Jimbob - I didn't intend to indicate that the 70CI and AT7 would equal the D6 and D7 in performance. There's no comparison there.
What I meant was, that this farmer bloke
thought he had a D6, the jobs he took on with it! He ripped rock that would have made my D6's slow up, and he dug huge dams with those little Fiats, that took him weeks and weeks to complete!
He really was a tiger - he would put those little Fiats into almost anything. He'd take on jobs that I wouldn't have considered with a tractor that size. Often, I'd see him stopped for a short while, as he blasted some rock the Fiat couldn't rip!
Then, he'd be back into it again! I dunno who had the bigger heart - those little Fiats, or that farmer! He was truly a real toiler, and never let anything stop him - and those little Fiats rarely let him down.
Have you ever seen an AD14 or BD14 Fiat? They came out about 1967, with a direct drive powershift! There was no torque converter in the driveline, just a clutch and manual transmission operated by a single lever.
They were supposed to be Fiats answer to the Cat powershift, as you could shift the Fiat transmission in the same manner as a Cat powershift.
I never saw many of these tractors, I don't think they sold any more than a handful here in Australia.
Fiat AD14 -
http://www.album-mmt.it/foto/v/la-s...er-e--apripista/AA_Fiat_ad14__anni60.jpg.html
Fiat BD14 -
http://www.album-mmt.it/foto/v/la-s...--apripista_001/0_FA_BD14_an70_dozer.JPG.html
I drove an FD20 for a couple of months for some Italian friends back about 1997. It wasn't a bad tractor, it was 227HP and was supposed to be the equivalent of a D7G.
It had an Iveco motor, which performed O.K. - but the part costs for it were horrendous! The cost of a water outlet housing (thermostat housing) was $1000! What a joke!
It had quite a good fully-enclosed ROPS, A/C cab, which made operating the tractor quite pleasant. It could push better than the D7G, and it was quite reliable.
Fiat-Allis FD20 -
http://www.album-mmt.it/foto/v/la-s...zer-e--apripista_002/Fiat-Allis_FD20.jpg.html
http://www.album-mmt.it/foto/v/la-s...pale-cingolate_004/AA_FA_FD20_anni80.jpg.html
http://www.album-mmt.it/foto/v/la-s...i-anni-80/altro_004/0_FA_FD20_anni80.jpg.html