International Drotts

This website is for collectors and enthusiasts of loading shovels manufactured by International Harvester tractors with Drott equipment fitted to these machines.I have been interested in excavators from an early age,the first machine that I can remember was a International BTD6 during the early 1960's.I now own a B100 loader built in 1971 and a 1964 BTD6 Drott which is now under restoration.I intend this website to be used to pass on information and parts/technical information enquires.I also intend to form a club,if there is enough interest,I will introduce a two monthly news letter.This is early days of this website,over the next few weeks I will be adding history of the IH company and posting images of restoration projects.

This picture was sent to me by John Drott jr

It shows a BTD6 on demonstration in the late 1950' s Thanks to John for interesting photos and looking forward to receiving more photos and info on the Drott family and its products in the near future.

The 100B series 2 was an improvement,as far as operator comfort was concerned. The loader arms were redesigned and placed further forward thereby increasing cab access. And with manual controls giving way to a single stage,direct,flywheel driven torque converter. The travel speeds,low/high forward and low/high reverse,top speed forward was 4.4 mph ,reverse 5.1mph.Engine speed control was via a decelerator peddle. Quite a strange experience,as as you let the pedal come up the faster the engine revs. Push the pedal down the engine,and therefore the machine slows down. The 125 and 165's had similar controls. The 165 having a larger engine ( 6 cyl ).

The name Drott comes from the name of the company that patented the 4in1 bucket. The Drott Manufacturing Company of Wausau Wisconsin USA,this company developed the 4in1 plus other items during the 1950's.In 1968 it was building mobile cranes and hydraulic excavators. In January 1968 TENNECO acquired the Drott manufacturing company and set it up as a division of CASE. In the UK Rubery Owen made 4in1 buckets for companies such as JCB and FORDS. The 4in1 bucket on todays machines are fitted with forks that can be swung forward so the machine can be used as a forklift. Drott also made a Grubber for removing tree stumps.

As you may have noticed on my guestbook page, I have had a message posted from John Drott jr,his grandfather,Ed Drott invented the 4 in 1 bucket which turned out to be a landmark developement in the plant industry.This type of bucket is used on many types of machines of all makes.

Those of us that have drivern machines fitted with a 4 in 1 will testify how versitile this attachment is.I am hoping that John can supply me with information about how the 4 in 1 was developed and maybe an insight into the Drott family.The Drott family started out in the logging industry which I guess was a great help in developing grabs and what would lead to 4 in 1 bucket developement.

 Looking forward to hearing from John, will add information from him onto this site in the coming weeks

The picture shows Johns father driving  a TD6 at Wisconsin five years ago

This is my 1964 Drott after a respray taken at THE GREAT WELSH BITE show at Pontypridd.The show was attended by 16000 visitors.This is a annual event which takes place the first weekend in August.Other machines taken there were,my D2 3J,Karl Bostons D4,D8, Barry Cosslets Cat 10 on a Bedford flatbed.The Drott has a bit more work left to do on it,may fit a ripper on it to finnish it off.

When I purchaced the machine,I made list of jobs to do.This included,welding the cab,a full service,oil change etc.Renewed 6 hoses,new bonnet and exhaust.The list had 52 jobs on it.I was very lucky to have a few spares to complete most tasks.I had thought about sandblasting the frame and panels,but used 5 gall.of paint stripper instead.I was very pleased with the results.

I had only 6 weeks to get the machine ready for Pontypridd, this in reality, was about two weeks actual work on the machine due to work and family committments.It was hard work but well worth it.

As you can see the paintstripper had done its job,this was then sanded and givern a coat of zinc oxide primer,then a couple of undercoats of red,then two top coats.Decals were made for me by DABHAND signs of Tonyrefail.The windscreen was removed to get better access to paint the cab interior.Preperation is the key to any paint job.Very little filling was required ad the machines panels were sound.

THE BTD6,B100 LOADER &125A at Pontypridd park August 2007.

The bucket on the 125 is off my other BTD6 temperary fitted so I can give it a good workout.

It will be fitted with a root fork to strip a field next Spring.

GERMAN BUILT DROTTS

Last year a friend of mine obtained German built Drott,these were built at the Neuses factory.The machine he has is an 85.It is smaller than a B100,During the strip down we noticed that the steering clutches differed from the UK built machines.They had a disk and cam operated actuator.The UK machines has a clutch pack and brake drum.

I will be adding photos off this machine and an ex US Army Drott that was built in Germany.