who has or had a john deere model D ?

swindave

Member
well,we did the model A, B and G , lets do the model D
i always like the sound of a model D, never had one, but like most old john deeres,
i wanted one !

so who has, or had or used one or has a story about a model D tractor!
 
i had a couple. it is one of my most favorite john deere 2 cyl's. they have a huskier deeper sound than say an A. i also would like to listen to them in quite evenings you could hear them for miles. that pup pup pup. my uncle farmed with a 1948 model , then bought a massey 44 special and gave it to my dad i was 5 years old then. dad traded it in for a w6 cause he said it was hard to start, and i can still remember them unloading the w6 here. always missed the sound of that tractor and wanted one so i bought one once i was finished school. i would still buy another one if i have the chance. they are a slow field tractor though, and the massey and mccormick would do more in a days work.
 
Grew up on a '37, which was my Dad's first tractor when he started farming in about '38 or '39. When I was about 11 years old, Dad bought a '46 which was electric start so I usually drove it when both tractors were working together. We are in wheat country so we plowed a lot, disked some, and used a springtooth harrow a lot. About the time Dad got the second D, he built a two-drill hitch and bought another JD VanBrunt disk drill. Bought the '46 D back at an auction a few years ago and little over a year ago my son (with a little help from me!) mechanically restored the D which was quite extensive as it needed the block and pistons replaced, head rebuilt, radiator repaired, both rear tires and wheels replaced, carb rebuilt, flywheel replaced, started repaired, clutch R&R, etc. It now starts good and runs good. I'm looking for a '37 D like the one we had. There were a lot of D's in use around this area in the 30's, 40's and 50's. I remember my uncle buying a new one in about 1951.
 

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Had 2 of them. Forgot how hard they can crank after I sold the first one and bought a second one years later. Didn't keep it long either. To hard to crank it over. I swear it took a gallon of gas just to start it.
 
I have a 1929 D that my Grandfather purchased new. Unfortunately it is stuck sitting in my machine shed on 2 flat rear tires and rusted rims. My Dad was 10 years old when it was delivered and he remembered it being unloaded in the double corn cribs drive way and having to put on a couple lugs to get it to drive over a concrete curb otherwise it just spun. It has a PTO on it. My uncle was surprised my Granddad never got his left pant leg caught in it. It pulled a 3 bottom "Little Genius" plow and a 1 row Woods Bros pto powered corn picker.
 
I have never owned one but has spent many hours one. The B&W photo of a 48 or 49D and me at 12 or 13 getting ready to chop stalks after school, also would work on chopping the 100 acres of Tomato ground, old hampers and all. Also took this D into town 1-1/2 miles away to elevator to spot box cars with during wheat harvest. That D burned picking corn and was replaced with new 720. The color picture one and me, I almost and should have bought at a show in 2008 and still wish I had yet this day. Sure wish I felt today like I did in the B&W picture.

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1958 seen me on a JD 'D' styled.

I was to short in the legs to operate my parents 8-N ford...LOL

When the Thrashing crew arrived, I was placed on a styled "D"...hand clutch ..no problem...two 16' Racks were in tandem behind the "D"......an adult would pull them along side the Thrashing machine..
2003 seen me purchased the same JD "D" from 1958........
No problem today at 6' with 33" inseam to operate the 8-N clutch..........LOL
"Ds" S# 145827.....167481......178685
A widow from across the road stopped by at a local Vintage farm days....we were married in 2016...:)

Bob..
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SV.

Yes.... I built the 2/3 scale" D " using an " H " engine and part of the transmission and hand build the rest.
 
I've been using my 1948 on my little farm since 1989. Not the best tractor for a small Michigan farm, but I just love running it. There's something about the sound of an old D pulling hard that's special. It's just like me anymore--old and slow.
 

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