Here’s something that was possibly in a barn at one time, does that count? This is a 1965 Economy Power King Tractor and it’s on eBay. There is a $2,800 Buy It Now price or you can make an offer for what some tractor aficionados have called the best small tractors ever made.
Economy Tractors were made by EPCO (Engineering Products Company) in Wisconsin starting just after WWII, in 1946. By the early-1950s, Economy Tractor came out with a smaller tractor and they realized that they needed model designations for them so the smaller one was called Jim Dandy and the bigger tractor was known as the Power King.
The company didn’t use model numbers so if you needed a part you called the dealer and said that you had a 10 hp Power King with 24-inch rear wheels, or a 14 hp Jim Dandy with 18-inch rear wheels. In 1977 the company dropped the Economy name and changed the name to Power King and they started using a numbering system, such as 1614 for 16-inch rear wheels & 14-hp, etc. The company was sold in 1990 and production moved from Waukesha to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and in the late-1990s the company was sold and production ended. A company called Mission Manufacturing still provides parts and services for these great but small tractors.
This Economy Power King has been fully restored, as you can probably guess. It comes with a plow attachment so you folks in snow country can put it to use right away. It has brand new tires and supposedly hasn’t been used since it was restored, but it runs excellent. And look at it’s choice parking spot next to the Sunbeam. Do any of you use these small to medium-size tractors for work around your house?
Every homeowner with a lot bigger than an acre should have one of these. I had a Simplicity, not quite as big, but that tractor did it all, for years. You could get a ton of attachments with this. Bucket loader, rear plow, grass cutter, this would have been the one machine for your jobs around the yard. Kohler motor was ok, but I liked Tecumseh better. If you are going to plow snow, however, tire chains ( and wheel weights) are a must. Tractors are pretty helpless in snow without them, or you could go this route. Great find. Wisconsin again, never heard of it. http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/uptest/a88444.jpg
Built this one. Has 3 speed crashbox transmission and snow blade
Great job Ray! I am so envious, I would love to have it.
I would trade my 2016 Husqvarna V-Twin for this in a heartbeat, and i would include the plow, chains and weights !
I currently have 6 small tractors to play with. I have a brand new 24 hp Cub Cadet to mow my 2-1/2 acre lawn with a 16 hp Lawn Boy for back up. I also have a 10 hp Bolens to plow snow. I have a 14 hp Bolens set up for altered stock competition pulling events. I have a 12 hp Bolens for restoration & an old Simplicity just laying around. They are small & easy to work on.
I have a 1960 with a 10hp Briggs. Amazing crude machine. Some had 2 transmissions for extra gears.
Mine has a delco power steering pump for the hydraulics from the factory.
Manufacturing was crazy with what they used.
Cool Find, I love it but I live in town now.
I’d rather have the Duster
340 Duster, old tractor and twin shock dirt bikes, that’s a guy who knows how to fill a garage.
My dad built one like yours Ray, in the early 60’s. When I was a kid we went to a junkyard and got the rearend and trans from a ’51 Ford and a banjo steering wheel from a ’37. I had a couple of minor injuries to testify that there were no safety shields of any kind. As for the Economy Tractors, I remember seeing the ads in the back pages of Popular Mechanics, along with the King Midget car.
Power Kings are cool. A real working tractor in a smaller package. There is a following for these, and this one looks awesome. Seems like a good price for a fully restored Power King – try to buy a new Deere of similar capability and you’ll spend a lot more.
I wonder if the new owner will actually use it like a tractor, or if it will stay pristine like it is now.
– John
Funny you should ask John, I am the proud owner, who bought this Power King you see above. I use it all the time on my property here in southern Jersey on the edge of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Looking for the snowblower attachment to add to it. No issues at all. I need to get the weights and some chains, also.
I never have understood why some sellers, it seems, deliberately put another vehicle in the background of the photos(s) of the actual vehicle, etc. being sold. I know in some cases that background item will be for sale too, but not always.
