John Deere B Top Speed

I have my John Deere B in the shop doing a little touch up on it, and I got into an argument with a friend of mine that was down for dinner this evening (also the one that wants me to restore his NAA). He said that his NAA would go faster in 4th gear, than my JD would in 6th, I told him he could borrow my manure spreader... But in all seriousness, how fast will my tractor go? I know my JD 40T does 13, and my B will pull away from it, but I have never opened it up! I have a 1947, early styled, JD B, with 10 x 38 tires, and a 6 speed trans. I looked on Tractor Data, and it says top speed for a 6 speed is 10MPH, and I know that isn't true, so what do you guys think that it will do? I am guessing 14-18, and I am sure that will smoke a NAA. Bryce

I'm not a John Deere expert. At all. But didn't some the early B tractors have an overdrive or at least an aftermarket overdrive that was available?

Be carefull with your bet.
I've heard that those old Fords could out run a
stick of dynamite. Thats why there is still so
many of them around.

My 45 B will do about 16mph, my dads newer 49 B does about 12 mph.... but our 54 naa ford with 4 speed trans and under drive & over drive would do about 7 mph in 4th under,15 in 4th standard and 28 in 4th overdrive.. be carfull with that bet!

Our local MF dealer delivered our new 1100 by driving it to the farm (It was not too far away). He told me that on the way he was overtaken by a 135 Multipower.

I have driven a JD B most of my life, my 50 model would run 16 if I cheated and took the throttle stop out of the pedestal. The 38" tires will be faster, mine had 36" tires.

We have tractor drives every year. The late model b stock, is 10 mph. better put the manure spreader away. P.S the 50 /520 are about the same.

My 46 B has been clocked at 16 mph.

If a B with the press steel frame, battery under the seat, and a true 6 speed transmission, 10 mph is about right. If it is the cast frame, battery under the hood in front of the operator, and three speed with high and low making a total of 6 speeds, then in that 15-16 mph. I think 1947 could be either style since one era was ending and another beginning in that year. I know 1946's where the cast frames, and 1948's where the pressed steel frames.

Not exactly on the topic, but the best story I heard about a "B" was when I was a kid a neighbor of ours was putting down the road in the winter, going home from cutting firewood.

He had to pee, so he just stood up and peed in front of one rear wheel. As he was zipping up and sitting down, he glanced back and a lady was following in a car, waiting for a chance to pass.

I would not bet against the NAA if it had overdrive.

My grandfather won a bet against a JD pulling drawbar to drawbar with his little Ford, he used the 3 point and lifted the weight off the back of the JD.

Those speeds you see listed are for engine RPM at rated PTO speeds and if throtal stops are removed will be quite a bit faster. Then they are rated on factory size tires that in most casses are oversize that will increase the speed with some times the tires are so oversized the tractor will travel as fast in low gear as it is supposed to in second gear and then the owners complain about being too fast in low or reverce and that is where they get the way out of line top speeds as they run the engine ungoverned at absoulete top RPM they can get along with a combination of way oversized tires. That speed with the late model B is based on the 10" tire and a lot will not stop on oversizing with a 12" tire but skip the 11" and 12" and go to the 13" that is now a 14.9 tire. The earlier 6 speed Deeres were geared slower, then for 45 up to the pressed steel frame they jumped the speeds way up and got rid of the gear needed for corn picking or combining so those tractors have the extra high top speed. Then with the pressed steel frame they brought the speeds back to a more realistic speed. The Ford is rated on speed at 1,500 engine RPM for correct PTO speed but will operate at 2,000 RPM for field speeds like plowing and that is where they get the faster ground speeds, Then the overdrive transmission will increase that followed by they way oversize tires but with everything the ground speeds for the Fords of over 20 MPH are supect as that is not possible. I have had a 38A with 4 speed, 14B with 6 speed, 49 B with 6 speeds, 51 A with 6 speeds and a 50 AR with 6 speeds and 41 Ford 9N, 44 Ford 2n, both with overdrive and NAA without overdrive and I know none of them ever got close to what some say they do. 44 Ford with one size over tires, overdrive tranny and wide open will be about 15 MPH. The 41 Farmall H, 38 JD A, 49 JD B, 51 JD A, and 50 JD AR all are very close in speed in second gear that is plowing speed, The Forde are close also in second gear if the RPM is kept to PTO speed but they were usually run at wide oppen speed so the traveled in second at speed of the other tractors in 3rd.. THe 46 JD B had the high speed gears and first in it was equal to second in the 49 B.

