The Case 1030 Comfort King Western Special certainly had a broad-shouldered look. The Western Specials used a set-back front axle that shortened the wheelbase 19 inches from the rowcrop. Other differences included the more squared off fenders and a little more shrouding for the operator. This rig belongs to Dale Stamm and has been part of the Stamm family in Ohio since 1968.
The 1960s had not been good to J.I. Case. Besides the ag market being a little wonky, they started the decade with a lot of internal management difficulties and a great deal of debt. Major debt that required the proverbial belt-tightening in the form of internal downsizing and cost cutting, plus a bank loan that had a lot of spending restrictions. Engineering took some big cuts and that plays a part in this story on the 1030 Series Tractors.
The 30 Series Tractors debuted for 1960 as the “new” Case tractors, replacing the well-liked Hundred Series tractors from the ‘50s. The 430, 530, 630, 730, 830 and 930 all debuted in the early part of the decade, the bigger 730, 830 and 930 coming right away. They turned out to be solid tractors that did well in the market overall, but with the cutbacks, updates were slow in coming and the line had trouble keeping up with the tractor market.