4020/3020 question

To some they were never replaced as they still out sell their replacements.The late 4020 could be reproduced with no improvements and they would sell.They were both[3020/4020] best with out cabs and that's where JD s Sound Guard cab propelled JD to the top in the tractors with cabs.The 4030 was a bit of a disappointment as people expected it to replace 4020 it should have been called a 3030 and people would have looked at it as an improved 3020.
 
LARRY - Not sure I agree with you on the 3020/4020 being "Best without a Cab". MANY MANY after-market cabs put on 4020's plus a lot of 4020's with factory cabs where I grew up, 20 miles east of Moline, IL. The BTO I worked for traded a pair of 4020's, one open station NFE & one WFE w/factory cab w/heater for another open station Side console 4020 synchro-range and a 4320 w/ cab heat & air. That 4320 had three hours on the clock when I took it out plowing the first night. ONLY night the A/C worked, I ran it all night!. I REALLY would have liked the A/C when chopping haylage that summer but the compressor locked up already by then. Even with the ROPS inside the cab you had lots of room and good visibility.

But the cab was sure nice chisel plowing on the cold windy late fall days, or those early spring days plowing or disking.

I was never a big fan of the Sound Guard cab. Too cramped, and I'm not big. I never cared for the door frame seam in the windshield, or that huge blast of noise and hot air you got when you opened the door to get out. The heat and A/C was O-K, but I thought the IH, White, & Case cabs were better than the JD SG. Spent a lot of time in a Case 2470 & White 4-150.
 
(quoted from post at 10:57:10 11/12/14)

I was never a big fan of the Sound Guard cab. The heat and A/C was O-K, but I thought the IH, cabs were better than the JD SG. /quote]

I'll bet you liked the IHC cab door hitting you in the rear as you entered the cab plus the inconvenience of the trans shifter & hyd controls also. As far as you thinking the SGB as being too small I'm 6'4" tall and don't feel cramped in my 4255 SGB. I don't hear as a huge blast of noise when I open the door because I have my engine idling.
 
I always thought the 4320 was the first "upgrade" to the 4020 when they added the turbo?? I maybe wrong...have been before.
 
Dr.Evil I had a new 69 4020 with a JD Stolper cab and a 4320 in 71 with a Hinsen and at that time I would put over 1000 hours a year on them and I thought it was the nicest cab ever,45 years later as I approach 70 years old I prefer less noise and all the comfort features.I can sell a nice open station tractor for more than the nicest one with older cab.I do get requests for cab tractors and have been scolded for taking them off as I ruined a perfect tractor to some.
 
Nobody wants a tractor with one of those older cabs (stopler/hinson) anymore. They are noisy, uncomfortable due to lack of reliable a/c and not easy to get in and out of. It is too bad it costs so much to buy fenders, floor plates, rockshaft covers, etc to make them into nice open station tractors. If it were less costly, I think it would help resale on the ones still with cabs. Like larry says, a cab tractor probably won't bring as much as a similar open station tractor. And finding good fenders without giving an arm and a leg has become a task the last few years.

The only positive thing I can see from a 20 series that's had a cab is that the dash and subsequent linkages below the dash and down in the console are typically in much better condition. Therefore, when I restore one for myself, I usually prefer to start with a cab tractor because they are preserved a bit better and I can absorb the cost of fenders in the overall restoration. But from a quick-flip standpoint, I can see the delimma. If those cabs were worth anything today, I wouldn't have a whole row of them sitting behind my barn. Sound-Gard cabs on the other hand are highly sought after and still command a hefty price.
 
I am looking for cab parts if you have anything laying
around for sale? Stopler cab on early 3020, all of the filler
plates around the bottom.
 
