The iconic Big Bud tractor has made an unlikely return to full production after its Montana-based manufacturer blew the cobwebs off the mothballed design.

In a move sure to send a shudder through the spine of many a soil evangelist, the near 32t Big Bud 640 will be unveiled to punters in Las Vegas this month – more than three decades since the last behemoth rumbled off the production line.

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It will be assembled by Big Equipment Co, a Versatile dealer and rebuilder of original Big Bud tractors, in partnership with Georgian outfit Rome.

They intend to replicate the blueprint of the original models, of which 500 were produced from the mid-1970s through until 1991.

The relaunch should tickle the itch of a growing number of US farmers bemoaning the minefield of computer software that can make modern alternatives so complicated and expensive to run, with both companies involved in production promising to make it as simple and serviceable as possible.

As such, it remains an old-school beast, propelled by an 18-litre Cat engine that will be good for 640-750hp.

Allied to that are Cat’s TA22 18-speed powershift transmission and 988 HD axles, reckoned to be the heaviest used in the agricultural industry.

Most of these components have been knocking around for at least a decade, or two in the case of the axles, and are widely used in the mining sector.

This should make parts relatively easy to come by without being tied to a main dealer, and they can be fitted without encountering software restrictions that require a laptop-wielding engineer to get involved – and the stonking hourly rate that goes with it.

Heavy horse

The centrepiece of the tractor, says Ron Harmon of Big Equipment Co, is the heavy-duty, inch-and-a-half-thick frame, the weight of which saves the need for fitting any sort of ballast.

He claims never to have replaced one on the hundreds of tractors he has built to date – many of which are apparently still doing the business in the US. 

The reason for their longevity, he says, is that they are so easy to repair and rebuild for mechanically minded farmers and independent mechanics.

There is no master computer to control the transmission, hydraulics and dashboard, the cab can be swung back to access and replace a gearbox in hours, rather than days, and software codes are non-existent.

But, mercifully, an up-to-date Agco cab should provide some creature comforts.

Though it will be devoid of the technology some operators find loathsome, it can be equipped with third-party equipment such as a guidance system.

The companies hope to build 10 tractors this year.