Zetor 3017 – a new addition to the collection
At the end of last year, the staff of the National Museum of Agriculture successfully acquired the unique Zetor 3017 tractor for their collection. This tractor is a modified Zetor 3011, which is one of the basic types of the unified I range, and which constituted the missing link of this range in the collections of the NMA Čáslav.
The World’s First Unified Tractor Range
Economic pressure to reduce the costs of maintaining and repairing tractors led to a unification of tractor production with the greatest possible number of interchangeable parts in the late 1950s. In 1957, construction work began on a new unified Zetor range with the basic Zetor 2011, Zetor 3011 and Zetor 4011 models with two-cylinder, three-cylinder and four-cylinder engines with uniform bore and stroke of 95/110 mm and an output of 22 HP DIN (17.5 kW), 33 HP DIN (24.3 kW) and 45 HP DIN (35.3 kW), with extensive unification of components not only in the engine, but also in other groups of the chassis and bodywork. At the time, the unified Zetor tractor range represented a new direction of technical development of agricultural tractors. In terms of the use of a high unification of parts of individual types of a unified range, the Zetor brand was the first in the world to come up with this solution.
Unified Range of Gadgets
In later years, another world first of Zetor tractors was the introduction of an integrated safety cab for drivers mounted on flexible rubber elements. Tractors of the unified I range were once again the first to introduce the "Zetormatic" hydraulic regulation system, while the competition was still using a design of hydraulic lifting equipment without regulation of the depth of the tillage depending on the soil resistance. The technical advantages of these tractors, with easy engine startability, a ten-speed gearbox, a wide range of standard equipment, accessories and considerable unification of components of individual nodes, signified a great benefit for users of Zetor tractors, not only for farming operations, servicing and maintenance, but also for manufacturers and the entire sales and service network. At that time, it was a very progressive concept of tractor production and was the result of the work of the Tractor Research and Development Centre, which was established at Zetor Brno in 1957. Production of the unified tractor range began gradually from 1960, first with the Zetor 3011, followed by the Zetor 4011 in 1962, and finally the Zetor 2011 in 1963.
The Zetor 3017 in the Collection of the National Museum of Agriculture
The acquired specimen is a modification on the basic Zetor 3011 range, which was manufactured from 1960 to 1967. The 3017 tractor has a reduced centre of gravity, which heralded its deployment in mountainous terrain and foothills. It was manufactured from 1965.