Old Iron in Star Valley

Author: admin

  • 1936 Farmall F30

    About a year and a half ago we picked up a non-running 1936 Farmall F-30 tractor from someone over in Eastern Idaho. The F-30 is the predecessor to the popular Model M tractor. Where I already have a Model M and the successor Super M, I thought the F-30 would be a good addition to the lineup.

    The F-30 is a hand-start only tractor with no battery or lights. It also originally shipped on all steel wheels, so the four speed transmission tops out at around 5 MPH. It’s not exactly the tractor to take if you want to get somewhere in a hurry… However, it was considered a big tractor for the time–almost too big, as the smaller Model F-20 was the top seller (by a long shot).

    The John Deere tractor that competed with the F-30 was the Model G. The earlier G did not sell as well either, where the smaller Model A has significantly higher sales. The John Deere A was even outsold by the even smaller Model B. I guess farms at the time just weren’t ready for the larger equipment yet.

    Anyway, I’ve been slowly working on the machine for the past year. I finally took the plunge and purchased new back tires, which was the last thing it really needed to be able to get it out and use it some. Where tires are so expensive I was procrastinating the purchase for a while.

    I hope you can enjoy this old piece of history.

  • McCormick-Deering Number 5 Side Delivery Rake

    A neighbor was selling an IH (McCormick-Deering branded) Number 5 side delivery rake. I don’t really need the rake, but part of restoring old tractors is having matching implements and equipment.

    I have a good amount of John Deere implements, but I don’t have a lot from IH and some of the other brands I have. So, I thought it’d be fun to pick it up and match it up. I also thought it’d be fun to use a Farmall (IH, or International Harvester) tractor to pick it up and bring it home. As I mentioned earlier I don’t really have a ‘need’ for it–but hopefully I’ll be able to find some excuses to use it this summer and make a few videos while in the process. 🙂

  • John Deere 420U vs 430U

    In this post I compare some of the differences between the John Deere 420 Utility and the John Deere 430 Utility.

    The 430 has an Oliver loader, but I tried to focus on the mechanical differences between the machines. The 420 and 430 were John Deere two-cylinder tractors, manufactured in Debuque, Iowa. What makes them unique over the Moline tractors is the vertical two-cylinder engine and foot clutch. The Moline tractors had a horizontal two-cylinder engine with a hand clutch (among other factory-specific differences).

  • Spring Disking with the 5020

    In this video we are disking with the John Deere 5020. The tractor has been gone all winter to a shop, so it was nice to have it back & be able to do some work with it. In this video we’re pulling a John Deere BW disk. The field was plowed in the fall, so in the spring we disk it to break down the soil further (remove the slumps from plowing) to help prepare a better seedbed for planting (seed drilling).

    After we disk it, we’re going to plant new alfalfa on the East half and a three-way grain hay on the West side.

    Yes, I know the disk is too small for this tractor–but it’s all I have. 🙂

    The tractor is a 1966 John Deere 5020 with a John Deere BW disk.

  • John Deere 430 Utility with Loader Restoration and First Drive

    Over the winter I picked up a 1960 John Deere 430 with an attached loader (with bucket), box scraper, and tire chains. However, the exhaust manifold had a crack in it, and as such water was able to get into it and rand down the cylinders into the block. The cylinders were seized, and the oil pan was full of ice.

    Getting the tractor out and home was also quite the ordeal. The transmission was full of water and was locked up. We had to melt that out to get the axles to turn. The tires were also frozen down to the ground, as was the heater. The bucket was frozen with the tip into the ground, which had sunken in about three inches and was quite frozen. To get it out we had to put the space heater onto it for a few hours, which allowed it to heat up enough to melt out the ice. Overall, it’s been a fun little project & I can’t wait to use it some this summer!