% of full load it is too cold where it counts
cuttin edge
Senior Member
I was always told to drive a Detroit like you hate it, cause if you baby it she'll give you grief
Rolitto
Well-Known Member
Yes the newer machines are easier to operate, more comfy, and more efficient on fuel but the durability and power seen on old machines are simply unmatchable. My friend owns a Volvo L90x and a Michigan 55. He told me that despite the size of the L90x which is comparable to model 75B, the Michigan 55 beats the L90x by far and in all working conditions.
Rolitto
Well-Known Member
Ryan, I really loved your Michigan. It's a pretty neat machine that you have there. I wish I had a 275B like this, I would have restored it like new. Such a pretty machine. Even the grille is still almost intact and believe me, it's hard to see Michigans still in good shape (hood, grille, lights, nameplate not stolen, etc...). 
By the ways, your machine seems to be among the very early models of 275B as its Cummins engine is not after-cooled. That means it's Cummins NT-855-C and not NTA-855-C. You can check if you want...
By the ways, your machine seems to be among the very early models of 275B as its Cummins engine is not after-cooled. That means it's Cummins NT-855-C and not NTA-855-C. You can check if you want...
It is aftercooler just a different style. Its got the nt a 855 c380 2500 rpm max speed. This loader really is in great shape. I've done a bunch of work. I intend to restore this one as well as my 55b one day. For now they will work and make me money. Center pins are tight however it needs some machine work on the rest of it. Let me know if you are interested in this 275. I'm not opposed to selling it to someone who will not just beat it to crap and then scrap it.
cuttin edge
Senior Member
That's just nostalgia. Up until the G series, our Volvo loaders reliability has surpassed any of our Cat, Case, or Deere loaders. Maintainance vs cost is at an all time low, and production is at least 3 times what it was in the 1970s. I plow snow near a contractor that purchased our 75 Michigan. I can complete several lots of comparable size before he is half done. It's nice to remember how things were, and I agree that competition between manufacturers causes quality issues, but if you want to stay competitive as a larger company, you can't go backwards. I have a 53 Ferguson Tea 20 tractor, and it is fun to drive, but I would never buy a new one if they were still offered. Our road building season will be starting in a month. We have almost 7 million dollars work ahead of us so far, but we have lost at least 5 million to a company with deeper pockets, and a newer fleet. Our asphalt plant is from the 50s. It was well made, simple to work on, fairly reliable. Our main competition, based over 200 miles away has 2 New portable plants, new spreaders, new rollers new graders. They come in, bang out in 3 weeks, a job that would take us 6 weeks to do. Sometimes I think they bid a few jobs high just to leave a few crumbs for us. Gotta go forward, not back. Always nice to see the old stuff though
kshansen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 11,160
- Location
- Central New York, USA
- Occupation
- Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Yes rule was for truck drivers "Slam you finger in the door when you get in the truck in the morning to get yourself in the right mood to drive the truck!"
Rolitto
Well-Known Member
I'll be glad to buy it from you IF you want to sell it one day and I'll restore it like I did with my 125B. The Michigan brand is way harder to find than Clark's.
Here's a Clark 275B still in original livery that I visited recently. The owner doesn't seem to easily give up on it because he told me he used it to carry big granite rocks that no other loaders of the same size could accomplish the task. It's assembled in the Strasbourg-Meinau plant in France, not in Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA.
Anyways yours is much more pretty and typical tractor shovel.
Here's a Clark 275B still in original livery that I visited recently. The owner doesn't seem to easily give up on it because he told me he used it to carry big granite rocks that no other loaders of the same size could accomplish the task. It's assembled in the Strasbourg-Meinau plant in France, not in Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA.
Anyways yours is much more pretty and typical tractor shovel.
kshansen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 11,160
- Location
- Central New York, USA
- Occupation
- Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
All these pictures of Michigans makes me need to post the only picture I have of the first one I ever saw or worked on. It is a scan of a very old and damaged picture. But if you look close you can see some details like the chrome plated ladder and the chrome exhaust stacks! Forget the exact year but the story was this was the display model the factory used at a expo in Las Vegas. I know it was working in the quarry when I stated in summer of 1968.
Like I said I'm not opposed to selling it. I can't give it away but a reasonable price could be met. With what I do I could run a newer machine. I can obviously provide tons of pictures and videos of it and go into extreme detail of what all has been done to it so you can get a good feel for what this machine is as far a condition. But in short I would have no problem running it everyday 8 plus hours a day she's in good shape.