If you thought all Co-op tractors from the 1940s and 1950s were painted orange, you haven’t looked hard enough. Jim Call, Putnam County, Ind., owns a 1940 B2 Co-op tractor. The B2 came from the factory painted red.

According to tractordata.com, these tractors were produced at Shelbyville, Ind. Production of the B2 began in 1939 and ended in 1941. Only 500 Co-op B2 tractors were built. Having one in restored condition worthy of display at the Indiana State Fair is certainly no small feat.

This tractor featured a six-cylinder Chrysler gas engine. It was sized at 3.3 liters, or 202 cubic inches. Power ratings from the Nebraska tractor test weren’t published on tractordata.com for this model. The engine was liquid-cooled with a radiator but featured a Donaldson oil-bath air-cleaner system.

Typical for row crop tractors of its day, the B2 used a gear-driven transmission with four forward speeds and one reverse speed.

Sources note that Co-op tractors originated in the 1930s as farmers looked for a more economical source of tractor power. Early models were dealt by Dent Parrett, formerly of Parrett Tractor, and were built in Michigan using many Chrysler components. Production moved to Indiana in 1938. Cletrac and perhaps one other Minnesota company also produced some early models for Co-op.

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After World War II, the company contracted with Cockshutt of Canada to build the more familiar, orange E Series. Poor sales resulted in Co-op selling its factories to Cockshutt and discontinuing the Co-op tractor line in the early 1950s.