Who knows two cylinder john Deere's

[redneck1]

So who knows two cylinder john Deere's ?

I've been put in charge of procuring a two cylinder for a local church group
Their goal is to get a tractor to pull parade floats and to let the pastor who has been there for over 35 years as a volunteer fulfill a dream of doing some farm stock pulling .

They have a pretty decent budget to get a good condition tractor and do it up a bit .
I know what I want to get ... a late model A between 49-52 mainly to get the electric start and higher HP.

Thankfully two poppers are easy to find in my area , a ten minute search turned up 6 of them in the right age range in the $1500 -$2500 price range
That from outside appearance look like good candidates .

I am not a two cylinder expert , but I am mechanicaly inclined .
I can diagnose engine knocks , bad valves and such .
And I know to check for a loose flywheel and the resulting crankshaft endplay ... Though I believe that's mainly a issue for the big diesels .

So I guess the question is for those who know ... Are there any known problem areas I should look for in particular ?

[Brassmonkey]

One lonely farmer on youtube.

[Springfield]

My uncle, but he is in Massachusetts.

[wch]

You might check the playlist at the youtube site <mustie 1>.

[Gewehr-Guy]

In the winter time, if these tractors have been setting outside, they can collect condensation in the crankcase, and it will collect in the oil pump gears and freeze. If you crank the motor over, and there is too much water and the gears are froze solid, it will break a little round coupling that joins the pump to the small shaft that drives it. Not too hard to fix, if your arm will fit down into the bottom of the crankcase.

One time I forgot to turn the gas valve off on the tank, and the float leaked by, and filled one cyl with gas and locked up the motor. So I was standing beside the tractor and used my hand to press down on the starter pedal, and cranked the motor over. All the gasoline sprayed out of the plug hole and about two inches away from my belly, and ignited. I had forgot to pull the wire off the magneto, and it sparked through the plug wire cap against the frame. All the flaming gas landed in the dry grass beside the tractor, and I had quite a time stomping it out. Had I been standing a few inches closer, I would have been badly burned, or worse.

[Froogal]

So who knows two cylinder john Deere's ?

I've been put in charge of procuring a two cylinder for a local church group
Their goal is to get a tractor to pull parade floats and to let the pastor who has been there for over 35 years as a volunteer fulfill a dream of doing some farm stock pulling .

They have a pretty decent budget to get a good condition tractor and do it up a bit .
I know what I want to get ... a late model A between 49-52 mainly to get the electric start and higher HP.

Thankfully two poppers are easy to find in my area , a ten minute search turned up 6 of them in the right age range in the $1500 -$2500 price range
That from outside appearance look like good candidates .

I am not a two cylinder expert , but I am mechanicaly inclined .
I can diagnose engine knocks , bad valves and such .
And I know to check for a loose flywheel and the resulting crankshaft endplay ... Though I believe that's mainly a issue for the big diesels .

So I guess the question is for those who know ... Are there any known problem areas I should look for in particular ?

I used to be into that hobby. Not John Deere's in particular, but Farmall Hs and Ms. The one thing I have learned from all of it is that it far less costly to buy a tractor that is ready to go rather than buying one that needs a lot of work. A pair of NEW rear tires will cost in excess of $1,000. Your choice of a '49 to '52 A is a good one, and there are bunches of them out there.

[Parson]

As an old farm boy who spent many hours on a putten Johnny I agree with Froogal, get one that has already been rebuilt by someone who knows what they are doing, take care of it and it will outlast your grandkids

[Tatume]

Is the John Deere Model A tractor the one that Oliver is seen riding in Green Acres?

[Blanket]

Is the John Deere Model A tractor the one that Oliver is seen riding in Green Acres?

no it is not

[redneck1]

Well when i was asked to look for a tractor my first remark was to find one already done to , but they want one to do up themselves .

Rumor is they have enough of a budget to do as they wish so I'll do my best to find a solid base to build on .
It might be a geographic thing but oddly the nice restored tractors I'm seeing in my area are all earlier hand starts .

I'm looking for decent sheet metal , engine that runs decent and doesn't smoke to much and solid wheels that aren't rusted threw .

[Parson]

Iron wheels will rattle your teeth out on pavement

[Tatume]

Is the John Deere Model A tractor the one that Oliver is seen riding in Green Acres?

The tractor that Oliver is seen riding in Green Acres has long appealed to me. In the TV Series, the tractor was called a Hoyt Clagwell Tractor, however, the tractor actually used, were two different tractors. A John Deere "GP" was used in the opening, and the tractor used during the rest of the show was a Fordson model tractor.

https://starcars.fandom.com/wiki/Hoy..._(Green_Acres)

[waksupi]

Iron wheels will rattle your teeth out on pavement

Not to mention illegal on pavement in most states.

[Gewehr-Guy]

i have a GP , General Purpose, but my friends call it my General Pieces, as it is all taken apart in my shop.

[Texas by God]

I grew up with Dad's Massey and Allis Chalmers( you could pop a decent wheelie when he wasn't around using the hand clutch)- but I remember lots of "Popping Johnnys" on the surrounding farms. I still have a 1948 M Farmall that has been "yard art" for ten years but is fixable.....

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[hc18flyer]

Grandpa Henry had an older A and B. The A was electric start with the Belden add on power steering. The B was purchased new with a 2 row cultivator and planter attachment, for $925. Grandpa had a 'perfect' sequence for starting it with the fly wheel. He got pretty mad when I strayed from the sequence and he had to 'fix it' for me! In later years, it sat on a small hillside, so we could coast it, to start. I remember choking it out pulling a big rack of hay bales up a hill, simple fix, coast backwards, pop the hand clutch, and away you go! Those old tractors did a hell of a lot of work, for their size and hp! Brings back lots of fond memories! Good luck on your search, Tom

[KCSO]

The biggest problem now with the Johnny Pop is that the carbs develop cracks and the air leaks make them hard to start and run rough. We looked for a long time for a GOOD carb for Dad's B. If you get an early electric start make sure it is 12 volt set up and not the older 6 volt. As for the rest if you have bailing wire pliers and a monkey wrench you have all the tools the farmers around here ever use! The day I could crank over the B without opening the petcocks was the day I was a MAN!

[Gewehr-Guy]

An IHC tractor owner was arguing with a JD owner, and he said he expected his H to pull his plow across the field, not to JERK it across!

[godzilla]

Spline wear on the crankshaft


I have a 1949 A in the barn that is waiting for my money to overcome my sense.

Pulled it at the county fair when I was a kid and had a blast. As others have stated the tires are worth more than the tractors now.

[EDG]

I know some of them have a hand clutch which leaves you with only one hand on the steering wheel when the tractor lurches. If the one hand on the steering wheel loses its grip you can wind up falling under the plow.