THE PLOWSHARE News for John Deere Collectors
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Winter 2010 - Issue #18 THE PLOWSHARE News for John Deere Collectors Facelift for a 4020 John Deere’s 4020 might be one of the most recognizable tractors ever made, but currently one of these vintage machines is being turned into something like no one’s ever seen. In a Huntington Beach, California, garage a 1970 4020 is being recreated by Chip Foose, an internationally recognized automotive designer and fabricator best known for his work on custom hot rods. The modiƟ ed tractor will be given away as part of John Deere’s Big Buck Sales Event. The program offered incentives on utility tractor purchases through January, and potential customers can still register to win the modiƟ ed 4020 or one of three John Deere Gator Utility Vehicles This 4020 will be customized by automotive designer Chip Foose before going to a contest winner. as part of the program. Inset: Foose’s rendering of what the 4020 will look like after the customization. The company has never given away anything like this one-of-a-kind tractor. “We wanted The 1970 4020 that Foose is modifying was located through to do something different,” said Tara Litzenberger, a MachineFinder, an online tool that allows customers writer at John Deere. “This started us down the road of to search used equipment inventories at John Deere customization, and when you talk about customization, dealerships around the world. Foose is simply one of the best.” “We didn’t want to take something that had already been Choosing the tractor that Foose would work on was also an restored, because that’s a work of art in its own right,” easy decision, according to Dave Jones, a writer at John Deere. said Litzenberger. “This machine had a hard, hard life. This “Chip Foose is known for restoring classics,” he said. “The needed to be restored.” 4020, that’s the John Deere tractor. That’s our classic.” After the tractor arrived in California in November Some of the elements that have earned the 4020 this Foose removed most of its body before sending it to AA reputation will remain in the modiƟ ed tractor. “He’s very Equipment, a John Deere dealership in Montclair, California, well aware of the history and stature of John Deere and the for extensive mechanical repairs. “There was quite a bit of place that the 4020 occupies in our history,” said Jones. “It fabrication going on while the machine was repaired,” said will look like a John Deere.” Jones. “We’re not trying to improve on a classic,” said Litzenberger. The tractor is expected to be Ɵ nished around the end of “We’re most excited that we get to take something that’s February, and plans call for it to be unveiled in Anaheim, part of our heritage and try something new with it.” See 4020 on page 2 4020 from page 1 Display your Deere at the John Deere Pavilion The John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois, is offering John Deere collectors a chance to show off their vintage tractors and equipment to thousands. Through a new program, privately owned, vintage John Deere equipment will be displayed at the Pavilion for the Ɵ rst time. “John Deere’s heritage has been seen in displays at the Pavilion since it opened in 1997,” said Brian Holst, manager, John Deere Heritage Marketing. “But, this is the Ɵ rst time that privately owned items, old or new, have been displayed.” Chip Foose examines a 4020 model as he plans the modiƟ cation. Holst said about 150,000 people visit the Pavilion each year. “We expect these vintage pieces to get a California, at Commodity Classic, a convention and trade lot of attention,” he said. show of the U.S. corn, soybean, sorghum and wheat industries. Equipment doesn’t have to be in any particular condition to be displayed. “Some will be completely After its debut the tractor will join the Drive Green Utility restored, but we also hope to have some come in right Tractor Show, a demonstration event that will visit John Deere out of the Ɵ eld,” said Chris Boyens, John Deere senior dealerships around the United States next spring and summer. marketing & research specialist. “There are lots of You can register to win the machine at your local John Deere John Deere tractors that have been hard at work for dealership until June 30. The drawing will be held in early July. decades, and that’s something to be proud of.” To learn more about the modiƟ ed 4020, While the tractors don’t have to shine, there are requirements for the displays. “We’re looking for items • Watch a variety of videos about the modiƟ cation that