Interesting discussion. I have an original '71 4020 with factory Hinson cab. It has air conditioning and while it needs fixing periodically what AC system doesn't? It does a good job of keeping the cab cool. True, it's noisier than the newer tractors but it would have been a step up in it's day. I put a K&M step on it and it's a lot easier to get in and out of. Mike
 
(quoted from post at 11:36:36 11/12/14) I am looking for cab parts if you have anything laying
around for sale? Stopler cab on early 3020, all of the filler
plates around the bottom.

I have several hinson cabs, but no stoplers. I am not sure if the filler plates are interchangeable or not. I had a couple hinnikers but scrapped them.
 
You can send that 4020 my way when ever you want to give it up :)
The sound of that 6 cylinder is intoxicating to me. Grew up on a neighbors late model powershift. Sure wish he would sell it.
 
4320 was designed to fill the gap between the 4620 and 4020. But I can see were you are coming from. Trading a 4020 in for a 4320 would be a nice upgrade back in the day.
 
Just got a '72 4020 PS from NE last week Jeremy. Does your neighbor still have his? Just kidding of course. The one I have originated in the NE corner and is pretty nice and sound, fresh overhaul on the engine. Let me know if you are seriously looking for one.
 
With this recent cold snap I still remember the first cab we had with a heater.The noise wasn't as much of a factor and being warm but there were a lot of hearing protectors sold.When I get in one to test drive it now and I usually ask if the rear end is OK .Even just the roll guard if it has a canopy and has not been sound proofed is noisy.My neighbor had one of the first Cozy Cabs and Full Vision,Excel Year Round,and Hiniker cabs became very popular and fenders were everywhere now you cant find them.There is still a market for nice used cabs and they make great place for kids to wait for the bus.
 
JIM - You took some liberties editing my original post. You have something against CASE or WHITE cabs? I spent a fair amount of time in a 2470 Case & 4-150 White and thought both cabs were nicer than my current pickup or car I was driving to/from work back then. Car & truck were less than 5 yrs old, but neither had AC and the tractors did.

I personally never had a problem getting into the IH cab you mentioned, which was on an 86-series tractor even though you didn't state that. The 56 & 66-series cabs, not so nice, but I did think the Excel Diamond cab looked nice.

I would think slowing a 4430 down to 800 engine RPM qualifies as "Idling it down". Pop the cab door open and let it funnel all that reflected noise of the cooling fan along with all the hot or cold air back into the cab and you've NEVER noticed that? How much time did you spend on 2 cyl tractors? Must have been a LOT to effect your hearing that much.

If you kept the cab door closed the SG cab was an O-K place to work. It gave you shade plus was cool when it was hot out, had heat when it was cold out. Everybody, well, almost everybody, got Synchro-range or Quad-Range trans in their green tractors where I was from. Synchro-range was nice that one lever shifted everything. Quad-range required both levers to be moved on almost every shift. Same with the IH to a lesser extent. It's surprising that Fuller figured out how to shift up to 18 speeds with a single lever but JD & IH couldn't.

I would say close to 40-50% of the 3020/4020/4320's in the area I grew up in, 25 miles east of Moline had cabs, about half factory cabs, rest after-market. Was a lot of livestock raised in that area back in the 1960's & '70's. Chores had to be done year around.
 
DR. EVIL
How can editing out part of your statement be "taking any liberties"?? I've never been in a Case or White cab is the very reason I edited your statement!!!!!!!!!! There's a whole list of tractors I'd drive before I'd get on an IHC 86 series and yes I plowed with a 986 ONE TIME & ONE TIME ONLY. I still say I get not blast of hot air when I open the SGB door with engine idling. Each to their own. The area you grew up in must have been unique to have 40%-50% 3020/4020's with cabs as that would have been a long way above the national average. I rarely shift both levers on my QR trans at the same time. I guess you just don't understand the QR trans.
Have a good day,Jim
 
Those old cabs were better than nothing,,but not by much, and Dr Evil must have had some rough old pick ups to be worse than those old cabs....The Deere sound Gard cabs set the standards up for the rest to catch up to, and of course a 15 speed 4960 has one shifter for those that have trouble with 2....
 

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