Picked this up last Fall, hopefully mowing grass around the bogs by summer. Currently under about 18″ of the vomit of the gods (snow).
Neat – Allis-Chalmers lawn tractors were made & distributed by Simplicity.
Hi Mark, I thought that tractor looked familiar. I had a Simplicity Landlord, 70’s ish, and had many of the same features found on the Allis. Matter of fact, I believe Simplicity still makes an Allis-Chalmers garden tractor.
I was a Power King dealer from 77 until the end. the oldest one I ever had was a 1949. Over the years I had a lot of them.The last one I had was a 67 with hyd. lift. Looked like this but all original. Paid $600 sold it for $1200 two years ago.
340 Duster in the background… hhmmmm
I just came in from playing on my early ’80’s Ariens GT18. It cut through
2 foot of snow the other night and decided to do a little clean up – meaning Dad wanted to play with his toys in the garage. 6 years ago my Father-in-law’s neighbor literally wheeled it to the curb after a poorly done engine rebuild. Had the mower deck, blower, weights and chains all hanging on it. I made an offer but he just said take it. What I found was OE pistons and rings in 0.020 over bores. It’s not a looker but it’s a beast in the snow. If it had a cab I would spend all day on it.
I also have to say, the Ariens has been a great teaching tool for my then 10 year old son. He wrenched on it with and learned a lot. Now at 16 he has spent the past 2 summers at my parents working with my Dad on his 64 1/2 Mustang. Now that’s priceless.
I haven’t kept up with small tractor pricing, but this seems kind of high. Looks like it had a good restoration, though, which will probably prevent it from being used as designed again!
I picked up a Satoh Beaver 370 several years ago to take care of grading the driveway in the summer and plowing snow in winter. Somewhere around a late 1970s model with a 2-cylinder Mitsubishi diesel, 3-point lift, PTO, and a snow blade on a homemade mount using a 1960s Meyer Electrolift for lifting duties.
I paid $1800 for it and that included delivery of about 80 miles. The only thing I’ve done has been to replace clutch, pressure plate and throwout bearing after the bearing seized and wore a hole through the pressure plate fingers. The only real issue with these tractors is the spline count on the PTO is higher than Western standards and the PTO runs in reverse, again according to our standards. A PTO reverser is available, but they don’t turn up too often. Oh, another potential issue is that it’s a little narrow between the rear fenders for Western butts! When I’m dressed for a couple of hours playing in the snow, my butt tends to operate the 3-point lift arm …
Have an ’84, last of the metal fenders, not much different from this one!
Great following on these, Yahoo group is very active and a great source of info.
Very sturdy, full range of implements, do need beefing up for FEL.
I could use another trans, T-90 if iirc.(same as a Crossly ).
Worth all of this $ imho!
My father wanted to start a local Power King franchise in about ’75. I remember staring at the brochures and then he brought him a test unit which his friend bought. Didn’t think it was possible for teenage me to drool that hard over an little orange beast but I thought it was ‘da bomb’. Amazingly simple and pretty fun to play around with.
have a friend who has one of these at his campground , has had it for years lots of mowing still looks like new , gonna stick with my B7500 Kubota steel and glass cab and heat , you can spend all day on this one !!
Great info! I was hoping that the vintage tractor folks would come out! Thanks for all of the follow-up on this one, folks.
Too sm 4 round here. If ur down in the flats the loam is so good U really wanna grow sompin. @ my house – too steep &/or rocky or in the swamp so U need 4wd/over 30 inch tires.
I’m navigating Google to find a snowblower attachment for my 1964 10 hp Power King, and what do I stumble upon? This forum with my Power King, profiled! Yes, this tractor you see above is actually the one I purchased from a small classic car dealership in South Jersey, on January 6th, 2017. I wound up getting a great deal for $2000. So worth it! I love my little tractor. It gets a ton of use, here on my 5 acres in the Pine Barrren’s of South Jersey, right next to Hammonton New Jersey. If anyone can point me in the right direction for the snowblower attachment, I would be so grateful.