tell a story,” said Boyens. “It could be your Ɵ rst process and learn about the history of the 4020 at FFA project, a machine that your family has used for http://www.deere.com/en_US/CCE_promo/big_buck/ 70 years, or something that illustrates a key point in index.html. Remember to keep checking the site for John Deere’s history.” updated videos and pictures of Foose’s progress. A short video telling the tractor’s story will be part of • Register to win this unique 4020 at your local each display. John Deere dealership. Find one at www.JohnDeere.com The Ɵ rst tractors to be displayed will be a 1955 Model • Visit http://drivegreentractors.com/ for a Drive Green 40 Utility Industrial and a 1959 Model 730. schedule to Ɵ nd out when the modiƟ ed 4020 will be making a stop in your region. The Model 40 was restored after it was retired from its work maintaining a cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. This model was the Ɵ rst with a true three point hitch and the Ɵ rst Dubuque-built tractor with remote hydraulic control. For the Model 730’s story see page 3. If you’re interested in displaying your vintage equipment at the Pavilion send the following information to [email protected]: • The tractor’s story – you don’t have to be an author, just tell the story in your own words. • A few pictures of the machine • The tractor model and year • A brief description of the tractor’s condition • An approximate date when you could deliver the tractor to the Pavilion 2 Texas teen recognized for restoring rare 730 As the son of a John Deere dealership salesman with a custom hay business, Adam Jarvis grew up around tractors. “For as long as I can remember, every summer I was in the Ɵ eld raking hay or baling hay or loading hay,” said Jarvis. But these experiences didn’t completely prepare Jarvis for the task of restoring a rare tractor in just six months during his senior year of high school. “I was humbled,” he said. “I thought I knew a lot about tractors, but once you get in there you get overwhelmed pretty quickly.” While it might have seemed like an impossible task in the beginning, Jarvis not only completed the tractor, but also took third place in the 2009 Delo Tractor Restoration Competition, a highly regarded competition for high-school- aged FFA members from around the United States. Jarvis started the project for a competition in San Antonio, Texas. This meant working alone since the other members of his FFA group in Lufkin, Texas, were already refurbishing a tractor for another competition that would take place the same day. As with any restoration project the Ɵ rst step was Ɵ nding Adam Jarvis’s restored Model 730. To take a closer look at the tractor the tractor. Jarvis had several to choose from – all tractors visit the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois, where it will be one of that his dad had never gotten around to restoring. the Ɵ rst privately owned tractors displayed. For details see page 2. Jarvis selected a 1959 John Deere Model 730 with several “The Ɵ rst paint job didn’t set up well,” said Jarvis. “I painted rare features. It has a 38-inch Ɵ xed tread front end, a diesel it in the shop when it was cold at night and hot during cranking engine and an unusual transmission. “It’s not a very the day and the Ɵ nish ended up very dull.” To remedy the common tractor with that combination of features,” he said. problem Jarvis re-sandblasted everything and used a paint Of the 30,000 John Deere Model 730s produced from 1958 booth for the next paint job. “It turned out much better the to 1960 about 17,000 ran on diesel. Of those only 3,703 second time,” he said. had a cranking engine. Documentation isn’t available on Luckily, while Jarvis didn’t have his classmates’ help, he how many were built with the 38-inch Ɵ xed tread front end, didn’t restore the tractor alone. His dad and his neighbor, a feature designed for precision row spacing in bedding a former Deere dealership mechanic, both lent a hand. “If I applications. didn’t have a clue and didn’t understand the manual they’d The tractor’s features may have made it more attractive, but walk me through it,” he said. “I learned a lot from them.” it also presented challenges during the restoration. Parts Technical skills weren’t all Jarvis gained through the project. were hard to Ɵ nd, said Jarvis. “Determination, persistence and patience were deƟ nitely During a call to one salvage yard looking for a part for tested,” he said. the front axle Jarvis had to repeat the part number over Now that Jarvis has Ɵ nished his Ɵ rst whole-tractor and over.