5488

The 5488 was IH's last big tractor before the Case/IH merger. They were rated at 187 PTO HP. The use the IH DT-466 engine with an intercooler. Early ones used rotary injection pumps, later ones used inline injection pumps. T. The Forward Air Cooling system (the fan pushing air out the front grille) was a unique setup that worked well. The 5488 was the first IH tractor marketed as an All-Wheel Drive tractor. Before the 5488 fwa was available on IH tractors as an option dating back to the 1939 M but was not a concept that marketed heavily in IH brochures. The MFD axle was a Dana axle that was changed in a few areas but is still used on the smaller MX Magnums today.   Generally, they were a very good tractor with them and many 5488's are reaching 10-12,000 hours and still going strong. Ertl offered a fwa/duals 5488 in 1983 in a tan 88 box which was the IH packaging style of the early 1980's. Today this model brings around $75 NIB.  From 1984 to 1990 Ertl offered a 1/64 5488 as a Power-Pull model that rolled forward on its own by friction drive from pulling the toy backwards and then releasing it.

End of an Era

The Last Farmall to roll of the IH line was the 5488 on May 14, 1985. This special tractor was fitted with a chrome muffler, fwa and rice tires.  This tractor stands as a tribute to International Harvester. It marks the end of an era for a company that revolutionized the tractor industry with its Farmall Tractor line, produced 2 million plus tractors in the Farmall Plant and being the first equipment manufacturer to produce over 5 million tractors. Today the last 5488 is owned by the CNH and remains in storage at the company's tractor plant in Racine, WI. The Last 5488 was shown on public display at the 2002 Red Power Round Up.  In April 2002 the Ertl Company kicked off its 100 Years of IH 4 piece Collectors set with last  5488 with a chrome muffler,  fwa and row crop duals. This model was produced in a limited run of 5,000 units. It was packaged in a special display box with a silver reflective display interior and a special IH graphics on the outside with the printed history of the 5488 on the outside. Another feature of the 100 years of IH set is that each model had a special run of 100 units numbered 1 to 100 dipped in gold. These models were randomly packed with the red editions and shipped to CaseIH dealers.  The gold 5488's should prove to be a highly sought after IH toy.

From Left to Right: The Last IH at the Farmall Plant on May 14, 1985 and the Last 5488 17 years latter at the 2002 Red Power Round Up.

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