John Deere 70

This is a 70 that I am restoring for a friend. It will be the first time it has been started with the pony motor in over 25 years.

Looks like a good project.

Thanks for sharing your photos with us.

A good place to be in a restoration looking like a tractor again shiny and new.

Great photos, would like to hear the details right down to the type of paint you used. We can all learn from your experiences and surprises you encountered along the way. Good to hear of someone that appreciates an original 70 diesel (besides me). LOL

Looks like a nice 70 diesel to restore. Original flywheel, lpto, power steering, square tube wide front, intact pony engine starting system and nothing "hacked" up. It must be an early serial number one as it looks like it has the "decompression lever forward" system to engage the pony engine starter. Not sure when (serial number break) they went to the foot pedal to start the pony engine. Good job!

Pic of a 70 diesel I restored about ten years ago.

This tractor is all original except the front end. The narrow front was removed and the wide front installed in the 70's. It is still 6V. The pony motor had not run in over 25 years. After the clutch had destroyed itself they would pull start it if they needed the tractor. I had to completely rebuild the ignition system on the pony as well as the wiring on the rest of the tractor. Cooling system and the fuel system have been completely rebuilt. I had to replace the camshaft gear and a new bearing in the governor drive gear. Replaced the fiber thrust washers and reset the end play on the crankshaft. The flywheel was a job to get off I had to make a puller and use a bottle jack to get it to move. At the advise of others I torqued the bolts to 250 lb ft rather than the 208 the book calls for. Most of the gaskets and seals have been replaced. New gauges as well as several other parts were replaced or rebuilt. I used John Deere classic green paint from John Deere as well as John Deere primer. This is my first John Deere to restore and I have learned a lot. It has been a lot of work but it should be a nice tractor when it is done. Here are some pitchers of it in primer and a link to it starting for the first time. https://www.facebook.com/2221657794765965/videos/782666675598634/

Nice looking tractor. What year is it? This one is a 56 and it does have the foot start for the pony motor.

This one is a 1955 model (7023182) that was originally shipped to Findlay,Oh. I collect 70 diesels and have several 1956 models. I have restored several of them, but most are in original condition...gives them more character. My advice is to use the more expensive vinyl decals (Jorde Decals) and do your research on the correct placement of all the decals. I've seen nice restorations of 70 diesels compromised due to cheap decals and not placed in the proper location. Most of decals packages do not include the tire pressure decal that goes on the left side of the battery box and the patent decals that go on the side and the rear of the tractor. I think they are available separately from K&K or Sharp's. I have several 70 diesels with original paint and decals that I have used at a guide for decal placements on restoration projects. What's the serial number on your project? I might have one that is consecutive or close. All of mine are rowcrops, except for one diesel standard that came from North Dakota.

The serial number for this tractor is 7033692. I will have to do some research for decal placement for sure because the customer had already taken a lot of the tractor apart and had it blasted. All the parts that have been put on the tractor came from John Deere if they were still available.$$$$ He has already purchased the decals but I have not opened them to take a look. I have restored several other tractors (Case Ford Farmall Massey and others) but this is my first John Deere.

Let me know if you need pics and measurements from "factory original" decal placements when you are ready to apply them.

The closest serial number I have is 7033170, a local Wisconsin tractor. In the past, I ran across 7033693 in Forest City, Illinois.

Great job on the tractor and the tractor sounds great too.

Thanks. I may need to get your help before I get them all on.

I sure would want to tear up some dirt with one of those! Beautiful job!!

Great project, and finish of others. I just finished my project. I posted a before and after. took me about 18 months, some with my Dad in the farm shop in Indiana the rest including painting in my garage in central Illinois. I didn't do quite that big of tear down!