John Deere Model 420 Crawler Tractor

Deere & Company was a Johnny come lately to the track layer market. It was the early 1940’s when they sent some GP model tractor frames to the Lindeman Brothers in Yakima, Washington for developmental work on a Deere crawler. The experiments that followed resulted in the Model B Orchard version Crawler; so loved by collectors today. Deere bought out Lindeman in 1947 and in 1949 introduced a crawler version of the Model M that was built at factories in Dubuque, Iowa as well as the Yakima location. More than 10,500 copies of this crawler rolled off the assembly lines.

The 40 C models were next with production beginning in 1953 and continuing until 1955. A total of 11,689 examples of this version were sold. In 1956 the 420 crawler superseded the 40 model which brings us up to the tractor featured in this post.  

Production of the 420 crawler spanned the the years from 1956 to 1958 during which time a total of 17,882 were produced, all but 92 of which were gasoline engine powered. For some reason Deere referred to them as belonging to phase 1, 2 or 3; the phase corresponding to the year built. The 1956 phase used a 40 model engine block that had been bored out by ¼” to 4 ¼” X 4” for a boost in horsepower that also boosted temperature. The 40 had a thermosyphon cooling system which proved inadequate so a water pump was required to deal with the extra heat. The engine block casting was modified to accommodate the added water pump for the 57 model production phase and a five speed transmission was offered as an option. Phase three units had more minor engine modifications and cosmetic alterations that involved changes to the dash and the steering mechanism. 

The 420 series was produced in a variety of configurations that included: S - standard model, T - tricycle, U - utility, W - row crop utility, H - hi-crop, I - industrial and C - crawler version. All together a total of 46,450 units were sold. The crawler version was advertised as a 3 or 4 plow tractor with speeds listed as: first, ⅞ mph. Second, 2 ¼ mph. Third, 3 mph. fourth , 5 ¼ mph. Reverse, 1 ¾ mph. It was available as a 4 roller model weighing 4150 pounds or as a 5 roller weighing 4700 pounds. 

The 1958 price quoted varies according to the source you consult  ranging from $2316 to $3267. This example offered for sale at the 2017 WNC Fall Harvest Days Show had a sticker price of $4000. After fifty nine years of hard work, I’d say it has held its value pretty well. 

The 420 C was evaluated at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in Test Number 601 from October 15, to Oct. 25, 1956 with the following specifications noted. Engine: John Deere vertical 2 cylinder with 4.25” bore x 4” stroke displacining 113 cubic inches. RPM 1850. Maximum observed horsepower 23.53 drawbar, 28.76 on the belt. Total weight, 5079 pounds. 

Sources:

www.keepemcrawling.com

www.johnnypopper.com 

www.johndeere40.com 

www.lindemanarchives.com 

University of Nebraska - Lincoln Tractor Test 601 

Panzer Attack, 1959 Model T 50

Inquiring minds want to know, “ What does COPAR stand for anyway?”. In an article published in Farm Collector Magazine in May 2013 titled The Panzer  tractor through the years, Sam Moore offered the following explanation.

On a sweltering summer day in the early 1950’s James Clark was toiling in his yard under a blistering sun trying to control a walk behind garden tractor when he had one of those revelations common in such situations. Suddenly, he realized that he wasn’t enjoying what he was doing, at all! Being an engineer by profession he started looking for a solution to the problem. After trying several of the riding tractors available at the time he decided that he could design a better one and before long he approached the management of the company where he worked  with his ideas for a new riding garden tractor. 

Ahrendt Instrument Company of College Park Md. was primarily a defense contractor with no experience or connection to the lawn and garden industry whatsoever but they liked what Clark presented and surprisingly gave him a green light to develop his project. By 1954 they were in the garden tractor business and expanded into a renovated factory  in Laurel, Md. early in 1955. The first Panzer was a three wheel design powered by  a eight and a half horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine. It sold well and the product line soon expanded. 

By 1957 they decided that a smaller Panzer was needed and introduced the T 50 Model. It was powered by a four horsepower Clinton Model A 1200 engine that developed a reputation for vibration and being hard to start. The fact that the engine was bolted directly  to the frame only made matters worse. Some T 50’s were equipped with a Kohler K 90 4 hp. Engine that may have been an attempt to address the vibration issue. The T 50 production run turned out to be a short one. By late 1958 it had disappeared from COPAR sales literature. A flyer from that year listed a Model T 55 with a 4 hp Briggs & Stratton and a Model T 60 with a 5 ¾ hp Briggs but the T 50 was gone, never to return. Copar continued small tractor production with the T65 model until 1960 when small tractors were permanently discontinued.

Virginia Metalcrafters bought the Copar production facilities from Ahrendt in January 1960 . Three years later they acquired the Pennsylvania Lawn Mower Co. and combined them into the Pennsylvania Lawn Products Division. At this point the COPAR name was dropped and the tractors became Pennsylvania Panzers. Paint colors also changed  from red with yellow wheels to blue with white wheels and the tractors became “ Pennsylvania Panzers”. Production continued as Pennsylvania Lawn Products until 1970 when Schenuit Industries bought them out. One year later Schenuit went bankrupt and Pennsylvania Products was shut down for good.

The Model T 50 shown here is owned by Scott Ogle and was exhibited at the 2017 Fall Harvest Days Antique Engine & Tractor Show at the WNC Agricultural Center - Fairgrounds near Asheville, NC. Oh yea, about the name, almost forgot! COPAR is an abbreviation of College Park. When the first tractors were ready to go into production, Ahrendt held a name the tractor contest for the employees at the factory. The winner was, you guessed it, Panzer.

Resources:

www.farmcollector.com

www.tractordata.com 

www.panzertractors.com