Does that NAA have a Sherman over drive in it?? If it does you stand no chance of keeping up with it on your JD-B. My wife said I was doing around 40MPH on my 841 that has the Sherman combo which is an over drive but I was also going down a long steep hill.

His is box stock, no over drive or anything, my B is the Early styled kind, it is in the last 1000 to be made in 47 before they switched to the later styled. Mine is a long hood with the battery in front of the dash, and a cast frame. I have no doubt that it will do 16, because when dad and I drove both the JDs (B and 40T) down to the 4th parade only a few miles away, I had the throttle crammed on the 40T, and granny (following in the truck) said that we never topped 13, and Barry on the other hand said that he never went above 1/3rd throttle in 6th following me. He did have to shift down to 5 every time there was even a little hill though... Clutch was adjusted wrong and was WAY to loose!! Thanks for the info guys, I think I may still have a chance. I am gonna drive it up to his place later in the week when I get the fuel tank fixed, gonna leave the spreader home though. Bryce

Likely to be an interesting race.

1942-1946 JD model B factory specs at 12.25 mph in 6th gear with 10-38 tires at factory spec rpm.

1953 Jubilee factory spec'd at 11.55 mph mph with 10-28 tires. One caveat though the Jubilee was rated at 1750 rpms on the drawbar, but 2000 rpms for stationary belt work. So I think those factory numbers were at 1750 engine rpm. If he pulls the throttle till 2000 WOT then the speed will be 13.2 mph again with factory tires. (2000 rpm is a valid throttle setting on his jube without cheating)

Whose replacement tires are more bigger in diameter than factory originals and whose engine's governor/linkage settings are less worn so that the original intended factory spec rpm's are the most closely achieved will likely determine the winner. (assuming no one has actually cheated to obtain more engine rpm by altering governor settings to obtain more than factory spec'd rpms which is certainly doable on either machine).

woah!I bet it felt like you were moveing faster thats flying in a tractor

That was the first and last time I did that. Got to the point I was not sure if I could keep it going straight and hard to slow down once going that fast

Yes but that was for the old 4-speed. Never heard of an overdrive for the 6-speed. Pa had one on our 1936 and I bet that took it up to maybe 12 mph. It was made by Beilin (sp)

There is this invention called GPS...it is on a lot of car dashes. Just charge it up, stick it in your pocket, jump on tractor, let "er rip.
Take GPS out of pocket, then you know.
LA in WI

This is true, but I am a full blown back woods kind of guy, and I would have to come up with the money to be able to buy one, and the smarts to operate it! Besides, I still use a compass for my navigation. Bryce

Nebraska Test #380 of May, 1947 of the John Deere B lists the top speed in 6th gear to be 10mph. In test G, it pulled 833 lbs @ 9.92 mph with a crankshaft speed of 1252 rpm. 10 X 38 rear tires slipping 2.32%. Adjusting for wheel slippage would show a ground speed of about 10.15 mph.
Nebraska Test #494 of a 1953 Ford NAA lists 11.55 mph as top speed. It pulled 796 lbs @ 11.06 mph with a wheel slip of 2.27% and a crankshaft speed of 1752 rpm. 10 X 28 rear tires. Adjusting for wheel slip would show a groundspeed of about 11.31 mph.