Oldest Functioning Impact Wrench

[greenlizard]

I don't believe I've seen anyone showing off really old impact wrenches. This one is is an Ingersoll-Rand model 304. My dad (king of garage sales) gave this to me in the mid-eighties and I had it sent to IR for a rebuild in 1990 or so. The story I got was the service department had a guy who took an interest in it and took it down to the basement and where he found original IR parts for the rebuild. I don't have an exact date of manufacture but I'm told it was mid-thirties. It does work well, but the actual power is nowhere near a modern design. Still, it looks pretty cool.

 

[hickmlg09]

That's pretty cool looking! Never seen one either like that with the bow tie looking thing in the back.

 

[bobcatdan]

That is pretty cool

 

[stricht8]

That's awesome!!!!

 

[2oolhound]

Awesome! and cool thread! I hope more guys chime in with their relics form yestryear.

...and Welcome to the forum!

 

[uniballer]

I have a SO from mid 70's, need to find it! It was handed down from father, it still works.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

bet that thing had some balls back in the day

 

[Roland-5.0]

I like that its an IR

 

[ex-x-fire]

& made in the USA too!

 

[Packard V8]

I've got Milwaukee, B&D and an I-R electric impacts from the sixties which still work fine. As mentioned, they are nowhere near as strong as today's best air guns.

jack vines

 

[TwoInch]

& made in the USA too!

back then, they would probably say "there are tools that are not USA made?"

 

[redwrench60]

I bet member Marlin would like that. (he's in product development with I.R.)

 

[chris142]

I bought my IR 231 around 1988-1990. I used it all day 5 days a week at a Goodyear tire store. It still has no trouble busting tight nuts loose and I still use it often. It has never been worked on or opened up. Even the trigger O-rings are original.

I think it was Made in Japan.

 

[hofferwood]

I have one of these

Book and parts list too

Date on the book

Chuck

 

[darkk]

Here's my oldest, a Sioux 1/2" impact gun, I found it discarded in an old nut and bolt barrel at the scrap yard I worked in back in 1969. It looks exactly like it did back then and it still works. slow but functional...

 

[woody 73]

Way cool old tools thanks for showing me the pictures, now if I only had the will power to stop looking at the hammer thread and the cool old air tools then maybe I could sleep better at night.

 

[ex-x-fire]

Those old impacts look H E A V Y !